Address: 10555 Park Blvd N, Seminole, FL 33772
2339 9th St N, St Petersburg, FL 33704
Phone: Seminole (727) 623-0907 St. Pete (727) 498-8980
Hours: Mon-Sat . 6 am – 9 pm & Sun. 7am - 3pm
Extras: Limited beer and wine selection
Websote: tripsdiner.com
(Scroll to the bottom for a quick rating/review)
My luvah (a.k.a. Greg) offered to treat me to breakfast today. I’ve been in a funk lately. Not really feeling lively, a bit blah, not sure way …. so I was a bit ho-hum when he extended the invite, but agreed as I am never one to turn down a free meal. When I asked where we are going he said “Trip's”. My mood suddenly turned a bit brighter!
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| Seminole location on Park Street |
Trip's Diner describes their offerings as, “Down-to-earth diner for breakfast favorites, sandwiches & salads, plus homestyle American mains.” I would tend to agree, however they forgot the most important part … the BACON! Yes, bacon! They have THE best bacon I have ever come across. It is thick. It is applewood smoked. The cut has to measure 9 inches in length. Did I mention it is THICK?
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| Seminole location |
Trip's has a fairly recent history (opening their first location in St. Pete in 2012). As stated on Trip’s web site, “Named after our Triplets, Libby, Will & John, we opened our Diner on March 12, 2012. We hope to be a Not-too-Fancy neighborhood restaurant that offers a variety of simple food. We serve Breakfast all day, plus Salads, Sandwiches, Meatloaf, Pasta, Chicken and More.... Come in and try it! Bring the kids and we're sure that you'll find something you love!”
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| Cool historic decor on the tables - something to look at beside your phone! |
I’ve been to both locations and the food is consistent between the two diners. You should expect a bit of a wait at both restaurants, probably more in St. Pete because it has become a popular establishment. Today, we at at the Seminole location.
Our waitress, Colleen, was friendly and doing her very best to get us served fast. We started with fresh brew (served with real cream) as we reviewed the menu. Today Greg goes for his new favorite, the Burrito Buster. To say it’s big is an understatement. Basically it’s a burrito as big as your head, filled to the brim with eggs, home fries, sautéed onion & green pepper, cheddar cheese and sausage on a white or wheat tortilla, served with a side of sour cream and salsa. You may recall Greg loves his food spicy. This burrito was flavorful but could use a little bit of a kick to it. To compensate, Greg threw some Cholula hot sauce over the top, which did the trick.
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| The Burrito Buster |
I really wanted the Chicken and Waffles as I’m a bit C&W fan… but I forced myself to test drive their corned beef hash as it was listed as ‘homemade’ on the menu. I’m quite particular about my hash. The CBH comes with two eggs (over easy always for me!) and choice of bread. I opted for a biscuit even though the cornbread was tempting me! I ordered a side of gravy (see where I’m going here?) and a side of… what else but BACON!
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| I you're like me and want to sample the B&G just get a biscuit as your 'bread ' with your meal and order a side of sausage gravy - best of both worlds! |
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| truly made from scratch CBH |
Trip's CBH was delicious and certainly made from scratch with lots of love! I piled my OE eggs on top and then bathed my biscuit in sausage gravy and I was in hog heaven… oh yes, the hog…. the bacon has almost a smoked/cured ham as it is so thick. A side is only $2.39 for this 9” long thick slices of magnificent meat.
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| I heart bacon! This is the BEST you'll ever have - unless you live on an Iowa pig farm. |
Trip's Diner is a joint that you’d probably like to frequent just so you can sample all the awesome looking menu items. There are several menu items that caught my eye: The Strata, baked egg and bread layered with fresh basil, sausage and tomato topped with lemon hollandaise. The Hubcakes, pancakes as big as a hub cap! Boneless fried chicken dipped in a spiced buttermilk batter. Grammy’s Recipe Meatloaf (‘nough said). Mac and cheese in a creamy white cheese sauce with a baked crunchy topping AND you can add that amazing bacon or ham for just 99 cents more!
Trip's is hearty, down home cooking at it’s best. Make sure you stock up on cholesterol medication before you go. Trip's is not a place you want to eat if you’re on a diet, as you need to save room for dessert - ever at breakfast (yes, we did!). They have a fair selection of pies, milk shakes and even a root beer float, but the carrot cake is amazing! And hey, carrots are a vegetable, right?
RATING: 5 best / 1 worst
Food: *****
The menu is not overwhelming and isn’t trying to be something it’s not. Trip's doesn’t have an identity problem, they know they’re a diner and carry all the typical diner fare you expect. Plus, breakfast all day (LOVE me some breakfast for dinner!). They also have a small assortment wine and beer.
Vibe ***
The look: Heck, it’s a diner! What do you expect? Red booths, black and white checkerboard floor, a counter with the old fashioned red/chrome stools. It’s clean and a bit eclectic. The workers are friendly, they work hard to serve you fast and the noise level is good as you can have a peaceful conversation with out raising your voice.
The crowd: 0-100 years
The bathroom: Clean, not smelly, well attended to - which makes me believe the rest of the place is the same way.
And: Very limited outside seating along Park Street.
Service *****
Since it was Sunday around 11am, there was a slight wait, but the hostess tried to squeeze us in fast and offered us immediate outside seating, it wasn’t too hot yet so we opted for outside. Were were there about 3 minutes when the hostess came back out and said a booth opened up and it was ours if we wanted it, so we nabbed it! Our waitress, Colleen, was super busy, but still gave us decent attention, the only negative was we had to ask her twice for the hot sauce.
Moola: $$
Greg spent just under $33 (before tip) for two people. This included two coffees, out breakfast, my side of gravy and bacon plus, we HAD to have carrot cake for dessert!
Overall we’ll keep going back to Trip's again and again so we can sample more menu items. I wish they were closer to our neck of the woods (Clearwater - near Tri-City) but we’ll make the drive - it’s worth it!
I would say Trip’s is a great place for Reddington Beach visitors as the Seminole location is not too terribly far away and the St. Pete location is a quick hop from downtown. Residence, it’s a great place to take guests as the food is consistent, served hot and tasty.
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