When in Florida, we always try to go towards Tampa. That side of the state is just beautiful. The coast is dotted with seafood places. One of those places is Ted Peter's
Famous Smoked Fish.
This place is basically just a shack. Located at 1350 S. Pasadena Avenue in St. Petersburg, you have two choices of seating. Outside there are covered picnic tables and the outside bar. You go inside and its kind of grungy. It kind of gives you a cabin feel, a real old dingy cabin feel,complete with fireplace. I don't know if its a working fireplace,but they probably don't need it too much in Florida.
The fish is a completely different story. It first hits your nose the minute you pull in the parking lot. In fact, that is the way Ted Peter's would lure in customers when he first opened the restaurant back in 1951. According to his obituary; he died in 2003, he used to wave the lid on his smoker as customers went by. I can see how that worked. Today, the smokehouse sits next to the restaurant. You can watch the process and buy some fish to go.
The fish comes in a huge portion. It is juicy and has a great smokey flavor. I had the Mahi-Mahi and Rebbel got the Salmon. Both winners. Of course we had to try the potato salad and cole slaw. The potato salad, was a German potato salad. I usually don't care for that type, but theirs tasted totally different. It tasted more like the fried potatoes you might have with your eggs in the morning. Simply delicious.
We took some of their smoked fish dip and crackers for a snack. That too, was totally awesome. I also witnessed a lot of people ordering the hamburgers. I hear that those are really good too. I highly recommend trying this place. I have a feeling we'll be back!
