Off Topic: Remember Mirabella's and the Seabreeze?

How about a moment's relief from all the grief associated with work and take a moment for nostalgia?

Do some of you older guys remember the Mirabella's Restaurants? There were two.

A lot of people did not know about the one under one of the downtown bridges, (Platt Street Bridge?) right on the water. It was a working man's restaurant; a combination restaurant and seafood market with a concrete floor and picnic tables. They had the best clam chowder in town!

The main restaurant was a much more nicely decorated family-oriented seafood restaurant on North Dale Mabry. Not real fancy. Excellent food at reasonable prices. Unfortunately, when the family decided to close down they didn't offer to sell the business or the recipes to anyone else so some fantastic seafood recipes are no longer available around here.

In the far past Mirabella's Seafood also sold seafood to the County Jail for preparation for the inmates. I think it was Sam Mirabella who used to make the deliveries.

Another really good seafood place was the Seabreeze on the 22nd Street causeway. Now THERE was a "LEO friendly" restaurant. In the good old days you just entered through the back door into a small private dining room and ate for free along with the hired help. After George Licata died this feature went away and the back area was developed into a much larger regular dining room for the public. The food never was quite as good after George died, and certainly the price was never as good again. I used to sit in the back room with George and he would spin tales about Frank Sinatra's mob connections.

More recently, I used to really enjoy seafood at Malio's. On the Cafe side (as opposed to the restaurant side) there were these fantastic little 2 and 4 person booths with partitions between them, making for very private dinners. And, the prices were really reasonable for what you got. I know Malio's is about to re-open, but I fear the prices will have skyrocketed and the dining room will be more formal.

I still visit the Colonnade for seafood, but their meals seem a bit uninspired to me and the prices are a little high. My experience with the Colonnade goes back to when it was a drive-in hamburger joint, so you can figure I'm an old guy.

I am now a semi-regular at Ballyhoo's, a Florida Keys Themed seafood house in Citrus Park. The food is good, but the menu is a bit limited.

The Bonefish Grille is quite good, but a bit pretentious in their presentation and with elevated prices to match.

Of course there's Red Lobster, but chain restaurants develop a certain sameness about themselves if you go very often. It is still on my list of places to eat.

I HAVE found one really bright spot in the area, but it's a bit of a drive. The Boston Cooker, in the back of a strip mall behind Chili's on Tampa Road (West Hillsborough) in Citrus Park (at the intersection with Forest Lakes - the extension of Linebaugh Avenue) has a delicious and varied menu. They have the best lobster bisque I've ever tasted! Their specialty dish is Boston Scrod which is also delicious. This one is worth the drive!

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Now, I've gone through all of this to ask: Are there some good seafood restaurants in the area that I'm missing? I'm not looking for the "upscale" places where I can't afford to eat with any regularity. I'm looking for something like the old Mirabella's - a family oriented, reasonably priced, restaurant with good (preferably fresh, not frozen) seafood.

Recommendations will be greatly appreciated.

You have to go check out Blue Sea Seafood on North Nebraska (I believe it is south of Sligh) It is on the west side of Nebraska. If you like shrimp, it is the best in town. It is also a seafood market, so you have to be able to take the seafood smell, but it is definately worth it.

boy we were on tpd at the same time, remember all of the places well, also remember a few cops would bring there whole families to the seabreeze on there days off too feed there families, that i didnt like, also remember the "little white diner" on tampa street and ellie the owner would never charge cops for lunch or dinner, and served great hamburgers, ahhhhhhhhhhhhh those were the days

Do you remember the "Cat Man" who lived on the Cat Boat? (It was a small Chinese Junk) He used to ride his bicycle down Bayshore to Mirabella's at Platt/Ashley and get the fish heads and guts that were waste. He would then ride back and park his bike just past the Tarpon weigh station. The boat was moored in the channel between the marina slips and TGH East of the Davis Islands Bridge. He had over 100 cats on the boat he fed with the fish parts.
As a kid I grew up on the Island and remember seeing you "old timers" driving those Chevy Biscaynes and Dodge Coronet Custom's that were blue and white.
Thanks for your service sir and I hope when I retire I can live long enough to enjoy the good things in life!!

Try the Crab Shack on the west end of the Gandy bridge. Its a real informal atmosphere with great seafood at affordable prices.

i remember the XXX movies sign outside of Mirabella's on Dale Mabry. Did they really show porn their or is that an old sign?

The restaurant I miss is the Mullet Inn. They had the best smoked mullet. You might want to try Joe's Crab Shack on Hwy. 60 just East of US 19. The Crab dip is great and they do a wonderful job with the Crawfish Etouffee.

The restaurant I miss is the Mullet Inn. They had the best smoked mullet. You might want to try Joe's Crab Shack on Hwy. 60 just East of US 19. The Crab dip is great and they do a wonderful job with the Crawfish Etouffee.

Crawfish Etoufee!

You have touched the heart of this ole boy who lived in Louisiana for six years!

And thanks to everyone else who has responded with suggestions.

My mouth is watering.

N. 22nd St / E. Sligh on the NW corner he makes his own devil crabs and the shrimp pasta is good and cheap.

[Trash Man]

You are talking "my days" now. All the motormen on my traffic squad would leave roll call at 0600 and haul azz east, first looking for a milk delivery truck then hit Ybor City and pick up some cuban bread. Then we all raced to the Seabreeze to heat up the cuban bread and eat it and drink the milk. The last motorman to arrive had to pay for the milk and bread. You're right, we had our own private little dining room in the back and you were also right about some dip shit officers taking their whole families, eating in the main dinning room and expect to eat for free. Which one of the brothers was it that got the hair transplant during this time?