TampaAurora's Profile
Beirut Cafe - St. Petersburg
The best I've had so far have been the meat pie, the tabbouleh and the walnut bahlawa. I make tabbouleh at home often when I can get farm-fresh tomatoes, and this sets up against mine! According to the owner's son, bahlawa is the Lebanese pronunciation/spelling and baklava is Greek and not as awesome. I don't care what it is called, as long as I can eat more of it. I was mopping up the rose water/syrup with a finger rather than let a drop go to waste.
Tampa recommendatons please (Researched!!)
Smoked fish here is hot smoked and then made into a salad - much like whitefish salad.
Beirut Cafe - St. Petersburg
I've found my newest haunt - a local Mom and Pop Lebanese restaurant in the Tyrone area of St. Petersburg. On Friday, I had a meat pie and two desserts (pecan bahlawa and mahmoun which was a cookie similar to the "Mexican Wedding Cookies" my mom used to love) for lunch. More than one, as they have a $10 minimum for debit card use and I have no will power when faced with sweets. I dragged two friends back tonight for dinner and between the three of us we had - baba ghanoush, hummus, tabbouleh, grape leaves, and felafel. Everything I've had has been homemade and tastes like it comes from my grandmother's kitchen. Well, my grandmother if she had been Lebanese, anyway.
Seating is for maybe 15 people, there is a dessert deli counter and table service. Meals take their time, as everything I've had so far was made on site. They are well worth it.
Tampa recommendatons please (Researched!!)
It was definitely my recommendation, hubby puts up with squash for me. It's why I love Pane Rustica - a chicken salad that is always light on the mayo and goes big for flavor no matter what spin they put on it that day, and it's always packed in an acorn squash!
Tampa recommendatons please (Researched!!)
I remember that day. Todd was so disappointed in that pulpo! I enjoy the pollo deshebrada and the salsa bar at Taqueria Monterrey. I'm such a sucker for a bunch of dips, salsas or what-have-yous. I'm like a toddler - I'll eat it if there is a sauce to dip or dunk.
Broken foot in St. Pete....
"Askdrtodd,' what I'm hoping is your wit...well, it isn't translating on this one!
A new food delivery service started in that area called Food Now. I haven't tried them yet, but I have heard good things! Good luck with the foot!
I've just discovered Greek yogurt!...now what do I do with it?
I've been making my own fruit on the bottom yogurt for breakfast. A big dollop of yogurt goes into a glass dish/jar along with some preserves and some granola for a delicious and filling meal. My co-workers have been jealous, which is a side bonus.
GULFPORT/ST PETERSBURG
Meze 119 is small and having 15 people may take up a large portion of the room, so I would recommend calling ahead. I enjoyed the food, especially the mint lemonade and the couscous dish.
I enjoy Ceviche's and they have a downstairs/around the corner bar which is not nearly as crowded as upstairs. Not to be confused with Pincho y Pincho.
Pinellas County Burgers
Now that Tampa has come into its own with Burger 21 and Burger Monger, I can get my burger fix over there, but I don't know of anywhere on my side of The Bay to get a good burger outside of my own home. Is there any place to grab a tasty burger that someone put some thought into making?
Negative posts being removed?
I rescind my claim...apparently, we cannot moderate ourselves.
Why bother posting...
I agree wholeheartedly Miss E. I used to be a frequent poster here but it seems like relatively innocuous posts or posts in which there is any disagreement gets deleted or redacted. Generally, anything that is not a concierge-type posting gets the Chowhound Big Brother touch.
I'd rather it get redacted if needed, but deleting entire threads seems like overkill. It seems as though whomever is moderating our threads has just decided its easier to remove threads rather than take the time to edit or close threads.
Dear Mods - Please allow us our freedom to discuss our local food scene. If you allow us to moderate ourselves a bit more freely, we can and will have fun while actively making our area more Chow enriched. If you give us half a chance, we can and do take each other to task for potential spamming, cliquishness and otherwise not abiding by the Chow manifesto. By stifling our voices, you are taking out one of the few true avenues this community has in this chain-food desert to find great Chow.
*By the way, the Yummy House thread that was removed was one of the few threads that has prompted real discussion and interest/excitement about restaurants recently on this board. We need more than "where can I get" threads! We don't have much of a diverse food scene, allow us to lament this and hold restaurants to task. Maybe if we are allowed some open criticism, our local restaurants will take notice and start going the distance instead of meeting us halfway like so many local eateries do currently.
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Yummy House
2202 W Waters Ave Ste 1A, Tampa, FL 33604
Negative posts being removed?
I agree about the heavy handedness Gin n Tonic, I used to be a frequent poster on the Florida board but it seems like relatively innocuous posts or posts in which there is any disagreement gets deleted or redacted. Generally, anything that is not a concierge-type posting gets the Chowhound Big Brother touch.
I'd rather it get redacted if needed, but deleting entire threads seems like overkill. It seems as though whomever is moderating our threads has just decided its easier to remove threads rather than take the time to edit or close threads. Please allow us our freedom to discuss our local food scene. If you allow us to moderate ourselves a bit more freely, we can and will have fun while actively making our area more Chow enriched. If you give us half a chance, we can and do take each other to task for potential spamming, cliquishness and otherwise not abiding by the Chow manifesto. By stifling our voices, you are taking out one of the few true avenues this community has in this chain-food desert to find great Chow.
