Last week, a group of business owners from Localshops1 met for a networking lunch.  It's fun dining with numerous people as you can sample a lot more food and see many different menu items.

We met at Souzou in downtown St. Petersburg.  I have driven by this location hundreds of times and never knew this building housed a fabulous restaurant.

 I arrived early and had a chance to look around before the lunch crowd arrived.  I was immediately greeted by a friendly hostess.

 There are numerous table options, from high top tables for a group, to booths, to bar and everything in between! 

 There is also a fabulous private area which could be used for meetings, rehearsal dinners, group nights out - anything! I think the seating is 30 people.

 There will be more pictures of the inside later - but let's get to the food!!!  We started off with some fabulous appetizers. 

 Spicy Edamame ($5)

 Tsukunel - pork and beef meatballs with sweet hoisin sauce and fresh Asian slaw ($8)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 Gyoza - pork and cabbage potsticker with ginger bacon glaze and shoyu vinaigrette ($7)

 

 Lunch sandos, huromaki and uramaki are served with either srirachi salted French fries, Souzou salad or miso soup.

 

 The Egmont EBI ($8) is a four piece uramaki including tempura shrimp, avocado, chili aioli and massage.

There are three tempura tacos to an order ($9) Made with tempura fried mahi, cabbage, yuzu salsa and chili aiolo; these tacos will have your tastebuds doing a tango!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Everything in Souzou is extremely clean.  The bathrooms are quite large and roomy.

 The sushi bar is long enough to seat a bunch of people!

 The kids menu, although only two items, is extensive and quite affordable.

In addition, there is a Sunset Menu available on weekdays from 5pm-7pm.

Each month business members of Localshops will meet for lunch. At our inaugural lunch event - Lunch with the Localshops1 girl, there were eight members in attendance. Attendees were Mandy Minor, J Allen Studios; Cindy Siriwong, Takeout Button; Pia Goff, Pia's Trattoria; Barry Rubin, Time Systems; Michelle Combs, Nauti Narwhal; and Ester Venouziou, Localshops1;   .Check the Localshops1 Facebook page for details on the July lunch.

Souzou is located 435 - 5th Avenue N in St. Petersburg. They are open for lunch Monday through Friday from 11:30 - 2:30. Dinner Sunday through Thursday from 5pm- 10pm and Friday and Saturday from 5pm-11pm.

Phone number for additional questions and reservations is 727-823-4050.  Tell them AfternoonDelight sent you! 

One more thing -- use your Localshops1 card for discounts!!

Pete and Shorty's ~ flavor, fun and friends!

I've been looking forward to lunch today for about a week. I planned to meet a friend here for lunch and have thought about nothing else but tater tots for days!

Posted outside at the entrance is the special of the day.  I prefer to order food that I do not make at home when I go out to lunch.  I love to cook, therefore I like to find things on the menu that are not in my repertoire! Clubs are one of the things that I do not like to make at home. For some reason, I always make a mess of my entire kitchen! Therefore, I was quite excited to see a chicken club as the daily special. 

Being in Pete and Shorty's is always fun. There are always people to watch and at least 14 televisions. And, good smells are always emanating from the kitchen.

My lunch partner decided to have the turkey avocado wrap. ($9.49)  Of course with tater tots. (Tater tots make everything better!)   We both ordered iced tea - although I must say we were both intrigued with the Sherbetini.  Sweet or unsweet tea are both available.

When my lunch was delivered, I was slightly disappointed. It looked fabulous, but it wasn't the "club" that I was expecting.   It was  not what I was thinking it would be.  (But, the blackened chicken paired with the bacon and cheese was fabulous! My mouth is watering hours later just thinking about it!)

Across the table, the wrap looked great! I probably should have waited until she unwrapped it so that you could see the beautiful spinach wrap, but alas, I didn't!

The total for lunch for 2 people with 2 iced teas was $26.66

Pete and Shorty's is located at 7402 49th Street. (The corner of Park Blvd and 49th Street.) They are open MOnday through Thursday from 11am - 11pm, Friday and Saturday from 11am - 12am and Sunday from 11am -10pm.    Summer happy hours are really happy (as the website states)   Monday through Saturday 3pm – 6 pm and 9pm till close, and ALL DAY Sunday.  $1.99 select drafts, wells and house wines. Try our world-famous Pete’s Amazing Pickles, Pretzels & Beer Cheese, Chipotle BBQ Pork Tots or any one of our other bistro appetizers for $4.

Questions - Call 727-549-8000.  Tell 'em Tampa Bay Afternoon Delight sent you!