Silas Steak House & Seafood St Pete Beach
Boy what a fun and an educational time we had at Silas Dent Steakhouse on Wednesday November 1, the event that was re-schedule after Irma’s wrath through a monkey wrench into our plans in early September; we had 25 BACA members attending. For those like me who were scratching their heads over what inspired the restaurant’s kooky name, Silas Dent was a person, affectionately known as The Happy Hermit of Cabbage Key; see this link for his story, courtesy of TB Times: http://www.sptimes.com/2002/05/13/NIE/The__Happy_Hermit_of_.shtml
Thank you to restaurant owner and long-time St.Pete Beach resident Mr. Rob Stambaugh who we were blessed to have provide us with a history lesson on Silas and the area way-back-when, along with amusing anecdotes when he was a child and was fortunate to have received gifts from Santa Silas. Rob’s restaurant is a virtual shrine-like space that pays homage to the Happy Hermit and contains a treasure trove full of antiques, historic photos and actual artifacts belonging to Silas, most impressive of which was the actual banjo seen in the photo of Silas outside his palm frond hut pictured in the newspaper article! One could spend a full hour browsing the collection that harkens back to a forgotten era, most incredulous was seeing the ancient crank telephone in this age of iPhone X!
Rob and his lovely wife Debbie have been the proud owners of the bay front restaurant for nearly 4 decades, and have a customer base that has been visiting probably just as long. The restaurant has a variety of sitting areas, from a large dining space that would accommodate a big table of 12-15, to mid-size booths, little alcoves, even an elevated booth bedecked with wood-stained wainscoting that you step up into – kinda like a little lighthouse. Over the years they have renovated and added on various parts to include an outdoor deck overlooking the entrance, a courtyard space with various nooks and a fire ring and Debbie’s pride & joy, a 2-story Wedding Reception Hall next door with a big bar and dance hall with windows looking over the water. The Stambaughs created the space with the intention of catering to a mid-price market that would suffer sticker shock from the more elite market gulf front beach resorts nearby. This loving couple seem to be here 24/7, hands-on doing repairs, painting, ordering, anything that comes up, a true testament to their dedication to the restaurant and hospitality in general.
Along with manager Tom Grimes who initiated the event for us, and the lovely Nancy behind the bar, we all basked in their gracious hospitality and were treated to an assortment of trays of hors d’oeuvres and refreshing drinks; Nancy really hustled keeping us well-watered…. and before the event started, I arrived early and she set me up with a delicious rack of ribs…. you rock girl!
Silas Dent is more than just a steakhouse; they have a wide variety of seafood too, as well as tapas appetizers for lite eaters. It’s a fun place, they have Happy Hour specials, and all kinds of games outside like Jenga, Cornhole, Plinko and indoors they even have a BlackJack table you can pretend like you’re in Vegas! The place is truly a hidden gem, set back from Gulf Blvd., where visitors can come get a taste of ‘olde Florida’. Thanks again Rob, Debbie, Tom & Nancy for your gracious hospitality and taking BACA back to another world!
BETH KELLY PHOTOGRAPHY
We were also graced by the presence of Beth Kelly of Beth Kelly Photography who spoke and had on display some portfolios of her expert work. I use Beth for my guests who ask to have family portraits out on the beach and Beth never fails to deliver smiles and kudos, making me look good for recommending her. She does magical work, making evening sunsets and uncooperative cloudy days turn into amazingly bright and resolute photographs and she is great at coaxing shy, fidgety children to pose for the camera. Beth has generously offered to be BACA’s Official Photographer so you will be seeing her work on our website. Thank you Beth for supporting BACA, members please call on her for your photography needs at: Beth Kelly 727 642 9009, studio@BethKellyPhotography.com http://www.bethkellyphotography.com