The toughest question I'm asked by friends and readers is: "What's the best restaurant in Tampa?" You'd think it would be easy, but it isn't. I can list my favorite places, or spots that are interesting, or restaurants that are good for first dates or important anniversaries, but — in my experience — there has never been a mainland Bay area restaurant that hits on all cylinders. Until now.
Accomplished and interesting cuisine is an important factor in a great restaurant, as well as environment and service, but there's so much more to it than that. Some restaurants just try harder than others, think more about what they are doing and how to accomplish it, and work at extending the quality of the diner's experience beyond the usual formula.
That pretty much sums up SideBern's.
Although rarely sublime, the food is always thoughtful and smartly executed. It's also engaging and exciting, utilizing techniques and ingredients that most local chefs either neglect or know little about. Thank Executive Chef Chad Johnson, who revitalized the restaurant and silenced potential grumblers after Jeannie Pierola left a few years back.
Steak tartare here consists of roughly ground skirt steak in two discrete piles, one next to a pile of crisp red threads constructed of spicy red chiles, another topped by finely grated flakes of cheese. Hidden under the cheese are tiny specks of fried shallots that add a surprising crunch to each bite. Taken apart, everything on the plate is tasty; together, it's one of the best dishes I've had in Tampa.
An oddity of SideBern's food is that behind the complex compositions and serious technique, many of the dishes feel like luxe comfort food. The paella is one, a low cylinder of crisp bomba rice mixed with braised rabbit that's used more as flavoring than feature, topped by tender roasted snails. Maybe it's not the comfort food you're used to, but it's hearty and satisfying in a way that many high-end restaurants have trouble with.
Same with grilled duck hearts paired with simple roasted hen of the woods mushrooms. Johnson's unusual touch on this dish comes in the form of two piles of ethereal, crunchy powder — fenugreek, a leafy green herb, somehow refined and freeze-dried with kitchen magic into a pale white textural accent.
He doesn't always hit it out of the park, like two octopus tentacles charred on the grill, sauced with bone marrow jus and topped by a idiazabal cheese cracker. Although cooked perfectly, the octopus is better off without all the other stuff on the plate. Johnson is also a fan of a sauce technique that involves smears of paste across the plate, often an unfortunate brown color. It's unappetizing, and difficult to scrape off the plate onto bites of food.
SideBern's entrees are almost a different beast entirely than the large array of small plates — a bit simpler, a bit more in keeping with traditional fine dining tropes. Monkfish is simply grilled and placed atop homemade ravioli and roasted mushrooms. The pasta is the best part, chewy and filled with Merguez sausage that meshes well with the sherry broth.
Elk comes in rare medallions of sliced loin, largely tender and rich even if the raw texture in the center makes some bites a bit chewier than necessary. There's polenta that's so loaded with goat cheese and cream you'd be hard-pressed to discern corn in its background, but there are also perfect, tiny balls of soft carrot that are pure vegetal bliss. Scattered along the edges of the plate are candied black olives that pack a monumental punch of salt and sweet to punctuate the otherwise heavy dish.
With a normal review, or a normal dinner, that would be the end of it. Maybe a mention of dessert. Not at SideBern's. There's a small but wonderful charcuterie selection, much of it made in house, with a chef's selection of five for $19. The restaurant also offers a tasting menu — six courses for $70 — with wine pairing for another $35. And then there's the cheese. I've always been a fan of restaurant cheese plates, and SideBern's steps up admirably with a list of 20 or so good choices.
And, of course, the room is still beautiful, with that amazing vaulted ceiling. The servers are serious professionals, with more knowledge of a menu that changes every five weeks or so than most servers have of food that's stayed the same for decades. The wine selection can be taken for granted by guests (because it is not taken for granted by the staff) and the beer list is the best I've seen at any fine-dining spot in the Bay area.
All of that combines to ease the blow that comes at the end of a meal. Two people, if they are frugal with their wine selections, will easily hit the $200 benchmark. Thing is, you'll likely feel like you got your money's worth.
So, yeah, now I have my answer. The best restaurant in Tampa? SideBern's. No contest.
This article appears in Dec 16-22, 2010.