The Bar Crawl Contest
Saint Pete Beach, Florida
Cuisine Style: American
Average Price: $$
Dined and Drank in: January 2019
By Sean Overpeck (CFE)
**A full article and index glossary of restaurants, wines, recipes and travel for
Wine Dine and Play are in the pages section above, or by following these links:
Tradewinds Restaurants Zomato rating:
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| Tradewinds / Resort map |
There are two Tradewinds Island Resorts on Saint Pete Beach, the Outpost by Guy Harvey and the Island Grand where it is advertised to ‘stay at one, but play at two.’ This is where the bar crawl comes into play. Like most resorts, there are several restaurants and bars, and each has a cliche to encourage the guests to visit them versus going outside the resort property. For the Tradewinds it is a bar and restaurant crawl where you are given a passport book, and once every page is stamped you win a survivor t-shirt (Visit the #TWBarCrawl to learn more).
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| Tradewinds / Bar Crawl |
The first Tradewinds resort is called the Island Grand, a 20-acre beachfront playground, created with fun in mind by getting on a jetpack, enjoy the offshore water park, or relax by one of five heated pools. The Island Grand is the main resort with the larger of the two properties, offering more amenities, restaurants, and bars then the Guy Harvey resort. The main lobby entrance opens into a beautiful grand atrium part of what is called the Grand Palm Colonnade. The Awakenings Lobby Bar is the first stop on the passport bar crawl, just feet from the main entrance and it is not your basic coffee bar, but a place where you can order an array of drink mixers with your coffee or without, to include cocktails and wine. Off to the side is a Pizza Hut Express, and a deli to order sandwiches from. These places are not part of the crawl. In the center of the Awakenings Lobby Bar is a stone dolphin fountain with the liqueur and mixers circling around it.
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| Tradewinds / Awakenings Lobby Bar |
In this atrium, there are two of the main resort restaurants. Out of 106 restaurants, Palm Court is consistently ranked at the top St. Pete Beach restaurants to visit on TripAdvisor. This Italian restaurant offers a dining experience with culinary creations from around the Mediterranean. The second location is a casual and bright spot called Bermudas Steak & Seafood that offers aged cuts of Angus beef, fresh Gulf seafood, and a variety of regional specialties. The passport goes beyond just drinks, and to avoid heavy intoxication and possible lawsuits from the guests or the city, as part of the crawl, you have to drink and eat some food at two locations of your choice from either resort property. This includes the Palm or Bermudas Steak.
In a separate building, you can also get food or drinks from Beef ‘O’ Brady’s which is a family-style American eatery with over twenty-five locations in the Tampa Bay area alone, and another 215+ locations and franchises in seven other states. The Salty's Tiki Bar and Beach Lounge you can enjoy the sunsets from a view of the beach, light food fare, frozen drinks, wines from California or Italy that are very basic name brands that most restaurants get, along with a local and national, plus a minor international beer list. A brand new lounge area has been added that extends onto the beach so you can also enjoy live music. At this location we had the grilled fish tacos topped with fresh cabbage, cheddar jack cheese, and creamy poblano sauce. The fish was a local Florida grouper which is mild, flaky and enjoyable by itself let alone when you add a spicier sauce with cheese.
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| Tradewinds / Grouper Tacos |
The Flying Bridge bar and restaurant is a casual and breezy stop just steps from the beach and main pool which sums up the quintessential concepts of Florida dining. From its origins as an authentic cracker cottage, the architectural style mimicking that of the state’s first settlers, to the Florida menu mainstays. We enjoyed a small bite of fried chicken tenders cooked perfectly to where the meat was still juicy and not dry, with nice lite spice flavor to the breading.
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| Tradewinds / Chicken Tenders |
The pirate-themed tavern where you'll find a very large and excellent selection of imported bottled beer along with full-service bar items. Red Beards Sharktooth Tavern is a place to stop no matter if you're in the mood for dancing, gathering with friends to listen to local musicians, or to just relax this is a stopover that requires a stamp. The venue features different entertainers throughout the week, and karaoke night on Mondays.
