CUAIRSITNE
HARD ROCK
EXCELLENCE
Council Oak Steaks & Seafood
By Margaret Word Burnside and Aaron R. Fodiman
Photography by Noraa
The Seminole Hard Rock
Hotel & Casino excels
in everything it does,
so it is no surprise that
its Council Oak Steaks &
Seafood restaurant is a culinary
excursion that is unmatched
in the Tampa Bay area. The
impressive menu features
the finest 100 percent USDA
prime steaks and fresh local
seafood, plus an extensive
award-winning wine selection
with more than 300 wines from
over a dozen countries. Council
Oak opens at 5 p.m. daily and
is located on the main level
between the casino cashier and
the Hard Rock Cafe.
In addition to the restaurant,
a butcher shop displays meat
that has been dry-aged between
21 and 28 days for tenderness
and flavor, which you select to eat at the
restaurant, or you can purchase USDA
prime wet-aged steaks to take home. Dryaging
The PlumpJack merlot-braised prime beef short rib at Council Oak Steaks
produces a more flavorful product,
but wet-aging is more commonly used
because of the retained moisture and lower
cost.
Council Oak’s elegant interior sets the
mood for fine dining. Skilled servers glide
about attending to your every need. You
can begin with one of the eight appetizers
such as a Wagyu Beef Tartare or a crispy
calamari and lobster combination, or order
items from the raw bar such as caviar,
oysters, shrimp and crab. Five salads and
two soups are also available. In addition
to the steaks and lamb chops, the menu
offers red snapper, sea bass, scallops, king
crab, whole Maine lobster, pork chops and
& Seafood in Tampa was a dish of pure perfection.
170 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE | MARCH/APRIL 2020
John “Plump Jack” Falstaff.
Another interesting fact
about PlumpJack luxury
wines is that they use the
alternative closure of a screw
cap.
Our special wine dinner
began with a seafood platter
of oysters, snow crab, chilled
mussels, clam ceviche and
king crab on cracked ice
that was served with a 2018
PlumpJack Chardonnary
Reserve, Napa Valley. This
was followed by Skuna Bay
salmon with a wonderful
warm cabbage salad in
PlumpJack wine butter,
accompanied by an enjoyable
2017 Adaptation, Cabernet
Sauvignon, Napa Valley,
and a glass of PlumpJack
merlot. Next, freshly made
cranberry sorbet cleansed our palate for
our PlumpJack merlot-braised prime beef
short rib with creamed leeks, potato gratin,
crispy onion and charred carrots, which
was paired with an incredible 2016 Odette
Estate, Cabernet Sauvignon, Stags Leap
District. This meal concluded with a Saint-
André unbaked cheesecake with berry
compote that was served with a 2017 Cade,
Cabernet Sauvignon, Howell Mountain.
Dining at Council Oak is like hitting the
jackpot. At Council Oak, you are a winner
every time.9
EDITOR’S NOTE: Council Oak Steaks &
Seafood is located in the Seminole Hard Rock
Hotel & Casino, 5223 N. Orient Road, Tampa,
(813) 627-7600. For information on the wine
dinners, call (813) 627-6630.
chicken. Shareable sides such as lobster
macaroni and cheese, cream corn and
bacon, creamed spinach and asparagus
will add to the overall pleasure of the meal.
Try to save room for one of their special
desserts. Each is worthy of ordering, but
we are addicted to the chocolate cake that
has chocolate mousse and homemade
fudge, and the 151 Volcano of vanilla bean
ice cream with Heath bar crunch flambéed
tableside in 151-proof rum.
Besides the regular menu, Council
Oak hosts gourmet wine paired dinners.
We recently attended a PlumpJack
wine dinner. The PlumpJack name was
chosen by the winery’s two owners,
California Gov. Gavin Newsom and
composer/philanthropist Gordon Getty
in reference to Shakespeare’s character Sir