Valentines Weekend in Tampa

Saturday, although temps were chilly, we went and took a nice drive up Gulf Blvd from Madeira Beach to Clearwater beach, passing by lots of Mom and Pop motels, tourist traps, unique beach bars and shops. On Clearwater beach we stopped at Frenchy's Rockaway Grill, right on the beach. Parking in Frenchy's own parking lot, only holds about 10 cars just beside the restaurant, we were immediately seated, but it was very busy, with a live band playing. Perfect views of the Gulf...we started with the She Crab soup....large chunks of crab in a thick and flavorful soup...munched on Onion Straws, one order is enough for 4, until our regular Grouper Sandwich's came, one grilled the other Cajun style. This place still lives up to its reputation for excellent Grouper Sandwich's...and its a fun place with great views.

Sunday we took the Kayaks out at Picnic Island, it was only in the lo 60s but the sun was shining, and made it a perfect day for Kayaking...we explored a new island near the AirForce Base, lots of wildlife and birds, the water was calm and clear today...no dolphin sitings on this trip though.

Monday after checking out the Academy Award nominee "Crazy Heart" movie, we went over to Hyde Park/SOHO area to enjoy a dining spot I haven't been to in a while, Ciccio's and Tony's. Place was jumping with pretty Hyde park people, the Olympics were playing at the bar area...lively place, LARGE menu they share with the Water sushi place next door. Lettuce Wraps have always been my fav here, so I got the Natural Chicken, and HUGE sliced all natural chicken breast, with plenty of toppings and tasty sauces to make your own wraps. We also tried one of the Stir Fry bowls you can create...very good!

2010 Gasparilla Weekend! The Invasion and Parade

Friday afternoon started off great, some lunch outdoors along the waterfront at Hula Bay, some Vino in the backyard patio with great friends, and then over to Hyde Park for the Pre-Gaspar festivities. Mateo's new Mexican place was packed, we ended up Valet parking at The Lodge on Howard Ave, and walked around Howard Ave which was hopping by 700pm. We walked over to The Rack on Platt Street for some good eats, have dinner outside, we enjoyed the Lobster/Spinach Dip, with large/soft triangle bread for dipping, then onto the Crunchy Grouper Tacos - Large fried pieces of Grouper in 3 soft flour tortillas, with all the accompaniments, and fries...they were good. And also some Bison Sliders with Cheese/Fries, very juicy and cooked perfectly. It was a great place to start the night.
Then it was a walk across the street to Hyde Park Cafe, where they started a new Friday Night special called "Flip Flop Fridays", and now have a Huge Biergarten with over 60 beers from all over the globe on Tap...also serving Piranellis thin crust pizzas and free wings. The beers are only $10 for a mug and all you can drink from 8-10pm, with a DJ outside in the Biergarten spinning classic dance/alternative tunes from the 80s/90s. It was a fun crowd. Couldn't stay too late, a big day was ahead for Gasparilla.

Saturday morning was very cloudy, breakfast was at a buddies house in Tampa Heights, then we took the #1 Bus (about a dozen of us), to downtown Tampa, first stop was The Hub...it started raining, but by 4pm the parade had reached downtown and we walked over to Taps in Skypoint...some of us watched the parade from Taps outside under the shelter of a tent set up out front, others braved the rain and wind(it stopped raining by 5pm) with Ponchos on and watched the parade up front, catching beads, meeting lots of folks along the parade route. To end the evening, it was an excellent concert by Collective Soul on the Great lawn of the new Curtis Hixon Riverfront Park.

An excellent Saturday night!! And successful Gasparilla Weekend!

SIde Bern's and a night out

Saturday evening, a bunch of us met at Side Bern's restaurant on the corner of Howard Avenue and Morrison Ave in the Hdye Park neighborhood of South Tampa. A Tampa institution, well known for culinary delights, famed chefs, and exclusive ever changing menu's with each season. Free Valet parking along the entrance along Morrison Ave, and there is nice patio area for waiting for every one to arrive and early cocktails before being seated inside for dinner. Service is impeccable here, your waiter and an assistant to the waiter. Very high end, and exclusive menu, portions are very small, but it is the taste you come here for...most of our meals we ordered were superb...Lamb Sirloin, Halibut, the Tuna was said to be just ok. Its a once in a lifetime opportunity to impress someone, but definitely not your casual type of eatery.

After dinner, it was a quick walk across the street to the total opposite environment to where we were...the Tiny Tap...grabbing a pitcher from the freezer, we enjoyed some very cheap draft beer,and a few rounds of pool, before heading out on Howard Avenue, and actually hailing a cab to take us 5 blocks north on Howard to CHEAP...very pretty people, the music was keeping all happy, there are several rooms to see and be seen....then a cab to my neighborhood stomping ground...Green Iguana Westshore!!

