It was a BLAST

My friend, Karen, came over this morning for her first trip to the Saturday Morning Market. After wandering around the market for a while, picking up some cheese, bread, and produce for myself, and a bamboo t-shirt for Karen, we had lunch at Z-Grille. It was a lovely day in St. Pete, and a great day to dine al fresco. We snagged the last sidewalk table, lucky us. 

We shared the BLAST appetizer. (Applewood smoke Bacon, Lettuce, Avocado, seared Scallops, and Tomato). There were two large tender,sweet sea scallops and all the components are separate on the plate. The idea is to take a small portion of each item on the fork to combine the flavors. It was very good, and a signature appetizer of the owner/chef, who is a semi-finalist for a James Beard award.

The B.L.A.S.T. was followed by a shared order of crispy and sweet onion rings, and a turkey, brie, and bacon sandwich. My only criticism was the crust on the bread; it was a little too chewy for me. Otherwise, the Z-Grille earned a A.