Restaurant Review: Fresh Mouth

After walking by it a hundred times, Kara and I decided to stop into Fresh Mouth (1600 E 8th Ave # D101, Tampa, FL 33605-3741, (813) 241-8845) and try some of their good old fashion ballpark food. I occasionally love to dabble in this kind of stuff, both because it’s cheap and because it’s a form of gluttony I can get onboard with. The idea of food smothered in cheese and grease while still being delicious appeals to me on some carnal level, and I like that.

Since it’s in Centro Ybor, you will see all kinds of patrons here. The diverse crowd all seemed to be in good spirits and the food all looked good, so we dove right in to ordering the Chicken Philly, a large cheddar cheese fries and club sandwich.

Service was pretty quick. We had our drinks inside of 5 minutes and our food within 10 minutes. Kara’s club sandwich was pretty large, and swelled out of the bread. When she broke it open, piles of tomatoes and lettuce and meat spilled out. This is a good sign, as many clubs I’ve tried skimp out on meat and load up on mayo to compensate. When asked what she thought, she said, “Oh, it’s good.” The big shit eating grin on her face confirmed her response.

The chicken philly steak sub was alright. The chicken itself was a little dry and they skimped on the onions and peppers in favor of more cheese. While I love cheese, I really wish this was a more complete sandwich with more vegetables and tender chunks of meat. That said, the sandwich was bland. Most chicken phillies are seasoned so they compliment the sharp cheese. This needed hot sauce, and it got it.

We shared a basket of chili cheese fries, and it’s a good thing we did. There’s no way one person could eat all of these, even it’s their only meal. The sheer quantity of cheese, starch and grease would either kill you dead or at least dislodge your lower bowel. It’s a lot to take in. All of that said, it was extremely tasty. The fries were the crinkle cut variety, covered in nacho cheese and a very hearty chili. Most of the time when I order chili fries, I end up with a watery chili that doesn’t have much texture. This chili had chunks of meat and more than enough spice to make it taste very good. This is my guilty pleasure food, and I love it.

I can see a place like Fresh Mouth being the perfect late night post-drinking session spot to wind down and pound down some alcohol soaking starch. The reasonable price, average service and relatively tasty food will encourage you to come back, if only for the chili cheese fries and people watching.

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