All Entries in the "Tampa" Category
Restaurant Review: Pop N Sons Diner
If you’re looking for old fashioned cooking in a fun 50s car themed environment Pop N Sons (4812 N Dale Mabry Hwy, Tampa, FL 33614-6510, (813) 875-9005) may be the perfect mix of nostalgia and home cooking. The food is your typical greasy spoon menu, complete with a robust breakfast, burgers, sandwiches and home cooked favorites. Pops N Sons is easy to find too, directing you from Dale Mabry with it’s lit arrow, a callback to 1950s’s classic red and white Americana marketing that can be seen throughout the restaurant.
The restaurant is more than just food and fond memories, as there are car shows and other events held here regularly. On the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month, a classic car show is help that often brings out 100 or more cars.
Since I was there for breakfast, I decided to order the Ham Steak. The waitress advised me, “That’s a big piece of ham, you know. You may be taking some with you.” I felt I was up to the challenge. The food arrived in about 10 minutes, just enough time for me to fully take in all of the neon wall art and the packed dining room.
The ham steak really was as big as she said. I’m guestimating the platter at 12″ x 8″ and it filled the whole platter at about a 1/4″ thick. This bone-in ham was deliciously cooked with just enough blackened spots to bring the sweet ham some sizzle. The eggs and hashbrowns I ordered with it are pretty standard for a diner like this. The chef got the over-easy call on the eggs right and whatever oil they cook the potatoes in was flavorful. I’d imagine their pans or skillet are good and seasoned from so many years of cooking this great comfort food that everything tastes a bit like everything made before it. I’m definitely not complaining.
Restaurant Review: Mom’s Place
Man, do I love breakfast diners! Mom’s Place (4816 N Dale Mabry Hwy, Tampa, FL 33614-6510, (813) 875-2670) is one of two breakfast diners sharing a parking lot on Dale Mabry, right next to Pop N Sons. This cash only establishment is always packed, meaning you’ll always have to wait for a seat. The service is fast and they have plenty of short order cooks and waitresses on hand, but the sheer popularity of this diner continually draws people in. I knew I had to find out why.
Kara and I went there for breakfast on a Saturday morning, one of their busiest times. Luckily, we were able to get right in. We literally found the last open table that had just been bussed and sat down. Despite the hustle and bustle of people talking and eating all around us, this place has the kind of atmosphere that causes you to just breathe slower, talk a little lower and enjoy the moment. Some might refer to this as “grandma’s syndrome”, as you feel like a lazy Sunday at your grandma’s house.
The waitress came quickly to get our drink order and bring menus. She was your typical mid 50s diner gal, the kind of woman who’s been doing this for so long that she could do it in her sleep. She was so graceful in her movement, pouring coffee here while taking notes there, asking questions she asks dozens of times every hour. It’s this kind of diner automation that’s amazing to watch, and she pulled it off so well.
Kara ordered the Ham Steak and I ordered the Greek Omelette. My Greek Omelette had my favorite (and often neglected) ingredient, gyro meat. In so many places, a Greek Omelette is only feta and vegetables in eggs. It’s pathetic at best. At Mom’s Place, they take Greek to the next level. Gyro, feta, Tzatziki sauce, tomatoes, onions, peppers and potatoes fill the three egg omelette. It’s a hearty breakfast and one I could barely finish. It was flavorful throughout and the side of home fries were exactly as I like them, golden brown on one side and cooked just well enough to be firm but done. This was about as close to a perfect breakfast as I’ve had.
Kara’s breakfast was about as big of a portion of ham as you could ask for, served with two eggs and hashborowns. The ham but they gave was a large steak, probably 1/2″ thick and it filled a whole plate. After she ate all that she could and I ate all that I could from it, there were still scraps left in the plate. There was easily 2 pounds of ham in this serving. Kara commented that the eggs were done well and the hashbrowns were good as well. We left so full that she and I both waddled to the car.
Mom’s Place lives up to it’s name, being the kind of food and atmosphere many of us remember from being a kid at our grandmother’s place, watching her slave over the stove to prepare food just as full of calories and cholesterol as they were full of love. While this food isn’t something I would want to eat every day, it’s something I make a ritual of every Sunday morning, be it at Mom’s or another diner serving similar odes to traditional country breakfast.
