The Whistle Stop Grill and Bar

A couple of weeks ago we were in Safety Harbor when the little prince spotted a restaurant called the Whistle Stop.  He said that it looked cool and wanted to try it sometime.  I said sure, why not.  Well, this past weekend I asked him what he felt like for lunch and he said it was time to try the Whistle Stop.  No problem I replied and off we went. 

The Whistle Stop Grill andBar is conveniently located on Main Street in Safety Harbor.  It has plenty of seating on the dining deck and in the bar area and I was very thankful for the pleasant weather on Saturday afternoon.  While not the ideal place for a hot & rainy day in August, the food was so good that even that would not keep me away from a return visit.  It has a decidedly huge lack of adequate parking, but that was the only drawback as far as I could tell. 

We were greeted instantly by a lovely young lady named Rachel.  She was very pleasant and quickly had our drink order.  She gave us plenty of time to peruse the menu and was never pushy.  Even the folks at the table next to ours were very friendly and threw in their two cents when we had questions.  It all seemed like a very family friendly atmosphere. 

I could hardly look at the menu as I was intrigued by the way the deck was designed.  We were sitting in an area that was clearly used for live music when bands were scheduled to play.  It almost made me want to break out in song, but I wisely chose against it.  Anyway, I could tell that a lot of care and love went into the design of the building.  Don’t ask me how, but I knew that the owners and staff cared a lot about their business and took great pride in getting their customers the best service possible.  Maybe I was reading a bit too much into it, but that’s how I felt.

I ordered the Original Whistle Stop Burger, which was a good size burger (probably a 1/3 of a pound) topped with provolone, a fried green tomato, onions and Ailio (garlic mayo).  I had mine with coleslaw, which was delicious.  I ordered my burger medium and it was done perfectly.  It was fresh, juicy and most importantly, yummy.  The fried green tomato added some zip to the burger that was unexpected by me.  The onions were crisp and flavorful while the Ailio added some extra panache that I loved.  I tend to add Tabasco or another hot sauce to most of my burgers and Rachel came back with some Frank’s hot sauce which was an excellent compliment to the burger. 

The little prince wanted wings.  “Forget the children’s menu”, he said, “I want wings”.  Worried that the wings would be too hot with him we asked and were told that they were fairly mild and served with celery & ranch or blue cheese dressing.  He took his first bite of the wings (soaked in ranch dressing) and declared that they were “awesome”.  “Almost as good as Hooters” he added.   A high compliment coming from him.  I asked if I could try a wing and he reluctantly said yes, but he got to pick the wing for me.  I dipped it in the ranch and they were mild, but the flavor was undeniably delicious.  The wings were juicy and messy, just the way we like them.  Having been raised on the wings at Hooters myself I can say that these were a close second to my favorites.  High praise indeed. 

Lady Gianna went with the BLFGT, which I briefly confused with the LGBT, but was quickly corrected.  The BLFGT is the ultimate BLT.  Bacon, lettuce and fried green tomatoes with Aioli and served on a Ciabatta roll.  Lady Gianna is a long time fan of the fried green tomato so pleasing her palate would not be easy.  However, the folks at the Whistle Stop exceeded her expectations.  Lady Gianna declared the sandwich to be excellent. 

Rachel was a great server.  She kept our drinks full and was always around to get us anything we needed.  We discussed with her the parking issue and she said that it was very difficult and that their neighbors, despite being closed on the weekend, will still have any cars in their lot towed away.  I said that was silly when they are not there and the lots are not being used.  What ever happened to loving thy neighbor?

Overall we had an excellent dining experience.  The prices are reasonable and the portions are big.  Enough to keep me full for the next eight hours following lunch.  That is saying a whole lot.