My family moved back to the Tampa area when I was twelve years old.  We spent my elementary school years in Sarasota and returned to live in Temple Terrace.  As many know, Café Don José has been a fixture in Temple Terrace for years.  I remembered when I was a kid looking over at the full parking lot in the Sherwood Forest Center on 56th Street and noticing how Café Don José must be packed that night.  Clearly, this statement is now dated since the restaurant has moved north of Fowler Avenue into its own, very charming building. So, for the last 30-plus years of living in and around Temple Terrace, I had … [Read more...]

Gino's Bar & Restaurant is my favorite place for Italian food in Tampa.  I love Italian food.  I do not claim to be an expert.  I have dated an Italian girl whose grandmother made the best sauce I have ever tasted.  Still, I don't think that qualifies me as an expert. I would like to add I am not a fan of the more popular Italian chain restaurants.  Frankly, if I never ate at Carrabba's and Olive Garden again, I would feel no loss at all. But I digress… Gino's Bar & Restaurant is located at 10006 N. Armenia Avenue in the Forest Hills area of Tampa. It is truly the textbook definition of a … [Read more...]

If you have read my blog before, you will note that I have done barbecue restaurant reviews.  While I am cognizant of the fact that I cannot categorize Lee Roy Selmon's as strictly a barbecue restaurant, they smoke some pretty good meat. I hope readers do not confuse my words of praise with idol worship. While it may be true that Lee Roy Selmon was the first Buccaneer in franchise history and its only member of the Hall of Fame, these fact are in no way shaping my positive review of Selmon's Restaurant. If you are in the mood for an appetizer, you can not go wrong with the Chicken Back Country Nachos ("no okra, … [Read more...]