Affordable America: Best budget restaurants in Tampa
— -- Cost-conscious travelers can enjoy bountiful pleasure at mealtime if they choose their itinerary carefully and order smartly. To help with the planning each month, USA TODAY's Jerry Shriver offers a menu of suggestions from a major destination:
Down-home dining: Profiles of cheap-eats classics.
1. Ted Peter's Famous Smoked Fish 1350 Pasadena Ave. S., South Pasadena 727-381-7931
For more than a half-century, beachcombers, snowbirds and road-food fans have followed their noses to this bare-bones, cash-only shack where every year, 100,000 pounds of salmon, mackerel, mahi-mahi and mullet ($13.49-$18.99) are filleted and slowly smoked over red oak. The process turns the skin a gorgeous mahogany while leaving the meat juicy and only lightly impregnated with smoke. The fish are accompanied by cole slaw and warm German potato salad, dill pickles and thick-sliced tomatoes and onions. The smoked fish spread ($4.59) is highly touted, but go with the fillets on a first visit.
•Top treat:Smoked mullet, $13.49
2. Las Palmas Café19651 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., Tampa; 813-907-1333; laspalmascafe.net
While traditional Cuban food is getting harder to find in tourist-oriented Ybor City, the "real" stuff is more easily found in tiny, family-run places like this, located on the outskirts of town. Slow-roasted meats in savory sauces are the standouts, and the $10.99 "Taste of Ybor" sampler offers three: ropa vieja (shredded flank steak in a sweet-ish tomato-wine sauce); lechón asado (pork marinated in sour oranges, garlic and herbs); and picadillo (beef hash with olives in a spicy tomato sauce). Wash it down with house-made sangria served in a mug with a sugar-cinnamon rim.
•Top treat:Lechón asado (Cuban-style roast pork), $9.99
3. Big John's Alabama BBQ 5707 N. 40th St., Tampa 813-620-0603
Tampa has never been an essential stop on the barbecue circuit, but the area boasts at least a half-dozen joints that serve a mighty fine meal. The late Rev. John A. Stephens founded this spot in 1968, and now his family keeps the flame alive, serving numerous generously portioned combos ($6.50-$10.50) of oak-smoked ribs (both center-cut and thin-cut), sausage, pulled pork, beef and chicken. The "Alabama-style" sauce is tomato-based, medium thick and spicy, not sweet; the traditional side dishes are standard-issue. All that's missing are sweet tea and collard greens.
