Tampa gets a 1,500-pound pumpkin, a new cocktail lounge is on the way, and more local foodie news

Openings

Toastique This gourmet toast and juice bar describes itself as “a fresh, chic and rustic experience,” and there’s probably no better place for Toastique than Tampa’s booming Water Street district. About a year after the concept was originally announced, Tampa’s Toastique will open on Saturday, Oct. 28, according to a press release. The first 100 customers in line will receive 50 rewards dollars. Toastique heads to the ground floor of the Cora building, around the corner from neighboring concepts like the newly-opened Predalina, Wagamama and the Tampa Edition. Its menu consists of four major categories: toasts, smoothies, bowls and juices. Different ingredients that you can add to your toast include toppings like avocado, hummus, tomatoes, burrata and olives alongside proteins like smoked salmon, prosciutto, lump crab and tuna. Its smoothie and bowl offerings include all of the expected fruit and granola options, or you can grab a cold-pressed juice packed with feel-good ingredients like turmeric, ginger, lemon and kale. 1011 E Cumberland Ave., Tampa. Toastique.com

Manila Eats If you’ve ever dined at Manila Eats—a Filipino walk-up window and outdoor dining space in Riverview—then you know that the popular dishes sell out in a few hours. But a much larger restaurant space may have changed its first-come-first-serve basis into a full-service dining experience. Manila Eats recently celebrated the grand opening of its new Tampa eatery—located just south of Palmetto Beach—at the end of September. Owner Veronica Meneses—who was born and raised in the Pampanga province right outside of Manila—is known for her beloved pork and chicken adobo, a variety of fried pork and fish, lumpia and Filipino desserts like sapin-sapin, halo halo, cassava cake, and ube ice cream For the latest updates on the newly-opened restaurant, head to its new Facebook page, where its menu of Pinoy favorites is updated daily. Manila Eats 2.0 is now open from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. on Sunday (or until it’s sold out for the day). 1601 S 22nd St., Tampa.

Coming Soon

Alter Ego Another day, another new concept headed to downtown’s popular Water Street district. Described as having “energetic vibes and soulful hospitality,” new listening room and cocktail lounge Alter Ego will be the booming neighborhood’s newest late-night addition. While there is no set opening date, Water Street’s social media states that Alter Ego will debut sometime in early 2024. “Visualize an experience where curated beats blend seamlessly with sleek monochromatic design, offering intimate nooks and social spaces that redefine the nightlife scene,” Water Street writes about the music-focused Alter Ego. Alter Ego is opening on the ground floor of Water Street’s Asher building and will share a wall with Proper House Group’s Italian restaurant Ash. Although Ash’s development has been delayed, its website says the upscale Italian eatery will now open around the corner at 420 S Nebraska Ave.  Water Street says that Ash and Alter Ego are “sibling concepts” with contrasting designs and ambiances. Renderings from Houston-based gin design group depict Alter Ego as a sleek, monochromatic space with red undertones and pops of neon.1050 Water St., Tampa. Waterstreettampa.com

