While everyone else keeps tightening their belts, get ready to loosen yours with the most affordable and unique ingredients in Tampa. Imagine Anthony Bourdain as a buyer for Costco: huge bags of sticky black rice, boxes of spicy sugared tamarind candy, cases of canned sugar cane drink, coolers of whole pomano, bags of frozen banana leaves. More traditional staples are also available at steep discount; the dairy, meat, and seafood sections are full of affordable options. Be sure to bring a sweater for the enormous chilled produce section — the quantity, quality, and variety is worth the trip alone. 2621 E. Hillsborough Ave., Tampa, 813-234-8428, sanwafarmersmarket.com.
Food & Drink
It’s with reluctance that we mention this Seminole Heights watering hole because drinking here feels like home (with a lot more selection, obviously) and we don’t wanna ruin it. There are countless reasons to be charmed by the open-to-the-public venue (there’s a cuss jar – and they use it), but a good place to start is on Thursday nights when Johnny Charro’s dance band plays tunes you can mingle and just be neighbors with someone to. Just remember to be nice; it’s not that hard, you know.
It’s been a long and winding road for Green Bench Brewing Co. The building renovations are now nearly complete, the outdoor beer garden is underway, and head brewer Khris Johnson is brewing batch after batch of delicious (and already noteworthy) beers. They’re not quite open yet, but the slated mid-September looks right on track.
As the name suggests, the authentic specialties of the house come from the sea. Or to be more accurate, from the aquariums that line a wall near the kitchen. Talk about fresh! Your dinner is swimming right up until you place an order. It’s especially fun to see a tank of shrimp gliding through the water doing a kind of multi-legged dog paddle. And then, like magic, fresh seafood is on your plate.
Pull into the nondescript group of shops at 1300 East Bay Drive in Largo and you’ll swear you’re being punked. This intimate plaza offers an authentic global cuisine sampler: Thai Bay restaurant, Anna’s Polish deli, Tampa Style Cubans café, German Bistro 2 and Las Palomas Latin American Market. There’s no excuse not to explore. 1300 East Bay Drive, Largo. Cuban 727-586-5797; German 727-216-6519; Latin American 727-581-1050; Polish 727-953-7763; Thai 727-584-5522, thaibayandsushi.com.
CL food critic Jon Palmer Claridge went in search of the perfect bagel earlier this year, and he found his holy grail at Clearwater Bagels. Dense, chewy, with a moist crumb and a touch of sweet malt, these bagels stand out above all the rest. Take a bite, close your eyes, and be transported to bagel Valhalla (aka New Yawk).
