Baby, it may not be cold outside, but a strong cocktail mixed by a master mixologist (like Bob Wagner, master bartender of Ciro's Speakeasy, above) is always welcome during the holidays. Look through our Food & Drink section and you'll find plenty more to be thankful for, including cocktail classes, private chef's dinners, one-on-ones with culinary masters and an alcohol collection to take you through all 12 days of Christmas. To place your bids, click on individual items below or go to cltampa.com/auction.
A year's membership in the Mise En Place Cocktail Club
Mise en Place Cocktail Engineer Nate DeWitt shows what a good bartender can do the first Thursday of every month at the Cocktail Club, and with this special offer you can watch and learn from him all year long. As a member of the Cocktail Club you'll be able to drink up his knowledge and his well-crafted cocktails, plus enjoy great apps from Chef Marty Blitz, every month for a year. And if you're not in an imbibing mood some month, you can invite a friend to drink in your place. Cheers! Bidding starts at: $25. Value: $300.
Private chef's dinner at SideBern's
A modern Mediterranean feast for four at a renowned SoHo culinary destination, served in the restaurant's exclusive Chef Suite (which usually has a $1,000 food and beverage minimum). Executive Chef Chad Johnson, named Best Chef in CL's Best of the Bay 2011, will create an extraordinary six-course meal, with wine pairings chosen by SideBern's Wine Director & Sommelier William Lucius. Some restrictions apply. Bidding starts at: $75. Value: $420.
Creative cocktailing on the rooftop of Fly
Release your inner mixologist with this class and tasting for up to 10 people in one of downtown Tampa's most dramatic settings: the rooftop bar at Fly. The bar's expert mixmasters will provide an introduction to "creative cocktailing," including education on ingredients and liquors; tastings of Fly's signature cocktails (CL recommends Wrong End of a Gun), accompanied by complementary foods from the restaurant's tasty Small Plate menu. Bidding starts at: $35. Value: $350.
Ever want to sit down one-on-one with a local scribe and a) tell him how much his writing means to you; b) lovingly harangue him about how wrong-headed he is; c) share a hot story tip; or d) just generally shoot the shit? Well, here's your chance. Be one of the top five bidders for this auction item, and you'll get to select one member of CL's editorial team for a luncheon tête à tête — anyone from the editor in chief to your favorite columnist. We'll bring the gift certificate (to JJ's Cafe & Bar, Centro Cantina, Fresh Mouth or Panera Bread restaurants); you bring the conversation. Bidding starts at: $25. Value: Indeterminate. Limited to one person per lunch date.
Oystercatchers champagne brunch for four
Critically acclaimed for its seafood and for its sweeping bay views, Oystercatchers in the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay is a primo spot for celebratory occasions. And what better reason to celebrate than making a winning bid in the CL Holiday Auction? Oystercatchers' champagne brunch includes seafood, breakfast and lunch selections, pasta and omelet stations, limitless Champagne, mimosas and bloody marys, and a dessert room. Bidding starts at: $25. Value: $180. Brunch is served every Sunday from 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Reservations are recommended. Offer not valid for holiday brunches. Gratuity not included.
A beer a week for a year from Dunedin Brewery
If Dunedin Brewery isn't already a place where everyone knows your name, it will be next year if you win this auction item. Think of it: Once a week when you say to yourself, "Hey, I could use a beer," you'll be able to get a free one — a pint at Dunedin, chosen from any of the Brewery's standard ales. It'll be like having a good bar buddy all year long. Bidding starts at: $50. Value: $300.
Dinner and a private wine tasting for 4 at Malio's
The legendary steakhouse has only gotten better in its posh home in the Rivergate Tower (aka The Beercan Building), and with this auction item you and three guests get to enjoy the Malio’s experience to the fullest: a seasonal six-course dinner and wine pairing for four people, featuring wines from the Chateau St. Michelle collection. This item is good to use Jan.-Dec. 2012. Call Malio's to reserve a date; depending on when you book your dinner, this will determine the menu and wine pairing season for the tasting. Bidding starts at: $75. Value: $500.
Sono is Italian for "be," and this package gives you six superior reasons to "be" happy at Sono Café at the Tampa Museum of Art. Come for weekend brunch and soak up the beauty of the terrace, with its expansive view of the Hillsborough River and Curtis Hixon Park; grab a drink on Friday after work and see the latest TMA exhibition; stop in for a coffee to keep you going in the afternoon; impress your new boss at lunch; treat your niece to a gelato on Saturday afternoon in the park; impress your date with dinner on Friday under the stars. Package includes: brunch for two; cocktail and appetizer combo for two; coffee drink for one; lunch for two; gelato for two; Friday night dinner for two. Bidding starts at: $25. Value: $125.
Roast your own coffee at Buddy Brew, plus a year's supply
Learn the art of artisan coffee roasting from Tampa's Buddy Brew Coffee and its master roaster (and self-described "coffee maniac") Dave Ward. (This man knows his coffee — check out buddybrew.com for proof.) You'll not only get the chance to learn first-hand how to roast coffee to perfection, you'll also get a pound of the coffee you roasted, plus a pound of coffee a month for a year. Wake up and smell the coffee before someone outbids you! Bidding starts at: $25. Value: $150 (plus a priceless — and highly aromatic — education).
Boost your wine IQ at The Wine Exchange
Whether you're getting deeper into wine or just want to look like less of an idiot when the sommelier hands you the bottle to sniff, this session at Hyde Park's Wine Exchange is for you: a private seminar for 10 people led by Wine Director Craig Dean. The seminar will include four or five wines and light appetizers. Bidding starts at: $50. Value: $350.