South Westshore Crawl; TaTa-Palooza; a Festival

What a weekend....Friday we walked up to CDB's on Westshore a few blocks form my house, the weather was great for sitting outside for some dinner. A great bottle of Wine, some Antipasto Salad(I ordered by mistake), and a Meatball Grinder on the upper outside deck. We were looking forward to CDB's pinwheels(rolled up Provolone Cheese, Ham, Turkey and Roast Beef and sliced like pinwheels), but they come on the Chef Salad, not the Antipasto Salad, which was loaded mostly with greens, and a few chunks of Salami, Cheese and Ham, some carrots here and there..nothing special, but good. Our server did bring out a side order of the pin wheels...next time I think that would be good enough with some bread and a bottle of wine......The meatball grinder(the small) was huge, oven baked, melted cheese...plenty of food...again though there sauce is a bit sweet for my liking...the bottle of wine, side order of pinwheels and company made the night.
Afterwards, we walked next door to The Wooden Door Irish Pub, the Rays game was on, a light crowd was on hand, the outside patio tables were all taken up, its nice they put a 50" flat screen out on the patio....it was then onto the Green Iguana Westshore to finish watching the Rays game, much livelier crowd as usual..the band started up, and it just got livelier from there.

Saturday it was breakfast over at Mama's Kitchen on South Dale Mabry on my way to Home Depot to do some housework...nice to start the day off with some of the BEST biscuits and gravy in town.
Later in the afternoon, met up with a friend of mine up the street who lives in Stoney Point neighborhood, on one of the canals leading into the Bay. We took his boat out on the bay for a few hours, beautiful blue skies, we found a nice sand bar area over near Weedon Island where there were about a dozen other boaters hanging out.
Saturday night was "TaTa-Palooza" at a friends house, to Benefit the Breast Cancer society, there were about 50 of us that showed up for a fun evening of Black Jack, Food and Drinks, Prize giveaways(I got the little kids bike), and a game of Guessing the TaTa's...all for a great cause...the evening went on afterwards as we headed to Club Chelsea, the Old Club Azalea downtown Tampa, interesting crowd, and even a hilarious drag show...for some late night Pizza it was on to Ybor City where we noticed Demini's on 7th was closed, but we enjoyed walking on 7th Ave, looking rough as usual at 3am on a Saturday night, for Pizza at New York New York, and then around the corner for a few more slices at the little pizza place on 15th street.

Sunday was a relaxing day, off to the Hyde Park Fall Art Festival, this year there were many vendors sampling food items and health conscious activities, after socializing and looking at over 100 Art booths, we sat outside on the patio at Bailey's for lunch. They mostly just do catering and take-home meals, except when they open for dinner for a few hours on Tues, Wed and Thurs evenings....this was the first time they did lunch....very freshly prepared Chicken Salad sandwich's or BBQ pulled pork, with their famous BBQ beans, and very tangy and citrusy ColeSlaw with Mandarin Oranges...a down home, southern style type of place. It was back home to catch he rest of the Bucs game against Green Bay(GO BUCS!).

USF Bulls and The Bungalow

After flying back from Greenville, SC on Friday, a good buddy of mine and I went to my Alma Maters(USF) home game against Kansas....parking at the Westshore Marriott hotel, we took the hotel shuttle, with about 8 KU fans, to get dropped off about 2 blocks form the stadium...we met up with his co-workers who were having a nice sized tailgate party, food, beers and all..being that this was nearly a sell out crowd for tonight's game(59,000)..the fields outside the stadium were packed with tailgaters...Good Times!! There is nothing like a night College Football game against two ranked teams...between the USF marching band, the overflowing Student section, and everyone just excited that the young USF football program has done so well. The game was one of the most exciting i've seen, from KU dominating the game in the first half, to USF taking on a substantial lead in the second half...only to be tied up by the end of the forth quarter, and what looked to be an overtime game, a field goal was kicked within seconds of the end of the game to pull our South Florida Bulls ahead of KU and WIN!! It was good to see some of my alumni I graduated with, we always meet up at the Pirate Ship deck behind the student section at half time each home game.

Saturday morning, went over to Mama's Kitchen on Dale Mabry Hwy, just south of Gandy Blvd..as usual, the greasy spoon diner like restaurant pulled through with another great breakfast....
For dinner, a few of us went over to a new place on Kennedy Blvd in Hyde Park area called The Bungalow. It's a very large Bungalow house built in 1919, they did a great job with an open bar area, and small dining area...very nice, wood floors and brick walls, there are pictures of the old house through the bar area. With flat screen tv's throughout, you can catch any game whether in the bar area or dining area...the crowd is very Hyde Park pretty, there is a front porch as well with some tables. Food was good as well, starting with the Buffalo Chicken Wings, they tasted more like Fried Chicken Wings then Buffalo style....dinners included the Surf and Turf sliders(1 burger, 1 ahi tuna, 1 grouper, and 1 crab cake), when I asked what I could get instead of Fries, the server advised that I could only get fries, even though there are about 6 other sides that you can get with other meals(Asparagus, Grilled Veges, Island Cole Slaw, Mac n Cheese, Yucca Fries and Fries)...I demanded the island cole slaw instead of fries, he said he would see what he could do(I got the cole slaw)...the sliders were good, the burger and crab cake were about the size of a .50 cent piece..tiny, the grouper and tuna were a decent size for sliders....I think they should skip the crab cake and go with the jerk chicken slider instead so you would have two turf and two surf sliders.......we also had the Jerk Chicken sandwich which was said to be ok, and the Ahi Tuna dinner which was said to be excellent, cooked rare and flavorful.
The place can get very noisy, there is some music in the bar area...a very nice new addition to Kennedy Blvd.

