Wine Dine and Play: Gulfport Tuesday Market

Shop, Dine, and Play

Gulfport, Florida USA

By Sean Overpeck (CFE)

The title above sounds like the name to this site, as we both share the same goals, to shop for good wine, dine at great restaurants whether their holes in the wall or five star extravagant places in Paris, and of course to play. Define play how you want, I define it as travel, seeing new places and new things. Earlier in the month was my first time going to the City of Gulfport, the shops had great variety, and some of the restaurants were really good. Then during the start of the week you had the Gulfport Tuesday Market adding even more fun to this little city by the bay.

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From the markets home page:

We’ve been called funky, eclectic, artsy, charming, progressive, welcoming, warm, and yes, even weird. All of the businesses in our waterfront village are independently owned and operated. No chain stores here. No parking meters. Just small-town warmth and people as friendly and welcoming as they come. Our village offers the best of “Old Florida” charm. Picture old oaks draped in Spanish moss, brick-paved streets, small colorful cottages, and light shimmering on the Bay. Our Tuesday Fresh Market days happen each week throughout the year, offering fresh fruits and veggies, breads, cheese, seafood, honey, plants and more of the best of what local vendors have to offer.

Main review:

What does the little City of Gulfport have to offer to anyone living in the larger cities of St. Petersburg and Tampa? The first thing for me that came to mind was the feeling of small town America with no McDonalds or Walmart's. You have little stores, a bit pricy but when it's a private owned store with the Government taxing you into oblivion, your prices have to be hire then the crap you buy at the chain stores thats made in China. The Gulfport Merchants Association makes heavy strides to assure that the city stays small, and doesn’t become consumed by chains. The fresh market on Tuesdays is yet another example of them drawing business to the town.

The majority of the business’s in the town and where the market sets up is down Beach Boulevard south starting at 28th Street and ending on Shore Boulevard south where you run into The Gulfport Marina, Williams Pier which looks out to the Boca Ciega Bay, and is a special protected Aquatic Preserve. Finally next to that you have the Gulfport Casino, which never was a gambling establishment, but hosts dancing which my fiancé and I go to, and wide variety of other events. One time while near the pier we saw a guy walking his pet, which normally wouldn’t even make me think twice, but this man was walking his pet goat. Wow, only in gulfport - what a great little town.

The Market is not as big as the St. Pete Saturday Market, or other Florida Markets, but the small feel to it makes it more appealing then the others. There are a total of 15 markets open throughout the week in the Tampa Bay area from Wesley Chapel running down to Sarasota. According to the Florida Department of Agriculture there are over 170 Farmers Markets in the entire state, so happy hunting. Other Bay Area Markets.

Vendors at the market vary from week to week or season to season, from fresh organic produce to cheese merchants like stampede cheese, to the American Legion Post 0125. Then you have local musicians like Bill Vinhage. He currently parks his guitar on the front patio of the The Historic Peninsula Inn every Tuesday around 1030 AM. You have a storefront called the Gulfport Beach Bazaar which is open daily, and has the only location in town for the US Post Office. You can also give blood donations when the red cross comes by if you wish.

One storefront we passed by was closed, to which I would not have thought twice about either until I read the sign. Simple things like that sign make you want to come and see them when they open there doors for business.

Finally to add to just how unique and fun this little town is, next to storefront tucked away in a small alley surrounded by a few small restaurants and private homes, a small chalk board sign was posted that will give you a nice little smile. Look at the picture below and give it a read, and you will know what I mean.

Attractions & Shopping in Gulfport

Bo-Tiki, Red Hot Tiki, Domain Home Accessories, Gulfport Beach Bazaar, Karens Florist of Gulfport, Dive Gulfport, Gulfport Artwalk, LocalShops1, City of Gulfport, and the Gulfport Area Chamber of Commerce.

****

The worlds best restaurants, based on the

Wine, Dine, and Play’s Favorites

That I visited and reviewed on this site…

****

Alinea Chicago, Illinois, USA	Tetsuya’s Sydney, Australia
The Test Kitchen Cape Town, South Africa	Vue de Monde Melbourne, Australia
Qui Restaurant Austin, Texas, USA	5A5 Steak Lounge San Francisco, California, USA
The French Laundry Yountville, Napa, California, USA	LA TABLE de Joël Robuchon Paris, France
Quay Sydney, Australia	The Tasting room at Le Quartier Français Franschhoek, South Africa
At.mosphere Dubai, UAE	Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud Dublin, Ireland
Attica Ripponlea, Melbourne, Australia	Grill 225 Charleston, South Carolina, USA
Mr. Todiwala’s Kitchen London, United Kingdom	Rioja Denver, Colorado, USA
McCrady’s Charleston, South Carolina, USA	Cook'n' With Gas Bistro Christchurch, New Zealand
Aubergine Cape Town, South Africa	Reflets par Pierre Gagnaire Dubai, UAE
Zuma Dubai, UAE	Commanders Palace New Orlean’s, Louisiana, USA

