BRIO Tuscan Grille at Intl Plaza's Bay Street

What a beautiful place--just too bad my food this evening wasnt as beautiful. Brand new at Internaitonal Plaza's BayStreet, they did a great job renovating the old 'pizza' place that used to be here. Ample outdoor covered dining, white curtains, a nice large bar that extends from inside to outside...HUGE high ceilings, looked very 'Cheesecake Factory" like with a bit of Tuscany thrown in...ok, now onto the food...we were greeted by very friendly hostesses, and the service was impeccable, obviously these servers(very very corporate, chain like, almost like robots, making sure they dont forget to upsell anything, explaining the menu, etc.)..gotta love the corporate chains..ugh!OK, now the food...started with a 9.95 glass of Savignon Blanc, a seasonal special, excellent...onto the Calamari as an appetizer, fried calamari, with fried pepper slices, with two types of dipping sauces...nothing out of the ordinary, typical. Then the salads(which came out as we were not even half way thru the appetizer-rushed)..chop salad was drenched in dressing and more like 'ripped apart in small pieces' rather than chopped, tasty dressing, and a typical Cesar salad. And now entrees...the artichoke crusted Beef medallions--served meduim rare there were three 2oz medallions of beef, tender and delicious, and also the Veal Marsala--a wreck, very overcooked Marsala, the coating on the veal was soggy, and drenched in too much Marsala sauce..it was a tasty sauce, with lots of mushrooms. Each dinner came with a side of roasted potato's(maybe a 1/2 cup), and a very minute amount of vegetables...i couldn't even tell what the veges were, some thin strips of zucchini skins, a few pieces of carrot which were very hard and raw, with skins left on the carrot(to give it a rustic look??), and a slimy red pepper...not good!!!All this came to about $100.00...way over priced for what we got...so here is how I see this place...they will capture the shoppers at Intl Plaza, tourist flocking to Intl Plaza BayStreet, and after work happy hour at the very cool, and chic bar that opens up to outside...but it seems to me like just another chain, an overpriced Macaroni Grille, although i like the Macaroni Grille more than I did BRIO on this trip.

Happy Holidays Tampa!

A great long holiday weekend has concluded, only to be followed by another short week and long weekend this week for New Years.
Tuesday evening a bunch of us went to a buddies annual Holiday Party in the Seminole Heights neighborhood...lots of food, drinks, and laughs...over 60 friends and acquaintances showed up through the night.....and we couldn't end the night without a stop by the Green Iguana Westshore near my house..good times!!
Wednesday was Christmas Eve, easily picked my brother up at TIA to head to Madre's house outside of Sun City Center for the annual Italian 'Feast of the 7 Fishes' Christmas Eve dinner with family.
Christmas Day was nice and warm, near 80, sunny skies. We met up with my Aunt and Uncle at Centro Ybor in Ybor City to see the opening of the movie "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button". This was a very different routine for us on Christmas, but discovered that ALOT of people actually go to the movies on Christmas Day, the theaters were busy. Ybor City itself was a ghost town, with most shops and bars/restaurants closed during the daytime hours this Holiday. The movie was EXCELLENT.
Friday, decided to venture out to International Plaza with a buddy and grab some eats at BayStreet's Bar Louie. We got a great table outside, perfect for enjoying the warmer than ususal temps this December day, and people watching. Bar Louie's food was good, started with a Hummus Platter, which unfortunately had more taboule than hummus, and I decided to get the Friday Lunch Special, 3 Baja Fish Tacos served with Guac, Salsa and Black Beans and Rice, very filling and good; my buddy enjoyed the Buffalo Chicken Sandwich, which was Buffalo Chicken bites on a soft roll with Lettuce and Tomato...fries on the side....there wasn't as many people walking around the Bay Street area, but once we entered the Plaza, it seemed a bit busier this day after Christmas.
Saturday, took the bikes up to Wilderness Parks off road biking trails, we biked a few of the more than 15 different trails, through all kinds of terrain and topography, the only wildlife we saw today was a few Armadillos. After that biking, we went over to Lenny's down the road off Fletcher Avenue for great sandwich's(there are a few Lenny's throughout Tampa), sitting outside an relaxing...then it was a bike tour of the USF campus, where I reminisced about the good old days, and couldn't believe the amount of construction and new buildings all over campus, it was a busy campus when I went to school there from '87-'92, and continues to grow to this day. A few hours of rest, and it was off to the Tampa Bay Lightning v Florida panthers Hockey game, and again our tickets included the Champions sports Lounge where we noshed on White Castle burgers, Parmesan Meatballs, Clam Strips and Roasted Turkey being carved, along with the all you can drink drafts and wines, and excellent view of the game...we pulled a third straight win, 6-4. A short 10 minute walk to a friends Clubhouse in the Seaport Apartments in Channelside area of downtown, and it was another Holiday Party for all of us to enjoy.
Sunday was a disappointing loss for the Bucs against Oakland, and we are officially done with the season. I met up with my family at AMC Westshore for another blockbuster movie, Valkyrie. There is just something about these true stories concerning Hitler's Germany that are very chilling and emotional to say the least...very good movie, I will probably see this one a second time, it was that good.