Brewer for a day at Tampa Bay Brewing Company
Join forces with Tampa Bay Brewing Company Head Brewer David Doble to become a brewing apprentice for a day. You will assist David as he concocts one of the house beers (and he might even let you pick which one). After you are done, TBBC will give you a T-shirt so you won't be covered in grain when you go home. Then you and 10 of your friends will be invited back about a month later to celebrate the tapping of the beer you helped brew. TBBC will provide the pizza and pitchers of beer for your party. And to really get the full experience of being a brewer, you will go home with a gallon jug of beer of your choice and a four-pack of TBBC's newly canned beer. Bidding starts at: $75. Value: $350.
The ultimate gastropub experience at Dale 1891
The gastropub is one of the most popular restaurant trends of recent years. But it's not easy to achieve the perfect combination of good libations and great food. Chef Jason Dame of Tampa's newest gastropub, Dale 1891 in Carrollwood, will instruct you on gourmet gastropub cooking and alcohol pairings — and, best of all, you get to taste it in a private dining experience for four. Bidding starts at: $75. Value: $400.
Be a pizza maker for a day at Wood Fired Pizza
Shadow train with nationally recognized pizza expert Peter Taylor all day long at his North Tampa pizza mecca (soon to be joined by an outpost in Downtown St. Pete). This is a chance to learn from the master and find out how he's tapped into "the secrets of how it was done by the ancients" to create what many consider to be the best pizza in Tampa Bay. From visiting Wood Fired's organic farm early in the morning to picking the freshest vegetables to stretching dough and baking pies in a wood fired oven, you will experience it all — and then get to enjoy your creation with four of your friends. Bidding starts at: $100. Value: $500. Choose any Friday, goes from 7 a.m.-9 p.m.
A week's worth of lunches at Pinky's Diner
Pinky's is justifably renowned for its delicious Best of the Bay-winning breakfasts, but it's also a great spot for lunch, served from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday. And if you're the winning bidder on this item, you get seven days' worth of lunches (for one) plus a beverage. Try a chicken pesto sandwich on Thursday, a Pinky's strawberry salad on Saturday — a different item every day if you like. You could even have breakfast — for lunch. Bidding starts at: $25. Value: $100.
The SoHo Koto Bungalow blowout
A good recipe for an evening out in SoHo, South Tampa's nightlife central. First, make a delicious start at Koto Japanese Steakhouse with an $80 gift certificate to use however you like: sushi, tempura, teriyaki, volcano filet mignon — the choices are endless. Then settle down for a serious nightcap at The Bungalow with several of your closest friends — and a $100 bar tab. Bidding starts at: $25. Value: $180.
Winter beer & cheese pairing for 8 at Mr. Dunderbak's
No, we're not talking Bud Lite and pizza. This item offers you a chance to explore new taste horizons with a beer & cheese pairing hosted by the Bay area's expert hophead, James Ellis, owner and chef of Mr. Dunderbak's. You and seven of your friends will enjoy an evening of the finest imported and domestic beers and cheeses, paired to complement each other perfectly. Bidding starts at: $25. Value: $160.
Alpine Liquors 12 Daze of Christmas Package
Who needs a partridge in a pear tree? Your true love should bid on this Alpine Liquors collection and give to you some real Christmas spirit(s): 12 bottles of premium liquor for the 12 days of Christmas. The selection includes Goldschlager, Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum, Clos du Bois Chardonnay, Frida Kahlo Tequila, Damrak Gin, Cigar City Brewing Scotch Ale, Absolut Vodka, plus two pinots (grigio and noir), a merlot, Champagne and, of course, eggnog. Wassail! Bidding starts at: $25. Value: $200.
Eat out with Domenica, stay home with Amy
Whether you feel like going out for dinner or cooking at home, this item's for you. First, a $50 gift card to use however you'd like at St. Pete's Three Birds Tavern, home base of Best of the Bay-winning chef Domenica Macchia. (Ya gotta love a chef whose menu includes vegetable pie and deep-fried bacon.) Second, you get a basket of gorgeous fruits and vegetables (five items, your choice) delivered to your home by Amy's Fresh Delivery, plus one large insulated bag that keeps your produce fresh, along with custom recipes. Bidding starts at: $20. Value: $80.
The Whole Foods Perfect 10 Package
The folks at Whole Foods know their wine, and you'll get the benefit of that knowledge if you win this gift basket of the Top 10 Wines as chosen by their experts. What's more, when you pick up the basket, you can schedule at that time a private wine and cheese tasting on site at Whole Foods for you and nine of your friends. See? Perfect 10. Bidding starts at: $75. Value: $500.
Your own private chef and culinary coach
Chef Jorge Marquez has served families, pro athletes and pop stars, and now you get to be served — and taught — by him, too. With this item, you get a one-on-one three-hour cooking class with Chef Marquez, and a romantic dinner for two for which he'll do all the cooking — just provide him with your menu requests and shopping list and he will do the rest! Bidding starts at: $75. Value: $425. Note: Food costs are additional.
Free coffee for a year from Kahwa
Stay caffeinated in style in 2012 with one pound of coffee per week for an entire year from Tampa Bay's preeminent coffee roaster and Best of the Bay-winning café: Kahwa Coffee. Great restaurants all over the Bay area serve Kahwa, and now you can join their ranks every morning. Bidding starts at: $52. Value: $520.
O! O! Gelato! Roberto Mori's hand-crafted gelato at Sono Café is crazy delicious. It's creative, too. The flavors — Sophisticated Sour Cherry, Euro Cookies and Cream, Mixed Berry Sorbetto and many more — change all the time to follow the seasons. So don't miss a single scoop: bid on this item and you win a gelato a week for an entire year. Bidding starts at $25. Value: $200.
This article appears in Nov 17-23, 2011.