All Entries in the "Ybor City" Category

Reservoir Bar: Stuck in the Middle With You

Influenced by the world of gangsters and Quentin Tarantino, Ybor City’s Reservoir Bar (1518 E 7th Ave, Tampa, FL 33605-3704, (813) 248-1442) is a dive bar with big ambitions. The motif is tongue in cheek and Hollywood chic, covered in powers and artifacts from the movie “Reservoir Dogs”, gangster bobbleheads and other nicnacs within the genre. The beer is cold, the company is friendly and two pool tables flank the entrance, meaning walking through this bar often means bumping elbows with local tattoo artists, rock stars, men-about-town and hangers-on.

Even early, the Reservoir bar is teeming with activity. Within a few minutes of being there, Dustan and Kara decided to get drunk while I mingled with the locals. The bartenders are eager to please, if only through the veil of “too cool” that every good bartender should have. It’s not uncommon for them to keep pace with the patrons, as seen here:

Just because it’s a dive bar, don’t think that they’re without the specialties you’re looking for. They have a jagermeister machine, which is always an indicator of trouble to come. Behind the bar, they have all the standards and dozens of specialties. I looked for a few hard to find extras and found most of them. If you don’t see it, just ask. Chances are, they’ll have whatever ails you hidden somewhere nearby.

If talking bottleheads and bird-giving elves do it for you, the decorations only add to your drunk misadventure. Be careful you don’t break them, as the barkeeps will bust your face open.

Did I mention Dustan and Kara drinking? They both got pretty lit while we were there.

The reservoir is open 7PM to 3AM every day, so mosey on down after work and have a few drinks. The prices are low and so are the standards, so everyone is likely to find something they’ll like.

Restaurant Review: The Laughing Cat

Along the 15th street corridor of Ybor’s Gaybor District, the Laughing Cat (1820 N 15th St, Tampa, FL 33605, (813) 241-2998) touts itself as “New Progressive Italian Cuisine”, a fusion of traditional Italian ingredients with new bohemian presentation. Their description lives up to the name, including hiring pseudo-jester waiters to bring out the food while the hustle and bustle of Gaybor street traffic remains clearly visible through the glass windows of the dining room.

The Laughing Cat is not a big place, probably just big enough to sit 10-12 tables comfortably.  That said, they also don’t ever appear to be busy. I’ve eaten here a few times and have always gotten a table quickly. The waitstaff is jubilant, buzzing around blissfully, tending to your needs often and always quick with a quirky observation. Some may find this annoying, but I find it endearing and really like being here because the staff is so friendly and outgoing.

The staff brings out bread to our table quickly with our drinks. From the time we sit to the time we’re spooning butter onto bread is less than 5 minutes. The bread comes out hot and tender, a far cry from the bread I’m used to and traditional Italian places. When pulling it apart with your fingers, a puff of steam escapes rapidly. I wish I could have better captured how fresh and amazing this puff of steam really is, but take my word for it that you taste the freshness in every bite. It’s a nice change to see the butter melt in the bread instead of sitting there, waiting for me to consume it half-melted.

Another plus of this place in terms of hot and cold is how cold the drinks are served. They’re almost “hurt your teeth-cold”. You can see from this picture that steam and condensation overtake our glasses, as the chipped ice quickly cools our sodas.

Dustan ordered the Filet Mignon Cat Style, a hearty portion of Filet mignon sautéed with portobello mushrooms, artichoke hearts
and red peppers in a white wine sauce with fresh basil. At $40, this is not an inexpensive meal, but he continued to rave about it’s taste and quality. It’s a lot to take in at over a pound of meat is mated with so much cheese and other fresh ingredients. Again, it’s served so piping hot that you stand in awe as you wait to eat it.

I ordered the Insalata di Cesare, a Romaine lettuce Caesar Salad made with homemade Caesar dressing, parmesan
cheese, and cracked black pepper. While the salad was as simple as a Caesar can get, it was very flavorful. The dressing, chunky and rich, really drew out the power of the romaine and the parmesan cheese. Even without chicken or fish, this was a substantial take on a dinner favorite that I have eaten hundreds of times.

Kara had the Tortellini Genovese, a combination of Prosciutto sautéed with cheese tortellini in a pesto sauce and topped
with fresh mozzarella and basil. The prosciutto was pronounced and evident in every bite, shredded throughout the dish in a way that made each bite a sample of the whole flavor profile of the dish, instead of that constant hunt for the next piece of meat. The cheese tortellini, softened by the cooking process, was the perfect blend of firm but done. Tortellini can go wrong so quickly, but Laughing Cat pulled this off. Kara finished her plate quickly, continually commenting on how tasty it really was.

