Tampa Bay Times

Florida is covered with foreclosures. Somebody has to clean them up, and it might as well be you. Visit my blog at http://www.foreclosedcleanupsuccess.com

1905; The granddaddy of them all, Columbia Restaurant bears the distinction of being the oldest restaurant in Florida as well as the nation's largest Spanish/Cuban restaurant, with 13 rooms extending an entire city block. Some of their waiters have been there a lifetime, there are stirring flamenco shows most nights, and owner Richard Gonzmart has an evangelical zeal when it comes to authentic Cuban sandwiches and the tossed-tableside 1905 Salad, at 2117 East Seventh Ave,Tampa...1926 That's a long time to be the alpha dog, but Coney Island's Michigan style chili dog is the coin of the realm, especially when eaten atop a brown vinyl stool at the counter with an impossibly thick chocolate shake at your elbow. The franks cost more than the nickel owner Pete Barlas charged back in the day [well, and he added a 5 cent extra charge for anyone who ordered ketchup on their chili dog], but son Hank and grandson Pete Barlas II haven't let prices get out of hand. 250 Dr Martin Luther King St. N, St. Petersburg. 1935...There, on Bayshore Boulevard with the awesome views of Hillsborough Bay, they've been serving seafood to Tampa's well-off for as long as most people can remember. The Colonnade Restaurant property has been in the Whiteside family for over a century, through five generations, each one adding to the long menu. Some dishes are homey [cornflake-coated grouper], others just odd [cokes served with an olive] but everyone agrees that the window seats are prime downtown real estate. 3401 Bayshore Boulevard, Tampa. 1945.Woody's Waterfront started as a tiny baithouse for anglers doing their thing along Blind Pass, a rocky little inlet carved out by the ferocious hurricane of 1928. Back then it was burgers and such. It still is, only now with margaritas and live music six nights a week. Servers hustle through the patio,tight-set, with high-gloss picnic tables and turquoise sun umbrellas, hefting paper lined baskets of fried shrimp and the ultimate Woody burger [mushrooms,fried onions,bacon and cheese] But be forewarned,their tagline is "We're so close to the water, your burger will get wet". 7308 Sunset Way, St.Pete Beach....1948 Robert Edson Heilman may have passed away in 2007, but his legacy, Bob Heilman's Beachcomber, witness to countless birthdays and anniversaries, lives on. Pinot noir fanatics love it for their own reasons [Burgundy,Oregon, even his own FoxyRock], fried chicken fans for another. But what people hold dear are the thick steaks, the soft piano music and the clubby conviviality..at 447 Mandalay Avenue, Clearwater Beach...1950; It's been featured in the Food Network, but that has not made Ted Peters Famous Smoked Fish uppity. Prized for it's laid back style and inviting picnic tables, the big-time draw is, of course, the smoked fish: Smoked fish spread with saltines is fabled, the salmon is excellent, the mullet is an intensely fishy acquired taste. But Ted Peters also produces some beloved cheeseburgers and German potato salad that is balanced precariously between the zing of vinegar and the smoke of bacon.This is a beer-drinking establishment, it closes early and, for a price, they will smoke your catch for you [they can even make kingfish taste good, and that's saying something]. at 1350 Pasadena Avenue in South Pasadena....1951- Big bathtub planters outside, froufrou English collectibles inside, and it's dog friendly. The Chattaway in the Old Southeast neighborhood is a quirky bird with a legion of followers. The central draw is the burger, but the Chattaway is also cherished for it's historic ramshackle glory [it started in the 1920's as a general store with a gas pump]. It's cash only with a daily special: Monday Cubans,Tuesday Catfish,Wednesday Sloppy Joe's Thursday Spaghetti, Friday Juanita's choice [usually either shrimp or tuna salad]. at 358 22nd Avenue South. in St.Petersburg...1952-It's time travel, pure and simple. Munch's Sundries and Restaurant's booths are lined with Lakewood Elementary class pictures from the 1960's. On the walls are tacked-up, and down-home, morsels of wisdom, and on tuesdays every table is topped with the fried chicken feast- two pieces, mashed potatoes and gravy. Some people swear by the fried green tomatoes and open-faced roast beef sandwich, others applaud the crazy cheap breakfast offerings, but all hail the house milk shakes. at 3920 Sixth Street South, St.Petersburg...1960- Back when shakes cost 15 cents, Biff-Burger dotted the southeast. It stood for Best In Fast Food. They had drive-in service and walk-up windows, they had "roto-broiled" burgers topped with a closely-guarded secret sauce concoction. Now there is only one left. Burger King may be responsible for the near-extinction of Biff-Burger, but this one stayed strong. It still has the original neon sign; the menu runs to barbecue, burger baskets and soft-serve. On friday nights it fills with hot-rods and their fans. At 3939 49th Street North,St.Petersburg....1963-Marjorie Wright is long gone, as is her vision of Wright's Gourmet house as a local go-to for caviar,truffles and other persnickety stuff. Instead, stalwarts stand in line for red velvet cakes, pecan pies, and monster sandwiches.[best: the turkey pecan salad or the "beef martini" with it's rare roast beef, wine marinated mushrooms and crisp bacon slices] During the holiday season, Wright's is bedlam, it's refrigerators stacked deep with pies and cakes. At 1200 South Dale Mabry Highway, Tampa...1963-La Tropicana Cafe won't win any beauty pageants, it doesn't take credit and only opens til 3pm. Still, just as the old guys finish sipping their cafe con leches and dunking a little cuban toast, it fills again with businessfolk, tourists and locals intent on acquiring the Coco Special [that's a small cuban sandwich and black beans with rice] or an order of ostrich egg size deviled crab. A coffee shop that pulses with Ybor's original spirit, it also has a drive through window for when you need your con leche para llevar. 1822 E Seventh Ave. Tampa.

Florida was settled by Spain in the 1500's. St. Augustine is the oldest city in the US. Spaniard Ponce de Leon said he had discovered the fountain of youth in Florida. The Tocobaga natives lived around Tampa Bay thousands of years ago. They subsisted on fishing and made crude tools from seashells. They lived only along the coast, not inland. The oldest airline in the country started in 1914, when the mayor of St.Petersburg was a passenger on a seaplane to Tampa, across the bay.World War One Ace Eddie Rickenbacker was the founder of Miami based Eastern Airlines. Bruce Olds, founder of the Oldsmobile car company, was the developer of Oldsmar, a Tampa Bay city. The Dinner Key auditorium on Bayshore drive in Miami's historic Coconut Grove area was previously the Pan American World Airways seaplane base during the 1930's. The historic Don CeSar Hotel in St.Pete Beach was a military hospital for wounded soldiers during World War Two.