Hula Bay Sushi - Lodge Sushi - Redbox - SudsFest

A buddy of mine is in town for a couple of weeks, so we ventured to Hula Bay, off Westshore, south of Gandy on the Bay...and tried their Sushi...It was a Wednesday evening, and the outside tables at 7pm were all full, even Duke's Bar was completely full, so we were seated at a table inside, still with great views of the Bay. They have a listing of over a dozen specialty rolls, and of course your main stream Sushi and Sashimi. Surprisingly very fresh, and very good...I have never been dissapointed with the food at Hula Bay, and now the Sushi comes with good recommendations..with a great scene and views.
After dinner..we went to AMC (free popcorn Wednesday's)...and saw The Hangover...this one goes down as one of the classic's, like Caddyshack, Animal House, etc...one you will want to see a few times...just non stop laughter!!

Thursday, after helping a friend move into her new apartment in South Tampa, we met a few people at The Lodge, on Howard Avenue in Hyde Park neighborhood of South Tampa. Lots of pretty people, we put a few tables together outside, and enjoyed the company, and somewhat dry air(still very warm, but the circulating fans kept things cool on the patio). Their menu is all over the place..in a good way...from over a dozen kinds of sliders, to Steak and Eggs anytime, and my favorite>>Tatar Tots! We tried the Sushi here(as if I didnt already have enough this week), and found the Ahi Tuna App with cucumber salad to be very good, their specialty rolls are also all over the board..and the ones we tried were both very good, for a place that doesn't necessarily specialize in Sushi.

Friday was movie night with the kids....and I now find Redbox rentals so convenient and CHEAP. For $1, you can rent all the latest new releases, along with many older classics..you just go online, find a redbox near you(almost all Walgreens and SweetBay supermarkets), rent one on line..then just go to the redbox, slide your credit card, and out comes your DVD movie....return it within 24 hours, and its just $1, or $1 each day you have it...no late fees, you can return it to ANY redbox...so quick, convenient...love the RedBox!

Saturday evening was the annual SudsFest at the Florida Aquarium downtown Tampa - Channelside. For $50, they open the Aquarium from 7pm to 11pm, and not only can you enjoy all the attractions at the Aquarium, but throughout their were over a few dozen beer tables, sampling beers from all over the country...AND over a dozen local restaurants, dishing out their specialities...AND live music, inside, outside on the deck, and in the Shark Tank area...it seemed each time you turned a corner, there was something new....it wasn't crowded AT ALL, no lines for beer or food, and just turned out to be a great Saturday Night at the Aquarium with really good friends.

Downtown Tampa, Hockey and Ybor

Buddy came back to town from LA this weekend, and finally purchased a condo in Downtown Tampa at Skypoint...beautiful building with plenty of first class amenities, he'll be enjoying one of the bigger one bedroom units on the Western end, overlooking the new Curtis Hixon Park, Museum of Art, Hillsborough River and UT Minarets with incredible sunsets..I look forward to visiting lots! After the big purchase, we all ventured over to Hyde Park Village, and since the weather was perfect, had a nice table outside at Restaurant BT. Lunch here is very good, service prompt and friendly.....mostly salads and a few sandwich's, but it was the Noodle Bowls and Pho that we each tried. Grilled Pork, and Ginger Chicken were both very good, and very large helpings of the noodles and vegetables, but I felt they could have spared a little more meat...it was very tasty though. The last day of 'Chalk Walk' was happening, so afterwards we walked around the village, taking a look at some of the very creative designs themed "Tampa's Future", we also stopped by the 'Sweet Treats' shop, took in some homemade fudge and all kinds of great candy, the owner did some remodeling, and added a small lounge type area with couches....very nice.
Saturday night we were invited to the Lightning game, another friend of mine has a Suite, the game went into a shootout, and Atlanta was able to pull this one off tonight. Afterwards, we attempted to take the trolley to Ybor, but the whole Channelside are and streeetcar stops outside the Forum after the game were packed...so a quick cab ride up to Ybor, and we ventured out to spots like Spurs, Reservoir Bar - where we met lots of others, and also was busy due to the SkateBoard championships in Tampa this weekend, over to the Ybor Social, and concluding with GBar, and NY NY Pizza....