Tampa's "Cheap" and a Hyde Park evening

A buddy and I went up to check out a new restaurant in Hyde Park/SOHO area called "Cheap". First off, it's definitely not Cheap, unless you are there for Happy Hour which is 5pm to 8pm daily and 5pm to 10pm on Thursday's, and last night was Thursday...a variety of Menu items and all drinks, speciality drinks and beers are half off the menu price. Free valet parking is essential in this part of town, so i'm glad they offer it, an extremely friendly and attractive server greeted us at the door, and immediately sat us...at 730pm, they place wasn't too busy, a dozen or so patrons at the bar and table area. They did a GREAT job renovating the entire building that used to house my one of my favorite Sushi places and Tapas places, which have moved to other locations. Cool, funky, retro, modern, two dining areas with bars, and a billiards area with a few arcade games. We dined on the Surf and Turf(9 oz Sirloin Steak and Grouper) - very tender steak, ordered it medium, it came out a little medium rare, but that was ok, very flavorful and tender, the Grouper was very lightly battered and fried, with a twice baked potato and small salad...very good. We also ordered and shared the Goat Cheese, Lobster Sushi Roll, and Chicken Lollipops...all VERY good, the server did a great job explaining all the menu items and specials to us. Meals start with very soft and fresh baked breads with their Strawberry butter. It was nice to be able to try the place at with everything we ordered being half price, otherwise it would have been a not so cheap meal, but never the less, delicious meal.
After eating we then checked out a new place called the SOHO Tavern on the corner of Platt and Howard..it was once a Laundromat, then Italian restaurant, now a Sports Tavern. Not very tavern like at all, I realize its new, but just very plain place, lots of flat screens for such a small place, about 6 tables and two small bars with an outdoor patio along Howard Ave.
It was then back to Cheap to meet some other friends of ours, we sat outside along Howard Avenue on some nice Director style chairs, while another very friendly server waited on us, along with the owner, Tommy, who came by a few times to check up on us. Specialty Mojitos, Martini's and Premium drinks, still half off until 10pm....
The night later took us to Mangrove's for a few of us wanted to eat, they have a great late night menu at Mangrove's, there wasn't too many people here, we enjoyed the cool music, and lately we ended the night at MacDinton's, busy, wild and crazy as usual on this Thursday evening, lots of beautiful people.

An Oasis in Hyde Park

Last night we decided to stroll up to one of Tampa's "restaurant row's" in the SOHO/Hyde Park area--South Howard Avenue. There are still a few places I have not yet tried, so we decided upon SOHO Oasis Cafe, across from MacDintons. It's a Lebanese place, authentic decor inside and cozy outside patio area with white drapery, and Middle Eastern music in the background. Smiles and friendly servers greeted us at the door and sat us in the small, quaint inside dining area, which also had a very nice bar area. The menu consists of traditional Middle Eastern Tapas style dishes and entrees, along with many Tapas items and Wraps. We decided with Hummus, a very generous portion that came with Pita and also pita chips. Very smooth and flavorful, topped with actual chick peas, plenty for up to four people to share as an appetizer. Main entrees were the Lamb Kabob, Beef Shawarma and Chicken Shawarma, each came with a choice of two sides, we chose the Salad and Rice. VERY flavorful meals, the Lamb was so moist and tender, chicken and beef very flavorful, the rice I wish i could have packed up and taken home, and the salads with a very tangy, lemony vinaigrette dressing. They also have Hookah's for the outside patio area, a great find, prices were also very reasonable as well.

Family Visit from Colorado and a Buddy visits from Boston

Tuesday evening one of my older brothers and his clan(wifey, 3 kids, and 3 dogs) arrived at my house after they made a cross country trek to Florida from Colorado in their 35' RV - like s mall house. I had the whole family over, parking the RV in the driveway, and getting Cappy's Pizza with a Large Greek Salad for take-out. Still my favorite pizza in the Tampa area!

