Last week I had the pleasure of tasting a few new menu items from Lee Roy Selmon’s. If you aren’t familiar with the late Lee Roy Selmon, he was a Tampa Bay Buccaneer (the football team), and was the first Buc to be enshrined in the NFL Hall of Fame. And, he opened a string of restaurants in his name serving up fire grilled favorites and bold original specialties.
Since October 20 (Lee Roy Selmon’s birthday) and through November 1, $1 is being donated to Mentoring U (a program inspired by Lee Roy Selmon providing the opportunity for USF student athletes to seek mentorship and support from professional experts and leaders) for every item ordered from their special edition menu. Included on this menu is a brand new entree that is insanely delicious: chicken and waffles. Have you had this combination before? Well, Lee Roy Selmons is really doing it right. Behold:
The plate includes 2 warm buttermilk waffles, which are light golden brown and have a combo of crisp edges and soft insides. There is a serving of cinnamon pecan butter (OH MY GOSH) and rich maple syrup on the side…but we’re not done there.
Those waffles are topped with sweet heat chicken – white meat boneless chicken (which I personally prefer). And if that wasn’t enough…this dish is also served with savory smashed potatoes (I love when there are still chunks in my mashed potatoes), and cream corn. There is salty, there’s sweet, there’s crunchy, there’s creamy…talk about a mixture of texture and flavor!
Currently, this dish is only $9.99…can you beat that??? If you live in the Tampa/Sarasota/Ft. Myers area, head in to try this dish out!
But, we were not done with this dish alone! Lee Roy Selmon’s is debuting a new small plate concept soon – Food to Share – and I had the opportunity to sample a good amount of that menu as well!
Check out these meatball skewers – beef and pork meatballs on a skewer (one of which is wrapped in bacon – yum!) with a creamy smoked chipotle dipping sauce. There’s a hint of sweet, salty, and spicy all in one bite – they’re wonderful!
Next up – two different varieties of chicken tenders are on the small plate menu – the buffalo chicken tenders, served with blue cheese and celery of course!
If you’re in the mood for a classic chicken tender, there are those as well! They are served with two sauces – the firecracker sauce and a honey mustard vinaigrette. Yum!
If you’re like me, you can’t resist a warm pretzel. Lee Roy Selmon’s is serving up mini loaves of pretzel bread on the small plate menu!
The loaves are served with a beer cheese queso sauce for dipping – does it get any better than pretzels and cheese? Classic.
Last, but not least, the calamari strips. Typically, when you order calamari, you’ll be presented with a dish filled with ring shaped calamari pieces, right? Well, not Lee Roy Selmon’s version!
These are calamari strips, not rings! They are larger pieces of calamari, lightly breaded and seasons, and served with a sweet chili dipping sauce. So tasty!
Well, there you have it! Are you drooling yet? If you live in the area, I’d definitely recommend heading to Lee Roy Selmon’s for some game day food and fun (there are always big screens throughout the restaurant so you can catch your team of choice), and keep your eyes out for the new small plates menu to arrive!
What would you want to sample off of Lee Roy’s new menu?
The menu looks totally different! I used to work there (EEK!) for all of two weeks in college. Had a terrible experience and hated the food. But this looks surprisingly normal & tasty đŸ˜‰
To be honest, this was only my second time eating at a Lee Roy Selmon’s – both experiences have been pretty great, considering it isn’t my “normal” cuisine (haha – meat and fried food aren’t #1 on my list, but I do enjoy them on occasion!)!