Crafty Squirrel’s New Menu Is Worth Getting Excited About

Artful Squirrel, on the 200 block of Central Avenue, factual in the coronary heart of downtown St. Pete, is rocking a brand unique menu that’s every bit as appealing for lunch because it is for those late-night munchies. After a few visits for lunch, we’ve already developed some gargantuan favorites. Genuinely, three objects stood out as particularly craveable: the Crunch Wrap Gruesome, Tendies Time, and the Double-Double shatter burger. All three are extraordinary.

For its first seven or eight years, Artful Squirrel’s menu relied intently on inventive artisan pizzas. These pizzas will probably be gone, but the foundation and creativity that defined the kitchen are very noteworthy alive.

There’s a fun familiarity to the unique menu. Some dishes faucet into the nostalgic attraction of traditional American fast-food favorites, while others scheme inspiration from the laid-reduction, coastal food custom of Southern California. Nonetheless these aren’t merely recreations. They’re Artful Squirrel’s occupy interpretations, built with quality ingredients, considerate combos, and lots of personality.

The Chalupas are a colossal instance. The Shwarmagedon brings shawarma rooster alongside with fluffy garlic sauce, cotija, new cucumber and tomato, crisp lettuce, pickled crimson onion, and cilantro. It’s a energetic combination of luscious, creamy, new, and tangy. The 90’s Pork Cake takes a extra acquainted Tex-Mex route, with seasoned floor crimson meat, melted jack and cheddar, pico de gallo, bitter cream, and crisp lettuce. Both are magnificent, flavor-packed handhelds.

The Smokey and The Brisket takes things in a decidedly smoky direction, layering smoked brisket, barbecue sauce, smoked gouda, pico de gallo, poblano ranch slaw, smoked onion aioli, and pickled crimson onion. The Porkin’ It goes in a various direction, pairing late-cooked pork carnitas with Korean BBQ, sweet pineapple salsa, cotija, pico de gallo, and Biggity Bang aioli slaw. We loved both, with the combo of sweet, luscious, smoky, and tangy flavors making them particularly fun to relish.

The Double-Double is a shatter burger carried out factual. Two crimson meat patties, Squirrely sauce, onions, lettuce, tomato, pickles, and pickled crimson onions approach together in a beautifully balanced combination. It’s juicy, flavorful, and remarkably tidy to relish. Lori particularly cherished that you would moreover trip a appropriate burger without grease and drippings working down your hands and palms. That’s a shockingly extraordinary take into consideration a shatter burger! The fries are extraordinary too.

The Cali Burrito is but every other winner. We went with the crimson meat barbacoa, which comes with French fries, avocado, chipotle crema, salsa verde, pico de gallo, and residential salsa. It’s hearty, loaded with contrasting textures, and brings together the luscious richness of the barbacoa with creamy avocado, intellectual salsa, and the unexpected but welcome addition of fries all the method throughout the burrito.

The Crunch Wrap Gruesome was surely one of our absolute favorites. A crispy tostada shell provides a magnificent crunch inner a flour tortilla crammed with seasoned floor crimson meat, cheese, pico de gallo, lettuce, avocado salsa, and bitter cream. You fetch creamy, crunchy, luscious, and new in every bite. Served with sweet potato kids, it’s an particularly magnificent lunch.

Tendies Time would per chance sound straightforward, but these rooster tenders are one thing else but long-established. The hand-breaded rooster has an awfully good-looking out, graceful crumb reasonably than the thick, crunchy coating you on the entire earn on fried rooster. It’s pleasantly tender and gentle, while the rooster itself stays gentle and juicy. Lori without extend when put next them to PDQ reduction in its early days, when their tenders had been one thing special. They’re moreover comparable to the rooster tenders at J. Alexander’s, but every other favourite of ours. Served over fries with poblano ranch for dipping, right here is comfort food carried out exceptionally well.

The Shrimp Tease brings a miniature bit coastal California sunshine to the menu. Fried or grilled small are paired with ginger-ponzu slaw, Biggity Bang aioli, cucumber, and sesame seeds. There’s a nice steadiness of luscious small, frigid crunch, and intellectual, Asian-inspired flavors.

And for one thing a miniature bit diverse, Wrap It Up, Caesar offers the acquainted rooster Caesar a fun twist. Ours got right here with fried rooster (grilled is an possibility too), crisp lettuce, Caesar dressing, cotija, roasted pepitas, corn salsa, tortilla strips, and cracked pepper. What makes this one particularly attention-grabbing is the fluctuate of textures. Various bites elevate diverse combos of crunchy tortilla strips, gentle rooster, crisp greens, and a miniature bit pop of sweetness from the corn. It retains things attention-grabbing all the methodology through.

And don’t fail to see the Grip It and Sip It, a 32-ounce shareable cocktail that’s a fun mashup of a John Daly and a Mint Julep. Templeton Rye, mint cordial, ginger syrup, new lemon, and Solar Cruiser tea approach together for a refreshing, citrusy, mint-forward drink with a whiskey spine. Accomplished with a new mint bouquet, it’s tailor-made for sharing (despite the incontrovertible truth that you would moreover be tempted to preserve it all to yourself).

We’ve tried reasonably lots of the unique menu now, and while we have faith our sure favorites, the entire lot has been in actuality factual. There’s lots to hit upon, lots of fluctuate, and a waggish methodology to comfort food that makes the menu genuinely fun.

Artful Squirrel has efficiently turned into the page on its pizza chapter without losing what made it attention-grabbing in the first plight: creativity, bold flavors, and food that makes you desire but every other bite. Whether you’re stopping in for lunch, grabbing an informal dinner, or magnificent those late-night cravings, the unique menu is well worth attempting out.

Artful Squirrel in downtown St. Pete introduces a inventive unique menu of elevated comfort food, from craveable shatter burgers and rooster tenders to chalupas, burritos, and California-inspired small. Familiar favorites fetch a new, flavor-packed enhance