The best Mexician Pizza around

On The Road With Dan I Cook:  VIP American Mexican Cuisine, Treasure Island FLA.

I’m not a fan of true Mexican food. I don’t like corn tortillas and queso blanco cheese or any other type of Mexican cheese. I love flour tortillas, Monterey Jack and Cheddar cheese baby! I don’t like tamales, I love Mexican Pizza! Call me a flawed food writer…I don’t care. I grew up in South Florida, not in South Texas or Mexico. Us natives in South FLA love americanized Mexican food. I have two favorite Mexican Restaurants in my home county of Broward…Cielto Lindos and La Bamba. I really never found any place that matches up with those two joints. That all changed when I traveled to the west coast of FLA to Treasure Island 11 years ago.

Across the street from the hotel I was staying at, the Bilmar, sits and unassuming place in an old strip center named the VIP. Some one at the hotel told me that place has the best Mexican food around. They pointed at it and I’m thinking, are you freaking crazy that place looks like a dump! Mind you, this was 11 years ago and I was not as openminded with trying food joints I wasn’t familiar with and looked a little shady. Needless to say, there wasn’t much of any food choices near me so I decided to give VIP a try.

Interior facing the back entrance

Ambiance

Small…..very small. When you walk in, the bar takes up almost the whole right side of the restaurant. They have some two-person high tops to the left and 4-top tables as you work your way to the back of the restaurant. As you walk past the tables, there is a small hallway where the small bathrooms are on the left. You can continue to walk thru the kitchen…that’s right, thru the kitchen, folks…with the cooks on your left. You can exit the restaurant to the rear and enter there as well, if you wish. (There is parking in the back so the back is an entrance, too)

Fast forward to present day…this place has gotten so busy that the rear entrance is now the front entrance. You following me here? LOL. They have seating out back, which is now the front of the business, along with a small outdoor bar and a hostess stand. During peak serving times, all… and I mean ALL… seats/tables are on a wait list. That includes all the stools at the bar. It was not like that 11 years ago. When they made that “reserve seating” change I was like WTF! Since I only came to Treasure Island once a year, I could see as time progressed how popular this place had become. Honestly, they need a strict seating policy like this to prevent angry customers and fights. During the last decade, the interior hasn’t change much at all. It is still a clean ‘dive’… if that makes any sense. They have a great jukebox and are not afraid to turn the volume up either.

More Mexcian Pizza

The Food

Hands down they make the best Mexican Pizza I’ve ever had!  I get mine with shrimp and they just layer everything on these two 12 inch flour tortillas…Cheese, shrimp, tomatoes, refried beans, and  jalapeños. The thing is HUGE and the price doesn’t kill your wallet. I have also had their burritos, nachos and chips and salsa;  All which are comparable to Cielto Lindos and La Bamba. To me, it’s all about their Mexican Pizza. You have to try it once before you die and no I’m not joking. I’m not a big margarita fan but my wife had a couple and said they were some of the best she has ever had. I can tell you this, their beer is ice cold baby.

Seared Tuna Roll, cut up like sushi

Service

The service is pretty damn good considering how busy they get. The food can take some time to roll out especially on a busy night, but if you saw the size of the kitchen you could understand why. How they pump so much good food out of that small space is incredible!

Verdict

Why this place hasn’t been featured on Diners, Drive Ins and Dives is beyond me! VIP deserves to be featured on that show and I encourage everyone to shoot a tweet to @guyfreri and tell him to drive his ass to Treasure Island and sample the best American Mexican food on the west coast of FLA. Plus, I’m sure the Chef would love the beach and maybe hit Walt’s Fish Shak while he is in the area. Four Beers! Remember to them that Dan I Cook sent you and Stay Hungry!

Four beers= Outstanding
Three beers = Good
Two beers = OK
One beer = Needs work
Zero beers= Sucks (No beer is never a good thing.)

The front which is now the back of VIP…confusing I know LOL

VIP Mexican American Cuisine
10625 Gulf Blvd. Treasure Island, FL 33706