Why are the coolest places always off the beaten path? Are they cool because discovering them makes us feel like modern-day explorers? Or is it that anything left of center is inherently hip?
For this second edition of Ask The Locals, I rounded up 26 Tampa Bay inhabitants whose comings and goings would make a homebody shudder. I asked them to rattle off their favorite places — the bars, restaurants, salons, gyms and Botox doctors (thank you, Rhonda Shear) where everybody knows their name. Then I pressed them to go beyond the usual haunts and think of the strange nooks and crannies they’ve discovered, the secret “hidey-holes,” as Bay area stage veteran Sharon Scott puts it.
Much to my delight, I was schooled on exotic plant buying, legal beach drinking, Audubon sanctuaries, bánh mì sandwiches, Florida mountain biking and Qi Gong.
I found out where locals go when they want to do “the bling thing,” as ABC Action News anchor Wendy Ryan likes to say, and where they go when all they have is a pocketful of food stamps, a bottle of cheap Champagne and a free afternoon. (Ahem, Jesse Thelonious Vance.) I found out where they went when they were in high school and had purple hair à la UT writing instructor Gina Vivinetto and where they partied when they weighed 280 pounds and played for the Bucs. (Brad Culpepper, I’m talking about you.)
Many of these interviews took place at out-of-the-way locales. I met filmmaker Pete Guzzo at Cephas Hot Shop in Ybor City, where he sucked down aloe juice and preached about the healing power of wheatgrass. I met poet Melissa Carroll at the end of Davis Islands, where she strummed her ukulele and preached about the healing power of yoga. I met superstar chef Jeannie Pierola at little old Duffy’s Tavern on Anna Maria Island, where she preached about the healing power of burgers and beer.
Speaking of beer, I enjoyed a pale ale with highbrow restaurateur Maryann Ferenc at the down-and-dirty Wharf on Pass-a-Grille Beach and spicy noodle soup with Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin Beckner at the Wat Mongkolratanaram Thai Temple.
I sat with street artist Sebastian Coolidge on a fire escape in an alley in downtown St. Pete, and with philanthropists Scott Wagman and Beth Houghton in a faux beach at Great Explorations Children’s Museum.
My favorite moments were when I realized I shared some of the same favorite little-known places as my subjects. Instant kinship ensued when David Downing professed his love of James Turrell’s esoteric Skyspace installation at the Ringling Museum of Art and I confessed my Survivor obsession with Season 27 runner-up Monica Culpepper. St. Pete go-getter Willi Rudowsky and I once shared the same yoga instructor: the incredible Stacy Renz at Living Room Yoga. The talented Melissa Carroll and I (unknowingly) appeared on the same bill at one of Creative Loafing’s Story Time events, and Vivinetto regularly takes her dog to the same hidden Crescent Lake dog park.
When you meet someone new and realize that you both love the same charming breakfast spot on Redington Beach, it’s almost as exciting as discovering that spot in the first place. The restaurant I’m talking about is Sweet Sage Cafe and if you get a chance to check it out, I highly recommend the Waffle Daffle with cinnamon butter and a glass of tangerine juice. Just tell them Heidi sent ya.
And don't forget to check out our Spring 2014 edition of Ask the Locals, featuring interviews with Joe Maddon, Kari Goetz, Steve Jerve, Nadine Smith and many more.
This article appears in Aug 28 – Sep 3, 2014.