Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

You may have read that the agreement to take the Ft. Homer Hesterly Arm ory and renovate it into a significant retail/activity center was finally signed. The process has been going on for a long time and is now poised to begin some actual work. Construction should be underway before the next Super Bowl visits Tampa Bay.

The improvements are estimated to cost almost $100 million, and will feature a 300 room hotel, and a marketplace, along with cafes, restaurants, and boutiques. A museum dedicated to Old West Tampa, a day spa, and lots more are expected to be included in the development. You can see the entire proposal at TampaGold.com.

The property is located just North of Kennedy, South of I275, and between Armenia and Howard Avenues is the Gateway to the South Howard Avenue (SOHO) area. We have been yelling from the roof tops about this project for a long time and it seems no one has been listening. THIS PROJECT WILL CHANGE WEST TAMPA!

In addition, the project will help build the synergy along with residents clamoring for the city to preserve the Centro Espanol building, just a few blocks north.

This is a story about history and culture. A history so rich, that many Tampa residents’ lives were changed forever because of a building.

This is also a story about city, county, state, and federal money going to many places, but not necessarily to every place it should.

The building is located on North Howard Avenue, just a few blocks north of I275. It was built in 1912, and the place was a community center for the West Tampa neighborhood. The building and the community created an atmosphere of afternoon strolls with dances, evening socials, nights at the theater, music performances, art showcases and lots more. This magical place is called El Centro Español de West Tampa.

Over the years, money from various federal grants and loan guarantees have been provided for maintenance of the building. Recently the building as taken back from the Urban League by the City in the name of historic preservation. It seems the Urban League had put way too much money (for them) into the building. Charges of mismanagement surround this issue as well. The City is now seeking ideas of what to do with this building.

Several key problems exist. The roof is in need of repair - approx cost $$326,000. Cost to renovate the theatre - over $1 million. The building - over 15,000 sq ft - could be sold, but if so, over $2 milion in federal grants would have to be repaid.

Over 60 residents appeared at a public meeting to provide input and suggestions, and every speaker spoke with fondness about the history and were concerned about the preservation of the building. One suggestion to create a culinary school along with the establishment of a restaurant was extremely well received.

But most suggestions focused on community involvement. The discussion was a clear focus on heart but short on finances. Barbara Baker of the newly rehabilitated Baker & Co Antique Emporium expressed a clear need to save the building but was concerned about the historic preservation rules hampering an individual as she had been hampered at her location. She told us that the historic rules had caused her projected cost of her own place to nearly double.

Intown Homes President and former County Commissioner Ed Turanchik called for significant pressue to be placed on the County and City elected officials to find the funds required to repair the roof and building. Many speakers expressed concern about respecting the original integrity of the building.

Mark Huey with the City indicated that their concern was to provide a catalyst for improving the neighborhood. Residents echoed that sentiment, specifically pointing out the need for youth recreation opportunities to help stem gang involvement in the neighborhood.

One possible option is to place the building in a “mothball” status, meaning to secure it for some future purpose. While this was not the first choice among the attendees, it seemed very viable rather than an improper use or incomplete restoration. A plan for the city to request further proposals was the most business logical approach.

Jeanette LaRussa Fenton is the Manager of Drew Park & West Tampa Redevelopment for the City of Tampa. She is now taking the suggestions to help determine the next step. You can reach her at 813.274.7427 or jeanette.fenton[atsign]tampagov.net.

This process will take some time. Watch for more community meetings before a plan is finalized. But this public meeting was a good first step. It was great to see the amount of residents that took the time to attend and speak up. While their were some differing opinions, the genuine concern about preserving the building was unanimous.

… at least for Miguel Angel Suarez:

The insurgents never got him. But early Saturday, Suarez was gunned down and left to die a mile and a half from his childhood home.

The thug wanted Miguel’s necklace.

We’re now down to less than two weeks before we make the move to Gainesville. So instead of reviewing one restaurant this week, I thought I’d provide brief summaries of the places we’ve eaten at the past two weeks. Thanks again to everyone who posted suggestions of restaurants to visit one last time before we move, as well as an unexpected number of places to try out in Gainesville.

Two weekends ago we checked out the recently-opened CDB’s Southside Italian Restaurant on S.Westshore Blvd (in the same spot as the old Cafe Anna). We were told by our server that this new location is more upscale than the CDB’s near USF and in Lakeland (we haven’t been to either). While the place felt cramped and prices were on the high side, we enjoyed the deep dish pizza and the roasted eggplant appetizer that we ordered.

We also made a return visit to La Teresita one evening and again ate like champs for a bargain price. Thanks to David Jenkins, I enjoyed a delicious vaca frita. Another evening, some friends took us out to Red Mesa in St. Pete. This remains my favorite local restaurant for Southwest-style cuisine.

