As Mesopotamia is the birthplace of civilization, Tampa Bay is the birthplace of franchise restaurants. Occasionally, they arise naturally and are then acquired and groomed to within an inch of their lives by their corporate parents. More often, they are formulated with all the care and precision of a designer test tube baby. But no matter the origin, a Tampa-founded restaurant is the franchise equivalent of privileged birth. The latest to receive this lofty pedigree is GrillSmith, the brainchild of Todd Dzuibeck with a helping hand in menu design by Mise en Place Owner/Chef Marty Blitz. Though its first location has only just opened in Countryside, several more are planned. The new restaurant has all the bells and whistles, a menu that hits all the trendiest notes, a snazzy décor, even a motto: "Food on the fire." In short, it's a pitch-perfect concept, ready to be packaged, pre-fabbed and marketed across this great nation — or at least the Southeast. As a prototype, the GrillSmith on Countryside Boulevard displays glossy corporate style, excellent service and surprisingly uneven food quality. The restaurant's most creative elements are diluted in a bid for mass marketability. As it tries to encompass all dining tastes, it falters in defining a distinct concept that would provide the spark Grillsmith needs to rise above the crowd of high-end casual franchises in town.
This tendency is not obvious in the first course, Indeed, the menu pulls out all the stops when it comes to the appetizers. The Creole-inspired firecracker shrimp ($7.99) sautéed with a "New Orleans Style" white barbecue sauce can stand proudly beside any of its brethren in the first course department. My dining companion deemed it one of his favorite shrimp dishes, and that decree from such a die-hard seafood lover is saying something indeed. Another perfect 10 was the delicious plate of grilled chicken and black bean fritters ($5.99). Everyone at the table fought over the crispy fried hunks of chicken, beans, sweet corn and roasted chilies. The pool of bright yellow, sweet and spicy mango/jalapeño jam oozing around each fritter might have looked a bit suspect, but it tasted superb. Other menu items, such as the imaginative cheeseburger empanadas ($5.99) and the pulled pork croquettes ($5.99) detail the best of GrillSmith's intents.
From there, things get a bit dicey. The extensive menu seems to want to be all things to all people, providing not a coherent concept or dining experience, but an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink mosh pit. The new-Southern elements apparent in the initial offerings are still evident, but Floribbean, Italian, Spanish and Californian influences flit across the menu with little regard to theme or order. It's not fusion so much as confusion. Paella shares space with Tuna ahi, and portobello Florentine is only one listing away from fish 'n' chips. Whatever imagination and care were put into the design of the appetizer menu seemed to evaporate in the cultivation of the entrée listings.
Which isn't to say there aren't gems to be discovered there. Indeed, the grilled tortilla pizzas featured an unusual chewy, chargrilled crust in several well-designed permutations (including Jamaican jerk shrimp pizza and barbecue pulled pork pizza). We tried the tamest, the plain margherita ($5.99), and were thrilled with the fresh, whole milk mozzarella, ripe tomatoes and fragrant basil leaves that dotted our pie. GrillSmith also offers a variety of towering entrée salads that feature an astounding variety of veggies, fruits, nuts and whole filets of chicken or fish nestled in amongst lettuce and vinaigrette. I sampled the grilled chicken salad ($7.99) with broccoli and candied pecans in an excessively sharp horseradish vinaigrette. Though the salad was filling and definitely earned an award for diversity in ingredients, the strong flavor of the dressing overpowered everything else. Another good lunch option is the turkey croissant sandwich ($5.99 with a side of tasty bowtie pasta salad), which reminded me of nothing more than a coveted post-Thanksgiving treat. With roasted turkey and cranberry sauce layered on a fluffy toasted croissant, the lunch carried with it a simple, nostalgic pleasure.
Sadly, most of the entrees on the menu presented a half-hearted execution. The pork tenderloin mango mango ($10.99) came with more of the mango/jalapeño jam we'd enjoyed earlier, but as an auxiliary to a slab of meat, the gooey condiment seemed out of place. A side of coconut rice did little to jazz up the plain, disappointing dish. Another option, the chicken GrillSmith ($8.99), did no justice to the restaurant's name. Though the breast was moist and tasty enough, it didn't rise above the ordinary, and indifferent steamed broccoli and mashed potatoes made the ensemble look less like a restaurant dinner and more like Tuesday night at home in front of the TV. GrillSmith's herd of steaks ($10.99-$19.99, depending on cut and size) are very tasty, but they stood out from the offerings of other local steakhouses only by the comparatively low price. The most disappointing elements of each of these dishes were their unexceptional accompaniments. From the humdrum steamed broccoli to the outright appalling, limp and flavorless cheddar bacon hash browns (premade and microwaved on some nights, freshly fashioned on others), few of the accompaniments showed even a whiff of the imagination displayed in the appetizer and light fare menu options. I like to think this is one of the kinks that the newbie eatery is still working out, and they will have deep-sixed the substandard side dishes by the time GrillSmith is unleashed on the world. I wouldn't want to have to explain to colleagues that this style is not a "Tampa" thing.
The drinks menu features the types of wines suitable for purchase by almost any distributing company (read: lots of Kendall-Jackson) and a variety of corporately designed cocktails to which — at $4.95-$6.95 for high-quality alcoholic concoctions — I say, get 'em while they're cheap! I have no idea if the restaurant plans a price hike in the future, but I love a bar where a top-shelf margarita is cheaper than a glass of mediocre chardonnay.
Service at GrillSmith is uniformly exceptional. Swift, helpful, polite and, above all, friendly, every employee seems genuinely interested in the well-being and satisfaction of the restaurant's customers. Any questions or complaints were quickly answered with eagerness to remedy any perceived fault. Perhaps it is the gloss of corporate ownership that puts so much importance upon quality of service. It's clear the workforce attitude is one of the restaurant's most prominent strengths.
GrillSmith is still a baby in the field, and it should be forgiven a few of its missteps. The appetizer and light-fare options hint at a stylish, innovative menu that loses its way somewhere in the midst of its half-hearted entrees. The inexpensive menu and bang-up service will most likely prove a seductive draw to happy-go-lucky bargain hunters. I highly recommend the establishment for anyone looking for drinks, inspired munchies or a delicious lunch, but dinner at GrillSmith lacks the spark needed to set the restaurant on fire.
Freelance writer Diana Peterfreund dines anonymously and the Planet pays for her meals. She may be contacted at diana.peterfreund@weeklyplanet.com. Restaurants are chosen for review at the discretion of the writer, and are not related to advertising.
This article appears in Jul 29 – Aug 4, 2004.