TaylorEason.com: Foodies unite » Tampa Bay News

Chocolate is love in an edible form: Nine of Tampa Bay’s best chocolate shops

Mary D. Scourtes — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:18:04 +0000

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.

Any day is good at Tampa’s Sunday’s (Fine Dining)

Mary D. Scourtes — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 18:45:51 +0000

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.

Pop up KitchenBar4 emerges in Tampa’s Knife and Co. spot

Taylor Eason — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 17:59:26 +0000

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.

It’s great to celebrate your birthday with these Tampa Bay deals

Mary D. Scourtes — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 17:04:23 +0000

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).

Restaurant review: Knife and Co. in Tampa still needs a little sharpening

Mary D. Scourtes — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 17:07:04 +0000

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.

Tampa food scene news: Food truck frenzy, Epcot Food Festival, restaurant openings

Taylor Eason — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 16:28:40 +0000

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.

Tampa food truck roundup: The diverse food keeps on truckin’

Mary D. Scourtes — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 16:26:15 +0000

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.

Restaurant review: Tourist-happy Sculley’s in St. Petersburg

Mary D. Scourtes — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 19:41:45 +0000

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.

Tampa restaurant review: Renzo’s raises the steaks

Mary D. Scourtes — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 16:16:12 +0000

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.

Eight of the best Tampa Bay food dishes that I crave from California

Taylor Eason — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 16:00:23 +0000

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.

No forbidden fruit at Tampa’s L’Eden Restaurant

Mary D. Scourtes — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 16:11:12 +0000

Downtown Tampa's L’Eden recasts traditional French finds along with toothsome Spanish, Greek and Italian dishes. People do not know where the four-year-old bistro is but once they find it they return. Dinner traffic is also improving. The café seats only 25 inside but adds another two dozen in the atrium where the owner got the idea to name his place for the Garden of Eden. Floor to ceiling windows allow a great vista for downtown skyscrapers and people watching at Gas Light Park from the corner of Tampa and Madison streets. A soft bed of contemporary French music offers a soothing backdrop.

When in Tarpon Springs, coast to Costa’s Restaurant

Mary D. Scourtes — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 14:56:16 +0000

When an Athenian fisherman catches an octopus, he leaves it out in the sun to dry before he pounds his prey into submission. But there are other ways to soften the cephalopod. Costa’s Restaurant owner Stelios Migadakis boils this creature from the briny deep. He says he is careful not to cook it too long or too short because it’s tricky tenderizing its tough muscles and connective tissues. After broiling it with lemon, garlic and oregano, he sells a whopping 100 pounds of this tentacled treat every week. The dish is No. 1 in his small café.

Thai Temple tops for Tampa Thai tastes

Mary D. Scourtes — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 14:37:29 +0000

Consider Wat Mongkolratanaram a way station for hungry nirvana-seekers who can’t cross the Universal Dateline. Every Sunday, the Thai temple affectionately nicknamed “Wat Tampa,” opens its compound, about a half-mile from U.S. 41 on the banks of the Palm River, to sell an amazing array of foods and produce.

Safety Harbor’s Green Springs springs fresh favorites on repeat visitors

Mary D. Scourtes — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 15:14:48 +0000

Owners Kris Kubik and chef Paul Kapsalis have a close connection to patrons. They know their guests’ names. They know what their customers eat. They know where their kids went to school. They probably could name the roles their children performed in school plays. And they make some great food.

Tampa Bay Beer Bars: The Pour House

Robb Larsen — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 14:13:02 +0000

Located a few blocks north of Channelside on the east side of downtown Tampa, The Pour House seems isolated. It’s relatively hard to find but upon arrival the inviting patio pulls you in -- it looks like an oasis, especially on a hot Florida day. Inside it’s a dark and cool retreat, with 40 beers on tap and many more by the bottle. Local favorites Cigar City Brewing, Dunedin Brewery, and Saint Somewhere Brewing all make an appearance on the draft list.

The Bungalow Restaurant boasts a burgeoning crowd in Tampa

Mary D. Scourtes — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 15:02:30 +0000

Bungalow homes were popular for their simplicity, comfort and lack of ostentation. That can be said about the food at the namesake Bungalow Restaurant. If being “in’’ were all, the Bungalow would deserve kudos but there were some missteps.

Tampa’s Queen of Sheba eschews the ordinary

Mary D. Scourtes — Wed, 25 May 2011 14:51:02 +0000

Buticha, tibs and gomen may not be in your everyday vocabulary, just yet. Buticha is a garlicky, chick pea dip, gomen contains collard greens, and tibs takes on chunks of marinated poultry, beef or lamb. Queen of Sheba is like a safari, a journey where you’ll embark on earthy, Ethiopian flavors. Found in a simple, south Tampa storefront, the eatery with its mottled, pumpkin walls, native textiles, and serving basket mesop, is about as far from western food as you can get.

Davis Islands’ Bailey’s courts leisurely outdoor dining in Tampa

Mary D. Scourtes — Thu, 12 May 2011 14:48:40 +0000

Restaurateur Kim Bailey says he has a horrible memory but he's a good thief. So when he likes other’s fine fair, he takes the idea back to his kitchen to tinker with it, then serves the dish while giving credit to his sources. His restaurant, Bailey's on Davis Island, serves Southern comfort food.

CineBistro’s neighborhood nosh knocks it out of Tampa’s park

Mary D. Scourtes — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 14:20:31 +0000

Tempting, Salted Caramel Brownies (Amelie’s French Bakery), luscious flan (Oliver & Henry’s), and petite cakes (The Cupcake Spot) call my name. No sweets craving went unfulfilled Sunday. The gastronomic gods dialed up a postcard-perfect day for Taste of South Tampa in Hyde Park Village. As independent restaurants ride out the vexations of an ailing economy, a cornucopia of veterans: Shells, CDB’s, and Tampa Bagel Co., and new kids: Eats, Pinkberry and Horizon Bay, among three dozen others, enticed eaters.

Byblos Cafe in Tampa is more Beirut than Bay to Bay

Mary D. Scourtes — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 14:39:02 +0000

Hard to believe there are those who don’t know about happening Byblos Café. Just the volume of the music when the belly dancers begin gyrating would be enough of a hook to draw customers a mile or two away. Byblos’ low tables, mood lighting, hookahs and Lebanese tapestries make diners feel more Beirut than Bay to Bay.