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| Tradewinds / Sharktooth Tavern |
Moving over to the second Tradewinds property called the Guy Harvey Outpost, which is smaller, and currently undergoing remodeling, there are VIP Cabanas, open fire tables, campfire s'mores, live music and the The SandBox Beach Lounge by the beach, that also offers $6.00 sunset cocktail specials, where you can get yet another stamp. You can also dine at the main restaurant at Rumfish Grill where my wife, friends, and me have been a total of five times in the past year. They offer an eclectic menu of wonderfully prepared foods and showcases a 33,500-gallon aquarium that was featured on Animal Planet’s hit show Tanked.
The final two locations are the Perks Up Coffee & Cocktails located in the main lobby, which is much smaller and less opulent as the Island Grand lobby offering basic coffee drinks and breakfast sandwiches. Their breakfast specials are cooked at Guy’s Gulfside Grill a casual dining environment complete with beachside outdoor seating next to the main pool. Since we stayed at this property, we dined at the Guy’s Gulfside Grill several times enjoying their quesadillas, and the Caprese grouper sandwich with melted mozzarella cheese, balsamic reduction, tomatoes, and basil aioli. The grouper did not need to be disguised with many spices to hide possible older flavors from a fish no longer in the category of a fresh catch because the taste and flavors were spot on to a grouper that you would order at a fine dining restaurant.
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| Tradewinds / Fish Spread |
The seasonal smoked fish spread was also very enjoyable served with capers, sliced jalapeños, red onion, and wheat crisp crackers. I rate it on my fish spread chart at a 3 of 6 meaning that it had nice texture and ingredients, higher quality then other fish spreads you can get, a good smoke flavor, and most likely sourced from local fisherman, though it may contain other fillers or ingredients.
Fish Spread Rating Chart:
(6) THE BEST - Top notch quality, excellent flavor profiles, memorable presentation, rare ingredients, organic, non-GMO, sustainable, local, immense-colossal quality of fish, and extravagant smoke flavors
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(5) DAMN GOOD - Fantastic smoke, exceptional quality, eclectic flavor, nice display, dedicated local sourcing, beautiful quality fish, possibly sustainable, non-GMO
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(4) GOOD - delicate, Enhanced ingredients, nice flavor, fresh taste, great smoke, common arrangements, in state local, superior quality fish
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(3) BETTER - Nice ingredients, higher-desirable quality, okay flavor and taste, good smoke content, maybe from in-state sources, but possibly a GMO
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(2) OKAY - Nothing amazing, a regular spread, fair quality, highly probable GMO product, might be from the state, most likely not, fabricated or mainstream smoke products
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(1) BAD - Taste old, horrible seasoning, cheap smoke, manufactured, heavy GMO product, not local, bad smell
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After this visit, the final stamp was earned, and it required a little trip back over to the Island Grand gift shop where the shirts of varying color and sizes were kept in the back room. Once you hand over the passport book with all stamps, you get your shirt. This sums up the Tradewinds bar crawl, so I wonder what other ideas they will come up with in the future.
Please see these guidelines for Tipping in Restaurants and on following proper etiquette, customs, cultures, and avoiding assumptions when you dine out.
Other noteworthy American food and drink articles similar to Tradewinds Restaurants:
Also known as American fare, comfort, or classic American, as large as the United States is, it also encompasses many cuisine variations. These include the native Indian prior to European colonization, Hawaiian, and not forgetting the melting pot of immigrants that came and fused their styles together to make America. This list will be of restaurants that represent the broader base of American cuisine, using styles from all parts of the country on their menus. Pot roast, chicken fried steak, BLT’s, and hamburgers make up some of the junk we eat. This section is not to be confused with New American Cuisine techniques. New American is listed further down.
