St. Pete's First Friday

Decided after a rough work week to head across the bay to St. Petersburg's monthly First Friday event which is held downtown on Central Ave between 2nd and 3rd streets. The downtown was hopping with lots of people walking around the many great dining, drinking, art, and entertainment options the St. Petersburg's downtown has to offer. We went for Sushi first and came upon Bangkok, on Central Ave and 6th Street. Great atmosphere in this small Thai restaurant, at 8pm , there were a few open tables, but it quickly filled up as the night progressed. We started with some Spring Rolls, that although very small in size, were delicious. Edamame was as expected, and the rolls were some of the freshest, Spider, Dragon and Spicy Tuna. I also tried Ped Panang, crispy duck in a curry/coconut sauce with veges. Very good! Tender duck, the sauce with best over the rice and veges as well.
We then walked down to the First Friday area, and I showed my friend John the area(his first time), Mastry's for strong cheap drinks, then The Garden, The Lobby had a DJ playing Lounge type music. Outside, there was a great Jazz band, and it made for an excellent social scene, with lots of people watching. One thing about St. Pete is how laid back and casual everything is, shorts and flip flops all the way, and there are plenty of places to visit. We stopped by Bishop Tavern where the band was starting to set up, and played air hockey in the Tamiami Bar, which is connected to the oldest outdoor concert venue on Florida, Jannus Landing. There was a free concert in Jannus Landing, and excellent Reggae band called Elevate, jamming to about a few hundred people in the courtyard. For some reason it was particualry dry this evening, with a nice breeze, seems fall is just around the corner. We took a walk a few blocks to the waterfront, with great views of the Marina and Pier.
On the way back to Tampa, I was craving a Club Sandwich, and since we dont have many 24 hour diners, we stopped at Village Inn, where the club sandwich was ok.

Looks like College and Pro-Football are getting into gear this weekend, so after some yard work, will be watching the USF Bulls(my Alma Mater) at Auburn this evening, and then of course the Bucs at Seattle Sunday.