Gulf Coast Eats

Tampa: Culinary Conundrum, One In A Series

2013-03-04T10:16:00.000-05:00

Todd Sturtz' New Book (From Foodspotting.com) We got a gent here who wrote a book all about the Tampa, Florida food scene. Yes, you read that correctly, Tampa AND food scene all in the same sentence. Now, mind you, I admire someone, anyone who has enough passion to actually write a book on any subject and especially when the challenge is great to make that book relevant based on the subject

Alexa on Foodspotting

2013-02-27T09:49:00.000-05:00

Not Alexa, one of the founders and current owners but Alexa.com, an Amazon company who tracks internet data and publishes it on websites around the globe. Let's take a look at some of the current information available for Foodspotting.com. Some of it may surprise you. Chooky Work Spot (From Foodspotting.com) The first and most obvious thing I wanted to know is....WHO visits Foodspotting the

Foodspotting: Spot Or No Spot? You Make The Call...

2013-02-14T02:12:00.001-05:00

Update: this is also posted on the FS site if you scroll to bottom of page and click Support and FAQ. Chime in with your ideas since we as members can make the site better and more of what we want to see. Grobi Is Another FS Power user (From Foodspotting.com) In this week's article we will review the newest set of guidleines set up by FS and that i have been given permission to post here by

Foodspotting: What IS a Foodspot?

2013-02-09T11:39:00.001-05:00

The latest robust discussion on the the Foodspotting site now is centered around what actually constitutes a "qualifying" spot on the site. Is it JUST restaurant dishes only? Does the cocktail or beer you have with it come under the guidelines? How about the bread basket? Water service? Menu? Napkin....lol.? Web Images Seem To Be Acceptable Can homemade dishes, meals and other items be

Foodspotting: One In A Series

2013-01-31T17:06:00.000-05:00

I have been participating in a new hobby for about two years or so now I guess. It is a foodie site called Foodspotting and is a place for posting food and related pictures called spots. They have just announced that they will join Open Table, an outfit I have used for years now to reserve tables at restaurants. Seems OT bought them for $10 million so Alexa and team must be pretty pleased.

My Stay Along 30A

2013-01-21T10:16:00.001-05:00

I was able to get away for a few days recently and stay out farther along 30A in the Rosemary Beach, Seacrest Beach area and what a relaxing time it was for me. Daily walks, networking and a few dozen good raw oysters were some of the highlights of my getaway. The Scene On The Main 30A Just East Of Alys Beach The scenery and personality of the area differs depending on which little slice of

Pictures not needing any words from 30A in Florida

2013-01-11T14:38:00.000-05:00

Candy Corn: An Exposé For An Enthusiast

2012-10-06T10:47:00.001-04:00

As promised, here is a Candy Corn compendium for one little enthusiast. In this biting journalistic piece we will explore together, the little pieces of fall fun and see what makes them a longtime tradition in the realm of candy. Yummy Candy Corn According to the TLC website here is the candy corn story...... Every Halloween, bags of triangle-shaped, yellow, orange and white candies fill

****Aven's Funny Poem*

2012-09-11T18:55:00.001-04:00

Tommy Counts To 50 Tommy was learning how to count His number expertise beginning to mount One day he was playing with his best friend Ben And Ben challenged Tommy to count up to ten Tommy just smiled held his hands up and spoke loud And his fingers went up and Ben he was proud When he made it to ten his friend smacked his back And told Tommy "great

An Avie Favie (G'Daddy too)

2012-09-05T12:54:00.000-04:00

Today, I am going to show Aven how he can, with his mommy's or Ton Ton's help, make his very own favorite breakfast item, the Egg In A Basket. This dish goes way back to my own childhood where my mom would make these for me and the other kids in the house as a special treat and to this day it remains a simple AND yummy dish for a quick breaksfast. Eggs are high in protein and not nearly the bad

The Tube Is Underway

2012-09-04T15:07:00.000-04:00

View Larger Map The G'Daddy and Aven project is well underway and will be finished soon. The banktube connecting Mill St. in Portland to Walnut Grove in Tampa will intersect in Silver Dollar City, where the state of the art clubhouse is also being built. The tube net is aptly named Aventube and the meeting point clubhouse is being called G'Daddyville for the time being. Part Of The Tube

Have your cake and eat it too...later on even from The Boll Weevil

2011-05-06T13:52:00.000-04:00

Stopped in a little place in Augusta, Georgia today for a quick bite. Augusta is much more famous for the world's best golf tournament but down on the river in downtown is a cute little cafe and sweetery, as they call it, for lunch and some cake. Lot's of cake. Decisions, decisions So, as we waited for out table the little fella and I perused the cake cabinets up front and I told him to decide

Christmas Gifts That Cost You Little

2010-12-18T11:16:00.005-05:00

And mean MUCH MORE to the receiver than you will ever realize. This Christmas, in the true spirit of the season, which is the celebration of the greatest birthday in human civilization, why not let His love shine, through you and find opportunities to give to others you would not normally think of giving to. You say money is tight? I hear you brother. Many of the gifts I am talking about do not

My French Quarter Eating Tour

2010-11-11T16:06:00.065-05:00

The Quarter: Always Exciting As many times as I have been to New Orleans for business and/or pleasure, I still have a built in GPS if you will, that leads me to the same places time and again. In this edition, I will cover one of my French Quarter eating/beverage tours. If I had to guess I would say I have done this tour in some form or fashion well over 100 times over the years.

