Friday after work, Kris and I met up with his personal Trainer Dave and his wife Jen to have a nice dinner in Hyde Park at 717 South. This Pan American/Italian restaurant(one half the menu is new age Italian, the other half is new age PanAmerican) on South Howard Avenue in Hyde Park/SOHO area has been consistent with it's quality of food, as this is the forth time I have visited. There is a large bar, it's a bit upscale in decor and lots of pretty people to see, they play jazz throughout the establishment, on Wednesday's its live Jazz. Although each of our meals was cooked perfectly(Filets with Gorgonzola cheese, Asian Pot Roast and Tuna all served with salads and garlic bread with a tomato and cheese sauce for dipping), the service was mediocre on this visit. Our server, Mike, seemed a bit preoccupied with...well we don't know, he just wasn't all there...regardless it's the food and company at the table that made the meal. Afterwards we walked a few blocks to the Las Casa Dolce, to sit outside and enjoy some of the best Gelato - Jen had the chocolate cake which was a bit too rich and not sweet enough....they also have some amazing Canolli's and serve Seattle's Best Coffee. They are now also serving wine and beer on the patio that faces Howard Ave, it makes for excellent people watching, the area was hopping this Friday evening, MacDintons across the street was packed, and there were lots of people walking around the Avenue.
Saturday, I took brought the bike up to Wilderness Park off road biking trails, located about 1/4 mile east of I-75 off Fletcher/Morris Bridge Road. It was a little busier than usual, the trails were in very good shape, a new bridge was being built on one part of the Main Trail. I did the Heartbreak Ridge trail for the fist time, one of the most technical of the trails, lots of roots made for a very difficult path...after a few hours of biking it in the woods, I headed back home.
The evening brought Kris, Kyle John and I to dinner at Samarai Blue in Ybor City prior to the Margaret Cho performance at the Improv, also in Ybor City. At 530pm we were able to get a table immediately for some very good Sushi in the Tampa area. Its a bit more expensive than your average Sushi place, but the atmosphere and location were ideal, the Improv Comedy Club was just below us, so we were able to eat and get some great seats for Margaret Cho.....it was a sold out crowd at our showing, she had us laughing through her entire act..such a dirty Asian girl...we liked that!! We were not ready to go home yet after the show so we stopped by Lounge 7 at 14, then Kris and I had a few slices of excellent NY Style pizza at New York New York Pizza on 7th Avenue.
Today it looks like a playoff football day from the couch, cloudy and overcast, about a 70% chance of rain, which is due as it's been over two weeks since we have seen a cloudy day here in Tampa...
Biking one of the numerous off road biking trails at Winderness Park
Showing posts with label lounge 7-14. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lounge 7-14. Show all posts
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Finally Got my First Tattoo!
After nearly seven years of procrastinating, I finally got my tattoo, and mostly cause of the bet I made to get one after USF beat Auburn a few weeks back. Check it out!. Went to Ybor City, lots of Tattoo Parlor's there, and just went to a couple of places and finally decided upon Phat Katz Tattoo's on 7th Avenue, mostly cause they could do it at that time, and they were relatively around what I wanted to spend. The girl at the counter was very friendly and explained about the procedure, shrank my design to fit my leg, and the artist "Ozzy" was able to quickly draw it up. I proceeded upstairs, where i thought there would have been separate rooms, but it was one large room, i'm just glad there was only one other person getting a tat, but it also made for good conversation with the other artist and patron. There are windows all around looking out on 7th avenue in Ybor which made some interesting people watching, or they are watching you. Ozzy was very friendly, explained the procedure again and the tools used, the whole process took about 30 minutes, and basically just felt like someone was pulling the hairs from your skin, a little discomfort, but not painful. I was very pleased with the outcome, Ozzy assured me to come back if it needs any attention, but he is moving to New Zealand in November. Ozzy explained the care for my tattoo, but I wish they could have handed me a one-pager that went over the instructions. All in all, a great experience. John and I walked over to Lounge 7-14 to throw some darts and celebrate afterwards. Ybor was a little busy for a Wednesday night, with most stores and bars open.