As we finished our meal, we all let out the “I’m full” grunt, knowing we had a long night ahead of us in Ybor City and Channelside. The Laughing Cat has been a continually reliable source of good food, good times and entertaining staff. It rides that fine line between classy and elitist, high value taste at relatively reasonable prices and nice atmosphere without being too preachy about it.

Restaurant Review: Spaghetti Warehouse

Located in old Ybor City in a building that is older than most of Tampa, the Spaghetti Warehouse (1911 13th St., Tampa, FL 33605, (813) 248-1720) is a courtyard with a view with decent new-school Italian food inside. The price price point is affordable, the layout and furnishings quaint and the atmosphere dark and archaic, a symptom of and a tribute to the relic of a building it’s based in. When you walk in, you’re met with a mix of new and old. The new, a refined bar with fine woods and shelves upon shelves of liquor almost seems out of place against the brick backdrop. The old, cobbled brick floors and walls with tin signs and other remnants of days gone past are all in their place, a bit of dust on each one to keep the authenticity.

The service is decent, though it seems like they don’t always know what’s going on. Several times, I saw waiters breeze past us looking for a table that wasn’t there or bring out food to the wrong side of the restaurant only to run to another place with it. That said, they were prompt with our requests and their attitude and presentation was suitable. Another noteworthy compliment is the size of their glasses and how often they filled them. I ended up drinking 6 of these large (probably 32 oz) waters while I was there. It was a very hot day and they kept the drinks coming.

As is the tradition with Italian Cuisine, we were bought out a loaf of bread and butter to share with our meal. The bread was a little crunchier than I like in Italian Bread, forcing enough pressure applied with the knife to cut the bread to also smash it. The taste was appealing and as expected, with the garlic and chive butter being the star of this introductory dish.

Our orders arrived in about 15 minutes, starting with Kara’s salad and then mine shortly after. Her entree made it last, but it was all within a few minute span so no lost points for delivery time. Her salad was typical side salad fair, made of fresh lettuce, tomatoes and red onions with croutons and french dressing thrown in. Kara remarked that it was tasty, but “just a salad”.

When Kara’s Chicken Alfredo arrived, she made me try it. It was good, but a bit too cheesy for my tastes. The alfredo sauce they use is far cheesier than creamy and it’s a thick and chunky concoction, bordering on being too much. Kara liked it and finished it quickly.

I went with the Chopped Salad, Warehouse Style. CHOPPED SALAD “WAREHOUSE STYLE”. This mix of Fresh greens, grilled chicken, smoked bacon, pepperoni, Genoa salami, bleu cheese and sautéed mushrooms tossed in a Parmesan basil vinaigrette was pretty hearty even for a dinner salad. It comes topped with marinated Roma tomatoes. While the chicken was a little dry, the strong tastes from the salami, blue cheese and vinaigrette made up for it. This is one of those salads that you find yourself eating and realize that you’ve actually been cherry picking all of the “Good stuff” out. Within a few minutes, I had lettuce covered in vinaigrette with little shards of other bits in it, but the bulk of the meat and cheese was gone.

Our total meal was around $25 and we were in and out in about an hour. While this isn’t the kind of place I’d rave about, I’d say that it was a good meal if you’re on a budget and want some hearty Italian food. It will never replace the mom and pop Italian kitchens that I love and crave, but I’d imagine it would be a good lunch or dinner spot if you’re in a hurry and want something that will stick to you for a while.

Restaurant Review: Fresh Mouth

After walking by it a hundred times, Kara and I decided to stop into Fresh Mouth (1600 E 8th Ave # D101, Tampa, FL 33605-3741, (813) 241-8845) and try some of their good old fashion ballpark food. I occasionally love to dabble in this kind of stuff, both because it’s cheap and because it’s a form of gluttony I can get onboard with. The idea of food smothered in cheese and grease while still being delicious appeals to me on some carnal level, and I like that.

Since it’s in Centro Ybor, you will see all kinds of patrons here. The diverse crowd all seemed to be in good spirits and the food all looked good, so we dove right in to ordering the Chicken Philly, a large cheddar cheese fries and club sandwich.

Service was pretty quick. We had our drinks inside of 5 minutes and our food within 10 minutes. Kara’s club sandwich was pretty large, and swelled out of the bread. When she broke it open, piles of tomatoes and lettuce and meat spilled out. This is a good sign, as many clubs I’ve tried skimp out on meat and load up on mayo to compensate. When asked what she thought, she said, “Oh, it’s good.” The big shit eating grin on her face confirmed her response.