Wednesday morning a good buddy of mine flew in from Boston for some good times. We went over to harbour Island for lunch at Cafe Dufrain, it was nice to sit outside along the Channel with great views of downtown Tampa, and an awesome lunch experience of Chicken Rigatoni and the Southwestern Salad, very prompt and friendly service. It was a nice ride back along Bayshore Blvd, getting home just before the thunderstorms starting popping up. The evening had us going to the monthly Hyde Park Music Series, the weather really cooled down due to the afternoon storms, and made it very comfortable outside. We grabbed a bite at the Wine Exchange(service was very weak), some Chicken/Artichoke and BBQ Chicken Pizza's, Cuban Salads, Lobster Ravioli(which was comped because it came out 15 minutes after everyone else ate), and some chilly beverages. Afterwards we went out in the Village, where there were lots of people around, listening to the live music and socializing. Afterwards it was on to Dubliner, great looking crowd for Liter night, then a stop by Taquiero Q for a few tacos, MacDintons, and a taxi back home for a quick one at Green Iguana Westshore.

Thursday, we took the dogs to Picnic Island in the morning so they could run around on the beach and play, and then grabbed some breakfast at the Brunchery on MacDill Ave, which was just ok on this trip, having a Western omelet and Bayshore Benedict. We stopped by the house a grabbed the Tennis Rackets to play a few rounds of Tennis at the City courts on Himes Avenue. A nice lunch followed later at the Green Iguana Westshore - Baja Chicken and a Meatball Sandwhich which was a special of the day, and actually VERY good.
The evening brought us to Ybor City, with some .25 cent wings(Thai and Buffalo style) at Streetcar Charlies - very HUGE wings, crispy and tasty, I believe I found a new wing spot for Thursday nights. We meandered through Ybor, stopping by Spurs and Lounge 714, before retiring at home.

The weekend brings us to the Florida Keys and Key West---be back Monday!

BBQ in Hyde Park - SMOKE

A good buddy of mine took me out for a belated birthday dinner this evening, a new BBQ joint opened up on Platt Street in Hyde Park this week, so we decided to give it a try. Smoke has a great outdoor patio facing Platt Street, and an interesting bar area that maked you feel like you are in an actual smokehouse, the kitchen is behind the bar so you can watch all kinds of BBQ cooking happening. Inside are less than a dozen wooden booths, the building used to be an old Auto Mechanic Shop, very interesting and great design to this place. Very friendly and attractive servers greeted us, sat us, explained the menu, as the place just opened there were a few items not available yet(smoked salmon and beef ribs). There a few choices of Fresh Brewed Iced Tea, and as of now just beer and wine. We opted for a Full Rack of Pork Ribs-very tangy and sweet fall off the bone ribs, full of bbq flavor, very meaty and tender; Hawiian BBQ Chicken-moist and tender half chicken with a sweet pineapple bbq sauce; each of the meals is served with two sides so we shared the Macaroni and Cheese-with layers of real cheese and topped with an herb bread crumb dressing, Twice Baked Sweet Potato-not a good choice, the texture of the potato and flavor was rather bland, Red Cabbage-our favorite side, just plain delicious and Baked Beans-with a very smokey sausage flavor, and bits of sausage.

It was a good meal, and I will be back, naturally as the first week open they are still refining things, but for the third day open, it was just fine. Its kind of BBQ meets Hyde Park, not fancy, but not picnic tables and paper plates either...a nice BBQ!

Tampa Greek, Jamaican and Irish!

A good friend of mine was turning 33, and she decided to have everyone get together at the Greek Restaurant Acropolis in Ybor City. Walking in was like walking into a huge Greek Party, lots of very loud live Greek music playing, servers and patrons dancing, and a belly dancer strolling through the restaurant. We had about 18 people at our table, and as fun as the atmosphere was, it was just too loud to talk to anyone at the table....the party did subside a bit, the live music kept going on all evening though...the food is very reasonable and very large portions, from what everyone had, they all said it was very delicious, although the Souvlaki(pork on Skewers) was ab it dry and tough, and when I mentioned it to the waitress, she just said "I guess you won't be needing a to go box", not very friendly, and we all felt that the service was very slow, they messed up one of the orders, and drinks were very slow to come out...they also wouldn't split the check. They have a few tables outside, which makes for great outdoor dining along 7th Ave in Ybor.
Afterwards we walked down 7th Ave to The Rare Olive, where there was a Jamaican band playing reggae music, service is always very slow in this place, it took a long time for us all to get drinks. It was then on to Level III, but only the 1st level of this three floor with a rooftop was open, and they were playing some nice old 80's dance tunes, a trip back in time.
The party ended up at the Irish Nightspot MacDinton's in Hyde Park, lots of great people watching, and an entertaining live band. After we closed MacDinton's, we walked across the street to the Pita Pit, for a GREAT Pita sandwich at 3am. A quick taxi ride back home, and this Saturday night was done.

Meatballs and Mojitos!

