Mary D. Scourtes | January 25th, 2012
Unabashedly rich and irresistible, few foods bring on such giddy cravings as chocolate. Love is sweet, but it’s much sweeter with chocolate. Its phenylethylamine is the same chemical that our brains produce when we fall in love. Quality chocolate stirs the same emotions and is positively addictive this close to Valentine’s Day in Tampa Bay. Charge up your appetite, and your wallet, with some luscious choices from candy land.
Read more: Chocolate is love in an edible form: Nine of Tampa Bay’s best chocolate shops
Mary D. Scourtes | December 14th, 2011
You never know who will be in your eatery in Ybor City. Sunday’s Fine Dining owner is still clucking about the rooster that took up residence in his office for a few days. His management style wasn’t so bad but his keyboard skills were all hunt and peck. Dave Sunday, armed with a skill set culled from the army, the Long Island fishing community and a degree from culinary school in New York (NYIT), has gotten notice here. Once a chef in South Hampton, N.Y. during summers, he chose to winter here and cook at the Straz Center for the Arts. Even that wasn’t his idea of paradise.
Read more: Any day is good at Tampa’s Sunday’s (Fine Dining)
Taylor Eason | December 7th, 2011
Laura Reiley at the St. Pete Times revealed that Jeannie Pierola’s fourth pop up restaurant concept will be making its appearance at the newly opened Knife & Co. spot on Kennedy (formerly Al Gusto Mexican). TaylorEason.com food writer Mary Scourtes reported on on Knife’s woes in this post but who knew they’d close down for the month of December. But to make way for the empress of Tampa Bay food, it’s all for a good food cause.
Read more: Pop up KitchenBar4 emerges in Tampa’s Knife and Co. spot
Mary D. Scourtes | November 30th, 2011
The appeal of TV serials like Cheers, Friends and Always Sunny in Philadelphia, is having a tight group of buddies who are willing to exalt in your victories, commiserate in your setbacks, and, of course give you a rousting birthday celebration every year. Lacking a favorite watering hole and posse of pals, where can you go to pick up a little cheer on your birthday? A few restaurateurs value your big day and offer you an entrée (you may need to register ahead). With the economy faltering, even a free dreamy dessert, works as a treat. Just remember to BYOL (bring your own license).
Read more: It’s great to celebrate your birthday with these Tampa Bay deals
Mary D. Scourtes | November 16th, 2011
A wisecracking critic could have a field day mocking a restaurant during the first week during a dreadful economy. A writer with a chip on her shoulder could make mincemeat of a new enterprise that acknowledges her reservation but still doesn’t have a table available. Still, there is hope for Knife & Co. One of its defining features is the chef’s commitment to prepare almost everything in-house, from hot biscuits and grape jam to curing their bacon.
Read more: Restaurant review: Knife and Co. in Tampa still needs a little sharpening
Taylor Eason | October 12th, 2011
Although I don’t live there anymore, my heart still belongs to Tampa. And I follow the resto news pretty obsessively. A few tidbits you might have missed like the food truck frenzy, food swaps and restaurant openings and closures.
Read more: Tampa food scene news: Food truck frenzy, Epcot Food Festival, restaurant openings
Mary D. Scourtes | September 19th, 2011
The Good Humor men probably started the trend, but fast food addicts and kitchen sleuths are now finding diverse dishes from phenomenally popular food trucks. With a sour economy, more and more people look for sweetly affordable, convenient grub at a nearby lunch wagon, dinner cantina, or taco truck. The traveling meals-on-wheels are on college campuses, office complexes, weekend street markets and neighborhoods near you. It’s one of the hottest trends in the restaurant business, especially out West. But they’ve arrived in Tampa Bay.
Read more: Tampa food truck roundup: The diverse food keeps on truckin’
Mary D. Scourtes | September 7th, 2011
We dined inside in one of Sculley’s ramshackle, nautical themed, but noisy dining rooms. Our sweet waitress was friendly enough but didn’t know her stuff. When I asked if the mashed potatoes were the real deal, she said they didn’t tell her such information. OMG. As our dinners ranged from OK to downright dreary, Sculley’s seems content to simply coast on a collective tourist base.
Read more: Restaurant review: Tourist-happy Sculley’s in St. Petersburg
Mary D. Scourtes | August 31st, 2011
Renzo Menzerotolo is from Venezuela, his dad is from Uruguay, and he lived in Argentina. He has bestowed his Latin accent on the Westshore business district with Renzo’s Gourmet Argentine Steakhouse. And he thinks everyone likes Argentinean beef. “We sell a ton of meats for the Spanish population, a ton of wine and lots of pastries,’’ says Renzo, who opened his eatery two years ago. It’s unpretentious, with an almost bare-bones cafeteria (by day), restaurant (at night), and a bakery, meat market and new a Vinotecca that holds 500 bottles of wine.
Read more: Tampa restaurant review: Renzo’s raises the steaks
Taylor Eason | August 9th, 2011
It’s been five months since I moved to Santa Rosa, California from Tampa, Florida, and besides the friendships, a few dishes still gnaw at my memory like a half-starved mongrel. I spent 17 years collecting these faves and so wish they could be Fed-Ex’d on a weekly basis just to keep the love alive. My eight best dishes/experiences in Tampa Bay, in no particular order.
Read more: Eight of the best Tampa Bay food dishes that I crave from California
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