Existing Verizon customers get FREE HotSpot access
Verizon FiOS customers in the Tampa area now have yet another perk. Any customers who has Up-to-25/15 Mbps or faster connection or HSI customers with a 3MBps or 7.1MBps connection can connect to any of the new Verizon Wi-Fi hot spots at no additional charge.
The new WiFi service is not limited to new customers, but is also available to existing FiOS Internet customers with up-to-20 Mbps or faster packages and existing HSI customers who have either an up-to-3 Mbps or 7.1 Mbps package.
Verizon continues to enhance its broadband service capabilities for consumers to offer competitive advantages over rival communication providers.
Since the beginning of the year, Verizon has introduced faster downstream and unprecedented upstream speeds for its all-fiber-optic FiOS Internet service; expanded the reach of its digital subscriber line-based Verizon High Speed Internet (HSI) service; and started offering mini netbook computers to customers as part of select bundle promotions.
And starting today, the company will expand Internet connection capabilities for millions of Verizon broadband customers by providing them free access to thousands of Wi-Fi connections across the U.S., reflecting the company’s sharp focus on developing and deploying broadband and entertainment services.
“Wherever they go – across town or across the country — Internet users today want the freedom and flexibility of staying connected online whenever they want,” said Mike Ritter, Chief Marketing Officer for Verizon Telecom. “In addition to providing in-home broadband networks and the nation’s most reliable 3G wireless network, we’re now offering even more connections with fast, free Wi-Fi that customers can use in their local communities and when traveling across the country.”
Free Verizon Wi-Fi hotspot locations include hotels, airports, restaurants, coffee shops, retailers, convention centers and public locations across the U.S.
A partial list of hot spots in the Tampa Bay Area include:
Beef ‘O’ Brady’s (Cafe / Restaurant)
5025 E Fowler Ave
Tampa,Florida 33614
Grand Suites (Hotel)
11310 North 30th Street
Tampa,Florida 33612
TPA – Tampa International Airport (Airport)
5507 W Spruce St
Tampa,Florida 33607
Camden Preserve Apts. (Other Public Areas)
6501 South Westshore
Tampa,Florida 33616
Intercontinental Hotel – Tampa (Hotel)
4860 West Kennedy Blvd
Tampa,Florida 33609
Barnes & Noble (Bookstore)
11802 N. Dale Mabry Highway
Tampa,Florida 33618
Barnes & Noble (Bookstore)
213 N Dale Mabry
Tampa,Florida 33609
STARBUCKS 10065 (Cafe / Restaurant)
3619 W GANDY BLVD
Tampa,Florida 33611
STARBUCKS 13687 (Cafe / Restaurant)
13650 WALSINGHAM RD
Tampa,Florida 33774
STARBUCKS 14316 (Cafe / Restaurant)
1600 W KENNEDY BLVD
Tampa,Florida 33606
STARBUCKS 8295 (Cafe / Restaurant)
711 S HOWARD AVE
Tampa,Florida 33606
STARBUCKS 8299 (Cafe / Restaurant)
5006 E FOWLER AVE
Tampa,Florida 33617
STARBUCKS 8312 (Cafe / Restaurant)
1510 N WESTSHORE BLVD
Tampa,Florida 33607
STARBUCKS 8324 (Cafe / Restaurant)
1600 E 8TH AVE
Tampa,Florida 33605
STARBUCKS 8384 (Cafe / Restaurant)
225 WESTSHORE PLZ
Tampa,Florida 33609
STARBUCKS 8428 (Cafe / Restaurant)
118 S WESTSHORE BLVD
Tampa,Florida 33609
STARBUCKS 8438 (Cafe / Restaurant)
2223 WESTSHORE BOULEVARD
Tampa,Florida 33607
STARBUCKS 8456 (Cafe / Restaurant)
17502 BRUCE B DOWNS BLVD
Tampa,Florida 33647
STARBUCKS 8485 (Cafe / Restaurant)
401 S DALE MABRY HWY
Tampa,Florida 33609
STARBUCKS 8514 (Cafe / Restaurant)
8229 PARKEDGE DR
Tampa,Florida 33637
STARBUCKS 8538 (Cafe / Restaurant)
3400 W BAY TO BAY BLVD
Tampa,Florida 33629
STARBUCKS 9737 (Cafe / Restaurant)
502 E HILLSBOROUGH AVE
Tampa,Florida 33604
Econo Lodge – Tampa (FL470)* (Hotel)