91 Wood Fire Oven Refined rustic American fare in Canton, Ohio
Charleston’s Restaurant Casual American eatery; reviewed in Indianapolis, Indiana
Cypress Refined creative American eats in Charleston, South Carolina
Grace 17.20 Modern and contemporary American cuisine in Peachtree Corners, Georgia
Reflections Bar and Grill American favorites in the Westin Hotel at the airport in Detroit, Michigan
The Biltmore Dining Room Seasonal American cuisine in Asheville, North Carolina
The Zink Kitchen + Bar Modern and sleek American cuisine in Centennial, Colorado
See the whole list by visiting “The Wine Dine and Play Article Glossary”
Other Saint Pete Beach restaurants, and articles on Wine Dine and Play:
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Second Review of this Fusion Bistro at the Grand Plaza Hotel
St. Pete Beach, Florida, USA
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Comfort foods, drinks, at the Don CeSar Hotel
St. Pete Beach, Florida, USA
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Table-side Hibachi with a sushi bar
St. Pete Beach, Florida, USA
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A few Florida restaurant favorites:
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2nd visit & review with Phở
Pinellas Park, Florida USA
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American Grill with an Asian twist
Palm Harbor, Florida, USA
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Laid-back bar with cocktails, wine, & Cigars
Key West, Florida, USA
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See the whole list by visiting “The Wine Dine and Play Article Glossary by country”
Final notes, review basics, observations, and more pictures:
Most reviews are subjective, depending on the writer; but they should also be responsible, and respectfully written, upholding the truth, and accurately conveying the experience to the best of the writer's knowledge, even if it includes metaphors the restaurant may not like to read about. My ratings are by the stars I award (from 0 to 5). The rating is calculated on a point accumulation of six separate factors based on individual experience. They include wine and other beverage selections, plate presentation, customer service, restaurant or café ambiance, food quality, and wow factor. To see more details of this rating list, read this article:
Overall from this experience and the score factors outlined in the ‘about page’ section, based on my individual experience and rating, I give Tradewinds Bar Crawl a 5 out of 5 stars, for fun and creativity to encourage guests to visit the many bars and restaurants on the property as possible, then be rewarded with a stamp book and T-Shirt.
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Restaurant style:
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Casual dining
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Cuisine Styles of the Tradewinds Bar Crawl:
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American
Bar and Grill
Pub Grub
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Reservations:
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Not Required
Walk-Ins:
Accepted
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Dress code:
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Casual attire
It’s Florida, everybody wear’s flip-flops!
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Child policy:
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The Restaurants reviewed on this site may have a kids menu or cater to them; however, for full enjoyment of food and wine, it is recommended that kids not to be in attendance, unless they have been trained in proper etiquette.
If not then:
Hire a Babysitter!
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Tradewinds Bar Crawl Experiences:
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Modern, Trendy, Lounges, Great bars, Great outdoor dining, Good for special occasions, Scenic views, Tourist grabber, and a Neighborhood Gem.
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Payments:
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Cash, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express
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Parking:
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The Tradewinds has a valet and a private lot
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Wifi
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The restaurants reviewed on this site may have Wi-Fi, but do not require you to go online, because the excitement of the food and wine alone will keep you too entertained instead of checking your social media and emails.
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Smoking:
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Tradewinds Restaurants are a non-smoking restaurant with a non-smoking patio
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Patio or terrace:
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Yes
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Tradewinds Resort Restaurants:
5500 Gulf Blvd
St. Pete Beach, Florida
Contact Information:
Restaurant website:
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Maître d or host:
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+1 877-528-5000
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Website Contact:
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Social Media
And
Accolades for Tradewinds Restaurants:
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****
The worlds best restaurants is a subjective list of who is writing it and changes on a regular basis. The Wine Dine and Play best experiences are based on my highest rated stared restaurants, meaning that the visit was an outstanding or extraordinary experience. From cafés, chains, mom + pops, hole in the walls, to fine dining including a few Michelin spots. Visit the Top 100 page to see the entire list.
A few to tease you with…
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Landmark Mexican Restaurant
Austin, Texas, USA
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Traditional Spanish & Cuban chain since 1905
Ybor City & Sarasota, Florida, USA
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Acclaimed soul food spot for fried chicken
New Orlean’s, Louisiana, USA
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Other Tradewinds Bar Crawl Pictures:
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| Tradewinds / Caprese Grouper |
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| Tradewinds / Quesadillas |
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| Tradewinds / Sharktooth Tavern Entrance |
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| Tradewinds / Beachfront |
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| Tradewinds / Grand Atrium |
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| Tradewinds / Bar Cocktails |
“Culinary perfection consists not in doing extraordinary things,
But in doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.”
-Angelique Arnauld (1591-1661)
Who is John Galt?
TTFN
