Norman Van Aken
Norman’s in Orlando
Buyers’ Market
Group shows offer prime opportunities for summer art-shopping
Mississippi Terror:
Roses for an Unmarked Killing Field
Hail to the Chefs
Eight mouths of the South who elevate regional fare with true grits
Say Thanks, George
Did Al-Arian help elect Bush to the presidency in 2000?
Katherine Harris, Democrats’ Dream
Plus: a rift among the supporters of the Belleview Biltmore
One World Under Jeannie
A day in the life of a very, very busy chef
In Our Own Backyard
Some wines from the Southeast are worth a sip
Frank Stitt
Highlands Bar & Grill in Birmingham
Cuba Goodies
The Planet’s (unscientific) Cuban sandwich taste test
Wine List
FIVE & TEN Vintage explores 10 wines and five grapes. $10. 7-9 p.m. June 17. Vintage Wine Cellars, 3629 Henderson Blvd., Tampa (813-879-2931). PORTUGAL WITHOUT PORT? Taste some of Portugal's other offerings. $10; includes souvenir glass. 6:30-8:30 p.m. June 17. Uncorked, 2706 Fourth St. N., St. Pete (727-892-WINE). SPANISH FIESTA Taste it all, from Rioja…
Opium’s Den
Fine dining amidst the monotonies of North Dale Mabry
Drama Chameleon
From show to show, no one transforms like Julie Rowe.
John Currence
City Grocery in Oxford, Miss.
Michael and Laurence Gottlieb
Gottlieb’s in Savannah Louis’s at Pawleys on Pawley’s Island, S.C.
Don’t Panic
Your war questions answered
Blotter
Know Your Limits: Cops running a prostitution sting on N. Nebraska Avenue in Tampa got a bonus when they discovered a crack pipe on the man they were arresting. After his rights were read to him, the suspect opened up to the officers, admitting that he had been smoking crack since 8 p.m. the previous…
Ask the Advice Goddess
CAD TO THE BONEMy lifelong friend has been talking trash about why my very sexy new girlfriend refuses to see me when he's around. He claims she came on to him and he rebuffed her. According to him, it happened the first time they met, after I left the room. She vehemently denies anything went…
Upcoming Concerts
June 22 Judas Priest/Queensryche Ford Amphitheatre 23 Action Action w/Spitalfield State Theatre 23 Corrosion of Conformity w/Crowbar/Alabama Thunderpussy Masquerade 23 Travis Morrison/Doris Henson/Mants Masquerade Infinity Room 24 The Six Parts Seven/Riddle of Steel/Zillionaire New World Brewery 24 Gym Class Heroes/I Am The Avalanche/Firescape/Whole Wheat Bread Orpheum 24 Dead Kennedys w/TBA State Theatre 25 Asylum Street…
Music Venues
688 SKATEPARK, 6140 Ulmerton Road, Clearwater, 727-523-0785 THE BANK NIGHTCLUB AND CONCERT VENUE, 1950 First Ave. N., St. Petersburg, 727-898-4488 BOOMERZ BOILER ROOM/BOOMERZ CAFÉ, 6990 Seminole Blvd., Seminole, 727-391-7066 BOURBON STREET, 4331 U.S. 19 N., New Port Richey, 727-843-0686 BRASS MUG, 1441 Fletcher Ave. E., Tampa, 813-972-8152 CAFÉ ADAGIO, 1111 Central Ave., St. Petersburg, 727-823-2877…
Freebie
XL Office Party
‘Tis The Season
Battling boredom in the eye of the storm
Outtakes
Short reviews of movies playing throughout the Tampa Bay area
Spins
MezmerizeSYSTEM OF A DOWNAmerican/ColumbiaBy now, you know what you're going to get in an album from L.A.'s most famous Armenian-American provocateurs: socially conscious spaz-metal highlighted by short passages evoking everything from polka to opera, and lead vocalist Serj Tankian's Jello Biafra-channeling-Pavorati warble. And, as anyone who has heard "B.Y.O.B.," the whiplash-inducing anti-war single from this…
Memphis Twang
Memphis ain't Nashville, and that can be either a good thing (no legions of prefab pop-country personalities) or a bad one (it's at least once removed from any serious exposure). In the case of Lucero, it's definitely a good thing – the group's compelling, unclassifiable mix of earnest alt-country twang, indie-rock ingenuity, Southern grit and…
Beyond the Sea
Tips for finding the freshest fish in town
Alternate Views
Thirty-one movies to see this summer that aren’t Batman Begins
Louis Osteen
Louis’s at Pawleys on Pawley’s Island, S.C.