I'm looking forward to Friday nights game...18 USF vs 5 West Virginia, sold out crowd of nearly 65,000(largest for a Big East Conference game), the Sun trust building downtown will be glowing Green and Gold. We all had a feeling when attending these games 10 years ago something good was going to happen with the Bulls football program, I am proud that I was a there from the start in 1987 when I first moved to Tampa and attended USF, and when the discussions started to turn into actions.
I'm looking forward to Friday nights game...18 USF vs 5 West Virginia, sold out crowd of nearly 65,000(largest for a Big East Conference game), the Sun trust building downtown will be glowing Green and Gold. We all had a feeling when attending these games 10 years ago something good was going to happen with the Bulls football program, I am proud that I was a there from the start in 1987 when I first moved to Tampa and attended USF, and when the discussions started to turn into actions.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Treasure Island beaches and an Ybor City weekend!
Friday I did what is now becoming a bit of a routine, but a good routine, seeing my friend Rob from the band Buffalo Strange play solo at The Hut on John's Pass, Madeira Beach. This time I ordered the Black n Blue burger, and the burger just seemed to be a bit tough. My friend Debi advised me last time that her burger was also a bit tough. The mellow tunes kept us happy, it was very warm, we haven't had the typical afternoon thunderstorms in about a week to cool things off during the day, but there were plenty of fans blowing in this LARGE tiki hut on the water. After taking Debi home, John and I wanted Ice Cream, and found the Dairy Inn, located on MLK Blvd(9th Street) near 11th Avenue in St. Pete. Kind of like Dairy Joy in South Tampa, a walk up window with soft serve ice cream cones and sundaes, with a few covered tables. There is a video game room in the back with a few 'old school' video games. Lisa and Brian gave us a shout to join them at their Beach Condo they had for the weekend on Treasure Island, so we ventured back out there. It was nice overlooking the WIDE white, sandy beaches of Treasure Island in the evening from the condo. For a late night snack, we venured out to Monster Slice Pizza on St. Pete Beach, for some very good, very thin and crispy pizza. They were loaded with toppings, and plenty of cheese.
Saturday, John and I ventured back to Treasure Island, and brought our bikes. We saw a bike/walking path behind the condo along the beach, and wanted to bike it today. To our surprise it only went about 6 blocks to the north of the condo, and about 10 blocks to the south. I would have thought it to be much longer, and span the entire Treasure Island beach behind all the hotels, motels and condo areas. What was nice was you can bike or walk to a few good places for a cool drink and maybe catch a band or guitarist(runs behind Bilmar Resort, Thunderbird Resort, and many mom and pop type motels as well as two Public Beach areas for Treasure Island with restrooms and snacks). For lunch by the pool at the condo, we headed to ABC liquor for refreshments and The Floridian for Cubans. I have heard about The Floridian(located on the causeway heading to Treasure Island), and how famous their Cuban Sandwiches are, and no doubt, some of the best. Piled high ham, roast pork, swiss cheese, mustard and pickle slices.
Saturday night, we cleaned up and headed to Ybor City for dinner. Italian was on my mind, and there is no better than The Laughing Cat on the corner of 8th Ave and 15th Street. The dark skies, and rain kept most of the crowds away this evening in Ybor, so we were able to be seated promptly. The menu is huge, as is the portions. It is best to split most of the items, they are that big. I had the Salmon with Mussels, very Large portion of Salmon, with about 8 HUGE mussles in their shell around the Salmon in a light tomato/garlic, white wine sauce. The others had Chicken Fettuccine with huge chucks of chicken, and Farfalle diMare, loaded with Seafood and Boe Tie pasta in a Vodka Sauce. Everything is FRESH, and can be made to order. For fun we then ventured out to the area of Ybor what is quickly becoming known 'gaYbor' district(bordered by 9th ave and 6th Ave and 12th street to 16th Street). Lounge 7-14, G. Bar, Flirt, MC Film Festival, and soon the new location of Wranglers are all in this area. I dont venture to these type places much, but Lounge 7-14 was actually very cool, we played darts, and there was some great rock and commercial tunes/videos playing. G.Bar was just opening when we went so there was no cover, and you can play pool there for free, so we did just that until the crowds started filling up(around 11:30). We then headed to Wranglers, only to find out they are closed until there new location opens up soon. A quick drink in Green Iguana, which used to be my favorite hang out in Ybor, was barely holding a crowd, and the people there this evening seemed a little sleazy(two very heavy set women, with barely any clothes on, pole dancing in front of the band and making out together). Its difficult to listen to a live band, when there is dance/hip-hop blaring from the room next door, they should place a thick curtain between the two rooms. We went back to Lounge 7-14, which had become filled, and very smokey(seems they need a filter to get rid of the smoke that quickly fills up this lounge when more than a few people are puffing on some smokes).
