“There has been tremendous change,” says Roux.
By BRIANNA RODRIGUEZ
USFSP Student Reporter
When Emmanuel Roux opened his first restaurant in St. Petersburg in 1993, the city’s dining choices were limited and boring.
“Dining in St. Petersburg when I came was filling a physiological need,” said Roux.
And now?
“I think there has been a tremendous change,” said Roux, who owns Gateau O Chocolat – best known for its flour-free cakes – and runs an urban agricultural education farm called 15th Street Agrihood.
Roux and two other speakers on a panel at the St. Petersburg Conference on World Affairs agreed that the resurgent city has become a mecca for foodies of all ages.
It’s not just traditional American fare that restaurants are offering, the panelists said. Diners now have a wide array of choices because American cuisine has become international cuisine, they said.
Look no further than St. Petersburg’s Beach Drive.
When she moved to the city in 1992, there were no restaurants there, said Janet Keeler, a journalism instructor at USF St. Petersburg and coordinator of its food writing and photography certificate program.
Now several high-end restaurants line the trendy street, she said.
Across the bay in Tampa, the story is the same.
Many active duty and retired military personnel who live near MacDill Air Force Base grew fond of Middle Eastern fare while serving abroad, said Laura Riley, the food critic at the Tampa Bay Times.
Now a number of restaurants in south Tampa have Middle Eastern entrees on their menus, she said.
Hal Friedman, 76, one of the dozens of people who attended the panel discussion, said afterward that he favors small, independent restaurants over chain places.
At small businesses, he said, he can relate to the owners, noting that the husband is often the chef while the wife runs the floor.
“It’s like going to someone’s home,” he said.