Photo via ironicreference/Facebook
Alton Brown and his dog Scabigail van Buren Brown at The Hub in Tampa, Florida on Feb. 7, 2022.
Brown, 59, visited Supernatural Food & Wine yesterday and posted that chef Wesley Roderick & co. make the “best breakfast sandwich ever.”
He and his wife, interior designer Elizabeth Ingram, also visited downtown dive bar The Hub yesterday where their rescue dogs—a Boston terrier named Scabigail van Buren Brown and her brother Francis Luther—enjoyed hospitality from bartender Kamran Mir (who is the creator of Tampa’s signature cocktail). Brown ordered a PBR and Buffalo Trace; Ingram ordered an Aperol and soda.
This morning I went to Supernatural—located at 305 E Polk St., next door to The Hub—to ask Roderick about the encounter. But Brown and Ingram were outside, so I bought a couple of Supernatural’s Best of the Bay-winning doughnuts to share. I also asked chef to confirm his stance on the food and wine store’s bacon, egg and cheese sandwich.
“The best I’ve had,” Brown confirmed. “The best ever.”
In a message to Creative Loafing Tampa Bay, Hub bartender Mir said he bumped into Brown at Supernatural, fan-boyed and then invited them to dive, which is very dog-friendly.
"They were both very cordial and gracious. He was very impressed with our selection. When commenting on the tequilas, I said we have a pretty good mezcal selection and he got excited, saying 'mezcal is my scotch,”' Mir said, "I asked him if he had tried something that we just got in and he had, loves it, and bought a few bottles to take with, as it’s not available in Georgia at the moment."
As I drove away, I saw Brown sharing some of his food with a houseless person digging through a trash can. So there you have it, folks, famed chef, TV personality and author Alton Brown has great taste, and he’s a really nice guy, too. Chef, if you and Elizabeth come to Hooch and Hive tonight for the Thelma and the Sleaze show tonight, first drink is on me.