I had another Meatballs and Mojitos get together at my house, this time for the Holiday. About 25 of my good friends came by for my famous meatballs and yummy mojitos. The meatball thing is actually quite funny, I decided a few years back when having get together to just buy some frozen meatballs in the grocer and some Hunt's canned Garlic and Herb Sauce, put them in a pot for a bout 45 minutes to heat through, and I never received more raves over them...I missed them once, and everyone revolted "where are the meatballs??"..well, I'll never forget them again...the mojitos were great as usual...Kris brought over stuff to make French martini's, which were another big hit, almost more so than the mojitos(bastard)...
Afterwards, we left to head out to a Christmas Party in Hyde Park on S. Boulevard. This street from south of Swann Ave to Bayshore Blvd is all lit up, almost each historic house house has decorations, and the huge oaks lining the street are also all lit up. The party was huge, and just behind the house was another large Christmas party, across the alley to the house on Edison, another old historic house. The only thing missing was a chill in the air...it was muggy and in the 60's this evening!

VICTORIOUS USF BULLS; Hyde Park Art Fest, and Lunch in Hyde Park

What a night, What a game! The euphoric feeling was everywhere in Tampa last night. Being an Alumni, and going to most games since day one, this is what we look forward to, these victorious happenings..coach Jim Leavitt is amazing, the City of Tampa is so proud, and there are lots of new Bulls fans all over the Bay area! Makes me want to go back to USF just for the student rush that's happening on campus.
After the game, we headed over to the Green Iguana Westshore, by 1am, the place was packed, Bulls fans everywhere, and those that were new to the Bulls rage congratulating everyone. It's amazing what a football game can do to people, uplifting spirits, strangers hugging strangers, high fives all around.

Today we got out to the Annual Hyde Park Art Festival, it was a nice crowd, and good breeze on this late September warm day. It was nice to walk around, see some interesting and creative pieces of art, amongst the interesting people. We then walked around Hyde Park area, looking at the historic homes, one of my favorite neighborhoods. With stomachs grumbling after a few hours at the Art Fest, we headed to Howard Ave for lunch, Strings and Rings was only serving a Breakfast Brunch all day, so we went to Evo's for some healthy eats. All their food is fresh, and healthy, very low in fat, no grease of fryers. The Buffalo Chicken Wrap and Thai Chicken Wrap were very filling and flavorful, they have different types of fresh brewed iced teas, and a variety of ketchup flavors for the "AirFries" which are cooked with very hot air, rather than fried...yummy! On the way home we stopped by Pondscapes on the corner of Manhattan Ave and Wallcraft Ave, around the corner from my house, to view the variety of Ponds and Fountains they have on display, actually kicked back for a while in the back area by one of the ponds, very relaxing. They have alot of backyard and outdoor items you normally dont see around.

Tampa on a Tuesday Evening! Hyde Park Cafe is off the List!

Friends flew in from Chicago for work, and wanted to partake on Tampa after a great meeting, so they called upon me to help them with some places to go. One of them used to live here, and loves the Crab Shack on Gandy Blvd in St.Pete, just over the bridge, so we headed there for eats. Typical Florida shack, serving some great crab, a few orders of Dungenous, and King crab were ordered, along with Blue Crab claws, drenched in butter, Maryland Crab Cakes, loaded with crab, very little breading, and raw oysters, huge in in season. All dinners include Salad or Slaw, and choice of potato. Just a very casual, Florida, seafood shack. After a two hour dinner(we took our time, and relaxed, very laid back), it was time to head out on the town...on a Tuesday night. We started at Hyde Park area and the Howard Avenue strip(SOHO)...at nearly 10:30pm, there was nearly no one out and about. MacDintons had an ok crowd, mostly outside, or inside a few were there to listen to Karaoke. Dubliner had a few people, but they only serve beer and wine. Walked by CHEAP, not one person in there, the Corner Bar on Howard and Platt was closed, Mangroves had less than a dozen at the bar. Walking down Platt Ave a little further there were lots of people milling around by midnight, Hyde Park Cafe had a small line, what confuses me is how can a place in Tampa dare to have a Velvet Rope, and select people to go in. I know this is a busy night for Hyde Park Cafe, but it just turns me off to see something like this in of all places Tampa, we are Not LA or Miami. There were less than a dozen people outside, there were several lines, one for women, one for guest lists, one for if you were to drop $300 for a table, and one for the visitors and locals. We were told we could not go in because one of us had sandals(be it nice sandals), but saw a group of other guys walk right in with sandals, only to be told by Manager Mario that they reserved a $300 table, so they can wear what they want. Well, I can tell you that as much as I used to like this place, it isn't worth all this trouble to stand behind a velvet rope(just silly in Tampa), be told when I can go in(with hardley a crowd inside yet), and that I cant go in because of sandals, and I didn't purchase a $300 table, yet I see all the ladies walking in with Flip Flops..this is Florida, right? So we walked over to the Rack, where there was a very lively crowd, billiards, and sushi, and enjoyed spending over $250 for all of us. Hyde Park Cafe is officially off my list of places to patronize. Leaving the guys on their own, they ventured off to Tampa's finest - Mons Venus, and a few other strip clubs via Taxi. I had to work in the morning!

