Clearwater Beach dining spot Pearly’s Beach Eats has expanded its gulf coast grub to Dunedin. The latest location from the laid-back restaurant brand, which was founded in 2014, opened in an updated historic bungalow at 903 Douglas Ave. on March 16.
For local eaters who’ve never been, Pearly’s is known for mixing classic seafood favorites with Mexican and American cuisines. The result is options like blackened fish tacos, burgers, shrimp po’ boys and barbecue pork nachos on the crowd-pleasing menu.
The Dunedin outpost features indoor-outdoor seating and a big bar offering beer and wine, in addition to the food. Pearly’s plans to launch its third location in Palm Harbor soon, too.
• Sushi Sho Rexley, ICMYI, brought its culinary magic to downtown St. Pete in February or so. Essentially, sushi master Rexley Kwok and sake expert Arte Kwok’s restaurant at 214 Second St. N. aims to change the way diners grab sushi by turning them on to an unforgettable Japanese omakase — or chef’s choice — tasting experience.
Here, the omakase options are best enjoyed by reservations, which can be made online, since seating is limited. Sushi Sho Rexley’s Omakase Samurai features one app, 12 pieces of nigiri, one hand roll and one dessert, while five side dishes, 14 pieces of nigiri, one hand roll and one dessert come with the pricier Omakase Shogun.
There’s also a regular lineup of sides (think tuna carpaccio and butter-seared scallop), special rolls and nigiri, as well as sake, beer and wine to complete the artfully and meticulously prepared meal that calls for top-notch fish.
https://www.facebook.com/LateStartBrewery/posts/1504832699642448• After subtly making the news known ahead of a Tampa Bay Beer Week tap takeover, Tampa-based Late Start Brewery has formally announced that it’s bringing a brewery to Pour House (see above), which is part of the Grand Central at Kennedy building in the Channel District.
“We have partnered with Pour House Tampa to build a 3 barrel system,” reads a Facebook post from Late Start’s Jordan Copher, Tyler Sankey and Nick Streeter. “Construction is underway and we expect to begin operations early summer 2018. We will keep you updated on our progress.”
Born and raised in Tampa, the crew is excited to complete their soon-to-open brewery.
“…seeing this community grow,” the post continues, “makes us very eager to get beer into the hands of the people who have continued to support us from the garage to the tap-takeovers. Thank You!”
• A purple “coming soon” sign is up for a place called Simply Fruit at 1723 W. Kennedy Blvd. The newbie specializes in smoothies and acai bowls, which seem to be as popular as ever in Tampa Bay, made with ultra-fresh ingredients.
• Rounding out this list of quick bites: According to the Tampa Bay Business Journal, the owners of Tampa’s popular and frequently Instagramed Oxford Exchange are opening a downtown St. Pete restaurant, The Peabody, in the new education and research building at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. The businessman who started Lakeland’s beloved Jimbo’s Pit Bar B-Q 54 years ago, Harold Lehman, passed away earlier this week. Craft Kafé has location No. 2 up and running in downtown St. Pete. And, finally, Maple Street Biscuit Company debuted its first Tampa Bay store on Wednesday along downtown St. Pete’s 600 Block to great fanfare. Now, when’s that Carrollwood site gonna open?
This article appears in Apr 12-19, 2018.