A Simple Meal Of Beauty And Taste!

2010-10-29T14:20:00.013-04:00

Seafood. Fresh. Simple. Delish. Waterfront. Pictures tell the rest. Enjoy. A must hit spot when visting the little Island of Anna Maria Island is the Rod and Reel Pier. They are actually out in the bay on the end of the pier. An upstairs dining room and a downstairs bar where you can also eat. I submit, can anything be better than sitting in the seabreeze, watching the blue green

Stone Crab Season On The Island

2010-10-28T21:34:00.011-04:00

Expensive and Tasty The search.....I mean chase is on to try and find the restaurant(s) not OUT of the seasonal and succulent Stone Crab claws that are actually harvested right off the west coast of Florida where they reside. Tonight we ended up visiting three different places and did not actually eat any of the coveted claws BUT we did have an enjoyable evening nonetheless and will

Seafood: Hole In The Wall Number Three

2010-10-12T13:27:00.010-04:00

For now, this will be my third and final entry into the Seafood Hole In The Wall Hall Of Fame. For now. After hitting Harbor Seafood over in Kenner, La. and then stopping in for some oysters at Hunt's Oyster Bar in Panama City, Fla., we head south to another Florida locale for a fresh out of the water Grouper sandwich or Oyster Po-Boy in Anna Maria Island, my new favorite beach getaway

Put a steak....I mean stake.....I mean fork in it!

2010-10-09T18:17:00.011-04:00

Yeah, that's the ticket! I'm talking about some grilled cow. A steak. A big one or a small one. A medium rare one or a medium well one. (Others are really not steak anymore if they are raw or shoe leather). Filet, Strip, T-bone, Ribeye, Porterhouse and Prime Rib. One of life's simple pleasures is sitting down to a nicely cooked, sizzling steak brought out with some complementary sides

It's in da hole......

2010-10-03T14:06:00.008-04:00

Hunt's Oyster Bar, Panama City, Florida As Carl, our friend from Caddyshack once screamed....."It's In Da Hole!"......the best seafood places are usually just that, in a hole...... in the wall. We started over in New Orleans on our HITW Seafood journey and now we travel east a bit to Panama City, Florida to stop in at #2 on my list of seafood delights in a humble space. The place? Hunt's

Christmas Eve at Waffle House

2010-10-03T13:53:00.009-04:00

It all started rather simply. A meal at a Waffle House in a Florida town. My son and I on Christmas Eve almost 9-10 years ago now. I really do not know what started it except that we did buy a meal fairly often for a military table or for someone anonymously to pass on a blessing to them. But on this occasion it was decided that we would buy the entire restaurant their meals in the spirit of

Better Than Ezra?

2010-09-11T12:14:00.006-04:00

Are there places I like Better than Ezra? Yes. But it does hold some promise for another try next time I am down in Bradenton. My first trip to this little place, hidden off one of the main drags was a study in contrasts and irony. I decided to give them a try based on my research on Urbanspoon and a conversation I had with one of the Marriott foodies who knows the area very well

Redeeming The Shrimp

2010-09-11T11:31:00.006-04:00

I finally succumbed to taking the exit to Ybor City after terrible traffic detoured me once again here in fabulous driver Tampaland. And it led me down 22nd to a place I had tried once before and where we had some issues. I let some time go by to let the place work out some of the kinks and the shills tire out on giving glowing reviews that seemed out of place. Here I was, back

Best Thing I Ever Ate

2010-09-05T09:36:00.013-04:00

From The Mr. B's Website Best thing I ever ate? It gets a "B"! As in Mr. B's Bistro in New Orleans. A place I have dined in over 50X in my life and that I look forward to visiting each time I have the opportunity to travel to the Big Easy.Mr. B's is the benchmark, or should I say, a benchmark restaurant for me as I eat in other cities and the total experience here has almost always been

Anna Maria Eats!

2010-09-03T18:16:00.034-04:00

.Ok, so I am heading back to my secret little place..... taking you with me..........Shhhhhhhh, remember, all this is just between you and me. Don't want the whole world to know what we do now do we? ;o). This time to broach the subject of a few of my fave places up on the north end (only place to stay IMO) of the Island to grab a bite or make an evening of it. There are some good choices for

Seafood served from a Hole In The Wall.....

2010-08-26T18:02:00.008-04:00

Some of the best places in my memory for seafood, you know the kind, steamed, broiled, boiled and grilled, are those with very little to do with putting on airs. I can count on my left hand (yes we are in our right minds) the number of these little joints that make my "Best Of" list. Of course there will always be arguments for what is and is not a "hole in the wall" but to me these few are