andy huse's Profile
My Orlando/Tampa Trip Report, April 2-12, 2012
i wonder if Garibaldi's has any relation to the restaurant in Tampa of the same name.
question about Arco Iris
i haven't had anything bad. check out the special board. think blue plate specials. boliche. fried chicken. steak milanesa. ropa vieja. salteado. carne con papas. that kind of thing. they also do a good Cuban fried rice. The fried yucca is good, but a little over the top. i like having a choice of sides. i love the bean soups (spanish bean, caldo gallego) and red beans, which can serve as a meal with some toasted Cuban bread. simple, cheap, and satisfying.
question about Arco Iris
the neighborhood is fine and the restaurant isn't too run down. enjoy.
Tampa luch and dinner - near USF?
for mideast food, i'd also add Byblos (wraps), Greenland for entrees, and Sahara for wraps and such. Byblos is super fast, the other can take a bit longer.
Tampa luch and dinner - near USF?
come now, cat, we can do better than that. The area is no haven of fine dining, but good food can be had. All of K's choices above are solid.
i especially second
Wood Fired Pizza (especially for lunch... service can suffer at dinner)
Chopstix
Trang Viet for light Viet fare, but it lacks spice.
I would add:
Tokyo sushi: imo, it easily outclasses Ichiban. they use whole tun in rolls, not that minced stuff.
Jai Ho for Indian
Greenland on 56th for mideast -- there is also a great place behind Sonic whose name escapes me.
Sami's bakery on Busch for pita, spinach pies, sweets and so on.
Pho Quyen for Vietnamese
Best of the BEST in Tampa???
i've loved osteria every time i've visited. the menu doesn't do justice. just ask the owner what the specials are. the husband and wife team are charming.
Pane Rustica is great, and you might consider doing lunch there to free up a dinner, tho its not the same. get some bread and treats to go. Ted Peter's is another lunch option, i think, get smoked mullet and/or dip. the other smoked fish are good, too, but mullet is so very Florida.
I'll leave more knowledgeable hounds to chime in, but Sidebern's is probably a must.
Tampa recommendatons please (Researched!!)
i'm with you, Todd. I can't understand why anyone would choose the bus over TM. Tm actually has a kitchen, and the food reflects that. also, fresh tortillas. The bus is like a cafeteria hot line ... in a bus. The Bus's salsas tend toward the salty side, while those at TM are more vibrant and fresh. TM has awesome housemade chorizo, pastor, and so on. and the pickled onions in the salsa bar are a must. I suspect the affection for the bus is sentimental. I just don't get it.
as for the Columbia, i ate there twice over the holidays, lunch and dinner. both meals excellent. but i have had bad moments over the years. if there's a problem, bring it to your server's attention. they aim to please.
Decent casual restaurant near Tampa airport?
it is hard to believe that before the Chinese were brought in (mostly after slavery was abolished in Cuba), the Cubans ate very little rice at all. The Chinese showed the Cubans how to cultivate rice. Probably lotsa tubers before then.
Jeannie Pierola and Kitchenbar
one thing that no one is mentioning is the price of these meals. I heard the three-oyster dish cost $12. i wonder how much the fingerling potatoes cost...
Notice of death of the creator of the Cuban Elena Ruz Sandwich
thanks for the heads up, sleuth! I've been so stuck on hot browns that i never had her namesake sandwich with my leftover turkey this year.
Cuban sandwich? Elena Ruz?
of course, Carolina's info was decisive in my research, too. It put to rest all of the silly theories about Castro and Babe Ruth. cheers!
Cuban sandwich? Elena Ruz?
i wrote it up a year ago.
http://cltampa.com/dailyloaf/archives/2010/11/23/leftover-turkey-calls-for-an-elena-ruz-sandwich
Tasso and Andouille in Tampa
Land and sea is my go to place for these as well. You may have to get them frozen, but they taste good.
An afternoon in Tampa?
on the Ybor front, you can get wired on fresh-roasted cafe con leche at Naviera, smoke a cigar at King Corona, get lovely pastries and sweets at La Segunda bakery, quaff microbrews at the Tampa Bay Brewing Company, and so on.
Most of the bars aren't even open in the afternoon.
The Refinery (Tampa)
The honeymoon is over. It is a shame that criticism is so muted here, because the place has great potential and might take the feedback to heart. Inconsistent execution, misleading menu text, and patrons have been badgered or ignored for complaining. I find it interesting that many people who are normally very vocal about these matters here have been silent for so long. Probably because they have simply scratched the Refinery from their list of dining options and moved on.
Yummy House vs. China Yuan in Tampa
you can't really go wrong at either place, especially given the reasonable prices, The Hillsborough YH is much nicer than the old location.
Another Yummy House coming to Tampa
I think we should judge restaurants, not one another. We all eat, taste, percieve, and judge a little differently. we don't have to agree, but we should play nice.
Yummy House will not fail because of a couple bad reviews here. Based on the new location, YH probably deserves some slack. As for me, it delivered exactly what i expected, good food and bad service at great prices.
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Yummy House
2202 W Waters Ave Ste 1A, Tampa, FL 33604
Korean Fried Chicken in Tampa Bay
the sauce is probably not for everyone. i find it strangely addictive.
Another Yummy House coming to Tampa
i had the same experience with service at the new place. Our server fpogot we were assigned to her, i flagged her down and she apologized. still had a hard time getting our order right, but it all worked out. SP Calamari batter was off. The rest of the dishes were good.
Korean Fried Chicken in Tampa Bay
Sa Ri One Lunchbox has it, and the "Asian" sauce they dip it in is characteristically Korean. Reminds me of the hottish sauce they put on the Bimibop. The rest of the menu is very simple, with a few meat dishes, Bimibop, gyozas and simple sides. Get the hot Asian sauce on the chicken! Save yourself the drive to O-town until you can confirm the presence of said chicken.
El Zarape Mexican Grill (Tampa)
I need a great place for sopes. Thanks for the report!
Best Pho in Tampa Bay
I agree on Pho An Hoa. Bamboozle does have some good dishes, but the Pho didn't blow me away there, either. Saigon Deli's is adequate but not great.
Around Okeechobee: LaBelle, Clewiston, Immokalee, Belle Glade, Lake Placid
a little piece of me died when i first heard the news early this year.
Jazzy's Cajun Cafe (Tampa)
sheesh. I didn't say anything about bad service. I never got that far. i was too hungry and busy to wait around to see how long it would take. perhaps the window will help. or at least asking people to wait outside once they placed their order. it sounds good and we need some decent NOLA food around.
Jazzy's Cajun Cafe (Tampa)
are the mods getting overzealous or what? missing posts here.
I tried to eat at Jazzy's Saturday, but there was already someone in the place, and the sign says one at a time. I waited a while, but the conversation inside just kept going and no one came out with any food, so I just left. Seems like there should be a way to put in an order without occupying the place until you've gotten your food---- that would hamper sales quite a bit. Have to try another time, hopefully when they can handle more than one order at a time. Hmph.
Wood Fired Pizza in Downtown St. Pete?
It will be a few months for build out, but it should be a really nice space with a big shared, covered deck between Pete's Wood Fired Pizza (the new name of the business) and WOB.
