Primo’s Pasta and Ribs

A bad economy and a lack of snowbirds has left Primo’s Pasta and Ribs (3580 Ulmerton Rd, Clearwater, (727) 573-7656) a desolate place. Dereck and I went there for dinner earlier this week and we were the only patrons at 6PM on Sunday. The restaurant, one that has signs of once being a busy place, was down to a bartender and a cook. It was sad really, as I recognize the Primo’s name as one I associate with pretty good pizza.

When we walked in, we first noticed how incredibly hot and muggy the place was. If they had air conditioning, they weren’t running it. We decided to brave on anyway. After waiting a few minutes at the front, a frazzled looking guy came from the back and said, “I’m the only one here. I’ll be out in a minute.” We took that as the cue to seat ourselves.

The dining room is what you’d expect in a family restaurant, not too fancy but not fast food sterile either. There were a few niceties, such as the large skylight in the middle of the room that lit everything up even with the lights off. There were accents of dark woods throughout the room and, aside from the heat and humidity, it was pretty comfortable.

Once the cook came out, he apologized for the wait and came quickly with drinks. He could see that I was sweating like a pony from the heat, so he came out with another round while we looked over the menus. I noticed all the prices were pretty reasonable, so I decided to go all out with the Ribeye, one of their most expensive plates at only $18. Dereck decided on the appetizer plate which included breaded shrimp, cheese bread, cheese sticks and chicken fingers.

While the food was cooking, I took in just how empty the place was. I could hear the soft rock station playing clearly because it wasn’t drowned out by voices. It was almost eerie, not hearing clanging in the kitchen or orders being taken. It really had me worried. Dereck took this as an opportunity to go have a smoke.

The first round of food, bread and my salad, came up in about 10 minutes. There wasn’t much noteworthy about either dish. The bread was in that strange state between soft and hard that bread gets when it’s produced, allowed to cool and then warmed again. The knot shape made for good presentation, but it wasn’t anything worth ordering. The salad was much the same, with lettuce that was on the verge of wilting and salad dressing that was uninspiring. The lettuce was sweating profusely in the heat, leaving me with a salad that was water logged and relatively tasteless.

After 10 more minutes, our entrees showed up. Dereck’s looked pretty good and he confirmed this sentiment. It looks like typical bar food and he seemed to enjoy it.

My Ribeye came out and it both looked and tasted pretty good. I ordered it medium rare and it came out a little more well done than I like, but all around it was what I would expect in a ribeye. It was unseasoned and obviously had not been aged, but for a fresh cut of meat, it was acceptable. The meat was actually a good indicator of Primos as a concept, a little overdone but acceptable.

The potato that came with it, lacking bacon and dry, was lackluster as well. Instead of a cheddar cheese, they used a mozzarella which didn’t help the cause. I spooned out the hot insides, filled it with butter and sour cream and chipped away at it. Acceptable, but nothing stellar.

All and all, I guess I can see why Primos was so empty. It’s in a great location (on a busy section of Ulmerton road) and the prices are fair, but it’s nothing to write home about.

Italian