On Friday, South Tampa's Dessert Spot, the new dessert café located inside Toffee to Go, is giving away one free scoop of Working Cow Ice Cream with every brownie purchase. It's all in celebration of National Brownie Day, which is annually observed around the country on Dec. 8.
• Greenroots Café recently opened at 1000 Channelside Drive in Tampa. The Channel District smoothie spot specializes in smoothies made from fruit (sans additives, syrups and the like). There's also Buddy Brew Coffee and a retail wall full of other health-centric products.
Non-liquid menu offerings include acai bowls, create-your-own omelets, avocado toast and organic salads. Street tacos and froyo are in the works as well.
• In St. Petersburg, a diner called Stack 'n' Sizzle (great name, methinks) has taken over 401 49th St. S., where KC's Korner Restaurant used to operate. But don't worry: There are still plenty of breakfast items on the menu.
Stack 'n' Sizzle — which opened in November with the tagline "Fresh, Fast, Affordable" — does all-day breakfast and lunch seven days a week, featuring down-home dishes like three-egg omelets, Texas-style French toast, meatloaf pie and Black Angus burgers.
The food gets served in a bright, casual, welcoming environment among tables and booths.
• The guys behind Franklin Manor, Lanfranco Pescante and David Anderson of the Nocturnal Group, have announced a new downtown Tampa concept — right across the street. The duo's Osteria Italian Bar and Kitchen is coming to the NINE15 high-rise apartment building at 915 N. Franklin St.
Ro Patel, who developed the drinks for Franklin Manor, is at the helm of Osteria's cocktail menu, while celebrity chef Fabio Viviani, likely a familiar face to fans of Bravo's Top Chef, will spearhead the food. On the Nocturnal Group website, the coming-soon restaurant is described as "a rustic, refined Italian bar and kitchen."
• Ciccio Restaurant Group's latest Fresh Kitchen, a fast-casual joint driven by what is essentially reimagined fast food, is coming along in another area of South Tampa. Signage and the restaurant's signature pink hue are on display for those whizzing by 4616 W. Kennedy Blvd., the building that previously housed Gogos Greek Grill.
Gogos, by the way, is "currently moving locations to better serve our Tampa community," but still accepting requests for catering.
