The Week in Tampa, vol. I

I've been back from Tampa nearly two weeks now, and reliving the week I spent with Ann in Tampa. I flew back Sunday evening, leaving the First Lady to dog sit two sweet Border Terriers (Fred and Ginger) on her own. But it sure was a week I’ll always look back on fondly. I’ll talk more about my runs on my Woodrow Miles blog, and try to break down the rest of the trip here.

I’ll start with the food. Ann is a world traveler, and loves good food. She knows where to look and how to get to some great restaurants. First off, Monday night at Mad Dogs and Englishmen in Tampa proper. It’s not a very big place, but they’ve been doing this for 20 years, and we were not disappointed. We split a yummy raspberry brie as an appetizer. I had a shepherd’s pie with blue cheese as the main course that was the best I’ve ever had. I’m into portion control, so I ate half and saved the rest for another day. But I definitely was not disappointed either time.

Tuesday night, The Columbia in Ybor City.

A bit of a historical district, as I believe Teddy Roosevelt got some dirt on his shoes from the area, during the Spanish-American War era. The restaurant is Spanish/Cuban, and has been in business since 1905. I started with a bourbon and coke, and I believe we had some fried calamari as an appetizer. I had some delicious pork here that was so tender it didn’t even need a knife to be cut. Add in black beans and rice, yuca and platanos, and it was quite a feast. The Columbia also has entertainment, in the form of a 20-minute Flamenco dancer show, which was also very entertaining.

Thursday we went to the Tampa Yankees game, and feasted on Square One burgers for pregame. The place is owned by a guy from Norman, Oklahoma. Hamburgers are all they do. I actually suggested the artichoke hummus with chips as the appetizer, which made Ann’s eyes pop out of their sockets, as she’s not used to me wanting to eat such fare voluntarily. I ate the bleu bacon burger, which had bacon and bleu cheese crumbles. Delicious.

Friday: The Refinery. I wasn’t really hungry, so I had a bowl of soup and several bottles of chocolate milk. Ann’s cousin came up from Ft. Myers and they told old family stories. Fun to be a fly on the wall, and also fun to realize I married into this family.

Saturday: Crabby Bill’s, St. Pete. I wasn’t feeling too well this day—must’ve been all the good food I’d been eating. Bowl of clam chowder and a salad and some Devil Rays baseball on the TV. And an excellent view of the Gulf of Mexico, realizing that Houston was about 1100 miles to my right.

Sunday: Circles, South Tampa. This meal followed church downtown. An excellent cup of coffee got us started. We enjoyed some fresh bread with a mixture of butter and strawberries—something I’d never tried before. Yummy. Next up was one of the best Western omelets I’ve ever eaten. I’m starting to grasp the concept of using all my senses when it comes to good food, and the combination of the company, the meal, the service and the atmosphere certainly contributed to an excellent dining experience.

Oh yeah—I also liked the honey-roasted peanuts Southwest Airlines handed out.