Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

Here are my top ten tips for successfully getting through Gasparilla Day:

1. Eat a decent breakfast. You never know where your next meal might be.
2. Pack light. Leave the coolers at home.
3. Hide a $20 in your sock. You will need it later.
4. Sunscreen. Trust me on this one.
5. Charge your cell phone the night before.
6. Bring a disposable camera. If you lose it no biggie.
7. Pace your intake of adult beverages. Mix in a water now and then.
8. Be patient. Standing in line will occur more than once.
9. Show some respect for the kids and seniors. There will be plenty of beads for everyone.
10. Just when you think you have seen it all, you will see something that makes you go WTF?

We agree to meet at MacDinton’s, since that’s pretty much THE place to watch a big-time soccer match in Tampa — and for a Chelsea-bred Brit, her soccer-loving Yank husband, and me (who dabbled in high school footy a bit) the debut of David Beckham in the United States is as big-time as it gets in a non-World Cup year. I mean, this is Becks. They made a movie with his name in it that didn’t even have anything to do with him. He’s married to that lamp pole with basketballs strapped to it.

Mac’s is sparsely populated with skinny girls in bikini tops and skirts surrounded by guys wearing very expensive sunglasses. They regard me with… they don’t really regard me at all. We settle in at the outside bar with our pints only to find the televisions all switched to boxing at 8:00. This event is precluding me from watching soccer. We inquire with the manager; he informs us they’re not showing the soccer match, because they’re showing the boxing match. On all the TVs? Is that really necessary? “They all have to be the same,” he says. Everything has to be the same, he says, and it’s South Tampa, all over again, as we gulp our pints, leave, and walk past the Taqueria (which is always, always playing music from the early 90’s, every time; tonight it’s CeCe Peniston’s “Finally”) to the Dubliner, where they’re happy to put the soccer match on, and the Devil Rays’ slaughter by the Yankees right next to it for good measure.

Friends arrive. Beer flows. A band starts playing inside the bar, but it’s not a band, really; it’s a dude with a guitar who sings and his buddy who taps a 16-key synthesizer, emulating a drumset. It’s artificial, but expensive, and it’s South Tampa all over again. I talk to a blonde woman with a ponytail, waiting in line for the bathroom, a Kate Spade bag over her shoulder. Her responses are incongruous and scattered; it is as if her brain fluid has been replaced by tonic water (with quinine). Perhaps she drives a Jetta.

The match ends. The Brit, the Yank, the other Brit, and the other Yank agree to head out to the Hard Rock for a Basic Rock Outfit show, and on the way to my car a man stops me about my “OHIO” t-shirt. “Go Buckeyes!” he says. “No, go Bobcats,” I reply. This causes a point of contention, as he was kicked out of Ohio for grades and forced to graduate from the lesser, and younger, institution in Columbus. Furthermore, the man is a big fan of OSU-founded band O.A.R. whom once played (badly) in my backyard in Athens during Palmerfest. He pronounced their name like the boating tool, and I responded back “More like ‘Oarrible.” His friend had to restrain him from punching me in the face; on south Howard, your favorite band is as sacred as your momma. And then, a phone call: the Yank’s car was towed, and they need a ride downtown to get it. It’s South Tampa all over again.

(to be continued)

You already know that the former Heidt property (currently occupied by Whiskey SOHO, Tampa Digital Studios, and Schifino Lee) is heading toward demolition. Those tenants have been told to move by Nov. 1, 2007, in preparation for the bulldozers. Tampa Digital Studios already announced plans to move to Centro Ybor.

On the old SoHo land, Post Properties (yep, those guys again), have plans to build luxury rental apartments above, with retail space on the bottom floor.

Who would think that a $5,000 per member restaurant club couldn’t succeed in SoHo Tampa? We were surprised it lasted this long.

A few months back I heard from Bill Sharpe that the SoHo Starbucks was going 24 hours. Even though I live in South Tampa and typically love anyplace open all night I hadn’t made it to this place in part because I assumed it would be packed with all the nearby nightlife. So I tried it a couple of weeks ago and was pleasantly surprised to find it not only fully operational but a great place to chill out on a Tuesday at 1am when you have nowhere else to go.

According to the employees, they do a decent business every night, but they get the busiest when the University of Tampa finals are imminent. Every night of the week you will find a few folks sitting around sipping overpriced coffee and tapping away on their laptops. I am not making fun since I worship at the altar of caffeine, sugar, and chocolate myself.

Even on Saturday morning at 3am I found the crowd to be heavier but not packed even when the people pour in from Whiskey Soho which is right across Howard. It makes for a great people watching spot as well.

Well dressed patrons of the nearby clubs and bars stumble about. They make out, they laugh, they finds cabs to get home or look for some after hours action. They walk into traffic where cabdrivers dodge pedestrians looking for fares. Some people get angry and shout at cell phones for their missing comrades, boyfriends/girlfriends, or cars towed while they were inside.

Surprisingly, the parking is plentiful and free - either in the street or next to the Starbucks - and the bathrooms are large and clean. So the next time you are up late and bored with infomercials and itching to go someplace remember that SoHo doesn’t have to mean only bars and nightclubs, but instead can mean $4 and 1500 calories of yummy chocolaty goodness.