1701 E. Busch Blvd.
Tampa,Florida 33612
Sleep Inn – Tampa FL (FL078) (Hotel)
12282 Morris Bridge Rd
Tampa,Florida 33637
Tampa Airport Marriott (Hotel)
Tampa International Airport
Tampa,Florida 33607
Tampa Waterside Marriott (Hotel)
700 South Florida Ave
Tampa,Florida 33602
For a complete list of hot spot locations, visit www.verizon.net/hotspots.
A look at the manual bottling process is at Cigar City Brewing
It seems like I’m always talking up Redner’s operation over at Cigar City Brewing. Maybe I am!
I’ve admired these guys from afar as they continue to experiment with new tastes, pumping out batch after batch of homegrown beer. Sometimes, it’s amazingly good. Other times, I wonder if their next invention will be tuna-casserole-lime-aid beer. It’s a big part of the microbrewery process to experiment with new flavors, weed out things that don’t work and brings new ideas in the light. For that, Cigar City Brewing will always captivate my attention.
Regardless of what batch they’re making, the level of detail and labor that goes into just the bottling aspect of delivering their beer is amazing. Here’s a video they made showing the manual bottling process.
Free Latin Rhythms dance class at Patel Conservatory
For those interested in learning Latin Dance, there’s a free class for adults opening up at the Patel Conservatory (Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, 1010 N. W.C. MacInnes Pl. 33602). This class is free to the public and will be taught by Debra Loran, who will teach the new Latin Rhythms: Introduction class in the fall.
Besides teaching Latin Rhythms and Ballroom Dancing at the Patel Conservatory, Loran is an adjunct professor at the University of South Florida and at the University of Tampa. She has served as a trainer for the U.S. National Amateur Jr. American Ballroom Champions and has organized the Florida State Fair Ballroom/Dance Sport Festival since 2000.
No experience is necessary to attend the free sample class. Class will be held on Friday, Sept. 11, from noon to 1 p.m. Pre-registration is required by calling 813.222.6453; class capacity is 36 adults. For more information about the event, visit www.patelconservatory.org.
Anthem Games: Card and Board Game Fun on a Budget
I recently had a chance to interview James Caudill, owner of Anthem Games (5305 Ehrlich Road, Suite 13, Tampa, FL 33625, (813) 333-5386) to discuss his boardgame and card game store and how he’s bringing a bit of low-cost fun to Tampa. He puts together programs and organized events that give local enthusiasts something to do while meeting up with others who enjoy these games.
1. With the economy taking a freefall, lots of people are looking for things to do that are low cost and still fun. How much does it cost to have fun in your facility?
It ranges from free board game nights on Tuesdays and Thursdays, to $5-12 Magic tournaments, all the way up to building a new Warhammer army, which could cost a couple hundred dollars. I think hobby gaming offers something to people with every budget.
2. Obviously there’s some startup costs to being involved in these games. What’s the minimum cost a person might have in getting started? What if they become more advanced?
A role-playing game, such as Dungeons and Dragons is pretty clear. The price is on the box or the book. D&D can scale up a bit with miniatures and tiles for the Dungeon Master, but for players it’s just a book and maybe a miniature if they choose. Board games have the price on the box, so they are clearly priced. Magic is one that can really scale, since it’s a collectible card game. I know casual players who spend very little on the game and play a lot, but I know some very competitive players who spend much more on it – it really scales to the player. Warhammer is another one, but the price of admission is higher. The upkeep is really optional. I know some people who played the same army with few additions for a decade. Then I know some folks who buy a new model or two every month.
3. Do you hold regular events and touranments?
That’s a primary part of what we do. A full calendar is available at anthem-games.com. We have 3 different kinds of Magic tournaments, 3 kinds of Warhammer tourneys, 2 board games, open play events, and special events for new games.