All in all, and nice weekend to get out to Tampa's beaches, and explore the Tampa's historic district.
Saturday, John and I ventured back to Treasure Island, and brought our bikes. We saw a bike/walking path behind the condo along the beach, and wanted to bike it today. To our surprise it only went about 6 blocks to the north of the condo, and about 10 blocks to the south. I would have thought it to be much longer, and span the entire Treasure Island beach behind all the hotels, motels and condo areas. What was nice was you can bike or walk to a few good places for a cool drink and maybe catch a band or guitarist(runs behind Bilmar Resort, Thunderbird Resort, and many mom and pop type motels as well as two Public Beach areas for Treasure Island with restrooms and snacks). For lunch by the pool at the condo, we headed to ABC liquor for refreshments and The Floridian for Cubans. I have heard about The Floridian(located on the causeway heading to Treasure Island), and how famous their Cuban Sandwiches are, and no doubt, some of the best. Piled high ham, roast pork, swiss cheese, mustard and pickle slices.
Saturday night, we cleaned up and headed to Ybor City for dinner. Italian was on my mind, and there is no better than The Laughing Cat on the corner of 8th Ave and 15th Street. The dark skies, and rain kept most of the crowds away this evening in Ybor, so we were able to be seated promptly. The menu is huge, as is the portions. It is best to split most of the items, they are that big. I had the Salmon with Mussels, very Large portion of Salmon, with about 8 HUGE mussles in their shell around the Salmon in a light tomato/garlic, white wine sauce. The others had Chicken Fettuccine with huge chucks of chicken, and Farfalle diMare, loaded with Seafood and Boe Tie pasta in a Vodka Sauce. Everything is FRESH, and can be made to order. For fun we then ventured out to the area of Ybor what is quickly becoming known 'gaYbor' district(bordered by 9th ave and 6th Ave and 12th street to 16th Street). Lounge 7-14, G. Bar, Flirt, MC Film Festival, and soon the new location of Wranglers are all in this area. I dont venture to these type places much, but Lounge 7-14 was actually very cool, we played darts, and there was some great rock and commercial tunes/videos playing. G.Bar was just opening when we went so there was no cover, and you can play pool there for free, so we did just that until the crowds started filling up(around 11:30). We then headed to Wranglers, only to find out they are closed until there new location opens up soon. A quick drink in Green Iguana, which used to be my favorite hang out in Ybor, was barely holding a crowd, and the people there this evening seemed a little sleazy(two very heavy set women, with barely any clothes on, pole dancing in front of the band and making out together). Its difficult to listen to a live band, when there is dance/hip-hop blaring from the room next door, they should place a thick curtain between the two rooms. We went back to Lounge 7-14, which had become filled, and very smokey(seems they need a filter to get rid of the smoke that quickly fills up this lounge when more than a few people are puffing on some smokes).
All in all, and nice weekend to get out to Tampa's beaches, and explore the Tampa's historic district.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Crab Shack and A Gay Old Time in Tampa!
A buddy flew in from Chicago on Saturday, we headed to Sarasota to see some friends, and then headed back to Tampa area and went to dinner at the Crab Shack in St. Pete on Gandy Blvd. Crab Shack reminds of the typical Florida shacks near the water. I can remember coming to Florida from New York as a kid(Grandparents lived in Seffner), and we would go to Fat Willies Fish Camp.....The Crab Shack has the same appeal, tacky Florida stuff all over the walls and ceiling, picnic tables with benches, and the smell of Seafood all over..as casual as can be! We dined at the bar, Crab Shack is always packed on the weekends. Staff and people are as friendly as can be, with all types in the restaurant(families, 'roughnecks', tourists, people coming home from the beach). The seafood is very fresh, and no frills. Crab is what they are all about, we started with Raw Oysters, average in size, with the horseradish and crackers. Then went for Snow Crab and Stuffed Shrimp. Ended dinner with Key Lime pie. I try to venture to the Crab Shack at least once a month, its just good, southern Florida style seafood shack!