Tampa's International Plaza/Bay Street and a Village Art Festival

Picking up a buddy at the Tampa airport Saturday evening, it was very convenient to head over to International Plaza for some eats, which is about a mile outside the airport. Very upscale shopping mall, with two levels, over 200 shops, and high end department stores such as Nordstroms and Neiman Marcus. We went into the Nordstroms to do a bit of shopping, my buddy wanted some cologne, and as much as I loathe shopping for clothes, I saw some really nice stuff this time out. At Nordstrom, service is key, and just the sales associates we made contact were very friendly and helpful as usual in this type of store. The plaza was VERY busy this Saturday evening, as we went to a few other shoppes. Could be because of the rainy day we had, but also, this is peak season for visitors from all over to the Tampa Bay area. For eats we headed out to Bay Street, connected to International Plaza, an outdoor entertainment area, with over a dozen eating and drinking establishments. We checked out The Grape, a great place for wine with tastings paired with foods, and they also have live music. All the restaurants were busy, but we found a table outside of Bar Louie, the evening weather was perfect for eating outside and doing some people watching, Blue Martini next door had live music playing that could be heard throughout Bay Street, and made for nice background music. Chopped Chicken Salad, Buffalo Chicken Sandwich and a side of Tator Tots, all very good..the crispy Tator Tots reminded me of being in grade school, although they were not as greasy. As a side note, Bar Louie has over 24 beers on tap from all over the world, and has a lively atmosphere inside with a very, very large bar area.

Sunday we all went to the Annual Hyde Park Village Art Festival. Easy to park in one of the garages at the village, as we go to the streets in the village it was wall to wall people amongst over 100 artists from around the country showing their wares. It was a great day to just browse around, people watch and one thing that is great about local festivals like these is it brings out the local people, I must have run into over a dozen or so that I haven't seen in quite some time from previous employment to college to long lost friends. It's a great way to reunite and catch up or just keep in touch, and also talk about the good times from the past. Hyde Park Village really looks good with all the improvements, there are alot of new shoppes and cafes they have opened or are getting ready to open(City Street Sweets, Wine Exchange, JJ Smoothy, Abbots Frozen Custard), the restaurants were all very busy today. Getting hungry and not wanting to wait over an hour to eat in the Village, we left the Art Festival and went to one of my fav South Tampa neighborhood eateries, Mad Dogs and Englishmen, to sit outside and enjoy their Sunday Brunch menu.

Looking forward to the Gasparilla International Film Festival that starts on Wednesday through Sunday, there are over 80 films this year, a few from the local area, and many that have not opened to the public and are showing for the first time.

And to end the 2008 Gasparilla season, the Gasparilla Festival of the Arts, rated one of the finest in the country and largest of it's kind in the South, takes place downtown Tampa this upcoming weekend, march 1st and 2nd. Over 300 artists, live entertainment, food, and best of all great people watching!

Post 4th of July in Tampa...Shopping, Mexican, and Sand Dollars

Had a GREAT 4th of July with Family..the Pyrotechnical display my brother and I produced was awesome! Only had one bad mortar, but no incidents as in St. Pete Beach or Treasure Island(scary)..anyways, Friday after work went to Home Depot to start shopping for tile, as Im having both my bathrooms redone, finally getting rid of the 60's motif(older home in South Tampa)...I thought there would be more of a selection, but guess I would have to go to a Bathroom Tile showroom for that...I did find a perfect tile for bath walls and floors..now the work just needs to be done. We then went to Intl Plaza, what a great shopping area(I still hate shopping), but there are so many great stores, and layout to the mall, plus BayStreet is always happening with the numerous eateries and drinkeries, and outside seating to enjoy people watching. We decuided on my favorite Mexican place, Algusto's on Kenndy Blvd, for dinner. Again, consistently the freshest Mexican, we had the Fajitas for two, and Guacamole dip. I tried the Sangria and was pleasantly surprised at the amount of wine to fruit in this large glass.

Saturday, my friends from Orlando came down for a trip to Fort Desoto Beaches. We found a very pristine spot on the beginning part of North Beach, it was a bit of a walk from the parking area to where we wanted to go(left towards the Pier, across the inlet), but hardly anyone in sight, lots of shade from trees right on the beach. With plenty of drinks and food, we spent most the day, laying on rafts in the 87 degree crystal clear waters, and snorkeling for sand dollars. We made sure we only caught the dead ones, and through back the live ones(fuzzy hairs are on the live ones). There were plenty to be found, and some of the largest Ive seen(picture below). Saturday evening my buddy Darin had a BBQ poolside with some friends at his tower apartment building along Bayshore Blvd. It was great to relax in the evening after the day at the beach in the pool, and BBQing with the beautiful Bay, and downtown Tampa in the background. As the sun went down, the lights shown from the high rises along Bayshore and downtown on the Bay, which gave an impressive scene to an already perfect day and night in Tampa Bay.

2007 Gasparilla is over...

After a month and half of festivities(Children's Parade, Battle and Fireworks; the Invasion, Festival and Parade; the Night Parade; Distance Classic, Film Festival and Arts Festival)..it was a great Gasparilla this year, and I was glad to have attended each part, except the Distance Classic. Saturday evening, my brother and sis in law came down from the burbs(Wesley Chapel), to have some dinner at Intl Plaza's Bar Louie. Great Food and Music, very lively crowd, and over 2 dozen beers on tap! The fish tacos and mac n cheese were great, but the Quesadilla's left much to be desired. After dinner we headed to Dubliner in SOHO for a few, until finally heading home.
Sunday, the family and I all got together for the 37th annual Gasparilla Arts Festival downtown. It was a beautiful day, blue blue skies, about 70 degrees. Im glad that brought this back to Ashley Street and Curtis Hixon Park. Its nice laying on the lawn listening to some tunes and doing some people watchin'.