This past weekend, with my parents and younger brother and his girlfriend in town visiting, we hit Castellano & Pizzo for lunch with Cuban sandwiches all around. We had originally planned on Wright’s, but after pulling up and seeing the line snaking out the door, I knew a change of plans was in store. We were looking for a place Friday night that was close by and on the water so we went to RattleFish Raw Bar & Grill. We knew we’d be paying up for the view of the bay. My fish tacos were okay and everyone in our group was generally happy, but Traci’s burger was undercooked. This place continues to slip.

On Saturday evening, we headed out to Clearwater Beach with plans of having dinner at Frenchy’s Rockaway Grill. The place was understandably packed ahead of sunset, and knowing that my family hates to wait, we decided to try the much smaller “The Original” Frenchy’s Cafe just a few blocks away. The food wasn’t award-winning, but the prices were good, and there wasn’t a wait. We were able to walk right up and grab one of the handful of tables outside. My steamed mussels were good, but my cup of gumbo was lukewarm.

Before we go, we still plan to check out Mel’s Hot Dogs, which is a clear reader favorite, and make a return visit to The Chattaway in St. Pete. A stop at El Taconazo is another possibility. These are the kinds of no-frills, local places that I’ll miss the most. Finally, doing a fancy Sunday brunch as a going away treat is also on our list - either Oystercatchers, Don CeSar or the Vinoy.

Thanks again to everyone for all of the comments and ideas over the past year.

After a little bit of a break, we’re back. Over the past few weeks, we’ve checked out two Tampa institutions when it comes to Cuban food - Arco-Iris and La Teresita. Both restaurants are located off of Dale Mabry on W. Columbus Drive or “Boliche Boulevard” - sort of the Tampa equivalent of Miami’s Calle Ocho.

When we visited La Teresita several weeks ago, the first thing we noticed was the great smells of Cuban food that hit us the moment we got out of the car. We went on a weekend and the place was buzzing with activity. We found two open stools at one of the packed counters and sat down. While our server struggled to keep up with her counter area, the food was great- and the portions were huge and cheap.

I ordered ropa vieja with yellow rice and black beans and Traci ordered traditional chicken and yellow rice. The buttered Cuban bread at La Teresita was particularly addictive. Everyone was friendly and we left stuffed. I’ve heard the knock before that La Teresita isn’t clean etc, but we didn’t have any problem (their kitchen I’d rather not think about). From a customer point of view, it looks the same as pretty much any old diner - worn down, but comfortable. If you’re expecting frills, this certainly isn’t your place.

This past weekend, we decided to check out Arco-Iris, which is only a few doors down from La Teresita. We found the food to be equally as good, although we like the diner-like buzz of La Teresita more. Arco- Iris is more of a traditional sit-down place. Again, nothing fancy. The focus is on the tasty and affordable food. At Arco-Iris, I ordered carne asada with yellow rice and black beans. Traci went with chicken and onions with the yellow rice and black beans too. Again, we came away stuffed and happy.

La Teresita and Arco-Iris both serve several Cuban-Chinese dishes as well, which sounded interesting but we decided to stick with old stand-bys. Sue Carlton explained in a recent column the Cuban-Chinese connection, which goes back many years. Fried rice with plantains is certainly a unique combination.

I am glad that I didn’t check out the health inspection reports on either until after our visits.

Bottom-line: I should have explored Boliche Boulevard sooner. For those of you looking for authentic Cuban food in big portions at cheap prices, head over to La Teresita or Arco-Iris, two uniquely Tampa experiences.

La Teresita Inspection Scorecard: Last Inspection: March 2007 violations - Critical (8), Non-Critical (12).

Arco-Iris Inspection Scorecard: Last Inspection: April 2007 violations - Critical (14), Non-Critical (7).

With the approval of new designs and expansions, Old West Tampa’s Intown Homes will now be moving to build a total of about 150 new homes in the core blocks just north of the interstate and surrounding N. Howard and Armenia. A late night vote of the Council last night did not come without some serious discussion.

Intown President Ed Turanchik beamed with pride as he talked of his neighborhood commitment and efforts to improve the old West Tampa neighborhood. Almost 20 citizens spoke at the meeting and most voiced support of the homes and Intown’s efforts. The Overlay District/CDC group had recommended against approval of the expansion. Council member Gwen Miller was most supportive of the CDC’s opinion, but Council member John Dingfelder expressed it clearly that the CDC group and the City Staff were there to provide input and suggestions to the Council, but “at the end of the day, it is the Council that will decide this.”

Of special note at the meeting were the residents that expressed concern about being forced to sell their homes/lots or of being forced to make changes to their homes. Council member Charlie Miranda provided a fatherly type of reassurance to the public that they would only sell their homes if they wanted to.

