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Introduction: Short Trip to The Big Guava
Review: The Club at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport
Review: KLM Royal Crown Lounge at Houston Intercontinental Airport
Review: Residence Inn Tampa Westshore/Airport
Review: Indian Rocks Beach
Review: Keegan’s Seafood Grille – Indian Rocks
Review: Tampa Marriott Westshore
Review: Lemon Grass Thai Kitchen – Tampa
To finish our short trip to Tampa, we decided to give Lemon Grass Thai Kitchen a try. The restaurant was located less than 10 minutes away from the Marriott, which made it ideal. I would have driven past the restaurant if it did not have the bright green lights.
The parking lot and the restaurant were smaller than the typical restaurant in America. This reminded me of stores that I saw when I was living in Asia. The restaurant was very quiet when we entered. If I did not see two people eating, I would have thought that it was closed. This thought was short lived. Before we could 10 feet inside of the restaurant, a jubilant staff member sprinted from the back to greet us (I was amused at how hyper he was). He informed us that we could sit anywhere. I chose a table in the center of the restaurant, near the bar.
Before he asked drink orders, I was ready to place my order. I did not need to see the menu, there was one thing that I was craving…whole Red Snapper. He informed me that the restaurant received the seafood shipment earlier in the day so the order was not a problem. I ordered my son a bowl of Pho Ga (chicken noodle soup).
The food was delivered in a reasonable 20 minutes. The fish was prepared with a mild sauce that put it over the top. I could not stop eating it. Accompanying the fish were different sauces which I loved trying. My son enjoyed his noodles as well.

At the end of the meal, the only thing left of the fish were the eyeballs. I played around with one for a few minutes before the jubilant waiter finally said, “just eat it man”. With my son laughing in the background, I ate my first fish eyeball. I did not know what to expect from the texture, but that was not it. The eyeball was soft on the outside and hard in the middle (cartilage, I suppose).
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Final Word
I enjoyed the visit to Lemon Grass. The waiter had so much energy and seemed like a genuinely nice guy. It did not hurt that the food was delicious as well. I will definitely visit Lemon Grass again. Thanks for following along on another trip report.