Tampa Dinner, St. Pete Live Music

Took Lisa out for her Birthday last night, we decided on a favorite in Hyde Park, Bella's for Italian. Arrived at around 7pm, complimentary valet parking. The bar area was packed, we were seated immediately, and of course given the complimentary Bruschetta as always for a start. We shared the 1/2 chop salad, chopped crisp greens, small pasta, diced chicken in a delicious Italian dressing. The Meza Luna pasta, stuffed with Asparagus, Prosciutto and cheese that I ordered was delicious, although I saked for a Vodka Sauce instead of the plain tomato cream sauce, and they tacked on $5(my Laughing Cat fav in Ybor always lets you vary the menu to your liking without an charge), but it was delicious. Lisa enjoyed her Chicken Marsala, two breasts of chicken, lots of mushrooms, and a side of Broccoli.
We wanted to hear some live music, and Lisa has been raving about Matt Winter, he was playing at Dan Marino's Martini Bar at Bay Walk in downtown St. Petersburg. It was a quick 25 min ride to Bay Walk, a great crowd was hanging out in the Martini Bar, with the Matt Winter band playing above the bar. Plays alot of covers(Dave Matthews, Oasis, Sublime), also has many great originals..I now have another local band to follow that were very entertaining, Lisa got to chat with Matt afterwards for a bit, and we had lots of laughs with the drummers wife who was hanging out with us at the bar.
They only played until 10pm, so we headed back to Tampa, and hit up our local favorite, Green Iguana Westshore, walking distance to my house. The very friendly John and Theresa were manning the bar outside in the Tiki area, there was a lively crowd, and of course a great entertaining band inside. We kicked back and enjoyed the people watching, and chatted with several people(it seems you can never go to the Green Iguana without ending up talking to someone for the first time).
We got a call from some friends to meet up at City Side for a late cocktail, so we cabbed it there, and spent the last few hours of the night socializing with the ever so Happy alternative crowd at City Side...I really like the VJ there, he plays some great tunes.

Tampa Sushi and Gelato

Took a newbie to Yoko's, my favorite spot for Sushi in the Bay area. Located on MacDill Ave in South Tampa, its just around the corner from my house, and a typically a weekly stop. We did the Bucs Roll, of course, Love, Mexican, and Spider Rolls. Fresh, plentiful, tasty! Afterwards to cleanse the pallet, it was La Casa Dolce on Howard Ave in Hyde Park/SOHO for fresh made Gelato. I tried the Carmel and Nut with Kit Kat Gelato, so smooth, creamy and fresh. YUM! Debi and John tried the Chocolate Hazelnut, and Caramel/Nut and Cheesecake Gelato. It was a nice evening to sit out on Howard Ave, and watch the passersby.

Pre 4th of July in Tampa

Went over to Bayshore to pick up a buddy, and head out for some Sushi and entertainment, tomorrow is a Holiday! Sakana Sushi on Gandy still impresses me, with its Fresh sushi and Great dinner Menu. WE started with some Ginger Salads, Edmame(dressed in a light olive oil/spice mixture served warm), the the Spicey Tuna Bowl, big chunks of very red tuna, mango, and avocado, and the Triple Takati tempura roll. We then headed to Hyde Park/SOHO area, which was VERY busy...Howard Ave. was hopping as we drove up the street from Bayshore. The Dubliner was calling us for great imported Pints, cool tunes from the juke box, and a very friendly, lively good lookin casual crowd.
With all the many celebrations tonight for the 4th, IM going to spend time with the family at my Moms new House in Valencia Lakes. She has a huge field in the back of her house, and me and my bro will be lighting up over $150 bucks worth of piro-technics...gotta love those roadside fireworks tents this time of year.