Most of the controversy centered around the design of those homes with a flat roof that the Overlay District members did not like. Ed Turanchik’s presentation showed that this was not an uncommon roof design from the area’s past, but the main justification was the cost savings of approximately $10,000 per home by building a flat roof, making the homes more affordable.

Turanchik claimed that the Intown homes are the only affordable, energy efficient, environmentally green homes in Tampa. He further indicated that the energy efficiency level would save residents 40-60% on their energy usage - a significant number.

The offices of the Tampa Marketing Company are surrounded by the new Intown Homes and lots where additional homes are planned.

In my opinion, the area has improved significantly with Intown’s efforts and we believe as one citizen stated: “If you don’t like the flat roof, just don’t buy it. Let the marketplace decide.”

See TMC’s additional thoughts of West Tampa and Intown Homes.

I dropped in at the Pegasus Saturday night for the second annual Derby Darlin’s Benefit to help the league out at the start of their second season. I knew I had come on the right night when I saw the girls rolling around the parking lot as I drove up.

If you dig tall women you really should have been there. Oddly though this was the most “normal” crowd I have seen at a show at this place. The heavily tattooed regulars had been drawn off by the lack of punk or metal bands and a house party at the Tampa Punk House. What was left were the girls in the rockabilly outfits with their outlandish bloodthirsty names stitched on the back (Mercenari Mari!) and the men that carry their purses.

I shouldn’t joke, I’ve been there guys.

The bands were tight and fun. Griz started the night with their tight rock/reggae sound. Johnny Cakes came on next and I am not sure how but they fit about twelve people on the smallish stage. Most bands that play the Pegasus don’t do so with a horn section and big steel drum. The bold sound and hilarious lyrics like “I don’t care if you are fat, homely, or smell bad - you look good to me” (or something like that) kept me smiling. Although by the end of it all, the girls were mostly gone and the crowd was thinning out. Most of the folks, including all but a couple of the girls and myself left after Johnny Cakes. Rumor says the Darlin’s considered the night a success, although not quite on the scale of last year.

Just a reminder, the season opener of the Darlin’s is April 29th at United Skates of America on Armenia. I will certainly be a blast; and if you haven’t yet been to a match, it is a unique experience. Also, like I said, tall girls. Fighting.

After a mediocre experience last week at flashy corporate-owned Dan Marino’s, we were looking for more of an independent, neighborhood place this past weekend. A place where the focus was on good food and it didn’t matter what you were wearing. Everything I had read about Las Margarita’s, a little Cuban restaurant in West Tampa off Hillsborough near the airport, sounded like our kind of place.

When we pulled up to the little restaurant and saw its weather-beaten exterior, I still thought we were in for a treat. Our favorite Cuban sandwich shop in Ybor, La Tropicana, similarly looks like it has seen better days from the outside. I was still optimistic after sitting down, even with a TV blaring in Spanish right behind our table. Our favorite Cuban restaurant in the area, Habana Cafe in Gulfport (south Pinellas) also occasionally has a TV on in the main room. Fine with me if the food is great.

For a starter, we ordered chicharrones de pollo, which was described as marinated chicken with a garlic dipping sauce. What came out were mild little pieces of chicken that tasted fried. The dipping sauce was oil with a little parsley. Maybe the main courses were where this little restaurant would shine. I ordered ropa vieja with black beans and rice, and Traci ordered lemon buttered chicken with rice and beans too. I’m not an expert on ropa vieja, but my beef was stringy, dry and not very flavorful. I also didn’t really like the rice. The beans were excellent. As for Traci’s chicken, it reminded us of a typical rotisserie chicken without as much flavor. A tasty arroz con pollo at The Columbia this was not.

Our meals also came with side salads which were iceberg lettuce with a slice of tomato and dressing on top. We weren’t expecting anything fancy, and maybe we’ve been spoiled by the side salads at Habana Cafe or even La Tropicana, but this was a weak little salad. On the plus side, the prices were very reasonable (under $10) for a full meal - entree, two sides and a salad. Service was friendly and the place is obviously authentic. Las Margaritas has been around for over 25 years so clearly it is doing something right. Maybe we visited on an off night and/or just didn’t order the right dishes.

So what’s your favorite Cuban restaurant in the Bay area? Other Cuban places we’ve tried and weren’t particularly excited by include Habana Village on Dale Mabry and Kennedy, and Miramar (now called Bellamar I think; we haven’t been since the name changed) on West Shore. We’d like to hit Pipo’s, La Teresita and some of the other little Cuban places along Columbus one of these days.

Bottom-line: Las Margaritas had all of the makings of a good little spot for inexpensive Cuban, but unfortunately our experience was underwhelming. Midway through our meal I was wishing that we had driven over to Habana Cafe in Gulfport, a mid-priced Cuban restaurant which rarely disappoints.