A Taste of Boston

Final Score: 48.75

Notes These pickle chips were solid. About as you would expect from a small waterfront shack mostly serving fried food. A perfect snack for the atmosphere. They had a decent crunch and were seasoned properly. However, there were multiple incidents where a pickle chip was actually 2-3 chips battered as one. This was a bit off-putting as the balance of pickle breading ratio was completely thrown off.

The location itself is phenomonal. It sits within Ballast Point Park in Tampa making it a nice hidden gem to explore. It provides a great view of the bay, Tampa skyline and has a nice picnic area to binge eat fried pickles and relax.

Flanagan’s Irish Pub

Final Score: 31.00

Notes Pickle fries. A new take on the fried pickle.
But it needs work . . . and a lot of it.
It’s like they tried to make as many pickle spears as possible from a single pickle. But what ended up happening is exactly what you would expect. Extremely thin strings of pickle that would provide little to no substance or juice once cooked. The final product lacked any flavor profile beyond “fried”

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.

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.