photos and descriptions of what makes our world a pleasure
emphasis on Florida and the Tampa Bay area but also far beyond

From the category archives:

Tampa

St. Petersburg 2010 Antiquarian Book Fair

March 13, 2010
Thumbnail image for St. Petersburg 2010 Antiquarian Book Fair

 
 
There’s one more day of the 29th Annual Antiquarian Book Fair at the St. Petersburg Coliseum (floridabooksellers.com/bookfair.html). It’s only $6 for the day–$5 if you pick up one of the many coupons around town. If you enjoy books, especially books from your childhood or books you remember seeing in your grandparent’s home libraries, this is [...]

Tampa’s Phap Vien Minh Dang Quang and the Jade Buddha

March 10, 2010
Thumbnail image for Tampa’s Phap Vien Minh Dang Quang and the Jade Buddha

Every week/weekend in Tampa Bay has a lot of activities, but this weekend has more than most that fit my tastes. One you don’t want to miss is the enormous Jade Buddha for Universal Peace at the Vietnamese Buddhist temple in Town and Country (that area of Tampa on the west end of Hillsborough Avenue).

All [...]

Cookie

January 12, 2010
Thumbnail image for Cookie

Alessi’s bakery
Tampa, FL
Taken on July 29, 2008
Most images link to larger images.

LocalShops1.com

October 24, 2009
Thumbnail image for LocalShops1.com

ESTER VENOUZIOU, FOUNDER OF LOCALSHOPS1.COM

The tagline of Inkwatu is “Delights, Near and Far.” Many of these delights are independently owned food establishments (restaurants or markets) with tasty food, pleasing ambiance, friendly staff, ethnic authenticity, inventive dishes, and reasonable prices. Some of these delights are activities, events, locations, artists, buildings, aspects of nature, books, and non-food [...]

Jazzy’s BBQ

October 17, 2009
Thumbnail image for Jazzy’s BBQ

OPEN HEARTH BBQ AT JAZZY’S
There is a gold standard for barbecues: Leatha’s, in Hattiesburg, Mississippi (6374 U S Hwy 98; 601-271-6003). I had the privilege of tasting that standard when my Mississippi Cuzn Don treated me and part of his family to supper there. I got to experience, first hand, the prodigious memory of Miss [...]

Geckofest and other festivals

October 10, 2009
Thumbnail image for Geckofest and other festivals

It’s that time of the year in Florida. The hot, humid days of late summer are just beginning to pass away. There’s the occasional cool front that comes through (we never seem to have real cold fronts). And the festivals begin. A couple weeks ago I went to the Geckofest (geckofest.com) in one of my [...]

TC Choy’s

September 26, 2009
Thumbnail image for TC Choy’s

A FEW KITCHEN SPECIALS: (FROM LEFT TO RIGHT) SALT & PEPPER SHRIMP, FRIED TOFU STUFFED WITH SHRIMP PASTE, CHINESE BROCCOLI IN OYSTER SAUCE, EGGPLANT STUFFED WITH SHRIMP PASTE

I’m proud to announce that the September 2009 issue of Asia Trend Magazine carries my first article and photos as one of their contributing food writers. Asia Trend [...]

Shish Kebab & Turkish Cuisine

September 5, 2009
Thumbnail image for Shish Kebab & Turkish Cuisine

TURKISH TEA
Two friends of mine are planning an extended trip to Turkey this spring. They will be spending 10 whole days in Istanbul, allowing themselves to get to know the place a little deeper than the typical tourist. They did something similar with Finland a few years ago. They make the experience last well beyond [...]

Nicko’s

July 25, 2009
Thumbnail image for Nicko’s

NICKO’S
Diners
Whenever I get back over on the Tampa side of the bay, I always try to eat at one of my old hangouts from my days of living over there. One of my absolute favorites spots–and I’m surprised it’s taken me so long to write it up–is Nicko’s. Nicko’s is a well known favorite among [...]

Ybor Evening — Acropolis, Silver Meteor Gallery, and Poor, Dirty Girl

June 13, 2009
Thumbnail image for Ybor Evening — Acropolis, Silver Meteor Gallery, and Poor, Dirty Girl

Acropolis Greek Taverna
 
A couple weekends ago, a friend and I went to Ybor City to hear an original play produced by my friend’s former students. Ybor City is an historical section of Tampa. As long-time Tampa residents, my teacher friend and I both had, in our youth, spent many an evening (probably too many evenings) [...]

the waning Moon passes Venus

April 25, 2009

THE WANING MOON PASSES VENUS OVER TAMPA BAY
 
The picture above doesn’t capture the optical illusion that we humans witnessed early this past Wednesday morning. The Moon and Venus appeared to be at least 10 times larger than they really were and Venus was so bright it had pointy spokes like a child’s drawing of a [...]

Ready and waiting…!

April 22, 2009
Thumbnail image for Ready and waiting…!

Tampa, FL
Taken on April 22, 2009
Most images link to larger images.

The St. Pete Shuffle

December 10, 2008
Thumbnail image for The St. Pete Shuffle

click for larger image
The St. Petersburg Shuffleboard Club dates back to January 24, 1924, and was known as “The World’s Largest Shuffleboard Club” with over 5000 members in its heyday. Though much diminished in size it is still a cherished St. Petersburg institution. In addition to providing a physical home for various local cultural activities [...]

Unless specifically attributed otherwise, all Inkwatu content (text, photos, music, media, etc.) Copyright © 2008-2010 Hilton Kean Jones