Tampa Bay Times Reveals Their 2024 Top Ten Restaurants
I attended the Tampa Bay Times 2024 announcement of the top 10 restaurants as determined by food critic Helen Freund. The Times slowly rolled out their picks for the top 30 restaurants in the area, having printed the bottom 20 in the past two weeks. They reserved revealing the top ten for this event.
Listening to others discuss how they write and do their jobs is inspiring. I love hearing how they formulate their ideas, select restaurants, and choose dishes. Freund has been doing this for ten years and is the only remaining food critic working at a daily newspaper in Florida.
Mark Katches, Tampa Bay Times editor, introduced the event and discussed the importance of food news to the papers readers.
Helen Freund, The Tampa Bay Times Food and Dining Critic, discusses her process and the strain of coming up with a “best-of” list
She describes her process as not just hitting the top-end places. She prefers a cross-section of price points, food varieties, and geo-locations. She visited eateries in Pinellas, Pasco, and Hillsborough Counties for this project. After she selects a restaurant, she goes at least two times, sometimes three, to measure the service, food, and ambiance.
Food Critic Helen Freund and Culture Editor Michelle Stark emcee the awards show at the Shuffle Bar
Attendees watch as the panel of top chefs give their remarks about the state of the restaurant business in the Bay Area
It was a pretty packed house at Shuffle, a shuffleboard-based restaurant in Tampa Heights that hosted the event. Anticipation was high as many industry people were there, including some folks from the top 10 spots who waited to hear their place in the lineup.
Secretly, I was hoping for a culinary coup. I really wanted a surprise champion, an unheard-of hole-in-the-wall gem Fruend found in a distant corner of the Bay Area that rocked her palette. No luck. It’s not how the process works, especially when there is a deadline and only 30 slots to fill. The top of the list comes as no surprise, as it was on-trend and mirrors Michelin recognition, #1 Rocca - Michelin Star, and #2 Koya - Michelin Guide in the top spots. Don’t get me wrong, they are rock-solid choices if you can afford them. Freund states she dislikes most best-of lists because the top picks are “wildly expensive,” yet the top three of the Times list are not budget-friendly. There were lower price point places in the top thirty, and some Michelin-starred restaurants didn’t make the cut.
Bryce Bonsack, Chef-Owner of Rocca Tampa being congratulated by his table for being selected number one
Helen Freund hosts winning chefs Julie Sainte Michelle Loughlin, Bryce Bonsack, Jeannie Pierola, Ian Florence, Jon Walker
It was a fun reveal, as drummers from Plant High School gave a drum roll before each winner was shown on an easel and announced. Tampa Bay Times top ten 2024 restaurants are: #1 Rocca, #2 Koya, #3 Rooster and theTill, #4 Wild Child #5 The Tides Seafood Market, #6 Il Ritorno, #7 Brick and Mortar, #8 Ponte Modern American #9 Patti’s Kitchen #10 Uncle Funz Provisions .
Following the reveal, a panel of superstar chefs from winning restaurants- Julie Sainte Michelle Loughlin of Lucky Tigre, Bryce Bonsack with Rocca, Jeannie Pierola - Counter Culture, Edison Food Lab, Ian Florence-Calida St Pete, and Jon Walker-The Tides Seafood Market, joined Fruend on stage. As a foodie, it was like seeing your favorite coaches from different teams in one place.
I have long admired the camaraderie of local culinary industry pros. They support, admire, and promote one another despite the tough and low-margin business. That dynamic was evident as they discussed their views on the restaurant business in Tampa.
In his remarks about getting the Michelin star, Rocca chef Bryce Bonsack described the award's impact on his business and the enormous hyper-focused work it takes to keep it. According to him, like death and taxes, he acknowledges that losing the star is inevitable.
Veteran Chef Jeannie Pierola describes the challenges of being in the food business and her ongoing passion for the trade.
Jon Walker with The Tides Seafood Market
Jeannie Pierola, an area veteran chef, was candid in her remarks, saying how hard the business is but that she remains excited about the Tampa food scene. She opened her latest concept, Counter Culture, just as the Covid pandemic impacted the nation and economy. More recently, major construction on her building, two hurricanes (a few blocks from Bayshore), and skyrocketing costs have made being in the biz challenging. Still, she remains obsessed with food and optimistic as she sees things (like labor) improving.
Jon Walker with The Tides described the back-of-the-house issues from recent hurricanes that continue to impact business weeks after the storms passed. As the stone crab season started, traps sat on shore as fishermen feared they would be washed away. Local farmers had crops ruined and would not have produce until the end of the year. He seems to take it all in stride. His answer? Help others first. He and his co-owner wife, Mary Kate, remain inspired and motivated by providing for the family.
Congratulations to all the winners.! Keep it going. C’mon Times, do more food events!
You can read the entire list at TampaBay.com
The event was held outside at the Shuffle
The Shuffle, an shuffleboard centric bar on Tampa Street in Tampa Heights, hosted the event