Kick Back in Pass-a-Grille
If you drive south through St. Petersburg Beach and keep going, you’ll end up on a tiny spit of land called Pass-a-Grille. Most of the buildings here are private homes, and no building appears to be over three stories tall. Even in these troubled economic times, small beachfront homes go for seven figures. But short-term stays won’t put you out nearly so much, and the lack of traffic and quiet is well worth the 1 1/2 mile extra you’ll drive from the long strip of motels that make up St. Petersburg Beach.
The place we stayed was the Sabal Palms Inn. The room was small and had no frills (no hair dryer, or even a mat in front of the shower), but was cheap enough I didn’t care — how many places will put you in a room with an ocean-view balcony for $110/night? Despite being a little cramped, the room did have a small kitchen stocked with plates, utensils, and glasses, as well as a fridge and a microwave, so we were able to eat our dinners in and bring back leftovers from our lunches. The inn is across the street from the beach, and since, during the week, there was almost no traffic, we were basically on the beach. Our balcony looked out on the water and we were able to take in the sea breeze while we relaxed after a morning’s walk and swim.
Pass-a-Grille boasts a few restaurants, like our favorite, The Sea Critters Cafe, which is across the street from Gennaro’s, an Italian restaurant run by an actual Italian ex-pat. The Sea Critters Cafe asks you to dine wherever you choose — “dockside, waterside, or inside.” Their onion rings are fantastic, rivaling the all-time best at The Anvil in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri. But everything else was also extremely tasty, too. Gennaro’s got mixed reviews from our group (thumbs up on the seafood pasta and the seafood salad, thumb at half-mast for the veal-and-mushroom tortellini). Gennaro’s is open for dinner only.
We also ate at The Hurricane, where the food was expensive and not very good, and at The Seahorse, where the food was all right, but the onion rings were not. The Seahorse is open for breakfast and lunch, but not dinner.
Another place to try in Pass-a-Grille is Paradise Sweets, where you can get an iced mocha latte, an ice cream, a smoothie, shaved Hawaiian ice, or just some snacks after your dip in the Gulf.
If you want to explore outside Pass-a-Grille, then head over to Fort DeSoto Park and relax on a beach or have a picnic while watching the sun on the Sunshine Skyway bridge. Or shop at places like K. Kringle’s Christmas and Holiday Shoppe, where you can not only completely supply your Christmas tree, but also your Easter, Fourth of July, Halloween, St. Patrick’s Day, Hanukkah, and Thanksgiving needs.
While you’re in St. Petersburg Beach, don’t pass up a chance to eat at Crabby Bill’s, where their motto is “Don’t Worry, Be Crabby.” The food is excellent, and you can have a great view of the beach.
One of the best reasons to visit the area, though, is for the wildlife, especially the birds. White ibises, willets, semipalmated plovers, laughing gulls, and fish crows wander the beach outside your hotel, while the snowy egrets, great blue herons, and pelicans hunt off the piers. Also, if you’re willing to drive about 20 miles up the coast, you can visit the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary where you can see many other species of birds, some still rehabbing, and others just hanging about. We were lucky enough to visit during the time the black skimmers were raising chicks on the beach just outside the sanctuary. The sanctuary is free to visit, though donations are gratefully accepted.
If music or unusual instruments are more your style, then you can drive about 40 miles south to the Roaring 20’s Pizza and Pipes in Ellenton, where the main attraction is a fully functional Mighty Wurlitzer. This particular instrument was originally installed in the Paramount Theatre in Oakland California in 1931. Since then, this organ has had a long and eventful history, before being installed at the restaurant. The organ is played six nights a week starting at 5:00 p.m. and the organists do take requests. I requested “White Cliffs of Dover,” which the organist played about fifteen minutes later.
The food at the Roaring 20’s Pizza and Pipes is merely adequate — their main draw is the Mighty Wurlitzer itself. And if that’s something you’d enjoy listening to, then by all means, take the drive to Ellenton for an evening’s unique entertainment. Order a pizza, grab a beer, make your own request of the organist, and listen to a piece of history.
If art is more your thing, then go no further than downtown St. Petersburg, where you will find one of the largest collections of the work of the modern artist Salvador Dali. The museum owns over 1500 pieces, but is able to display only a small fraction of these. Each gallery displays art from a particular period in Dali’s life.
Whether it’s walking on a beautiful white beach, swimming in the blue-green waters of the Gulf, shopping, eating seafood, or birdwatching, you can find enough to do around Pass-a-Grille to fill your days and then some.
Copyright Martha Kneib. Published 1 July 2009 in The Zone.
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