Shuttle Launch from Tampa, "Totally Electric", and Fort DeSoto Park

Friday was the Space Shuttle Launch from Cape Canaveral, and you can actually watch the launch right from Tampa..we went to Darin's highrise condo on Bayshore Blvd, it was just after an incredibly strong summer thunderstorm, and overlooking the Bay were two double rainbows across the water, an amazing sight. Right on time, the shuttle took of from the East Coast of Florida, and you can watch the plume of smoke rising in the air through the rainbows. Afterwards we did some apt hopping in Darin's building, heading to John's apt on the 11th florr, then late night at Dan's on the 12th floor. Looking out over the Bayshore, you get a great vantage point to see just how beautiful Tampa really is, with the winding Bayshore Blvd to the skyscrapers of downtown, and all the greenery fom the many old trees throughout South Tampa.
Saturday, Debi and I went kayaking out in Riviera Bay in Northeast St. Petersburg. It was a beautiful day to be out on the water, temps were hovering around 90 today. Afterwards, we headed to Ybor City to see the M.A.D. Theater production of "Totally Electric" at the Ritz Theater(old Masquerade). The theater was done up so to look like a high school reunion, there were cocktails being served, and food from the Silver Ring Cafe. The play was very good, taking an interesting look at everything 80's(music, fashion, lingo), there was just about every type of kid you went to high school with in the play. It was amusing at times, and all in all it was entertaining. We headed to Big City Tavern for dinner in Centro Ybor. It was late(around 10:30pm), so many items on the menu were not available, but they were able to cook up a great 14oz ribeye, and the Salmon stuffed with Crabmeat was excellent as well. It was nice to get a table out on the balcony overlooking 7th Ave. Ybor just isn't the same anymore, as it's heydays in the 90's. The crowds are very different, and there are definitely alot less people in the evenings. With about a dozen people on the ground bantering Christian and religious verbiage, with huge signs condeming sinners, I wondered if they had a permit to make all that noise and Fuss, very disturbing. I miss the good old Ybor days, and it seems some recent incident from a couple of clubs(Empire and Fuel), have led to even less people taking advantage of some great restaurants and entertainment in the City's Historic District. I find myself just going into Ybor for an event, play, or dinner nowadays. After Ybor we met up with some friends at St. Bart's Island House on Howard Ave in Hyde Park. Great Band was playing Jazz/Blues/Dance, with a very lively crowd. St. Bart's is an upscale historic type lounge, great Martini Bar type atmosphere, they are known for their Rum Drinks. A nice outdoor patio with fountains had a lot of people mingling together outside as well. For our last stop, it was the Green Iguana Westshore, closing the night with the Band playing "Crazy Bitch" by Buck Cherry.
Sunday we made it out to Fort DeSoto Park with the bikes, the beach was busier than I had seen in some time, but still PLENTY of room for all to enjoy, while riding today along the paved paths from North Beach to East Beach, this has to be one of the nicest Parks in the Tampa Bay area, where you can truly enjoy everything Florida has to offer: Biking, Kayaking, Historic Fort, Fishing, Pier, Ferry to Egmont Key, Wide open pristine beaches, great views of the Skyway and area islands, and Great Homemade Lemonade!

Birthday Weekend in Tampa!

Got back from my business trip on Friday, and decided to watch Robin Williams "Man of the Year" on Pay Per View...funny flick. Saturday, my friends took me out to 717 South in Hyde Park on Howard Avenue. Most of the restaurants were all packed and not seting until at least 9:30pm, so we ended up at 717, and glad we did. We were able to get a table outside along Howard Ave within 15 minutes..the weather was excellent this evening. Angie provided incredible service, we ordered the 8oz fillets, and Pork Chop which was huge and cooked perfectly, I will definitely be back. The menu is Italian and Pan Asian. Afterwards we went for a few cocktails at Mangrove's which started getting busy around 11:30, great DJ.
Sunday, wen to the Green Thumb Festival in St. Pete, this had to be one of the biggest and best plant, outdoor art, and landscaping festivals ive been to. Got myself a unique Pitcher Plant. WE then went to Green Iguana on Bay Pines near the causeway leading to Maderia Beach. Crab Rangoon was awesome, and of course they serve some of the best burgers. We ate outside, watching the boats come in and out on the intracoastal. Sunday evening was birthday celebration with the family...homemade baked Ziti..and lots of laughs with Aunt and Uncle, Bro and Sis-in-Law and Sebastian, and my mom.
Monday, the actual BirthDAY, we had a small BBQ at my house, and watched "Tenacious D" with Jack Black...another good movie, interesting storyline.

Boring Tampa Weekend...NOT! Airfest, Grand Prix, Italian Fest....

Picture Perfect weather, tons of things going on in town, who had time to be bored??
Started Friday night having dinner with Lisa and some friends. My buddy from New Tampa had a friend fly in from Tulsa, OK...first time in Tampa. We met at my house in South Tampa, and headed to Lime on Howard Ave in Hyde Park. VERY busy this Friday eve, we got there around 845pm, and there was a 45 min wait. We hung out at the bar, they were playin some Brazilian/Spanish music, place was jumping. We opted for the large part table at the bar, which had 4 seats opened up. We were able to gets eats and drinks from there. The food was OK at best this time out, we all ordered Chicken Enchiladas which were kind of bland, Bryan got the Steak Tacos, which he said were good. The music got a bit loud after 10pm, and we couldn't talk to one another without screaming, so we walked over after eating to Whiskey Park SOHO, not too busy, good DJ playing, the pool tables were jammed. We got a few drinks in the 'lodge' area of the club(it looks like a lodge, all wood), and proceeded outside where the night temps were great. After a few there(im still on the water habit, and enjoyin it!!), we went to Mangrove's down the street. Again, a decent crowd around 11pm, and the tunes were just flowing from the DJ upstairs. Very loungy, we got a booth on the first floor, and did some people watchin for a while, then sat outside on the deck, until we got the itch to dance, so we headed over to Hyde Park Cafe. DJ's Freddy Fernandez and Tony Faline had the Dance side really groovin', the center courtyard in the place is real nice, gathering area, and the Hip Hop side is ok, if that's what your into. Place had alot of empty 'Reserved' tables and booths all night, don't know why they just lower there reservation standards, instead of holding out all night for those special peeps that spend $300..i think they are missin out, we just wanted to get a bottle of champagne, they wanted us to get more to be able to sit at a table..there loss, many were left empty all night. Still, HPC is one of the best neighborhood dance clubs in the area.

