A Back-Door Culinary Tour Of Tampa, Florida
by Bridget McCrea



If you come to Tampa for sunshine, you will not be disappointed. You may, however, be surprised to discover Tampa is also blessed with wonderful food -- delicious, diverse and exciting cuisine reflecting the multi-ethnic make-up of this city that stands at the threshold of both the Caribbean islands and Latin America.

While some Tampa restaurants have even gained worldwide acclaim -- most notably the venerable Bern's Steak House, where the steaks are aged, the vegetables are organic and the wine list is as large as a phone book ... Mise en Place, featuring the imaginative inventions of chef Marty Blitz ... or The Columbia Restaurant, a grand establishment setting the standard for fine Spanish food and entertainment -- this article is not about those restaurants. You'll find the "famous" restaurants on your own (and, by the way, they're all well worth a visit).

This article will clue you in to the places the locals go when they want something a little out of the ordinary. What follows here is an adventurous guide to some of the more interesting restaurants in Tampa -- some fancy, some not fancy at all, but each guaranteed to give you a little taste of the varied palette of this rich city.

One of the more interesting restaurants whose true charm cannot be appreciated until you've dined there a second time is Dong Phuong's, at 3638 Henderson Boulevard. This tiny restaurant, with its attached grocery store can be easily overlooked on the busy street it inhabits. Once inside, you will not be impressed by the decor. But the American tunes crooned in Vietnamese will soon charm you, as will the delicious food, ranging from expertly rolled spring rolls to wonderful chicken curry. The jasmine tea and fresh lemonade are also tops. Prices are a real bargain. But the real attraction to the restaurant is Phuong herself. Blessed with a photographic memory (and perhaps a bit of mind-reading ability, too,) she will know what you want to order before you do. Come back, and she'll remember what you ordered last time, and the time before. Call in a to-go order, and she'll tell you it will be ready in exactly 12 minutes. Not 10, not 15, but 12. And she'll be exactly right.

The tables fill up fast, so plan on an early lunch or dinner. Sunday is usually less busy. Of course, you can always browse through the exotic goods in the attached market if you have to wait for a table. (As an aside, if you'd prefer a high-brown Vietnamese/ French dining experience, try Exodus Restaurant at 2109 Bayshore Boulevard. The food and atmosphere are tip-top elegant, with ever-so-elegant prices to match).

Just down the street from Dong Phuong's is a dining experience of a totally different nature. Lauro Ristorante Italiano, at 3915 Henderson, offers an elegant evening out for a special occasion. Waiters are efficient and solicitous. The atmosphere is quiet and sophisticated. The food is traditional northern Italian cuisine, and outstanding. You'll find no nouvelle cuisine here -- except perhaps in the decorative desserts. What you will find are rich sauces, beautifully-prepared seafood, superb steaks and chops and well-seasoned vegetables.

At 1809 W. Platt Street, near downtown Tampa, you may dispense with formality and eat with your fingers at the exotic Ibex Cafe. While the method of dining may seem casual, the food is not -- expertly prepared from family recipes and artfully presented, this is Ethiopian cuisine as you may never have enjoyed it before. As the menu playfully reminds you, "The world is categorized into finger feeders and utensil feeders. Currently, those who use knives and forks are outnumbered two to one by those who do not."

The wonderful vegetable stews (called "wots") and beef and chicken dishes are served with injera, a large crepe made of a special type of millet flour called teff. A piece of injera is broken off and used to scoop the food into your mouth, where the incredible infusion of spices will surprise and delight you -- ginger, mustard seeds, white pepper, thyme, nutmeg and more. Some of the essential spices of Ethiopian cooking include Berbere, a combination of powered red pepper with a dozen spices, fragrant cardamom and basil, and fenugreek, which has the aroma of celery. Coriander and turmeric are used in the vivid yellow dishes. Garlic and cumin impart strong, warm and aromatic flavor to richer foods.

A visit to Ibex is a complete sensory experience, with hypnotic Ethiopian jazz alternating with more traditional African music in the background, incense in the air, and the telltale yellow-stained fingers you'll go home with.

We suggest while in Tampa you take a trip back in time and visit Valencia Garden Restaurant at 811 West Kennedy, on the edge of the University of Tampa campus. Traditional Spanish dishes like chicken alicante and ropa vieja are served by traditional Spanish-speaking waiters in an old-world atmosphere. One unusual and interesting item is a split-pea based soup chock-full of seafood. Save room for the flan, too.

Finally, no visit to Tampa would be complete without sampling the city's claim to fame: the Cuban sandwich. If you want to start a heated debate among native Tampanites, the finer points of how to make a Cuban sandwich is sure to get the conversation started. Usually made with lean roast pork, swiss cheese, ham and pickle, about the only ingredient all agree upon is the bread -- wonderful crusty Cuban bread baked in long loaves with a palm frond splitting the top to let out the steam as the bread bakes.

You can find a decent Cuban sandwich at hundreds of locations around town, but to find a really great one, we suggest you try The Silver Ring Cafe in Ybor City at 1831 E. Seventh Avenue or Wright's Gourmet House at 1200 South Dale Mabry Highway.

Tampa has literally hundreds of other restaurants we'd be delighted to recommend any day of the week, so here are just a few more tips. For a fun and raucous evening, try Cafe Creole in Ybor city. You'll feel like you've spent the evening in New Orleans. For some of the best barbecue in town, try Kojak's. For nice casual French dining, we suggest Le Bordeaux. You'll find an authentic British pub, complete with darts to play and pasties and shepherd pie to eat, at Yeoman's Road Restaurant on Davis Islands. If you're seeking seafood with a view of the water, Oystercatcher's will fill the bill.

So that's a start. With so much to choose from in Tampa, you'll never be hungry, nor bored. Happy dining!