131829 Sat Jun 05 13:00:23 -0700 2004 11 10 Florida 0 711226 Well, while I have known that GrillSmith has been open for dinner now for about 3-4 weeks, I had not been able to make it by until last night. Some friends wanted to take me out for dinner and asked where I would like to go. So my thoughts leaned towards Grillsmith. Grillsmith is a concept that is backed by some people from the Melting Pot chain, Marty Blitz of Mise En Place fame in Tampa, and a former managing partner of Carabba's Italian restaurant. I am sure you know my feelings towards Marty Blitz of Mise En Place in Tampa. So I was excited to try it. It is located in the just off Countryside Blvd. in the Countryside Plaza shopping area. This is south and across the street from the Countryside Mall. Even though they have not started advertizing yet, they are already quite busy. They do not take reservations, even for large groups, but you can call ahead and have your name placed on the wait list. I highly recommend this. I called at 5:50 PM and said we would be a group of 9 at 7. They said that would be fine. They seated us at 7:05 and were apologizing for seating us late. I told I was very happy with their timeliness. The interior is glass, dark woods, and ceramic tiles. They have an open cook line similar to what they have at Carabba's. Imagine that. There is also a full bar and a terrace area for the smoking crowd. The terrace area also fans with misters to help lower the temps. The menu is quite varied. The entrees run the range from steaks and chicken to pizzas, burgers, nine different entree-sized salads, fish, etc. I had something called Chicken Portobello Stack. This was a full boneless chicken breast with sliced portobello mushrooms on top covered with Jack cheese and a white New Orleans style BBQ sauce. It was excellent. With it was fresh steamed broccoli crowns and shredded cheddar hash browns. You also some other starch choices but the hash browns intriqued me. The meal was, I think, $10.99. To this, I added a excellent side salad for $1.99. My wife had macadamia covered grouper filet for $12.99. Another person had a steak with a chimmichurri sauce and was very pleased with it. I don't remember any of the entrees running over $12-13 and many were less. Also, some of the diners had side salads with a raspberry vinegarette that said it was excellent. One nice small point, the tomatoes on the salads were excellent. This is one of the small details that I always look at in a restaurant. We did not get to try any of the appetizers as many of the diners were on diets. They also have some nice desserts in the $3-3.50 range. Even as busy as they were, we never felt rushed but did have their attention to the point that we never had to ask for anything. Leave it to be said, we had a fantastic time. The special occasion meal felt like one and I did not have to put up with the waiters singing to me. I highly recommend GrillSmith. The address is 2539 Countryside Blvd. in Clearwater and their phone number is 726-6061. Also, they just started opening for lunch also. John Sat Jun 05 13:00:23 -0700 2004 0 RibDog 1 711231 Thanks for the post Ribdog. My folks ate there recently and had a great time. (It helps that they live in Safety Harbot also!) Mom had the Chicken Portobello Stack and said it was wonderful. My step-father had the Chicago Cut Sirlion and he said he could barely finish it. He said that he hasn't had that good of a steak in a long time. Hope to get there with the wife very soon. Looking at their menu, I think that it will be very soon. Thanks for the heads-up about no reservations. BeerManDan Sun Jun 06 15:54:58 -0700 2004 711226 0 BeerManDan 1 711235 Thanks, Ribdog. This place sounds like a winner. B Sun Jun 06 20:33:46 -0700 2004 711226 0 BeaN 1 711236 John, Great post! It's on our list of "must try's" by virtue of your recommendation ;-). The menu seems to be comprehensive and the pedigree is exceptional. Looking forward to our first experience. In a galaxy...(you know the schtick) we had a great meal at Meez (forgive the bastardation) we call all our home prep "Meez" and that's the name that is linked to the pedigree that you thoughtfully provided. Can't wait! Warm regards, BeaN's Spousal Unit. AKA: Jeff Sun Jun 06 20:42:44 -0700 2004 711226 0 BeaN's Spousal Unit 1 711272 I went back on Tuesday of this week for lunch. They use the exact same menu for lunch as they do for dinner. This time I tried their Grilled Shrimp served with bowtie pasta in a tomato cream sauce. It was excellent! The person next to me had a Patty Melt Stack. They said it was one of the best patty melts they had ever had. Someone else at our table had a pizza and was very pleased with it. John Thu Jun 10 09:36:40 -0700 2004 711226 0 RibDog 2 711470 I always try new place as soon as I found. This place "Grill Smith" is not on my list. It's OK for me but nothing impressed. Just like other franchise place. Sorry. Mon Jun 28 00:17:11 -0700 2004 711272 0 Mickey boy 1 711565 We had a very bad experience there. Our waiter managed to bring the wrong sides, then served a very rare hamburger that had been ordered as well-done. Couldn't find anyone to tell, so tried to eat it, but gagged on the first bite. That was it for that meal. They comped mine, but no apologies. Then they took my wife's from under her nose before she realized what was happening. Just get me out of there. I have probably only sent food back 1 or 2 times in my life before this. Our waiter did not have a clue about taking care of customers. Tue Jul 06 20:33:54 -0700 2004 711226 0 Don 2 711566 I am really sorry to hear that Don. As we can both see, one's experiences with a particular eatery can be totally diverse. I, personally, have enjoyed each of my dining experiences there since it has opened and plan to go back. If I run into problems there, I will be the first person to come back to Chowhound and post it. John Tue Jul 06 23:15:26 -0700 2004 711565 0 RibDog 1 712117 My wife and two friends stopped for lunch at Grillsmith and while the food was good we had a much different problem with Grillsmith. The bill was $30.97 and my wife left a tip of $5.75 in cash. The $30.97 was put on a debit card but when we checked our on line statement within a few day's of their lunch my bank statement showed a debit for $38.71 When we contacted Jeremy who said he was the manager he was no help at all and claimed the bank was at fault. My next move will be to try and contact someone who is over Jeremy and if that does not help I plan on contacting the Clearwater Police Dept. Someone changed the amount on the bill after my wife signed for it. Grillsmith may have great food but someone needs to look at what's going on in this place. J. Hill Sun Aug 15 20:27:44 -0700 2004 711226 0 J. Hill 2 712119 I agree that this should be looked into. Someone else brought this same issue up on a different board just a day or two ago at a different restaurant somewhere else. But let me make an observation here. I know that most times when I charge a meal, the charge slip shows the amount for the check and then leaves a space for a tip and a space for a total. Whether I leave a cash tip or put it on the charge, I always enter a total on the charge slip. I am curious as to how many other people do this also. Please understand that I am not trying to infer that this is what your wife may have done but just an obeservation on my part of my practices. One other observation, is it not possible that the waiter or waitress put through the higher amount as a charge without the restaurant being aware of it? Just a thought. John Sun Aug 15 22:10:33 -0700 2004 712117 0 RibDog 1 712165 Hi, My father and husband drove by your restaurant today August 20, 2004. They really would like to have dinner at your reataurant but, I would like to know if you might have a menu yet. Thank You, Mrs Sako Fri Aug 20 16:54:47 -0700 2004 711226 0 Mrs Terri Sako 1 712166 Hi, My father and husband drove by your restaurant today August 20, 2004. They really would like to have dinner at your reataurant but, I would like to know if you might have a menu yet. Thank You, Mrs Sako Fri Aug 20 16:54:56 -0700 2004 711226 0 Mrs Terri Sako