Saturday, my brother and sis in law came down with the baby. My brother and I went over to 'Sweetwater Kayaks' on Gandy and 4th street to rent him a kayak. We were taking the kayaks out in the Bay at Picnic Island to watch the Blue Angels and the MacDill Air Show. What a perfect place to watch the show, there were NO crowds at all in Picnic Island, granted your not right on the base, but you can see most of the show from the park. We got into the bay, and there were lots of boaters around, it was a blast! The Blue Angels were incredible. Saturday night, I went out with Bryan and his friend from Tulsa, OK to Bella's in Hyde Park for dinner. We met some other friends there, again, Bella's pars up there as one of the top three Italian Restaurants, everything was very fresh, service great. We then headed over to Jackson's on Harbour Island, we watched the Tampa Bay Lightning Hockey game on the outside deck over looking downtown Tampa and the River/Bay. Our Tulsa friend was VERY impressed so far with Tampa. Tunes were playing in the background, but it was nice to be able to sit outside on the water, talk, watch the game, and of course, do some people watchin'. We all eneded the night with some Gelato at La Casa Dolce on Howard Ave in Hyde Park. This place has the BEST Gelato, and great desserts. This time we sat on their front patio, watchin the partiers bar crawl along Howard Ave.

Sunday, as if the past two days were not enough, it was off to the annual Italian Fest in Ybor City. The family and I got there early(around noon), and were able to get in and try lots if Italian Treats, by 1:30, there was quite a crowd, but it was fun, and there was alot going on, Ybor was VERY busy. My brother and I had free tix to the St. Pete Grand Prix, so we headed over there around 2:30. No problems with traffic or parking(we parked in Roser Park neighborhood, a GREAT historic area downtown St. Pete), and walked over to the races. LOUD, FAST, AMAZING! I'll definitely be going back again year after year. Earplugs next time, so many corners, and tight curves through downtown and along the waterfront, for General Admission tix, we were able to walk around the whole area, and get some really good views. Westshore Pizza wrapped up the night(seems like a Sunday eve tradition kind of)...and im off to Baltimore and Jersey this week for work....another killer weekend here in the Bay area.

A South Tampa Friday Night

Lisa got to my house around 830, and we headed to Hyde Park/SOHO district for dinner and entertainment. Parking was easy tonight off Howard Ave, it seems 717 Parking has taken over many of the lots, and now charge $5 to park all night. Quite a bargain, and they watch your car all night. We went to Sangria's for dinner after meeting Kelly SOHO Sushi, Lisa hates Sushi(I love the stuff). Sangria's was busy as usual, but we were seated promptly. Ordered up Champagne Sangria for Lisa, and me with my water(still not drinking). For eats it was Meatballs, Lemon Chicken, Park tenderloin, Steak w/blue cheese, Mozzarella w/tomatoes, and Salad. All tapas plates mind you, so they were small portions. The Chicken and Pork were the best dishes, Meatballs were very tiny, bland and fell apart, Salad was just those weird greens with one tomato slice, and the Mozzarella dish only had three cheese slices. For a $60.00 bill with only to alcoholic drinks, I would expect more food, plus it all came out at the same time(not good).
Kelly came over to meet us(SOHO Sushi and Sangrias are connected), and we headed to the "Red House Lounge"(the old Po' Boys), walked in and they were blasting Heavy Metal music, and it just looked like they painted the walls black, and put black table cloths on the tables and kept the booths, not what I had thought it was going to be, so we quickly left and headed to 717 South for cocktails. It was busy, and they had some nice loungy music. We then headed for Whiskey Park across the street, again a good crowd, Hip Hop started the evening, but then it was more dance tunes as the night progressed. From there we went to Hyde Park Cafe, no problem getting in this time, as I had a girl with me, so we were let right in(I found out later that Friday nights are "Private Club" nights for reserved tables, guest lists, and if you have a HPC Card, with a girl, or you can wait in line. Still love this place, as Freddy Fernandez and Tony Faline spin some of the best tunes. The outdoor tropical courtyard, and side VIP Hop Hop section are nice as well, but the dance club area has the finest sounds and lights in the area.
At closing we headed to "The Deck" a few blocks away on Platt St. for Pizza(NY Style). It was a fun Friday in South Tampa.