Taste of Tampa
Isabelle Bates goes on a culinary tour of the Florida city which has a curious fondness for sprouts
Brussels sprouts salad. Yes, you read that right. Welcome to a USA foodie odyssey – best arrive curious and hungry. My dining destination was Tampa, Florida, and (apart from the unusual salad) took me via oysters, grass fed smoked short rib, Cuban bread French toast plus a life-changing chocolate bread and butter pudding.
First up was the Elevage restaurant on the ground floor of the Epicurean Hotel. It was where I had my first taste of oysters which were baked and topped with BBQ and nduja sauce ($18) which tasted wonderful with just enough spice and a delicate texture.
This was accompanied by that sprouts salad ($14) and to anyone who says they don’t like the festive vegetable, I say try this salad and have your opinion instantly changed.
For my main, I opted for the grass fed smoked short rib with mascarpone grits and bacon collard greens ($36). Confession time: my inspiration for this particular American cuisine came straight from the Man v Food TV show – not an overly cultured reason to try it, but a reason nonetheless.
The meat was unbelievably tender and paired beautifully with the soft grits and greens. Grits, a form of porridge, was not overly to my taste but the dish more than made up for it with the richness of the sauce and beautifully cooked meat.
The next evening, I took a trip to ‘speakeasy’ Ciros which required a password to get through the door. Luckily, unlike Gmail, we were right the first time and were greeted with old-Hollywood style glamour in a darkened booth. Here, I enjoyed a cocktail called Just A Thot ($17) which was topped off with orange air (yes, really). But the best thing about the place were the duck-fat fries ($12). Give me potatoes
cooked in some form of fat and I’m already listening, but these were especially good with a light crispness and full flavour. Perfect for soaking up a cocktail or five.
Breakfast at Goody Goody the following morning was the perfect wake-up call. Delicious Cuban bread French toast smothered in gloopy thick maple syrup ($10.95) does no good for your waistline, but you’ll be happy, that’s for sure. It was so good that I treated myself to a branded mug to remind myself of the occasion. After a wander around some boutique shops in nearby Hyde Park Village, it was off to Busch Gardens. Riding on rollercoasters is not the most ideal pastime after scoffing rich food but we enjoyed the fabled Iron Gwazi – a 76mph monster voted the world’s best coaster in 2022. Sampling the food on offer at their Christmas Town I opted for yes, yet more Brussels sprouts. This was washed down with thick, hot cocoa which is a combination I wouldn’t necessarily recommend after a day of being spun upside down.
Pumpkin spice pound cake ($12) and, drumroll, sprouts ($16) kicked off breakfast the next day at bookshop and cafe The Oxford Exchange. I chowed down on the OE classic ($17) consisting of two eggs, bacon, crispy potatoes and toast, then added a side of fruit ($8) for, you know, health reasons. The rich eggs went so well with the crispy potatoes.
Later, we enjoyed dinner at The Pearl where we sampled homemade tater tots ($9) alongside devils on horseback ($10) – dates stuffed with cheese and wrapped in bacon. Needless to say, they blew their pigs in blankets cousins out of the water.
This was an apt metaphor as earlier in the day, I enjoyed a wander around The Florida Aquarium where I got to touch a stingray and marvel at sharks and seahorses. A Greek breakfast was then enjoyed the following morning at Psomi in the form of a baklava-spiced coffee ($7.75) and the Americani ($18.50) house-cured thick cut bacon and scrambled egg on a croissant made in their onsite bakery. The thick bacon was the best I’d ever tasted – crispy and yet so flavourful alongside the rich scrambled eggs.
A walk around historic Ybor City was a good way to burn some of the calories consumed, especially when I visited the Cuban Club which has been dubbed the fourth most haunted site in America. I’m sure I saw a mysterious shadow in the theatre there and was glad to leave and polish off an incredible portion of chocolate bread and butter pudding ($12) at Columbia restaurant.
Needless to say that after a few days in fabulous Tampa I was ready to be rolled back on to the plane to come home but I could have easily stayed on and explored so much more of the area. The city will leave you feeling full, not only of delicious food, but also of great
memories.
‘‘ A 76mph roller coaster wasn’t the best idea after food