A Saturday in Tampa: Downtown to Ybor City to Davis Islands

Got out of the house pretty early Saturday morning with a buddy of mine and went for some breakfast at First Watch in downtown Tampa. I still had some Manager Gift Cards sent to me from a not so good experience late last year(its in the blog)...First Watch tends to be a very consistent for breakfast, fast and fresh, interesting omelets and brunch menu items in a nice diner like atmosphere...this trip was one of my best, immediately seated, nice large pitcher of ice water with lemon brought to the table and fresh squeezed OJ. We dined on the Bacon, Avocado and Cheese omelet, very fluffy and light, served with diced potatoes and English Muffin, and a Chicken Breakfast Burrito with potatoes and fruit...service, food and all was at its best this morning, it is also nice to run into good friends here that you normally don't see to kind of catch up....after breakfast we walked over to Indigo Coffee for an Iced and Hot Green Tea, and wanted to check out the Police Museum, but it is was closed on the weekends, disappointing to have a museum closed on weekends...so we walked over to the Riverwalk and Curtis Hixon Park where they are re-doing the entire riverfront park, its kind of a big mess right now, the whole area is torn apart from Kiley Gardens to the area where they are building the New Tampa Museum of Art...the renderings look nice, it should be a great asset to the area.....
we then headed over to see some friends that were having a Yard Sale on Davis Islands...i've always like the Islands, its so close to downtown, but you feel like you are in another small town with a main street and great historic architecture in the apts and homes, with the Tampa downtown skyscrapers peering out over the islands.

The afternoon brought us to Ybor City and Muvico theaters to see "Wall-E"...cute movie, kind of wish I had my niece and nephews with me, the Pixar effects were amazing, had a cute story line as well....after the movie we walked around 7th Ave in Ybor, went into a few of the funky shops, and then wanted to play some pool maybe throw some darts so we went to check out Lounge 714, but the pool room was in the dark, so after there we walked down to Double Decker, too many people in there for happy hour playing pool and darts, they did have a really nice outdoor courtyard in the back that opened up...so we ended up at the Boneyard, very funky place, a few pool tables, couches were made from old bath tubs cut in half, and some of the seating included some interesting commodes, definitely worth a visit, interesting crowd as well, all watching wheel of fortune during happy hour....wanting some munchies, we were told about a great hidden gem of a restaurant, kind of underground like, attached to a Wine Store on 22nd Avenue, West Plam Wines and Beaune's Wine Bar...interesting very small menu, you can choose a bottle of wine from the very extensive wine store and bring into the wine bar to have with dinner...we munched on a great cheese and meat tray, you choose from over a dozen different types of cheeses and several meat selections...we got two different cheeses, and a sliced salami meat, that comes with fresh sliced bread, grapes and fruit, nuts, pickles and olives....nice socializing over a few glasses of wine and a light meal. The server was very knowledgeable and friendly, I believe dinner is served only on Thursday thru Saturday evenings, and the menu changes constantly.

It was late in the evening, and some Friends of ours that were having the Yard Sale were at Yeoman's Road Pub on Davis Islands, so we went there after dinner and had some great drafts with a very entertaining band...hangin out in the alley, listening to the tunes, with some great conversation amongst our friends and other friendly patrons in the crowded, English pub like bar in the main Blvd on Davis Islands where there are a dozen or so other restaurants, bars and shops....later we went to a friends apartment a few blocks away to end the night listening to tunes till the wee hours of the morning.

Sunday Brunch was at my friends place in Port Tampa City neighborhood here in South Tampa...and Sunday proved to be a fine day for relaxing and hangin with the dogs...

Mexican Food and a Broadway Show!

Took Madre out for dinner and a show tonight. We started at Algusto's Mexican Restaurant on Kennedy Blvd just west of University of Tampa. Parking is behind the restaurant...I have to say some of the FRESHEST Mexican I've had in a while. It wasn't too busy at 630pm when we arrived, and were seated in a nice window booth facing Kennedy Blvd. Started with the Guacamole Dip and Chips, which was so fresh, but could've used a little more garlic. The salsa is perfect the way I like it with chunks of tomato. We ordered the Combo Fajitas for two, and when it came out it was more like for four!! Fresh tender cuts of chicken and steak piled with tri colored peppers and onion, the flour tortillas were hot and fresh as well. A Great Meal.
We then headed to the Tampa Performing Arts Center to see "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee"..I have wanted to see this every time I go to NYC, but it's always sold out. it has won several Tony Awards. The musical/comedy was excellent, great story line, audience gets involved, although I can see why it would be better to see this in a smaller venue, like the 200 seat theater on Broadway it plays at. All in all, a very entertaining show!
One thing I noticed when leaving the Performing Arts Center(which is beautiful, right on the River downtown, there are several venues)..that is that walking out of the Morsani Hall you see the best view of the downtown skyscrapers, and University of Tampa minarets all lit up at night.
I'm looking forward to this weekend, with no rain in sight, temps around 80, and blue skies..AGAIN(4th week in a row)...there is so many choices..Spring Break game, St Pete Grand Prix, MacDill AirFest, Italian Fest in Ybor City, Tampa Firefighter Chili cookoff..and on and on!