Where There’s Smoke…
Hitting below the barbecue belt on U.S. 301
Music Concerts
Thursday, Jun. 16 42nd Street Bistro Karen Benje 4th Street Cigars & Martini Bar 4th Street Band 688 Skatepark Across Five Aprils/Calico System/Take These Eyes/Dreams You Die In/Murder Crew/The Burning Season/A Dying Embrace Bahama Breeze Mike Hastings/Denny Falzon The Bank Nightclub and Concert Venue Left Lane Big J.R.'s Restaurant and Lounge Steve Santo/DJ Rockin' Rick…
Letters
For FreeRe: "The Free Way," by Max Linsky (June 8-14) Nice article, Mr. Journalist, but you haven't lived until you've had a free dinner from the Chicken Man. Here's a resource on my personal website for all the free stuff I know of in, of all places, downtown St. Pete: http://www.angelfire.com/poetry/prof/index/free.html. Next time, for sleep,…
SHHHHH!
When Storms says hush up, it’s time for gays to make noise
Upcoming Releases
The following releases will be in stores Tues., June 21: American Ambulance, Streets of NYC (Hayden's Ferry) Auburn Bikini, Auburn Bikini (Arkam Rock) Bomb Squadron, Another Generation Found (Doppelganger) Tracy Bonham, Blink the Brightest (Zoe) Ray Campi, Memory Lingers On (Bear Family) Chrome Daddies, Cow Skull (Rhythm Bomb) Billy Corgan, The Future Embrace (Warner Brothers)…
Culinary Events
VEGETARIAN COOKING CLASS Debby DeGraaff teaches a class in vegetarian cooking. Free. 10-11 a.m. Thurs., June 16, and 7-8 p.m. Wed., June 22. Nature's Harvest Market, 1021 N. MacDill Ave., Tampa (813-873-7428). PROFESSIONAL COOKING Chef K. MacInnes offers a class in boning and filleting. $45. 2-4 p.m. Sat., June 18. Nature's Harvest Market, 1021 N.…
Music Menu
THURSDAY, JUNE 16 JOHN FOGERTY The former leader of Credence Clearwater Revival still possess considerable mystique in the rock world. That's probably because he's always been a nonconformist and a bit of a curmudgeon, ready to do battle with the industry and anyone else who fucks with him. During the trippy late '60s, CCR remained…
New Beginnings
Less a re-invention and more a bare-knuckled reaction to Batman – or at least to what the Dark Knight Franchise has become in its last few big screen incarnations – Batman Begins' whole raison d'etre seems grounded in making us forget the wretched excesses of those last two Joel Schumacher-helmed outings. The real problem with…
The Big Chill
The martini’s appeal endures – and so does The Martini Club
Planet Picks
JUNE 16 THURSDAY COMIC THERAPY Richard Lewis was propelled into a career of comedy because of the death of his father. Having written material for other comedians and with no other means to express himself, he found comfort in humor and brought his problems to the stage, sharing his numerous obsessions and neuroses with a…
Ben and Karen Barker
Magnolia Grill in Durham, N.C.
GoodBye to Sci-Fi
With Ex Hex, Mary Timony grows up – if only a little
Short List
gesundheit God Bless JebWorst accident rates in the country? Let's pull people over for playing their music too loud. God Bless Pinellas County DeputiesWorst accident rates in the country? Let's pull teens over for being good drivers, just to say thanks. Yeah, that'll go well. God Bless Ronda StormsFinally, someone stands up to those radical…
Jamaican Jubilee
Downtown Tampa’s The Jerk Hut spices up Friday nights
