New Examiner Article is Up!

After two previously failed attempts, I FINALLY managed to get another Examiner review up. You can checkity-check it out here. Also, please share with anyone who might be interested. Kthxbye.

Bay Area Eats: EATS! American Grill

Last weekend, my parents were in town, and for Sunday lunch, I decided to try something new and take them to a restaurant we all hadn't tried yet: EATS! American Grill. After reading favorable blog reviews as well as praising Yelp! reviews, I'd been wanting to check the place out for some time. I wasn't disappointed (my parents loved it as well!).

We started off with the complimentary basket of Saratoga Potato Chips and dipping sauce and an order of fried pickles ($4.99). The pickles were piping hot (a sign that they were made fresh!), and the chips and dipping sauce were just a perfect complement. I don't know exactly what the dipping sauce was comprised of, but it was very similar to the sauce that comes with Outback's Bloomin' Onion.

Perusing through the menu's variety of Americana fare, we settled on the Bin on Weck ($8.99--Pops' choice), the French Dip ($8.99--Mom's choice), and the Midwestern BLT ($8.79--my choice). That BLT was probably the best I've ever had. EATS! turned the simple sandwich on its head by making it with fried green tomatoes, peppered bacon, lettuce, its "Signature Spicy Sauce," and slapping the whole thing between two pieces of Texas Toast. I had the choice between the regular Spicy Sauce and "full heat," and opted for the regular (I don't like terribly spicy foods). The regular sauce added just enough of a kick that I could appreciate without draining my water glass. Its flavors also enhanced the fried green tomatoes and peppered bacon really well.

My parents' sandwiches looked equally as delicious. I can't really describe what they tasted like, as they weren't my sandwiches (obvs), so descriptions from the menu (and your own imaginations) will have to suffice:

 Bin on Weck (Beef on Weck):

Buffalo's other claim to fame. Brought to us by Michael Wuliger of Bin 27, this famous sandwich is thinly sliced roast beef served on a kummelweck roll and topped with our own Horsey Sauce. Au Jus served on the side. 

French Dip:

Born in 1918 in Los Angeles, CA. This classic is roast beef cooked and seasoned to perfection, topped with Swiss cheese and served with a side of Au Jus for dipping. 

Yummy. If the clean plates were any indication, I'd say they were received enthusiastically.

EATS! lives up to its reputation as being a great go-to for American food. The staff is friendly and the atmosphere is casual (plenty of TVs for watching the big game and a full bar for those who want something a little stronger with their food), and you will feel right at home. It's definitely a place I plan on visiting again; I've got my sights set on its fried Oreo sundae!

EATS! American Grill
4502 S. Dale Mabry Hwy.
Tampa, FL 33611
813-835-3287

Hours:
Mon-Sun 11a.m.-10p.m.

Bay Area Eats: Yogurtology

I've been a fan of Pinkberry ever since it opened at Westshore Plaza. I loved the variety of fresh ingredients, friendly staff, and different flavors. Pinkberry is still my go-to frozen yogurt place--when I'm at Westshore Plaza. But for all those other times I get a fro-yo craving but don't feel like dealing with mall parking or mall crowds, I have a new go-to place: Yogurtology.

Located in a strip plaza on Church Ave., Yogurtology is unassuming. I was guilty of driving by on multiple occasions, but never stopping in (until a few weeks ago). I wish I would have visited sooner, because the place has an amazing variety of flavors (twelve!) and toppings (60!).

Yogurtology is self-serve, meaning you grab an empty cup and fill it up with whatever you want. Flavors ranging from Salted Caramel to Red Velvet to (my personal favorite) plain ol' Tart Nouveau are at your disposal, creating the temptation to mix-and-match. After you select your flavor(s), you can then select from toppings ranging the gamut from mango boba beads to mini donuts to fresh fruit to Twix and Kit-Kat bars. You do pay by the weight of your frozen treat, but unless you go crazy and attempt to shove all 60 toppings into your cup, you shouldn't pay much more than you would for a yogurt at one of those flat-rate places (lookin' at you, Pinkberry!).

