I finally got my tapas.

I was excited to attend Ybor Aficionado Days this year and explore the Tapas Trail set up for the event. The Ybor City Chamber of Commerce created a fun concept perfectly suited for Ybor City during the Ybor Aficionado Days this year: A fleet of Chevys were available to whisk guests from end to end of the trail, with all participating restaurants offering a free tapa for the price of a single ticket.

Most of the Tapas Trail’s venues were fun and interesting. The Ybor Chamber should be praised for such a fun idea to promote the area, and the event was a lot of fun. The culinary contributions and service of the participating businesses, however, were highly uneven.

The offerings ranged from horrific (what would one expect from the Dog’s Bollocks Pub?) to lazy (Hamburger Mary’s, JJ’s Café & Bar) to tasty (Green Iguana, New World Brewery) to refined (Bernini, Columbia). Other venues dropped off the trail before it started (Shrimp & Co.) or in mid-event, serving food only grudgingly (New World Brewery). Some ran out of food altogether (Sunday’s Fine Dining, who had the best tapa of the night, I’m told). The after party at the Italian Club was festive with free cigars and desserts, and the thick cigar smoke in the cantina took me back to Ybor’s glory days. I left the event hungry for more tapas, especially ones made with care.

I had my chance the next morning at the Aficionado days brunch at the Columbia Restaurant, where I was presented with four tapas prepared by amateur cooks. As a lucky judge for the Tapas Cooking Challenge, I was expected to choose a winner. My fellow judges, Roy Dejesus (Bay News 9) and Fester (host of “On the Grill” at WFLA-AM), are both serious foodies, and worked up our appetites by talking about cooking and restaurants.

This article appears in Apr 14-20, 2011.