What’s for dinner: “Cheeseburgers!” says son Zack and nephew Jensen. “Yeah, cheeseburgers!” chimes in younger nephew Jasper. Listening to them give their orders to waitress Rose, it’s obvious this isn’t the boys’ first time at the Chattaburger rodeo.
When the food arrives: Take the biggest, juiciest burger bite possible. “I got the most juice out of my burger!” says Jensen. The boys compare carnage.
Good advice from an old friend: Both Armstrong and Hallock teach English and literature at USF St. Petersburg. Their colleague, the late great historian and USF St. Petersburg professor David Carr, was their “source of all things St. Petersburg” when they moved here from Georgia in 2001, says Armstrong. “He said you’ve got to go to the Chattaway.”
Real estate perks: Armstrong and Hallock were looking to buy a home in St. Petersburg, and settled in Old Southeast. “One of the amenities for buying our home here was that we could walk to Chattaway’s,” says Armstrong.
Why they love it: “Peter Meinke has a poem about how this place is like slipping on an old shoe,” says Hallock. The plethora of family-style seating and down-home décor makes the place feel more like someone’s backyard than a restaurant. “I remember we were here once with our dog Virgil and a big thunderstorm came down,” says Armstrong. “Everyone crowded under the cover and it was great. It’s a cozy, friendly kind of place.”
Other haunts: Connie’s Bar-B-Q, Blue Nile, and Munch’s.
The Chattaway, 358 22nd Ave. S, St. Petersburg, 727-823-1594, thechattaway.com.