4. There’s a strong connotations that only nerds and the socially inept play role playing and fantasy card games. Is this stereotype true? What kinds of people play these games?
I find that stereotype useful. It keeps out those who would not mesh well into the community. I don’t see an increased percentage of difficult people in this setting. For my own time, I find it lower, in fact. I have met all kinds of people in game stores: lawyers, brilliant recluse computer programmers, socially gifted gabsters, tragically hip scenesters – the thing these people all had in common was big imagination and a passion for problem-solving.
5. How long have you been in business and how did you get started?
We’ve been here for over a year now and growing strong. We got started with a small savings and a lot of work!
6. Are there any games coming out in the next year that you’re excited about?
There are games coming out nearly every week that I get excited about! This is a growing industry that hasn’t hit mainstream yet. Like video games, it has been around since the 70s. Unlike video games, hobby gaming has been fiercely defended by those who care about it. Video gaming has sold out. It’s the new TV. There are still quality video games being made, but they are the signal in the noise, like good film. Hobby gaming has a much higher signal-to-noise ratio, in my opinion.
7. What games do you personally play and why do you play them?
I haven’t played D&D in years, but that is where it started for me. My brother got the AD&D starter for Christmas in 1982 and we dove right in, checking out books from the library to complete our imaginary worlds. That went on for years and included many friends. It was a great escape that was powered on paper and imagination. My brother told me about a hot new card game when he was an avionicist on the flight line in 1994. I had not yet joined the Air Force, so I had plenty of time to try this cool new trype of card game called “Magic: The Gathering”. That was the beginning of what has been almost two decades of a hobby I love. Magic is hands-down, one of the best games ever made, which is constantly improving. Mensa agrees that it is one of the best. It is fun for a casual player and will challenge even the strongest minds.
I’ve long played games like Settlers of Catan and other hobby board games, most of which I found out about from other MAgic players. They make a nice break from intense strategy, or offer a twist on it. They range more greatly in design and complexity than any other genre. I’d recommend talking to Russell for more board game info that I could possibly provide. Here’s his meetup: http://www.meetup.com/TampaSWEEP/
Last year, I picked up Warhammer Fantasy as a strategy game that would let me get back to art. I’ve painted a handful of miniatures when time allowed and found it to be a very fulfilling hobby. You can create an army of your own design, paint them, and play against other generals in one of the oldest hobby games. Since 1983, this British import has been a cult classic. Warhammer 40k has since eclipsed it in popularity, but we support that equally well!
8. If someone wants to learn more about the games you play before they come out, where should they look and who should they talk to?
Folks can always ask questions of our strong forum community at anthem-games.com. They should do what makes them most comfortable. Google is a great resource for any key terms seen here. Wizards of the Coast makes Magic and D&D. Their site is www.wizards.com. Games Workshop’s Warhammer games and others can be perused at games-workshop.com.
9. Other than play board and card games, what other activities go on at your facility?
There’s a small amount of video gaming and internet usage, but it’s really about face time here. You don’t need to leave the house to plug in. I think people are turning away from it, to some degree and looking for new ways to interact with other people in the classic sense.
10. Where do you see the future of games being? More online games? More advanced board games? Something else?
Someone will make it, as long as there is a market for it. I think all will continue to develop and while they aren’t adversarial, one only has so much time. I still play some video games, but I find it much less fulfilling in comparison and usually feel like I just watched TV and turned my brain off. I feel more engaged and mentally active when I’m playing a new board game with friends, dueling another planeswalker in an epic Magic battle, commanding my Bretonnian knights against a Warhammer general across the table, or dreaming up whole new worlds in a D&D campaign. To each his own!
Restaurant Review: Tacos Tampa/Taqueria Monterrey #2
The owner of the Taco Bus and Taqueria Monterrey, Rene Valenzuela, has done it again with Tacos Tampa/Taqueria Monterrey #2 (2320 E Fletcher Ave, Tampa FL 33612), just opened in the USF area of Tampa. This is the third restaurant in the Taqueria/TacoBus group and it continues to provide good food at a good price.
