There’s lots to choose from inside The Hall on Franklin, Tampa’s first food hall. One of the best things about the place is that you can curate a seemingly endless amount of one-of-a-kind spreads by mixing and matching different items from the seven in-house vendors, who’re better known as industry pros (master barista Ty Beddingfield, cocktail wizard Ro Patel, and Anise Global Gastrobar owners Sing and Kevin Hurt are a few names involved with the recently launched project).
You don’t have to hop from stall to stall, either. There’s table service, and servers can fill your order from any of the vendors — a feature that sets the Tampa Heights newbie apart from gourmet market halls across the country.
Before you check out The Hall (or even if you have already), here’s a guide to the drinks and dishes you can’t go wrong with downing right now. Several of my CL compadres and I tasted our way around last week, so expect nothing less than Certified Goodness.
A must, must, must. Whether you begin or end a meal with this granita-style take on a classic Irish coffee, don’t pass it up. The cocktail — listed on the back of the beverage menu with The Hall’s other boozy collaborations that call for coffee or tea — is basically an Irish coffee frosé, yes. But it’s satisfyingly soul-warming at the same time. “This is what happens when bartenders and baristas meet for drinks,” reads the menu.
TAMARIND-CURRY CHICKEN & BROWN RICE BOWL
Two CL staffers asked for this signature option from Poké Rose. That’s how enticing it is. The vegan in our group cut the bowl’s poultry and spicy aioli and added tofu, but the original build — which also features sweet peppers, avocado, cabbage, radish and chia seeds — is just as tasty.
A crunchy combination of fried soft-shell crab, garlic and shallots, brown sugar, pickled veggies, cilantro, and ginger aioli. North Star Eatery does the fresh spin on this much-loved Vietnamese sandwich, without losing the flavors that made diners fall in love with the baguette-enveloped creation in the first place.
KENTUCKY CHAMPAGNE
As if you needed another reason to order a cleverly named drink that’s perfect for a state with nearly year-round sunshine, the Collection cocktail bar mixes Buffalo Trace bourbon, fresh raspberry purée, lemon and bubbles together to pull off the irresistibly refreshing Kentucky Champagne. Forget those mint juleps — this is what your next Derby party really needs. It’s purdy, too.
Can you guess which Tampa institution the Mons te Venus pays homage to? Something tells us you can (*cough* Mons Venus *cough), but read on anyway. In this sinful variation on a Monte Cristo, turkey, ham and Swiss on egg-dipped, deep-fried challah bread is served with a welcome side of blueberry jam for dunking. And that PB&J milkshake — composed of vanilla ice cream, milk, strawberry, peanut butter and whipped cream — is transporting. Both are the brainchildren of Heights Melt Shoppe.
GROUPER BLT
Look no further than Heights Fish Camp for a down-home sandwich. It’s got grilled grouper, bacon, lettuce and Roma tomatoes, plus some added kick from chipotle mayo. Patrons who order the grouper BLT with fries on the side can select whichever sauce suits their mood from the food hall’s self-serve sauce bar, too.
BEER BATTER CUPCAKE
Yeeeah. You need one of these from Bake’n Babes. On top of a totally moan-worthy cupcake batter that incorporates a locally brewed Belgian-style white ale — Cigar City Brewing’s Florida Cracker — the maple frosting of this sweet confection takes it to a whole ’nother level of decadence. There’s even a spicy candied bacon garnish for good measure.
This article appears in Sep 14-21, 2017.