The Shrimp Boat | Valrico

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On your anniversary, you want to eat someplace that treats you well, where your money buys something pleasant and memorable. Our special occasion required great food, great service, and tasty adult beverages. The Shrimp Boat had previously proved themselves to be worthy of the task. Would this second visit confirm it?

From tasty cocktails to decadent dessert, we Chartered The Shrimp Boat to make our twentieth wedding anniversary a fun and memorable evening.

A Modest Celebration

The Need

Anniversaries—what do you give each other when you share the finances and don’t need any more clutter? Let’s see, what’s the traditional gift for 20 years…Platinum!? China!? Let me see if the local salvage yard has any catalytic converters….

I don’t have to tell you that gift options are limited when on a slim budget. Lucky for us we both love food. So, simply prepare us tasty food and serve it in a pleasant environment and you’ve got a place in our heart.

Unfortunately, we left our traditional anniversary spot behind in Lancaster, so we needed to find a Florida substitute.

The Solution

Fortunately, we had a value-packed upscale restaurant in our neighborhood. Bonus: It is locally owned and family operated, as we would later discover.

Our first visit for afternoon drinks and appetizers won Shrimp Boat a Place in my heart—coincidentally next to the underappreciated band that shared their name.

Shrimp Boat’s bar was lively with extended neighbors casually unwinding after the hustle and bustle of the workday. Smiling guests similarly energized the dining room. The food was delicious and the service was wholehearted and on point.

We left that first visit to Shrimp Boat feeling like an unraveled spool of thread. Of course, that could have been the two pints of margaritas.

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Shrimp Boat
1020 Bloomingdale Ave,
Valrico FL 33596
Phone: 813 571 5858
Monday to Thursday  11:30 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Friday to Saturday  11:30 a.m. – 11:00 p.m.
Sunday  11:30 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.
http://www.shrimpboatgrille.com/

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All aboard the Shrimp Boat

Cocktails at 8 Bells

On this special evening, we arrived with thirty minutes left to happy hour so I ordered a $4 margarita, rocks. The salt-rimmed pint of mixer and tequila triggered the relaxation feels. Christa likewise chose the $5 lemon drop martini. It did the trick sweetly and with puckers.

We sipped our drinks and nibbled at the humorously shaped loaf of freshly baked bread with butter.

The butter pats were cold, unfortunately, but a rest on the table-top candle got mine spreadable.

Enrich Your Dish with Prix Fixe

We decided this time to take advantage of Shrimp Boat’s daily (daily!) $21 prix fixe menu. The deal includes three courses: appetizer, entree, and dessert. With budget versions from the main menu and special items crafted just for the fixe menu, we now had some tantalizing options.

 

On our first visit, I tried the crab bites and loved them, so this day I went with the prix fixe crab and shrimp bites. I figured that this version contained shrimp to fit the bites to the price point but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t taste great.

I picked the ahi tuna entree and committed to mulling over the dessert options during dinner.

Christa opted for the Caesar salad to start and the chateaubriand for the entree with the pineapple upside down cake for dessert.

Clearly, given the price, I knew it couldn’t be an actual cut of chateaubriand. Likely, it was a just a portion of beef tenderloin or slices from a pre-roast chateaubriand. We trusted that whatever came to the table would be well prepared and tasty regardless of the name.

The First Course

The apps arrived tout de suite and we dug in.

Sorry, I’m watching Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as I type this.

Caesar Salad

Christa’s salad was a crisp green hill of romaine lettuce studded with crunchy croutons. A generous sprinkle of shredded parmesan clung to the greens with the zesty creamed dressing. The portion was generous for the fixe deal and she dug in with bright eyes and zeal. For Caesar salad is of her favorite meals.

Crab and Shrimp Bites

My crab and shrimp bites were three two-bite portions in a bowl with a ramekin of remoulade sauce. Breadcrumbs formed a crisp auburn cocoon to protect the creamy filling of crab meat, shrimp, chives and spice during their metamorphosis in the hot fat.

I broke one in half and released a waft of steam from the delicate blend of shellfish and herbs then popped the singing piece into my mouth. The fresh taste of seasoned and gently spiced crab and shrimp didn’t need sauce. 

