Eddie’s Bar & Grill

Final Score: 78.75

Notes These fried pickles excelled in every category. A first on the Florida fried pickle tour. They were served as chips and wow, the cross section was massive! But how did they taste? Superb. There was nothing fancy about these chips to push it into 80.0+ territory. But does that matter? These hit the mark on every test and I had no trouble binging the entire basket in satisfaction. They have mastered the classic fried pickle chip.

James Joyce Irish Pub

Final Score: 33.50

Notes
Fun place, but oh dear.  These fried pickles were saltier than the dead sea.  It felt almost like eating a table spoon of salt. It was really hard to continue eating them after the first few chips.  There is a possibility that someone screwed up and this was just a bad batch because I checked Google reviews when writing my own review and they are generally positive.  The rest of the food is good though, so I’ll most likely revisit this place in the future and see if this was just a one-off experience.

The Big Easy

Final Score: 51.25

Notes
These were the juiciest chips you can ever imagine, thick cut, typical dill pickle. Very good. But, the overall breading and structure didn’t hit the mark.
If you’ve never been to Ybor City, just know it’s a miniature New Orleans in Tampa with a ridiculous nightlife. Keeping with the New Orleans theme, the bartender I had said I needed to try the swamp sauce, apparently a New Orleans thing which fits the Ybor City vibe. And it was 100% the move, and I still don’t know what it is lol. Just remember that you need to ask for it.
The ranking system rarely awards points for sauces because this is a fried pickle review, not a sauce review.
You can check how scoring works from the menu bar. So only 1 additional point for the sauce. Nevertheless, all of the staff were really fun, atmosphere was great and you should definitely check them out.

Maloney’s Local Irish Pub

Final Score: 58.75

Notes Maloney’s Local Irish Pub is a great place to hangout in channelside, Tampa.  Service was quick, the outdoor seating was comfortable and I would recommend this place for everything aside from the fried pickles lol.  The fried pickles were over-breaded chips which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but the breading was not seasoned enough so it tasted very bland.  The pickle had some flavor, but the amount of breading overrided it.    As for the dip, they provided horseradish and ranch.  Two dips is quite uncommon, so good for them for having options.  Still had fun.