Whiskey Joe's

Friday night Chris and I went to an awesome seafood bar and grill on the water off of Courtney Campbell Causeway in Tampa. The place used to be Castaway which we haven't heard a single good thing about, but then it was sold and taken over by Whiskey Joe's and everything changed. I never ate at the old Castaway as it's commonly known here. Whiskey Joe's took over sometime within the past year and the reviews have been good. So when Friday night rolled around after a ridiculously hard and tiring week, we decided to have some fun and since we've been told that we live in a beach town we figured we should spend some time on the water. We sat outdoors on the deck with the water about twenty feet below us and kids and sea gulls playing in the cool surf.

Whiskey Joe's is in Tampa on what is known as "Rocky Point Island" which is where the Bahama Breeze is for the locals, and it's about 15 minutes from our apartment and requires one left turn to get on the causeway and one right turn into the parking lot. After driving over the moonlit bay we arrived to find a live reggae band setting up, high tide, a full bar, and a menu packed full of delicious seafood. I confess I'm not a big seafood fan, but when we saw "gator bites" on the menu I had to try them. We ordered a mojito and a hurricane juice and by the time that we'd devoured the fried alligator and finished round one, our cares had gone out with the tide.

Round two consisted of an awesome margarita and a terrific rum runner. We ordered the fried seafood platter, and although I don't like a lot of fried foods and as aforementioned most seafoods, I was feeling braver with a little alcohol in my system and having just eaten something higher than me on the natural food chain, I figured that a fried oyster wouldn't hurt. It tasted like the ocean - my all time favorite thing. That was it, I was downing oysters, calamari, grouper, shrimp, and clams between shouts of "Dayo!" in response to the band's request for audience participation. We finally left around 10:30 or 11:00 already talking about our next return.

So if you happen to be in the Tampa Bay area whether a local weary after a long week in the office or a tourist here for a taste of the Sunshine State, you'll want to stop by Whiskey Joe's for a taste of the old Florida that's hard to find but still alive and kicking wherever there's water and a salty breeze. The Courtney Campbell Causeway has both and Whiskey Joe's has plenty of bar stools where you can come back and plug into that hint of island time that Florida has always seemed to retain and recharge anytime. Here's to Whiskey Joe's, salt air, and the Sunshine State. La bonne vie, the good life...

P.S. I have linked the title of this post (Whiskey Joe's) to the Whiskey Joe's website for anyone who's interested. Enjoy!