One of the hazards of being a critic is that my friends make me pick the restaurant every time we go out. Sure, they heap on the praise when things go well, but when service or food isn't up to par my guests are just as quick to lay a load of blame on my plate.
That's why I keep a few restaurants in my back pocket for special occasions, places that suit a particular crowd. Eight people on a beautiful winter weeknight, mostly out-of-towners who want to experience downtown St. Pete? That's when I pull out Z Grille.
It's a casual place, suited to the raucous conversation of a group of friends meeting over the holidays for beer and sangria and expertly constructed food that belies the casual atmosphere. That's not to say it's pricey — dinner can set you back as little as $10 or as much as you'd like, depending on your tastes.
Take the rib-eye ($22.95). Sure it seems an odd choice at a restaurant that prides itself on Cali-Baja cuisine, but don't underestimate the power of a skilled cook and a hot grill. It hits the table with the fat still sizzling underneath a salty, deeply browned crust. Cut through the crackling exterior and you'll find ruby red meat marbled with veins of nearly liquid fat. There's a spicy Mex-seasoned butter globbed on top, but it's unnecessary. That compound butter is damn tasty, though, especially when it drips onto the creamy mashed potatoes. In all, a great steak.
Salads appeal to those in my group looking to eat healthy, although the luscious avocado vinaigrette is anything but light. Remember — avocado is the good fat. If only I could say the same for a heaping side of slow-cooked pork ($3), glistening with fat, each bite laced with citrus and cumin and peppery spice. Does lettuce counteract pork on the health-o-meter? Who cares? We just dump the meat on top of the asparagus and red peppers on one salad ($8.95) and the black beans and corn of the other ($9.95).
Pepper is a common theme at Z Grille, more the black variety than the dried chiles and habanero heat of border cuisine east of Baja. There is a prodigious amount on a special of blackened triple tail ($22.95), as well as the side of asparagus that comes with most hearty entrees. The green stalks are striped black by the hot grill and given just enough heat to turn fresh and chewy into warm and crisp, so good I can see why the restaurant pairs this veggie with just about everything.
Z Grille doesn't hit everything out of the park. Blackened shrimp ($19.95) are small and a tad overcooked, even though doused in a tasty dried herb blend and accompanied by nicely cooked veggie risotto. Steak and goat cheese enchiladas ($16.95) could use a lot more cheese to counteract the dry texture of the slow cooked beef, or maybe just some more zing in the meager dollop of sauce. Those enchiladas are paired with exceptionally tender and subtly spiced pinto beans. Corn and crab chowder ($8.95) is packed full of sweet kernels and crabby shreds, but the flavors never mingle.
Then there are the tacos.
I took grief a couple of years ago for dogging Z Grille's tacos. Hey, they were good then — still are — with chunks of moist, deep-fried fish ($10.95) or slow-cooked meat tucked into a tortilla with dressed cabbage, tomatoes and a hefty handful of cheese. But the tortillas are a little lighter than what I usually look for.
They do better as a base for quesadillas ($10.95), the tender discs crisp and flaky after some time on the griddle. That same pork from the salad works wonders for gooey smoked gouda, both ingredients powerful enough to accent one another.
Likewise, the sangria has the power to hold up to the food. It starts with a hearty bottle of red wine, which already puts it miles ahead of the insipid stuff you find at most places. At Z Grille, the added fruit just accents the wine, so this velvety iced drink is more than just a sweet tea substitute. It's well worth the $20 per pitcher.
Maybe that's because Z Grille owner Zack Gross understands wine. The restaurant's list is populated by a small selection of wonderful brands — some organic, most from California and most under $30. It's wine that suits the food and character of the restaurant.
At lunch, workers in downtown St. Pete flow through Z Grille, carrying out bags of tacos and containers of fresh salad; other folks sit inside and enjoy a surreptitious midday Tecate. In a few months, there will be even more take-out when Z Grille pairs with Margaret Guidicessi (you know, the Granola Bowl lady and accomplished chef) to open a prepared foods market down the street called Z Kitchen. It'll have 46 linear feet of deli case, including many of Zack Gross's staples from Z Grille.
On most nights at Z Grille, the mood is festive. Inside it's loud, almost rowdy when the tables are packed. Flames flare occasionally from the open kitchen and servers weave through the room carrying platters and pitchers.
Outside on the sidewalk, facing Central Avenue, our party connects with downtown St. Pete. Intimately. Passersby ask us about the food, and a guitar-toting busker plays '60s and '70s rock classics just far enough down the street to make for good mood music. This place, this food and this experience are what I think of when I talk about what's good about downtown St. Pete.
Brian Ries is a former restaurant general manager with an advanced diploma from the Court of Master Sommeliers. Creative Loafing food critics dine anonymously, and the paper pays for the meals. Restaurants chosen for review are not related to advertising.
This article appears in Jan 10-16, 2007.