My creation: Tart Nouveau yogurt topped with Hersey's chocolate, chocolate-covered waffle cone bites, brownie bites, chocolate chip cookie dough, and rainbow Sno Caps

Bonus: the friendly staff works hard to keep the place clean and sanitary. On every single one of my visits, workers were vigilant in vacuuming up stray toppings and making sure each topping had its own serving spoon/tongs. The floor and tables are mopped and wiped down as well, and the food itself looks and tastes fresh--never like it's been setting out for days on end. 

It's definitely worth it to give Yogurtology a try. If you can't find anything there to satisfy your frozen yogurt craving, then you are way too picky. 

1202 S. Church Ave., Suite C

Tampa, FL 33629

813-251-2717

store2@yogurtology.com

11a.m.-10p.m. Sunday thru Thursday

11a.m.-11p.m. Friday & Saturday

Bay Area Eats: Moxies

Earlier today, some co-workers and I walked downtown to Moxies for lunch. First of all, let me just say: I love downtown.

Every time I go downtown, I feel giddy, like a small child on Christmas Day. It's pretty quiet on the weekends, but on the weekdays, the sidewalks are filled with the hustle and bustle of Very Important People, walking to and from their Very Important Meetings, carrying their Very Important Briefcases. Even though I've not once been downtown for anything business-related in the last three years, I still like to pretend that I'm a Very Important Person doing Very Important Things (sans Very Important Briefcase) whenever I'm there.

As we were walking downtown today, I was pleased to see that new restaurants had popped up. If you couldn't tell from the above paragraphs, I always thought downtown was cool, but was disappointed that it didn't have more to offer in the way of eateries and cafes. From what I saw on today's excursion, that looks like it's changing, and it makes my heart happy.

Moxies, as usual, was jam-packed during the lunch hour, but the staff was excellent in taking orders and delivering food in a timely manner. I ordered what I always order whenever I go somewhere that offers Reuben Sandwiches: a Reuben Sandwich. I love a good Reuben, and I can't decide which restaurant makes a better one: Moxies or Datz. I thought Datz's Reuben reigned supreme, but when I re-visited Moxies today, I had to admit, theirs wasn't half-bad, either. Datz's sandwich comes with a side of their sweet and salty chips and bleu cheese dipping sauce; I ordered the pasta salad with my sandwich at Moxies, and that was delicious as well (sun-dried tomato--yum!). So now I'm internally conflicted.

I am happy to say that I did have leftovers, so I'll also be able to enjoy some more Reuben and pasta salad for din din tonight. That is, if I don't cave in and eat them before I get home...

Update (because I know you're just dying to know if I ate the rest before I got home or not): I was able to resist the pull of the leftovers. After wrapping up this blog post, I plan on eating them while catching up on Jerseylicious. Yes, I watch Jerseylicious. Don't judge me.

Hope Comes in the Strangest Packages...

For the most part, I've adopted a "whatever happens, happens" mentality when it comes to the topic of marriage and if I'll ever get married. However, there are still some moments when I'll turn into a total girl and freak out about dying alone. And then I learned that Peter Pan got married.

I'm not talking about J.M. Barrie's Pan. No, I'm referencing Tampa's Peter Pan, a man who dresses up as his namesake and makes appearances at clubs and parties around town. As far as I know, he doesn't get paid for these appearances; it's just something he does because he loves it.

I remember when I first found out about Peter. A few friends, a roommate and I were sitting around the apartment eating pizza after a night out when he came up in conversation. I forget who, exactly, brought him up, but I do remember the rest of us had no idea who he was, so, curious, we immediately took to the internet. It wasn't long before we found ourselves crammed in my tiny bedroom, huddled around the computer screen, staring agog at his website.

"Oh my god, that's his real hair!"

"I can't believe he's in his fifties!"

We were captivated. The guy was...colorful, to say the least. His costume arsenal could rival any Hollywood production's. He even had modified versions of the Peter Pan costume so that they would be work-appropriate (his day job is a computer programmer). But what really got us, what we found especially hilarious, was the section of the website dedicated to "looking for his Tinkerbell," and was, essentially, a personals ad he had typed up. After all, what woman in her right mind would go for a man in his fifties who dressed up as Peter Pan?

Turned out there was at least one, because last March, Peter Pan and his Tink tied the knot at the Bay Area Renaissance Festival (BARF--does anybody else find this as funny as I do?). I recently spotted them at a club this past weekend. A small crowd was gathered around them, and they posed for pictures and signed autographs, celebrities in their own right. They looked happy. They looked in love. And I was strangely comforted, because if a 56 year-old Peter Pan can find the love of his life, then the rest of us definitely have a fighting chance.