The chicken philly steak sub was alright. The chicken itself was a little dry and they skimped on the onions and peppers in favor of more cheese. While I love cheese, I really wish this was a more complete sandwich with more vegetables and tender chunks of meat. That said, the sandwich was bland. Most chicken phillies are seasoned so they compliment the sharp cheese. This needed hot sauce, and it got it.

We shared a basket of chili cheese fries, and it’s a good thing we did. There’s no way one person could eat all of these, even it’s their only meal. The sheer quantity of cheese, starch and grease would either kill you dead or at least dislodge your lower bowel. It’s a lot to take in. All of that said, it was extremely tasty. The fries were the crinkle cut variety, covered in nacho cheese and a very hearty chili. Most of the time when I order chili fries, I end up with a watery chili that doesn’t have much texture. This chili had chunks of meat and more than enough spice to make it taste very good. This is my guilty pleasure food, and I love it.

I can see a place like Fresh Mouth being the perfect late night post-drinking session spot to wind down and pound down some alcohol soaking starch. The reasonable price, average service and relatively tasty food will encourage you to come back, if only for the chili cheese fries and people watching.

LocalShops1: Hyperlocal shopping for the Tampa Bay Area

One of the things I’ve always found interesting about the web is how easy it is to get to powerful databases of information. What I’ve always found annoying is trying to find that information specific to a region.

For us Tampa Bay residents (and those in the surrounding counties of Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk and Sarasota), you may find some help in the hyper local shopping site, LocalShops1.com. They are committed to promoting locally owned, independent shops. The mission of this site is to be a place where shoppers and business owners can come to network, on social and business levels to exchange ideas, post sales, become involved in the community. Out in the “real world,” they plan lots of fun community events, charity fundraisers and store parties.

About to celebrate their 1st anniversary, Local Shops is focused on highlighting high quality businesses in and around Tampa. This site does what other yellow-pages style sites do, but in a cleaner format and each business is hand selected and reviewed for inclusion instead of an across the board inclusion that many directories do. Signing up is FREE, and can be done here:
http://www.local-shops-1.com/LocalShops1/membership-options.html

There’s lots of good news coming out of this organization. They recently began embarking on a $250,000 advertising campaign with the Tampa Tribune, WFLA, tbo.com, Tampa Bay Magazine, Tampa Bay Business Journal and Genesis radio stations 1040 and 820. They are in the midst of a complete redesign of the website to make it easier to use. In August, they are launching “1Card”, the ultimate discount card for local business.

Homemade Music Symposium Photo Post

This year’s Homemade Music Symposium played out over the weekend at the Ybor HCC campus, bringing together musicians, singer-songwriters, music industry professionals, entertainers, writers, photographers and most every other aspect of the music industry to discuss the state of music, the nature of creating and marketing musicians and give a taste of things to come.

Overall, the symposium was a great success. Saturday opened with “Poets of Popular Song, The Lyrics and Lyric Writers of the Great American Songbook”. Featuring the piano work of Paul Wilborn and the 107 year old Rosa Rio. After their performance, many of the attendees broke for the lunch while the rest of us sat at our tables and handed out free swag and met with people.

As the day raged on, the crowd continued to morph. After noon, the rock kids all awoke and made an appearance, many to show off their demos and many more to attend seminars including “Marketing, Touring and Band Management” and “Alternative Media Promotion” with BrandTampa’s own Queen of Social Media Julia Gorzka. Classes on getting the most out of studio time, shooting a music video and a “meet the press” session provided even more value to those who came looking for help getting their music careers off the ground.

There was a good showing by all the key players at the vendor tables including Bay Area Beat, WMNF, Creative Loafing and Reax.

Here are some random photos from the event:

Restaurant Review: Rock N Sports Bar and Grill

Last week, Dereck and I ended up at Rock N Sports Bar and Grill (1600 E 8th Ave # E200, Tampa, FL 33605, (813) 242-6220), located in the upstairs of Centro Ybor. This mix of classic sports bar elements with rock nostalgia is a little bit Hard Rock Cafe and a little bit Cheers, but all around a good place to eat.

The atmosphere is fun, and the waitstaff is both cordial and attentive. When I asked if I could take a few pictures of the bar, the staff gathered together so I could get a group photo as well. This is the kind of place that everyone seems happy to be, including those who work there.

