Time to start this back up...The Canopy/Birch & Vine, St. Pete, Fl

So, I know I haven't written in ages, however, after this experience, thought it was time to get back on the ball.
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Date: August 30, 2013 (Birch & Vine), September 2, 2013 (The Canopy)
Time: Dinner/Drinks
Type: Restaurant/Bar
Where:  340 Beach Dr NE, St. Petersburg, FL 33701
Party: Food - Just me

Immediate Impression:
Elegant and trendy; fairly upscale on both levels; gorgeous view from the Canopy Deck of the St. Pete Pier and Bay.  Super Hip upstairs set-up, and very cozy downstairs one.  The crowd early in the evening was older but got significantly younger by midnight.  There is a ALOT of pretense going around.

Service:
Depends on whom your server is - some are incredible, others act annoyed asking for pepper.  Actually ran into a server from Birch  & Vine at another location, all she did was b**ch about the "low-class" people who visit during DineTampaBay Week, she hates serving those "kind" of people.  Glad she was NOT my server.

For some reason, they horde their bar napkins.  They are not given with your drinks, nor are they readily available for use.

Menu/Food:
This is where the two restaurants/experiences diverge greatly!

At Birch & Vine, at 11pm, I ordered the Birchwood Cobb Salad.  OMG - amazing, delectable, wanted more.  It's a deconstructed cob salad, the egg is a cold but perfectly soft boiled; the pork belly superbly crispy, and the Gorgonzola fritters explode in your mouth.  This, be far, is the BEST salad I have every had;  it is well worth the $14 price tag.

Now, after that experience, I felt encourage/comfortable trying food upstairs; foolishly, I had hoped the menus would be comparable.  Although some of the items overlapped, the Cobb salad was not on the Canopy menu.  I ultimately decided on the Grilled Chicken & Aged Cheddar BLTA.  Bleh!

Giving some credit for it being a holiday, I'll give points for it being open; however, if you are going to serve food, make sure its good!  The chicken was try and tasteless (yes, tasteless!), the pork belly (one small piece, cut in two), was rubbery and gelatinous, and the Hoagie - a fall apart white bread mess I could get at McDonalds. I felt terrible for the establishment.  How could the food just a few floors below be so fundamentally more exquisite then this, this, flaccid chicken and stuff.

Allergen Info: For those with allergies, just notify them, they will work with the chef and kitchen and make any corrections you need.

Price: Entrees are in the $20's, sandwiches the $10's, salads about the same.

Final thought: I will definitely be back to Birch & Vine for dinner, looking forward to it; as for the Canopy, no food ever again, drinks and view only!