I remember during my 20s being snowed in while visiting the parents of my pal Teddy in Shelby, N.C. We ran sled races down their steep, icy street. We drank moonshine. I heard Southern accents like I’d never before. And then Beatrice — pronounced Be-AT-triss, I’ll never forget it — served up her signature pot roast.

Heaven. Indescribably, unforgettably, delicious.

I’ve loved pot roast ever since, and while Beatrice’s will always reign supreme, I have long wanted to feature the dish in FFF. Problem was, it’s not easy to find in local restaurants.

Then came my breakthrough. While preparing for a magazine feature on Solomon’s Castle, a quirky roadside attraction southeast of Tampa Bay in Hardee County, I discovered that the equally quirky restaurant on the grounds, quirkily named The Boat in the Moat, has pot roast on the menu.

Halfway there. After some online research, and more than a few dead ends, I found that Dead Bob’s in St. Pete serves it.

THE BOAT IN THE MOAT

The Boat in the Moat was built by the late artist Howard Solomon as part of his wildly eclectic attraction, which is less than 90 minutes from both downtown St. Pete and downtown Tampa and is definitely worth a visit.

The craft sits in a shallow, motionless creek. It’s not going anywhere. Inside it’s floor-to-ceiling wood, decorated in a hodgepodge style, with nautical knick-knacks, round stained-glass windows, mismatched chairs, et al. The restaurant features a large, open-air courtyard, but we ate inside to get the full effect — plus it was a blustery Thursday afternoon.

I ordered my Pot Roast ($15.95) with mashed potatoes (what else?) and spinach casserole (as recommended).

Appearance

Pretty on a bright-blue plate. The kitchen had even dug a crater in the potatoes for the gravy to pool. It’s the same technique my Mom used. Had I known the meal came with a dinner roll, I would’ve declined it.

Texture and Taste

Home cookin’. The thick slices of beef, appropriately grainy, were tender and moist when mixed with the gravy. Some of the borders were a bit overdone and chewy, but in my experience that’s no sin when it comes to pot roast.

The potatoes were silky with nary a lump, and the gravy was rich and beefy, if a little thinner than I prefer. The spinach casserole was terrific — decadently cheesy, but easy to fork-cut and eat.

Much to its overall credit, the dish was not too salty, and I actually sprinkled some on from a shaker.

DEAD BOB’S

I’ve never quite understood the popularity of this place, which sits in a dilapidated strip mall near the junction of Central and Pasadena avenues. It must be the cheap drinks and food. Or that it stays open ’til 3 a.m. every day of the week. Maybe the irreverence of the name has something to do with it (the owner named it after a friend, who died). Or because Dead Bob’s is nearly always busy, which it was on Tuesday at 6:30 when we managed to find a cramped table for nine.

Before I continue, I’d be remiss if I didn’t share with you (at right) the sign on both of the restroom doors. Make of it what you will.

I ordered a Pot Roast Dinner ($11.24) andd a steady stream of Bud Light bottles ($3.25 each; Dead Bob’s does not serve drafts). We decided to forgo an appetizer.

Appearance

The room was dark, but I could make out a brawny portion of beef covered in brown gravy, with gravy-covered mashed potatoes and a mound of broccoli that looked to have tumbled from a frozen bag.

Texture and Taste

As my Ohio-bred Dad used to say: pretty durned good. The star of the production was the pot roast itself — fork-cut tender, succulent, not a dry bite in the entire portion. The hearty beef stood on its own, with or without the gravy, which didn’t make much of an impression.

The mash potatoes were too dense for my liking, but held up their end. The broccoli was just as it looked — limp, short on flavor. I ate only a few bites. Besides, I’m a firm believer that peas are the only vegetable that should accompany mashed potatoes (although spinach casserole is a fair substitute).

And the Winner of the Country vs. City Pot Roast Rumble Is …

The Boat in the Moat.

Permit me a caveat: If my decision was based solely on the pot roast, Dead Bob’s would’ve won. But when considering the meals as a whole — the gravy, the potatoes, the spinach casserole vs. the broccoli, the atmosphere, the blue plate — it was the landlocked nautical restaurant that provided the better experience.