Restaurants in St. Pete
I tried it a few years back figuring Chowhounds were just being snobby. The food was a touch above lousy and I learned to trust the boards - when EVERYONE says it's bad, it's the truth and not being stuck up. The food tasted freezer burnt and was poorly executed. I like pub food and generally am not a fine dining gal, so if it was just that I'd have gone back. We need great food with a great view at a great price and this place just wasn't it for me.
Is there food for me too?
Dessert may be my favorite part of a meal...my sweet tooth is legendary among my friends. The only foods I knew I wanted were the desserts you mentioned :)
Is there food for me too?
Thanks for your comments all. I love eating local foods when traveling, and I was starting to worry that, without pork and shellfish, I'd be missing all that NOLA has to offer. The trip is being postponed, so now I have even more time to compile a list of great foods and where to get it!
Best Pho in Tampa Bay
The different Pho Quyen restaurants around the Bay Area are all owned by the same family and their extended relatives, but each one has it's own specialties. I personally like the Bun and Pho better at Pinellas Park and the stirfried items more at the one on Hillsborough.
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Pho Quyen Restaurant
4505 Park Blvd Ste 10, Pinellas Park, FL 33781
Is there food for me too?
No hotel, a friend is allowing us to stay in his home. I don't know where his home is in New Orleans. What foods would you recommend?
Is there food for me too?
My husband and I don't eat pork or shellfish. We aren't strictly kosher, but do try to avoid these items. We may have the opportunity to take a road trip to New Orleans over Independence weekend, but are concerned that the food in the area may be mostly food we can't eat! I've been reading about the amazing restaurants in your area and am starting to think we should pass this opportunity. Please let me know that there is food we can eat in New Orleans.
Another Indian Food Option (St. Pete)
It's on my current work route twice a month, and it doesn't even ring a bell! After my one and only attempt at curry pizza, I am a bit scared to try theirs, but an Indian-Italian menu is just screaming out to be tried!
Dim Sum In St. Petersburg
I haven't been back since I asked - repeatedly - if there was pork in a particular soup and was told no only to be served pork's blood in the soup and was scolded for not asking for no pork. Between that and the inch-thick pile of cigarettes lining the walkway to the door, I was pretty turned off. Dive is one thing, smelling cigarette smoke (and finding butts in my chair!) while inside eating was another - but I was already in a bad mood with the whole pork blood thing.
Best Churrascaria Experience in Tampa Bay?
I went to TDB for our anniversary dinner over Memorial Day weekend, and would advise you to make reservations now. They filled up quick and stayed that way, with a line of people waiting, the whole time we were there. I loved it - the food and service were great. I'm not a big meat eater, but my husband is and we both left very happy. Neither of us eat pork, so that limited our menu but we didn't feel as though we missed out on anything. Watch out for hidden non-veg options on the salad bar -- their beans are not vegetarian (pork). I enjoyed the lamb chop, leg of lamb, filet, top sirloin and picanha - but I limited myself to a slice or bite of each. I was not a fan of the Parmesan chicken. I filled up at the salad bar a few times with some salads and mixed vegetables. The only option there I wasn't a fan of was the asparagus. The sushi was a notch above Whole Foods/Publix but I was craving that style anyway.
I was part of the Chowhound group that lunched at Boizao and have to say I enjoyed TDB more. Granted, it was comparing lunch to dinner, but I liked the set up of TDB better. Both are noisy, but Boizao is cavernous and TDB has a wall o'windows that really opened the room up and allowed us to watch the sunset (over International Mall) while enjoying dinner.
Strawberry Onion
The better question is how big are the onions...I wait to pick them until they are between clementine and softball size.
Good news for Playa del Carmen
Awesome! My husband and I are on a cruise in two weeks with his 16 year old sister and one of our stops is Cozumel. I've been searching for great options but know that I'm looking in areas that will be inundated with tourists...I'm from tourist hell so I wasn't expecting much.
Deerfield Beach & surrounding - your recs?
For "Jewish", I enjoyto Nestor's at Bageland in Boca @ 7050 Palmetto Park Road West • Boca Raton , FL 33433. My cousins all live in Boca and Deerfield so it's a family tradition to go when we all meet up. All I've had is their fish platters, bagels and sweets but I've liked everything I've had.
This last trip, we also went to Charm City Burgers yesterday @ 1136 E Hillsboro Blvd, Deerfield Beach, FL and fell in love with the Ole Fashioned Burger. We are going back again today for one last fix before Passover/
We used Burger Beast to find great food trucks and happened upon a Food truck rally Friday night. http://burgerbeast.com/2008/09/11/the-complete-miami-food-truck-guide-with-twitter-feed-and-daily-locator/
Yakko San N. Miami Beach Grand Re-Opening
I'm very appreciative that you all posted about the move. I went to the original location as part of an anniversary trip years ago, and are back in town for a few days. I learned about it originally from Chowhound, and know I can rely on this board for great recommendations! We went to the new location yesterday and had the best seaweed salad I've ever had. The service was quite absent...the servers milled around but ignored patrons, but the food did not disappoint.
Iconic Dishes of the Decade?
After watching Top Chef this week, and while on a road trip, my hubby and I started trying to come up with the ironic dish of the last decade. The 60s had veal Oscar, the 90s had everything covered in sun dried tomatoes. We came up with sliders, authentic and derivative.
Food Near Sea World/Aquatica
We'll be bringing lunch with us in a cooler along with snacks and drinks, but we will want dinner out of the park.
Hawkers Asian Street Fare (Orlando)
Where was this kind of place when I was living there?