You can also use these sites for reference on the top restaurant categories:

The Best Restaurants Near Me Trip Advisor Restaurant Finder, the Elite Traveler’s Guide Top 100 in the World, the San Pellegrino Guides Top 50+, the OAD Guide Top 100 in USA, the Michelin Guides Best of Europe, the Zagat Ratings List , OpenTable Top 100 in America, the Los Angeles Times The Top 101 in L.A., Yelp Top 100 In USA, Timeout.com List 100 Best New York Restaurants, the 50 Best in Europe, Top 100 Steakhouses in USA , Africa’s Top Restaurants, Australia’s top 100 The Best Down Under, New Zealand’s Best The Top 15 Restaurants, Latin America top 50 By San Pellegrino, the Best Restaurants in Dubai 7 Best in Dubai, the 101 Best Restaurants in Asia, the Top Restaurants in Russia, the 10 best in the Middle East, the Best of Canada The Top 100 up North , Gayot Best Restaurants List Best Restaurants by City and Category, The EATER 38 Top Places to Eat Where in the USA to Eat This Year

Wine, Dine, and Play’s Wine Favorites

Meerlust Wine Estate Rubicon Stellenbosch, South Africa	Hoopes Vineyard Napa, California, USA
Jonata Winery Santa Barbara, California, USA	La Motte Franschhoek, South Africa
Penner-Ash Winery Willamette, Oregon	Yarra Yering Yarra Valley, Australia
Biltmore Estate Winery Asheville, North Carolina, USA	Bergström Wines Willamette, Oregon
Silver Oak Alexander Valley, California, USA	Eagles Nest Winery Constantia, South Africa
Ghost Block Vineyards Yountville, California	Pahlmeyer “Jayson Wines” Napa, California, USA

I have been to several markets all over the world, all being unique in their own way, but it is great to have some many nice ones locally to where I live. I would compare the Gulfport Tuesday Market to two others I have been two, though in a larger scale, they both had the same vibe and experiences that the Gulfport Market has. Those locations are the Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington which by far is still the best market I have ever been to, especially watching the famous fish toss. Then the Queen Victoria’s Market in Melbourne, Australia which was the largest market I have ever been to with nearly 1000 vendors, its own separate meat, cheese, and wine markets, dotted around the many fresh fruit and vegetable vendors and the art and craft sellers.

Other Gulfport & St. Pete Beach reviews on Wine, Dine, and Play:

Spinners Rooftop Bistro in St. Pete Beach, Florida

Hurricane Seafood Grill in Pass-A-Grill, Florida

Beachcomber Bar & Grill at the Don CeSar

La Cote Basque Winehouse

Osaka Sushi Thai

South Beach Bar and Grill

Stella’s Restaurant

Market address:

3000 Beach Blvd South

Gulfport, Florida

33707

GPS Coordinates:

27.740015

-82.707590

Contact Information:

Website:	Gulfport Tuesday Market
Hours: Eastern Standard Time (GMT - 5:00)	October-May 9:00 am - 43:00 pm June-September 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
Email:	Contact
Social Media & Accolades:	Facebook Link
Social Media & Accolades:	Pinterest

Reviewed by:

Sean Overpeck (CFE)

Picture below was taken at the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia on July 4th, 2014

About Sean:

I am based out of St. Petersburg, Florida working in the food service industry for the past twenty years, and am currently with the American Embassy as the Executive Chef in Basra, Iraq. Formally I have worked with groups contracting in Afghanistan, and Antarctica, also working in restaurants in and around Atlanta, Georgia prior to the wars. I have also owned a catering company and served proudly in the United States Army Food Service Program. The idea for Wine, Dine, and Play started in late 2012 after a trip to Jordan, when I was asked by friends to write down the experiences from a few Jordanian restaurants, wine from the region that I tasted, and locations of interest such as Petra. Since that time, over 250 articles have been written on restaurants, including fifteen from the worlds top 100 lists of San Pellegrino and the Elite Travelers Guide. There are articles on exotic world locations such as Victoria Falls, and South African Safari’s; food recipes & Grand Food Dictionaries; ethnic country cuisines such as Afghan, and Peruvian; tasting tours of world cities like Charleston, Cape Town, and Dubai; and of course wine from vineyards in California, Oregon, the Carolina’s, South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia, with much more to see and write about.

Who is John Galt?

“Culinary perfection consists not in doing extraordinary things,

But in doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.”

-Angelique Arnauld (1591-1661)