P.S. If you're curious, you can see his wedding pics and videos here, here and here.

My Favorite Bay Area Hang-Outs

Every once in awhile, when I'm bored, I create a mental list of my favorite hang-out spots around the Bay Area, just in case Glamour or Cosmopolitan realizes how cool I am and are just dying to know. (Yes, I realize this makes me delusional, but play along, k?) But now that I have this blog, I thought it would be fun to share the list with you guys (and any Glamour and Cosmopolitan writers who happen to stop by). So without further ado, I present SVB's List of Favorite Bay Area Hangouts (and by Bay Area, I mean the Tampa Bay area, not the San Francisco Bay area):

Nola Cafe

301 W. Platt Street #C

Tampa, FL 33606-2292

http://www.nolacafe.com/index.htm

Nola Cafe is Tampa's little slice of New Orleans, serving up classic Louisana fare like Po Boy sandwiches and jambalaya. It's a little family-owned joint, cozy, and the perfect spot to bring a favorite book, grab a cup of coffee and relax for an hour or two. While all of the food I've eaten there has been delicious, my favorite things to order are the beignets. Due to a horrifically bad date with a weirdo who plays drums there occasionally, I've avoided the place like the plague. Those beignets are a callin' my name, though, and I have a feeling that my evasion is about to come to an end.

Sally O'Neal's Pizza Hotline

1319 S. Howard Ave.

Tampa, FL 33606-3124

http://www.sallyonealspizza.com/

When my friend Ali announced that she was officially too good for The Hut after discovering Sally O'Neal's Pizza, I thought she was just making shit up. I'm sorry, but the name Sally O'Neal sounds fake, so I didn't believe that it was a real pizza joint until we went there--and I experienced for myself the most amazing pizza I've ever put in my mouth. Oh. My. GOD. There is seriously nothing like it! It's freshly-baked, the cheese is all good and melty, the ingredients are fresh--my mouth is watering just thinking about it. I am now, along with Ali, too good for The Hut. And Domino's. And Papa John's. And Hungry Howies.

La Creperia Cafe

1729 E. 7th Ave.

Tampa, FL 33605-3805

http://www.lacreperiacafe.com/

My friend John told me about this super-cute cafe, which is located smack dab in the heart of Ybor City (which is neat in and of itself: cigar shops, restaurants, boutiques, bars and night clubs dot Seventh Avenue. Very artsy and historic). If you couldn't tell from its name, La Creperia specializes in, you guessed it, crepes. It has every sort of crepe you could ever dream of, certainly the biggest selection I've ever seen, but what makes it stand out is that there's a Hispanic twist on some of the selections. I visited it for the first time a few weeks ago and fell in love.

L'Eden Restaurant

500 N. Tampa St.

Tampa, FL 33602

http://www.ledentampa.com/

This French restaurant in downtown Tampa is one of my favorite places in which to indulge in a leisurely Saturday breakfast. The owners, as well as the staff, are French, and make you feel right at home. Everything, from the crepes to the cappuccino, is delicious.

Five Guys Burgers and Fries

http://www.fiveguys.com/home.aspx

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know this is a chain restaurant, but gat-dayum does it make one hell of a burger. If you haven't tried it, a) shame on you and b) do so immediately--it's the single greatest food item you will ever put in your mouth. When it comes to Five Guys, I always swallow. And you will too.

Square One Burgers

3701 Henderson Blvd.

Tampa, FL 33609

http://www.square1burgers.com/

This is another great little burger joint and somewhat of a juxtaposition: it's casual dining gift-wrapped in a modern, trendy setting. In addition to a string of specialty burgers, you also have the option of making your own creation, but every time I go, I order the same thing: the specialty veggie burger. I'm not a vegetarian, but this is one tasty meat-free patty. It's obvious they're made fresh--you can see the bits of corn and peas. Read: this is not a Boca Burger or anything mass-produced. This is what a Boca Burger wants to be when it grows up.

These are just a few of my favorite haunts in Tampa. If you ever hit one of those places up and I'm there, say hi. If you're that drum-playing weirdo, though, keep on steppin'.