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

Tampa

TC Choy’s

September 26, 2009

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 [...]

Tagged as: Asian food, dim sum, favorite articles, Florida, FOOD, restaurants, Tampa

Shish Kebab & Turkish Cuisine

September 5, 2009

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 [...]

Tagged as: Florida, FOOD, Mediterranean, restaurants, Tampa

Nicko’s

July 25, 2009

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 [...]

Tagged as: Florida, FOOD, Greek food, restaurants, Tampa

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

June 13, 2009

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 [...]

Tagged as: ACTIVITIES, fine arts, Florida, Greek food, Tampa

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 [...]

Tagged as: attractions, coffee shops, Florida, FOOD, HISTORIC, NATURE, restaurants, Tampa

Ready and waiting…!

April 22, 2009

Tampa, FL Taken on April 22, 2009 Most images link to larger images. click on larger image for closeup

Tagged as: favorite photos, Florida, repitition, SINGLE PHOTOS, Tampa

The St. Pete Shuffle

December 10, 2008

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 [...]

Tagged as: ACTIVITIES, favorite articles, Florida, Floridiana, HISTORIC, St. Petersburg

Francis House

November 29, 2008

Medical specialists, clergy, lawyers, morticians, and musicians are a particular group. (No, this is not one of those what-doesn’t-belong-in-this-list things, nor is that a list in descending order of social desirability, although some might think so.) These are professionals often involved in other people’s life transitions: births, blessings, weddings, funerals, etc. Because of that, [...]

Tagged as: announcement, charities, Florida, Italy, St. Petersburg, Tampa

Tampa: Sa Ri One Korean Bulgogi Restaurant

October 4, 2008

Sa Ri One In an earlier post on Atlanta’s Seoul Gardens Korean Japanese Restaurant, I talked about bulgogi, Korean barbeque. A restaurant in Tampa that I’ve gone to ever since it opened is Sa Ri One Korean Bulgogi Restaurant (3940 W. Cypress St., Tampa, FL 33606; 813-874-2911). It’s a little pricey, but not so much [...]

Tagged as: Asian food, Florida, FOOD, Korean food, restaurants, Tampa

Pho 97

September 20, 2008

SADLY, PHO 97 IS NO MORE–IT WAS A CASUALTY OF THE DIFFICULT ECONOMY. IT WILL BE MISSED Blogger Quests Every so often, a blogger—especially a food blogger—takes a photo of which they are enormously proud. An example is the first photo. It’s a snapshot I took of a banh mi sandwich from Pho 97 restaurant, [...]

Tagged as: Asian food, Florida, FOOD, restaurants, St. Petersburg, Vietnamese food

Cafe Hey

August 30, 2008

Emerging neighborhoods, artists, & businesses Our nation’s forefathers–don’t worry, this isn’t going to be a political rant!–were very concerned about what they termed the “tyranny of the majority.” (Wiki: “The phrase originated with Alexis de Tocqueville in Democracy in America (1835, 1840) and was further popularized by John Stuart Mill…Federalist Papers frequently refer to the [...]

Tagged as: coffee shops, Florida, FOOD, New Orleans, restaurants, Tampa

China Yuan

August 9, 2008

Serve the People If you like Chinese food and you don’t buy any other book this year, please buy Serve the People: A Stir-Fried Journey Through China by Jen Lin-Lui. I unreservedly recommend it. (You can purchase it directly through the link above.) It’s a book I wish I’d written. It is the autobiographical story [...]

Tagged as: Asian food, bakeries, Chinese food, dim sum, Florida, FOOD, Tampa

The NoHo Bistro

August 1, 2008

You know you’re in for something a bit out of the ordinary when the sign above the door asks, “Have You Had Your Bison Burger Today?” I had just emerged from my car and was taking a picture of that sign, when Jessica Raia-Long, founder and co-owner of The NoHo Bistro with Tina Hurless, swept [...]

Tagged as: Florida, FOOD, french food, restaurants, Tampa

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