Afterwards it was time to head out, and my buddy wanted to venture out to the 'alternative' places in town. I dont go out to the bars of these type very often, so I heard about some new gay bars that opened up in Ybor City, so I took him out there. We started at Wrangler's, which had a decent crowd, mostly laid back country dudes, very friendly, there is a huge dance floor where line dancing was happening to dance and country tunes..kinda like watchin a show. I kinda liked it at Wrangler's, there are pool tables, and its very large with a killer sound system, and large video screen behind the main bar showing videos to the music, and pics from people throughout the bar. After a few hours, we then headed to the new Lounge 7 at 14. In an old historic building, this had a nice bar, and small dance area, and small loungy type area to mellow out in. Again, a good crowd, interesting people watching, and a DJ cranking some chill lounge music. We then went next door to GBar...all I can say was that about half the place was under 25 and without shirts on, chandeliers in the Main Bar were swinging all over by go-go boys dancing barely naked on the bar. The next bar area was really loud, alot of special lighting effects on the small dance floor, and again both guy and girl dancers on the bars. It kind of reminded me of some of the clubs in NYC, loud, over the top, young. We barely finished out drink there, and almost 230am, so we stopped off at City Side on the way home. Laid back crowd of a few dozen, playing pool, watching music videos from the VJ. There was alot of rumor amongst the owners of Lounge 7-14, Wranglers and City Side that Ybor is the place for the GLBT crowd. With Suncoast Resort closed, many of the establishments are looking for places to open in the Bay area...and now with 6 designated GLBT bars, and a few specialty shops along 7th Avenue, it seems to be a central place for that crowd. Many others are calling Ybor home, buying the affordable new condos, lofts and townhomes that are popping up in Ybor City.
It was a different type of weekend, but sometimes you got to get out and explore all types in the city..it makes for great entertainment.
On a sad note, my brother and sister in law, and my new nephew departed this morning to move to Colorado. It was a fun 10 months wit them here in Tampa, Family Fun Days just wont be the same without them.
Afterwards it was time to head out, and my buddy wanted to venture out to the 'alternative' places in town. I dont go out to the bars of these type very often, so I heard about some new gay bars that opened up in Ybor City, so I took him out there. We started at Wrangler's, which had a decent crowd, mostly laid back country dudes, very friendly, there is a huge dance floor where line dancing was happening to dance and country tunes..kinda like watchin a show. I kinda liked it at Wrangler's, there are pool tables, and its very large with a killer sound system, and large video screen behind the main bar showing videos to the music, and pics from people throughout the bar. After a few hours, we then headed to the new Lounge 7 at 14. In an old historic building, this had a nice bar, and small dance area, and small loungy type area to mellow out in. Again, a good crowd, interesting people watching, and a DJ cranking some chill lounge music. We then went next door to GBar...all I can say was that about half the place was under 25 and without shirts on, chandeliers in the Main Bar were swinging all over by go-go boys dancing barely naked on the bar. The next bar area was really loud, alot of special lighting effects on the small dance floor, and again both guy and girl dancers on the bars. It kind of reminded me of some of the clubs in NYC, loud, over the top, young. We barely finished out drink there, and almost 230am, so we stopped off at City Side on the way home. Laid back crowd of a few dozen, playing pool, watching music videos from the VJ. There was alot of rumor amongst the owners of Lounge 7-14, Wranglers and City Side that Ybor is the place for the GLBT crowd. With Suncoast Resort closed, many of the establishments are looking for places to open in the Bay area...and now with 6 designated GLBT bars, and a few specialty shops along 7th Avenue, it seems to be a central place for that crowd. Many others are calling Ybor home, buying the affordable new condos, lofts and townhomes that are popping up in Ybor City.
It was a different type of weekend, but sometimes you got to get out and explore all types in the city..it makes for great entertainment.
On a sad note, my brother and sister in law, and my new nephew departed this morning to move to Colorado. It was a fun 10 months wit them here in Tampa, Family Fun Days just wont be the same without them.
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