French Connection

Restaurant: Cassis American Brasserie

Address: 170 Beach Drive N.E., St. Petersburg, 33710

Phone: 727-827-2927

Website: www.cassisab.com

Lunch guest: Andy Bowen, CEO and president of Tampa-based Clearview Communications and Public Relations.

Reservations: Accepted, not required.

Parking: Usually some metered spots on the street. Can valet park through the restaurant.

One-hour lunch test: Passed.

See and be seen: Lunchtime is a mix of tourists, retirees, young professionals and executives. Local elected officials eat lunch there occasionally, too. Tables that line the sidewalk are excellent for people watching on busy and eclectic Beach Drive.

Privacy: Inside tables are spread far apart and several booths are great for quiet conversations. Some tables on the sidewalk, with large umbrellas, are also semi-private.

Ambiance: Big-city class with a French twist and a little bit of South Beach. The black-and-white checkered floor is a nod to Cassis partner and Executive Chef Jeremy Duclut, who was born in France. Brown booths and large mirrors give the restaurant a big-city feel. And the yellow walls and aqua-greens umbrellas outside provide its South Beach motif.

Food: The supersized salads are some of the most-ordered lunch items. Selections include Campari tomato and avocado; roasted beets with fresh ricotta, honey and pistachios; grilled romaine with a chipotle ranch dressing; and warm lentil and Soppressata with baby arugula, fennel and lemon vinaigrette. The smaller options are $8, while the larger portions are $13.
Salads can be ordered with grilled chicken, shrimp, salmon, steak or duck leg confit. Those additions cost from $7.50 to $9.50.
Regular soups include Manhattan grouper chowder for $8; cucumber and mint gazpacho with a crab salad for $7.50; and onion soup gratinee (au gratin) for $7.50. Sandwich choices range from the popular Cassis burger, which comes with caramelized onions and Gruyere cheese, to a crab cake BLT and the BBQ spiced grouper. Sandwiches and burgers run from $12.50 to $14.50.

Ownership: Duclut, who worked under prominent Philadelphia restaurateur Georges Perrier for 12 years, helped open Cassis in 2010. In 2009 Duclut was a winning contestant on an episode of “Chopped,” a reality cooking show on the Food Network.
Duclut says weekend brunch has become the restaurant's busiest time, though weekday lunch remains popular. The trendy location, near downtown St. Petersburg museums and the waterfront, has mostly been positive. Controversy over redevelopment with the nearby pier, he says, has been the only negative. “Things are going really great,” says Duclut. “But we are always trying to get better.”