jfischer27's Profile
Finding real French croissants in Tampa
Hopefully the "menu" expands then. One of the article's online led me to believe that they are at least sort of related to the Amelie's in Charlotte - which is actually a nice place to hang out, with an enjoyably large selection of menu items. (That were tasty, too!)
Finding real French croissants in Tampa
Well, since I hadven't had the chance to try Au Rendezvous I decided to check around, and according to Yelp its been closed for several years. The good news though is that the man that owned Au Rendezvous is the same person that opened L'Eden. That might explain the quality of the croissants at both.
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L'Eden
500 N Tampa St, Tampa, FL 33602
Any place in Tampa for really "good" gluten free bread?
There's Viitals on Florida Ave in Seminole Heights. They're dedicated GF, and while I haven't tried their bread the GF cookies were pretty tasty.
Any Restaurants Serving Wild Boar (cinghiale) in Tampa Bay?
Sidebern's posted on their Facebook page about a new Wild Boar entree on the menu just this past Wednesday. They probably still have it: "New entree tonight - Wild Boar Loin with creamy parmesan farro, sweet medjool dates, toasted walnuts, braised escarole and a balsamic sauce infused with juniper berries!"
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Sidebern's
2208 W Morrison Ave, Tampa, FL 33606
Good Tex-Mex in Tampa Bay?
Perhaps it was just the location then. We went to the one in Largo, and while it was certainly not the worst Mexican food I've tried in the Tampa area it certainly was far from the best. I ordered a chile relleno and got a fairly generic, overly greasy relleno with what was best described as canned marinara sauce being passed off as ranchero sauce. We only got one type of salsa as well which was mild and fairly bland.
Ocala Eats
I'd suggest trying Primary Oven downtown, or perhaps Filet and Fin. I haven't tried Filet and Fin yet, but ate at Chef Daniel's previous restaurant downtown and had a very lovely meal. I have high hopes for his new restaurant being up to the same or even better standards.
Up 441 there is Tommy's BBQ, but I've only had breakfast there (decent enough) so I can't vouch for their actual BBQ.
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Chef Daniels Cafe and Restaurant
108 N Magnolia Ave, Ocala, FL 34475
Good Tex-Mex in Tampa Bay?
I don't know if we just managed to hit it on a bad night, but Carmelita's was pretty bad.
So far our hunt for decent Tex-Mex in Tampa has been pretty disappointing. El Toro Bravo (Sarasota) was decent and the owner was flying in his chiles from New Mexico. Taco Bus is another good place (as well as Taqueria Monterray) but neither are Tex-Mex.
Tampa or Clearwater for Thanksgiving Dinner
We went to Pelagia Trattoria for Christmas dinner last year and it was wonderful. I would imagine Thanksgiving would also be good.
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Pelagia Trattoria
4200 Jim Walter Blvd., Tampa, FL 33607
12 Meals in Tampa/St. Petersburg
But note that Smokin A's isn't on W Waters anymore, its at the intersection of Florida and Hanna in Seminole Heights.
Gourmet grocery
If you'll be driving down from Tampa, I'd also suggest stopping by Mazzaro's Italian Market in St. Petersburg.
Where to buy fresh local eggs in Tampa?
She also sells at the St. Pete Saturday Morning market. And, I'm not 100% sure, but I think she (or someone else) sells fresh eggs at the Sweetwater CSA's market on Sunday mornings.
Also, does the Ybor market actually close during the summer season? I thought it was the only one that didn't.
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Sweetwaters Restaurant
465 S Wickham Rd, Melbourne, FL 32904
Chowdown - Tampa- Vizcaya Restaurante & Tapas Bar - 8/15/10
Try the Iced taro milk tea with sour jelly. One of my favs!
Gluten-free in TB?
If you end up in Tampa, there is also Vitaals in Seminole Heights (on Florida Ave), and I believe Cafe Hey (north of downtown Tampa, on Franklin I think) has GF menu items as well.
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Cafe Hey
1540 N Franklin St, Tampa, FL 33602
Where should I eat along my moving route?
Unfortunately, I don't have a lot to recommend for the route you're taking. If you're up for a splurge though, I can suggest dinner at YO Ranch in Dallas. The buffalo filet mignon is currently one of the best steaks I've ever had, and the Elk Chops weren't far behind.
Are you going into the French Quarter when you get to New Orleans? I know Cafe DuMonde is a traditional place to go for coffee & beignets, but I'd recommend asking locals for somewhere a little more local and a little less tourist oriented. Last time I was there we went to Cafe New Orleans which was much quieter and just as good.
Check out http://www.roadfood.com/ for some of the cities you'll be driving through. When we were in El Paso last year, I found H&H car wash on that site, backed up the recommendation on the Texas boards here and then went and had some of the best chile rellenos I've ever had. I can only hope all the recommendations on that site turn out to be as good.
Good luck on the move! And if you're more specific on your likes/dislikes we all might be able to point you out to the "must tries" once you've settled in in Gulfport.
Tampa - New Restaurant Discussion - Rolling Thread (4/13/10)
Tried it once and thought it was only ok. The bill seemed high for what we ordered as well. Overall it was in the "probably not going back" category for me.
The Refinery (Tampa)
I believe they're still doing Sunday brunch, but pushed opening back an hour to 11 am.
Cheese in Tampa
The Whole Foods cheese counter has always been good to us.
However, I heard the Bern's Fine Wines store is now carrying the cheese selections offered at SideBern's. Has anyone been in lately? I'm hoping to go check it out and see if this is true.
Turkish food in the Tampa Bay area?
Where in Ocala? I visit frequently and would love to try it out!
Mexican Coca-Cola or Throwback/Natural Pepsi in Pinellas County?
If you can't find it at Publix, Fresh Market stocks Mexican Coke as well. Its just more expensive @ $1.99/bottle.
Ella's (Tampa)
I honestly hope they all turn out to be quality establishments and can make it. Good food and good service should go a long way into maintaining the neighborhood's excitement over all the new choices, although I imagine a lot will depend on each one being able to draw in business from outside Seminole Heights as well as getting the locals in.
I could see some potential issues with Ella's vs the Bungalow Bistro (since I haven't seen Ella's menu to compare) but the others: sushi, Spanish, a gastro-pub, a bar hopefully each should be unique enough to not cannibalize too much business from one another. But I guess we shall see. Hopefully the crappy economy won't turn out to be too much of a drag on things, as I'd really prefer to see this renaissance of sorts for Seminole Heights keep going.
Ella's (Tampa)
Thanks for the report! We've been waiting not-so-patiently waiting for their grand opening, so now we just need to make an excuse to go for dinner. Now if only The Independent would hurry up and open, as well as Sangria's.
Hatch Chiles in Tampa
They're pretty easy to roast if you have a gas oven. Put them under the broiler and turn as they start to char. I usually put mine in a heavy plastic bag once they are done in the oven, they steam a bit and it makes them much easier to peel.
The harder part is roasting a large quantity of them, like the 25 lbs I just bought. If only I had one of the home roasters, or can figure out how to rig something up for the grill fairly easily.
Hatch Chiles in Tampa
We discovered last night that the Fresh Market in south Tampa has fresh hatch chile in stock. Finally, a year we don't have to have them shipped in! Now if only they were roasting them as well.
YMMV at other Fresh Markets, but it sounds like they should all either have them or will have them soon as they are being advertised in the latest flyer.
Looking for Tampopo Style Noodle Place
The only Japanese restaurant in the Tampa area I know of that serves real ramen is I Ai Sushi at Dale Mabry & Waters. However, I can't speak for the quality of their ramen specifically as I've never tried it.
