The WUSF 89.7 reporter takes us to her favorite barbecue spot.
by Arielle StevensonHow she found Trust Me BBQ: Colon was working at tbt* at the time, writing a story about food carts. Editor Doug Bennett suggested she seek out this Caribbean-style barbecue joint run out of a Riverview gas station.
Her go-to order: When she’s not breaking stories on WUSF, Colon noshes on jerk chicken, macaroni & cheese and collard greens. But she rotates her sides based on whatever’s freshest.
Love and ribs: Trust Me owners Lenae and Roger Trusty met when Lenae was living in Clearwater. Roger’s BBQ/Jamaican food cart had “racks of ribs as long as your arm,” Lenae recalls fondly. On the day of her first visit, Roger was just setting up, and the two got talking while the ribs cooked (for several hours). Nine years later, Lenae and Roger are married, with daughters Savannah and Sydney.
When to go: There’s usually a line out the door around lunchtime. Seating is limited to a single picnic bench, so Colon usually dines al fresco at the Riverview Park and Civic Center around the corner at 11020 Park Drive.
Kid-friendly: For her daughter Norah’s first birthday, Colon wanted to throw a party but was feeling a bit overwhelmed. When she called up Roger to talk catering logistics, he calmed her down by saying, aptly enough, “Hey, trust me.”
8624 U.S. 301 S, Riverview, 813-374-2284.