Inexpensive dining on the Riviera
By Jennifer Barrs
BLACKSTONE'S TAPAS CAFE
BOTTOM LINE: Little bites of Spain team up with steaks and other seafood at the beach.
WHERE: 301 Gulf Blvd., Indian Rocks Beach
HOURS: 4 p.m. to midnight Tuesday through Thursday, 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday, 1 p.m. to 1 a.m. Saturday, 1 p.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday, closed Monday
CREDIT CARDS: All major
RESERVATIONS: Yes
SMOKING: Yes
CHILDREN'S MENU: No, but will accommodate
HANDICAPPED ACCESS: Yes
CALL: (727) 517-7778
R E V I E W
TAMPA - It appears unimposing, a neighborhood eatery tucked in the corner of a strip center, residing in the shadows of a sports-themed restaurant rowdy with football watchers and fat with chicken wings.
But Riviera Restaurant is far from retiring. It bustles with business from the time it opens for breakfast until it closes after lunch, offering a huge menu with hefty portions, including selections that reflect the owner's Greek heritage.
It has been 14 years since Constantinos Melissourgos opened a place in north Tampa. For the first seven, he had a spot across from Gaither High School. In 1993, he moved into his current digs at the southeast corner of Ehrlich Road and Dale Mabry Highway. ``I try to keep it small,'' Melissourgos says modestly, which would make sense - until you see the menu and the blackboards and the big dose of daily specials.
On a recent Monday morning, for example, the breakfast specials included cherry pancakes ($2.85) and two omelets, one made with corned beef hash ($4.15), the other stuffed with various meats and cheeses ($4.95). Omelets are served with a choice of grits or home fries, plus toast and jelly. There is also an entire menu of morning fare, such as five breakfast sandwiches (starting at $1.95) and a gyro omelet groaning with meat, onions and tomatoes ($4.65).
The lunch specials also range far and wide. They recently included a slab of homemade meatloaf or chicken-fried steak served with mashed potatoes, vegetables and garlic toast. Both went for around $4.95. Soup is $1.75 a bowl, and on our visit they served a chicken/rice combo and a deliciously thick split pea.
Wait people say that's the norm. Indeed, on any given day there are a minimum of two breakfast and three lunch specials, including Yankee favorites with a foreign accent, such as Greek pork chops and Greek chicken.
If none of the blackboard specials whet the appetite, the three-page menu is chockablock with choices. This includes a list dedicated to sandwich ``melts,'' such as a Riviera half-pound patty melt ($4.95) loaded with cheese and tomato on fat pieces of Texas toast, and served with soup or salad. There are also five different chicken breast sandwiches. The Chicken Breast Riviera, piled high with lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, mozzarella cheese and bacon on an onion roll, is served with french fries ($5.65). You're lucky if you can get your mouth around it.
Of course there are a few Greek selections, including a Greek salad at $4.25, a traditional gyro at $3.75 and a chicken gyro at $4.65.
Riviera Restaurant