You might have been tempted to gobble them all up in seconds for they were truly bite-sized. But I resisted the urge and cut each in fours to prolong the experience. Alternating some with remoulade, some without, I took my time as Christa nibbled her salad.

And you know it took Christa forever to finish that pile of salad. I’m the gobbler, she’s the pecker. No part of that sentence came out right.

She enjoyed every bite and loved the dressing. That was all I needed to hear to know we’d be making more trips to Shrimp Boat.

Unfortunate, the crab and shrimp bites were too spicy for Christa’s palate to share. But love means never having to say “no spice.” These were mine.

Our entrees arrived and…wow

Fuschia panes of stained glass tuna framed in thin seared margins lay nearly concealed under a golden frizzle of deep-fried onion strings on a bed of white rice.

Succulent sauteed shrimps and browned baby bellas completed the composition under the aroma of ginger and soy that wafted from the plate to my nose.

Christa’s chateaubriand looked less dramatic but the wine-scented aroma was stirring my senses. A pillow of herbed whipped potatoes nestled delicate pink scallops of beef filet generously sauced with a glistening umber demi-glace.

Or was that just gravy? I dragged my fork through and gave a taste. Nope, a red wine Espagnole sauce. Despite its lacking the lip-smacking feel of a gelatin-rich reduction sauce, it was seasoned well with a robust flavor.

And I could kiss the Shrimp Boat cooks for the copious amount of sauce they spooned over the dish. You know there’s nothing worse than a plate of mashed potatoes with no more sauce.

Well,  a line cook snogged by a gravy-lipped customer might be worse. 

The Ahi Tuna

I pulled a slice of tuna from its bed under the haystack. Our server declared it was sushi grade and my eyes, nose, and finger-tip agreed that it was fresh. Would the mouth?

Into the maw went the mellow fish. Its flesh was cool, though the grill-seared margins still radiated warmth. It was tender, but not pasty; it submitted to the teeth but held its shape until chewed. The flavor was distinctly tuna but not at all fishy.

This was a nice piece of Ahi tuna lightly scented by the ginger-soy sauce. The tender and nutty rice absorbed the zesty flavors. And I think I tasted citrus, too. Perhaps the sauce was ponzu. Every bite was complex but light.

The shrimp that graced the fish were plump 31/35s—as far as I could estimate—cooked near perfect. Sauteed until just curled, they had a tender texture and the mild flavor of fresh shrimp with the light browning from the pan.

The white buttons—maybe crimini—had a light meaty flavor but didn’t overpower the tuna the way I had expected them to.

After shifting the gilded haystack of deep-fried onions to one side I then commenced working my way from one end of the china rectangle to the other. I was all smiles and hums.

Chateaubriand

Christa’s château—Christa’s beef tenderloin was indeed tender and cooked perfectly medium and the salt shaker would remain untouched.

The demi sauce, while it didn’t make the lips smack, had the tongue dancing with its wine-rich flavor and went well with forks of mashed potato between bites of tender pink beef. The outside carried great flavor from the searing.

It was flavorful steak and potatoes in a rich sauce. There’s simply no verbal embellishment needed beyond that. You love it, I love it, and this was a great preparation.

You Know We’re Getting Dessert

We pushed aside just enough of each entree to leave some room for the included dessert. My expectations were for a small portion of something probably readymade but no doubt tasty. Without a doubt, Shrimp Boat surpassed all.

The server confirmed Christa still wanted the pineapple upside down cake. I took a stab in the dark and went with the peanut butter mud pie.

Picturesque and hefty portions of sweet treats arrived. You know that thing your eyes do when something really delicious-looking is placed in front of you? Yeah, our eyes did that.

Peanut butter Mud Pie

The peanut butter mud pie looked perfect. Too perfect, in fact; as if it came in a cellophane wrapped box from an outside bakery.

A precise square of chocolate rested on a thick layer of fluffy peanut mousse. The mousse then rested on a thumb-thick slab of brownie. Atop all that rested piped pillows of fresh whipped cream.

The square pie was chilled, daddy-o, consequently the chocolate cap was too firm to cut into. No worries. I dug in from the sides and extracted a sample of the PB mousse. It was a nutty cloud of sweetness.

Next, I chiseled out a bit of brownie. It was rich, chocolate and dense which contrasted the peanut butter mousse and the even lighter whipped cream making for an especially complex and rich dish.