The new facility has only been open a few days and already it is very busy. I went in during lunch time on Friday and there were people filling most every table, with others coming and going quickly.
Like it’s predecessor, #2 makes all of their shells fresh as you order them. They roll up the balls of dough, spread them and cook them in front of you behind a glass counter. You can really taste this freshness in the meal, and having hot shells makes everything else taste great.
The ingredients are fresh, as I’ve come to expect. They cut vegetables and prepare meets as needed, not pulled from the refrigerator in prepared bins. It tastes very much like home cooking in every bite. They also have all of my favorites from #1, including the Pastor. I recommend the Plate, as you simply won’t be able to get enough of this great tasting dish.
Guacamole is made fresh as well, and I can easily appreciate this painstaking and time consuming activity. It’s left chunky, with a bit of lime and spice to it but still leaving the avocado as the star. You could easily fill yourself up on guac and chips if you’re not careful. It’s that easy to get carried away with it.
The salsa bar, shown here only partially full as they were changing out vegetables for fresher ones, really adds another component to the value of Monterrey. The food is already value priced (around $10 or less to get full here), but you have open access to more vegetables and salsas as well. I often find myself going back just to the toppings bar to try everything, as there are over a dozen options here worth exploring.
I definitely can’t recommend Monterrey #2 enough, just as I couldn’t with Monterrey #1. If you want quality authentic Mexican Cuisine at a value price with high quality and fresh ingredients, you’d be hard pressed to find it anywhere else outside of our neighbors to the south.
DISCLOSURE: I designed the website, just like I did with the Taco Bus and the original Monterrey. As I have stated publicly before, I love their food and stand behind it as if it was my own restaurant. I wouldn’t have taken the design job if I didn’t!
Restaurant Review: Guadalajara Mexican Restaurant
Hidden in the Conquistador Plaza along Hillsborough, Guadalajara Mexican Restaurant (4502 W. Hillsborough Ave., Tampa, FL, 33614. (813) 879-4096) is yet another Mexican restaurant here in Tampa worth trying. While not exceptional in any way, it does provide decent value, fast service and a charming atmosphere.
When I showed up, the place was only moderately busy. The buzz of traditional Latin music filled the room, a bit too loud for comfort. I’ve noticed this trend in restaurants lately, trying to make up for low-rent layouts, mediocre food and unpleasant waitstaff by making the music overpowering. I didn’t have high hopes for this place based on this one point.
The waitress came and took my drink order. While she was gone, I noticed the fountain behind me. It was pretty loud for a fountain, loud enough to overtake the previously mentioned loud music. It was really pretty though.
When the drink arrived, she took my order right away. She was quick to recommend their carne asada, a favorite I’ve had many times before from many other places. I agreed to it and waited as she brought out chips and salsa. I noticed they also carried Chili Rellenos, one of my old time favorites as well. Given that I was pretty hungry, I ordered it as well.
The chips and salsa arrived and they were good. They were just salty enough to catch my attention, with a thin salsa that had a bit of heat but not enough to be overbearing. I noticed a bit of a fruity overtone in the salsa. It wasn’t powerful enough to be a mango-based salsa, but there was a definite sweetness.
The steak arrived within 10 minutes, and it was very flavorful. I’ve found that flank steak, when cooked correctly, can really stand on it’s own. I had been so convinced from previous experiences that flank steak and skirt steak were tough that I had all but given up on them. Guadalajara definitely made the most of this cut, giving it a nice seer without being overly done. I’d say for a flank steak, this was better than average.
With the steak came rice, beans, a side of vegetables and chips. There was nothing exceptional about any of it, other than it was fulfilling. The beans were a little runnier than I like, but they made a fine finish to the steak.
The chili relleno was completely different than any that I had eaten before. Firstly, the pepper itself was surprisingly crunchy. It’s not simply that it had a crunchy exterior shell. The whole pepper was crunchy, as if it were fried all the way through the pepper skin. Inside, there was no meat, but rather a half-melted block of cheese. There was no cohesion in the meal, just a block of cheese in a fried pepper covered in sauce. As far as relleno goes, this was pretty weak.