Events

Hawthorne Bottle Shop x CASA fundraising event October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month (in addition to Hispanic Heritage month), and one St. Pete business is hosting a charity event to benefit Pinellas County’s official domestic violence center. Hawthorne Bottle Shop, located in the Grand Central District, hosts a fundraiser for CASA (Community Action Stops Abuse) on Saturday, Oct. 14 from noon-5 p.m. Guest bartenders from South Florida’s Tripping Animals Brewing Co. and employees from Hawthorne’s Bottle Shop will be giving their tips to CASA and pouring beers donated from Coppertail Brewing Co., Offsite Nano Brewery and more. Breakthru Beverage Group will host a wine tasting at 2 p.m. and Best of the Bay-winning taco truck Te Invito is set to sling its prized quesabirria tacos, too. All funds raised from beer sales will benefit CASA and its mission to “challenge the societal acceptance of all forms of domestic violence through advocacy, prevention, intervention and support services.” 2927 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. Hbsforlife.com James Beard Foundation’s “Beard by the Bay” For the first time since 2019, the James Beard Foundation—a nationally-recognized culinary institution—is making its return to Tampa Bay. On Sunday, Oct. 29 Hyde Park restaurant Willa’s (1700 W Fig St.) will host the foundation’s Beard by the Bay dinner, a culmination of the best local chefs, mixologists and sommeliers who will raise money for the food-focused nonprofit’s mission of “contributing to the development of the next generation of great American chefs.” Just a few of the local chefs that will contribute to this month’s charity dinner include Rooster & the Till’s Ferrell Alvarez (who was a James Beard semi-finalist in 2017), BT Nguyen of Restaurant BT, executive chefs from all three of Tampa’s Michelin-awarded restaurants (Rocca, Koya and Lilac) and Gabe Lopez of host restaurant Willa’s alongside Pinellas-based chefs like Wild Child’s Rob Reinsmith and David Benstock of IL Ritorno. Tickets to this year’s Beard by the Bay cost about $1,000 each—with tables of four and six costing $4,000 and $6,000, respectively. Each guest will have access to the six-course tasting dinner, premium wines, cocktails and NA pairings. 1700 W Fig St., Tampa. Beardbythebay.com ICYMI

Tampa Winn-Dixie on MLK among first local stores to become an Aldi Aldi recently announced plans to acquire and convert hundreds of Florida Winn-Dixies into the popular German discount grocer, and now it appears that an Ybor Heights location will be among the first. Multiple associates at the Winn-Dixie located at 805 E Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd., told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that the store should be completely converted to an Aldi by January 1, 2025. Associates at the Ybor Heights Winn-Dixie also told CL that the pharmacy at this location has already closed in preparation for the transition. It’s worth noting that the massive deal between Aldi and Southeastern Grocers did not include the pharmacies that are often found within many of the Winn-Dixie stores. When Aldi first announced the deal, the company stated that the acquisition was expected to close in the first half of 2024. In the meantime, the Aldi said it would evaluate which locations would be converted, and which ones would remain Winn-Dixies.—Colin Wolf

Tampa is once again home to ‘Florida’s largest pumpkin,’ and it weighs 1,500 pounds For the past few years, a local farmer’s market has been hauling in an enormous pumpkin to kick off the fall season, and this year it appears the owners have landed their largest gourd to date. This morning, Bearss Grove in Carrollwood, announced the arrival of their largest pumpkin ever, a 1,500-pound gourd imported from Michigan. Sitting on a throne of hay, this absolute unit of a pumpkin is the largest to date for Bearss Grove, which is located at at 1436 Lake Magdalene Blvd. In previous years, the farmers market has brought in a 969-pound pumpkin and a 989-pound pumpkin. As usual, photos with the pinnacle of pumpkin are free, and after you pay homage to the state’s plumpest pump, stick around and explore the fall pumpkin patch, as well as seasonal produce. A spokesman for Bearss Grove told Creative Loafing that the pumpkin will be on display through Halloween. —Colin Wolf

How one Tampa Bay group aims to restore oyster reefs by collecting your leftover shells from local restaurants Tampa Bay Watch started its Community Oyster Reef Enhancement Program in the early 2000s to help restore lost oyster habitat in Tampa Bay. The program attempts to restore oyster reefs in Tampa Bay by providing a hard substrate — bags of fossilized shells — for oyster larvae to attach to. Oyster Biologist Rick Radigan launched Tampa Bay Watch’s Shells to Shoreline Program in February 2022 with a single restaurant: The Island Grille & Raw Bar in Tierra Verde. Since Feb. 2022, Shells to Shoreline added nine more restaurants: Oystercatchers, Crabby Bill’s St. Pete Beach and Indian Rocks Beach locations, The Helm: Provisions & Coastal Fare, Cocos North Beach, The Oyster Bar, The Tide Seafood Market & Provisions in Safety Harbor, Hookin’ Ain’t Easy, and P.J.’s Oyster Bar. Radigan collects an estimated 7,000 pounds of shell a month from current participants. That’s 7,000 pounds less garbage going into Florida landfills.—Jennifer Ring

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This article appears in Oct 12-18, 2023.