I whacked the tines at the cap of chocolate and managed to get a corner to break off. Then I tried a forkful of the base, the mousse, and the chocolate with a dredge through the fresh whipped cream. Man oh, man…

Sorry, I just had to pause typing for a few minutes. That memory brought me to speechless. I was certain it was an outsourced dessert, but I didn’t care. For an included course on a $21 meal, it was sweet, decadent, and eye-roll inducing. Christa had more than one bite.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Her pineapple upside down cake brought a few more closed-eyes and moments of silence. The pineapple ring was perfectly caramelized to a deep golden brown, embedded into the top (er, bottom?) of a slab of cake the size of a Rubik’s Cube. Every nook glistened like ice.

I took a bite to prove if it was as moist as it looked. It was, permeated with real pineapple juice. Christa served me another forkful with the cherry (not her thing), it was heaven. I cannot recall having a better pineapple upside down cake.

Though, if you know a spot, let me know in the comments.

The Cost

Unbelievable Value

I still couldn’t get over the prices. I mentioned again my guess that the crab and shrimp balls and maybe the dressing were a prepared product from a distributor. Maybe the desserts, too.

Make no mistake, the quality and taste were tip-top. On the other hand, the reasonable prices, satisfying portions, and near-perfect presentations led me to suspect the use of cost-cutting ready-made products.

I Was So Wrong

I asked the server if either dessert was made in-house. She replied with a grin to say that both were and added that every item was made by their Chef and cooks. I sat gobsmacked. Amazed, even.

How do they do it? Who cares? They do it and it’s fantastic.

At these prices—albeit not Applebee’s level—that was astounding. The kitchen crew makes the crab and shrimp bites, the dressings, the sauces, the desserts, and yes, every menu item.

That team is worth their weight in gold.

A Family Affair

Taking advantage of her glibness and undeniable pride, I further asked what the deal was with Shrimp Boat, that I didn’t see other locations online. (I now assumed from experience that a restaurant in the Tampa suburbs is likely a chain.) Were they a chain? One of several?

She said, nope. Husband/wife team Sharon and Al Paone are the sole owners and their son Albert Jr. is the chef. They used to be located on King and Lumsden then moved to this spot in 2014. 

The individual talents of the Shrimp Boat family harmonized to make this experience an ideal anniversary celebration. And they didn’t even know we were celebrating.

The same experience is awaiting anyone who walks through the door.

You Get Beyond What You Give

The Shrimp Boat serves remarkable food, expertly prepared and served in an upscale setting at prices that are accessible to those of a more modest budget.

Its as if they want as many people as possible to enjoy their food. Because they could easily charge more.

Understanding this was prix fixe and three courses for only $21, I wasn’t expecting the quantity typical of the main menu. Frankly, I didn’t want that quantity. A meal should just satisfy you without leaving leftovers.

Certainly, I’m not going to complain at taking home tomorrow’s breakfast, but I appreciate offering smaller portions of a pricey dish to make it accessible by the budget conscious.

And I appreciate leaving room for dessert which is a foregone conclusion on fixed menus.

That said, aside from the crab and shrimp bites portion of three—which was adequate—everything we had was quite generous. I had a nice lunch of the beef as well as some shrimp, onion straws and rice the next day. And it was even delicious cold.

And in the End

Christa said the next morning while we waited for the coffee to brew, “You know, I was just thinking that we each had an app, an entree, a dessert, and a mixed drink and the bill came to just over $50…”

“I know,” I agreed. “It’s completely unbelievable and it was all made in their kitchen and it’s not a chain.”

We both were still amazed and reeling.   

Shrimp Boat served us an enjoyable anniversary dinner, and at those prices, we don’t have to wait for the next one to enjoy a tasty bite and a cocktail. Or dessert and a nightcap. I can’t think of a better snack than a margarita and pineapple upside down cake. Can you?

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• Where’s your special occasion intimate spot for two?  
• Do you know another independently owned spot that prides itself in serving fine food and drinks at reasonable prices?
• What do you and your significant other exchange on your anniversary? Do you go big or settle for the love to keep you warm?

Please comment with any questions, critiques, or greetings. I’d love to hear from you.

Thanks for Reading!