Ice Cream Social at Datz Deli
Datz Deli, home to awesome homemade sandwiches and a ridiculous amount of custom beers, played host to the Blue Bell Ice Cream Social on July 18th. The social featured several kinds of Ice Creams brought to you by the Blue Bell creamery, including classics like chocolate and vanilla and favorites like Cookies and Cream.
No Ice Cream Social would be complete without an old time barbershop quartet. These strip-shirt Staccatos belted out songs of the 1950s with impressive vigor.
The audience attentively clapped along through scoops of their ice cream.
The toppings bar totally did me. Who knew that strawberries, pineapple and peanuts would be so good on chocolate ice cream?
Restaurant Review: L’Eden
Attempting to beat the lunch crowd, Dustan and I ran to L’Eden (500 Tampa Street, Tampa, FL 33602, 813-221-4795) to try the french cuisine. Being in downtown Tampa, parking and getting into this small bistro can be tricky. When we arrived, there were people lined up out the door to get a seat inside. Generally, when there’s a line outside, I assume the best. L’Eden fell short of my expectations.
First, we’ll start with the issues that confused me straight off. The menu mentions nothing about special hours for certain foods. Dustan only agreed to go because he thought he could get a steak, which was on the menu. When he went to order, we were told that Steak (and certain other items) were only available for dinner. No where on the menu was this made clear, and it left him scrambling to order something else. Since he’s typically culturally devoid when it comes to cuisines outside of traditional American and Mexican, this put him off right away. We ended up ordering the same sandwich, which seemed like it was a dish they couldn’t mess up. I also ordered the French Onion Soup, as I assumed a French restaurant would be the place that would get this simple dish right.
Once we did manage to order, we were brought out Diet Cokes. For the $2+ you pay for a drink, you get one of the small half-size bottles of Diet Coke. I understand a company not wanting to offer fountain beverages, but what’s with the half size drinks at full size price? I typically drink 3-4 diet Cokes every time I eat out. If I did that here, I would have run up an $8 to $10 beverage bill.
While we waited, they brought out some traditional french bread with an olive oil and herb plate to dip it into. The bread was a little crunchier/harder than I expected, but the oil brought it within a manageable taste. The thing we found is that we quickly ran out of the herb, though we could refill on the oil served at our table.
While waiting, we noticed more people in and out. Everyone looked frustrated, though I’m sure that was equal parts issues with the hot day, the slow service and the work day. The French Onion Soup came out eventually and it was lackluster. Firstly, it was completely deconstructed. They literally brought me a pile of cheese in a cup, a few flakes of dried bred and the crock of soup. The soup had very few onions in it and the onions themselves were small shreds, not the long thick pieces of onions that I expect in the soup. The broth was mild and lacking the heavy broth taste that I’ve come to expect. This was very watered down and empty tasting. Adding the cheese and bread gave the broth some substance, but it didn’t improve the flavor or the texture. Since it wasn’t cooked as a whole unit, the soup lacked the cohesion required for any semblance of what this dish should have been.
When the sandwiches came, it wasn’t much better. The Monte Carlo Sandwich is a stacked pile of prosciutto, tomatoes, olive oil and sliced mozzarella stacked on a long bun. The french bread, again too dry and hard, made the sandwich difficult to eat. I found myself dunking it between bites in oil to give it any chance of tasting and digesting right. The prosciutto, a meat I expect to be spicy and overpowering, was muted as more of a standard boiled or chopped ham. The tomatoes, cut too big for the sandwich itself, tasted a bigger part in the sandwich than they should have. The only star of this sandwich was the mozzarella cheese, a soft white cheese that was bland but helped to hold the unit together. As far as sandwiches go, this was pretty weak.
I took the time to ask others around me what they were eating and how they felt about it. Everyone who was eating a salad was seeming to enjoy it. Everyone who was eating a sandwich or another dish appeared disgruntled. I had always known French food for it’s strong flavors and it’s blend of tastes that compliment and inspire. L’Eden failed this simple task all around.
While none of the food was appauling or distasteful, I would never say that anything we had was worth a second trip. If you work downtown and need food in a pinch, this touch of complacency may be with acceptance. It’s definitely nothing I’ll make a trip for again.