This post is a bit overdue, due to limited Net access until just days ago, but I thought some of you would still be interested in how our last two weeks of dining in Tampa went before our move up to Gainesville.

The weekend before last, we decided to stop into Castellano & Pizzo Italian Gourmet Foods on Henderson one last time. This time, instead of bringing my parents, we went with Traci’s dad. In addition to enjoying another pressed Cuban sandwich, we also ordered dessert this time from their bakery, too. Mazzaro’s is the king of local Italian markets/delis, but I will still miss Castellano & Pizzo.

We hadn’t been to Interbay Meat Market in several months, but were looking for a cheap and quick meal one night that was close by and thought of Interbay. On our previous visits, we had stuck to deli sandwiches, but on this visit we went with some of their cafeteria-style Cuban food. It’s hard to beat a big serving of ropa vieja, black beans and yellow rice for five bucks (and no, I don’t want to think about how long that food may have been sitting there). No frills and good food always works for me.

Speaking of no frills, we also stopped into El Taconazo aka “the Taco Bus” on Hillsborough in Seminole Heights one day for lunch. While I didn’t love the place after my first visit maybe a year ago, the Taco Bus has grown on me with each subsequent visit. The “specials” for lunch - two soft tacos with refried beans and rice- are a good deal. The tacos are small but tasty (you do have to be a fan of cilantro to like ‘em) and the thick green hot sauce on the table makes things taste even better. The Bus will be missed.

On our last week in town, in a break from packing, we hit Mel’s Hot Dogs on Busch one day for lunch. I ordered a “Reuben” dog and Traci went with a “Chicago” dog. Mel’s is a cool little place full of history and I’m glad that multiple readers suggested we visit Mel’s before we moved. Mel himself unfortunately wasn’t there when we stopped in, which, from what I understand, is part of the unique experience.

I also re-visited another reader favorite, the Tampa Bay Brewing Company, one day for drinks after work. To me, the Brewing Company’s new location in Centro Ybor doesn’t have nearly the charm of their previous location a few blocks away, but the beer selection is still great (I’m a light beer wimp and like their True Blonde Ale the best). The outdoor bar and patio area at the new location is a good addition.

We also couldn’t leave town without having going-away drinks out night at Kahuna’s, our neighborhood dive bar on Gandy across from Derby Lane. The food at Kahuna’s can be dicey, but the drinks are stiff and priced right. People that think this place has a rough crowd probably spend too much time in SOHO.

Finally, we went ahead and splurged with a Sunday brunch at the Don CeSar Hotel on St. Pete Beach. While the Vinoy and Oystercatcher’s may have better brunches, we have a warm spot for the Don since Traci grew up in South Pasadena/St. Pete Beach and we used to spend a lot of time in the area. For me, the fresh seafood selection was the highlight of the brunch. Traci liked the made-to-order pasta station. We were also able to get a table near the window with a direct view of the beach and the gulf.

There’s lots of additional local restaurants we would have liked to hit before we moved, but we ran out of time. While some of the criticism of the Tampa Bay food scene is justified, the area certainly isn’t starved for good food and good local restaurants either - if you know where/how to look. Granted it does take time, effort, experimentation (you can’t find “hits” without being willing to eat at a fair share of “misses” as well), talking with your friends and neighbors, and just keeping your eyes and ears open.

Again, I’ve greatly enjoyed contributing to Sticks over the past year and sharing local restaurant reviews with you. Thanks again for reading and for all of the restaurant suggestions - that’s all for me!

For 17 years, the Wine Exchange has been in Hyde Park Village. With all of the changes of construction plans, it appears that they are about to close their doors with little or no notice. We feel for the owners and employees as the new owners of the Hyde Park Village continue to figure out what they are doing.

Writing for GO: AirTran Airways Inflight Magazine, Nancy Davidson says Charlie’s Wine Bar in SoHo is one of her 20 national favorite wine bars in the nation. Of course, Charlie’s is not the only nationally recognized wine cellar in the neighborhood. I’m sure you’ve heard all about Bern’s wine cellar - it’s the biggest restaurant wine cellar in the world.

That’s right Julie Brown, Joseph Citro, and incumbent John Dingfelder are all vying for the City Council seat to represent District 4. District 4 is South Tampa, including the SoHo District. Our friends at SoHoTampa.com have been watching this race pretty closely, and with the help of Tampa Digital Studios, they have just put together a candidate forum. There’s gonna be a

SHOWDOWN IN SOHO

In conjunction with Tampa Digital Studios, three local websites - SOHOTampa.com, Sticks of Fire, and TampaGold.com - will provide a one hour forum this Tuesday, Feb. 27 at 10am.

The participants invited are the City Council Candidates for District 4 - Julie Brown, Joseph Citro, and John Dingfelder. Two of the 3 candidates have stated plans to attend so far.

The entire one hour showdown will be broadcast online live with audio and video and will be available at both TAMPAGOLD.com and SOHOTAMPA.com (at least through election day).

Along with Roger Grunke, former County Commissioner Ed Turanchik, and Duane Dobbins, I have been chosen to be a panelist at the forum. Since I want to know the same things YOU want to know, I encourage you to leave your questions for the candidates right here in my comments.

Thanks to Mr. Bill at SoHoTampa.com and the great folks at Tampa Digital Studios for throwing this thing together.