Since we had a long night ahead of us, we decided to stuff ourselves. Given the large portion sizes and reasonable prices, this wasn’t a difficult thing to do. We started out with the gator tails, which were just as I expected them to be. Big meaty pieces topped a plate of fries, all fried to a golden brown. The portions weren’t chewy and the sauce was just right. My only real complaint is that I ended up eating so much of these that I didn’t get to enjoy very much of my main course.

For the main course, Dereck and I opted for fully loaded nachos. These nachos went beyond standard nacho fair, particularly with the inclusion of sweet pulled pork. Normally, I don’t like sweet and salty combined, but the sugar glazes pork made a powerful combination with the two kinds of cheese, chips, chicken, chili, black olives, green onions and tomatoes. Every bite was well saturated with toppings, so there weren’t a lot of lost chips in the pile.

After eating half of the nachos, I ended up taking the rest home. They weren’t too bad reheated, which is a rarity amongst chip dishes. I think it was all the meat and cheese, as the chips really became a side note to the rest of the meal.

L’Olivier Cabaret Photo Post

The good folks at L’Olivier had me back to take another round of photos, this time focusing my time on the Thursday night show. This was the return show of Amy Demilo, as she has been out sick the last few weeks.

Every time I see this show, it gets better. The energy gets higher. The routines get tighter and more fun. The fire show gets heated enough that a fire marshall has to stand by and ensure the place doesn’t burn to the ground. It’s that intensity that makes the show a lot of fun, a good value, great dinner entertainment and an absolute charm to photograph.

I also have to hand it to the sound and light crew. A lot of times, cabaret shows are kept intentionally dark and may only feature a few small lights for ambiance. This show is filled with great lighting effects and the red light glow that almost constantly fills the stage makes capturing the fast moving action easier than I expected.

Here’s some of my favorite shots from the evening:

The rest of the set can be seen here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/denisbaldwin/sets/72157619638997114/

At least one of the Toyota Yaris guys has a sense of humor

I saw this in the Tampa IKEA parking lot yesterday.

At least there’s one Yaris driver who doesn’t take himself (or this whole shooting gas prices problem) seriously.

Homemade Music Symposium this weekend!

HOMEMADE MUSIC SYMPOSIUM releases its MASTER SCHEDULE for the event on Saturday, June 13 and Sunday, June 14 in Ybor City. The second annual symposium is offered free of charge to all Tampa Bay area musicians and the general public. The numerous seminars and workshops are focused on the business of music making and will provide area musicians assistance on how to nurture and develop careers in the modern commercial environment. Woven through the two-day schedule are a number of special live performances and showcases by artists ranging in age from 11 to 107!

On Saturday June 13, the symposium will take place from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM at the HCC-Performing Arts Building-Ybor City Campus, located at the corner of Palm Avenue and 14th Street. A complete schedule is provided at the end of this release.

On Saturday Evening, June 13, numerous area bands and musicians will be featured at showcases throughout Ybor City. Venues include New World Brewery, Crowbar, the Roosevelt, and Arts on 9th. Highlights include Will Quinlan at New World Brewery, Hat Trick Heroes at Crowbar, and Hip Hop / Techno powered by vegetable oil in biodiesel generators at the Roosevelt.

On Sunday, June 14, all events take place from 1:00 PM to 8:00 PM at various venues along 19th Street and 9th Avenue. These include the Ybor City State Museum Park, REAX Music Space, Tre Amici at the Bunker, Mermaid’s Slipper and Arnold Martinez Art Gallery.

Some highlights of the symposium include:

Special guests Rosa Rio, Tampa’s own 107 years young Wurlitzer wizard and jazz pianist, and Paul Wilborn performing music by composers Rosa knew such as Cole Porter and George Gershwin

A keynote address from Peter Wells, visiting NYC Co-Founder of Tunecore, the country’s premier digital media distribution company

Workshops and panel discussions including a cross-section of Bay area record labels, alternative media promotion, electronic press kit and web design, and Meet the Press: A Conversation with Area Music Critics.

The symposium is organized by The Artists and Writers Group in partnership with Hillsborough Community College-Ybor City Campus. Bay Area Artists and Musicians Organization (BAAMO) and Ybor City Development Corporation are also partners. Other sponsors include Creative Loafing, REAX Magazine and New World Brewery.

The partners and sponsors are dedicated to supporting the Tampa Bay area cultural community with events such as Homemade Music Symposium, Deep Carnivale: Celebration of Words and the Ybor Festival of the Moving Image.

For general inquiries please contact T. Hampton Dohrman 813.784.2972 thdohrman@gmail.com or David Audet daudet@hccfl.edu, Hillsborough Community College-Ybor City Campus, 2112 N. 15th Street, Tampa, Florida 33675