Raúl: Our Nephew Neil has been living in Clearwater for the past few years.

Glenn: Although he still misses some of his Miami favorites, Neil does appreciate the many great Cuban restaurants in the Tampa Bay area.

Jorge: One close to Neil’s house is the Tio Pepe Restaurant in Clearwater.

Glenn: Like many restaurants of this type, Tio Pepe is more Spanish than Cuban. You’ll find several continental style dishes that cater to the tourist crowd.

Jorge: The seafood dishes in particular tend to be more European – a seafood flambé and stuffed pompano are just two examples.

Raúl: One thing that is very Cuban is the Cuban sandwich. They make it here in the Tampa style with salami, and if you’re not careful they’ll ruin the whole thing with mayonnaise, so be sure to say “hold the mayo!”

Glenn: The bread the use here is wider and heavier than is used on the traditional sandwich Cubano.

Raúl: They make escabeche with salmon -- it tastes great – and Spanish chorizo sautéed with Rioja wine.

Jorge: They serve a decent caldo gallego here and on a hot day it’s hard to say no to Tio Pepe’s gazpacho.

Glenn: The Gambas Rellenas a la Pepe are large shrimp stuffed with lobster, diced shrimp, amd crabmeat.

Jorge: I love the Mariscada de Jesús, a delicious combination of lobster, shrimp, scallops, and mussels in a delicious tomato-based sauce.

Raúl: Finish your meal with a crème catalan, the Spanish version of crème Brûlée. Crack through the burnt sugar topping and scoop out a spoonful of rich creamy flan.

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