Tampa Bay's essential women-owned restaurants of 2023

It's easy to see why Tampa Bay's women-owned restaurants are making a huge mark on an otherwise male-dominated history.  Since March is…

By CL Staff

Independent Bar
Veronica Danko
5016 N Florida Ave., Tampa, 813-341-4883
With a fun indoor-outdoor environment and wide selection of drinks and bites, this neighborhood staple European-inspired bar and cafe offers wine, beer, coffee and pastries with vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options fit for everyone.
51 slides

Photos: Everyone we saw when Tempus Projects re-opened in Ybor City

After stints in separate corners of Seminole Heights, long-running Tampa art gallery Tempus Projects has a new home as one of the…

By Ray Roa

Photos: Everyone we saw when Tempus Projects re-opened in Ybor City
72 slides

Photos: All the pirates, scallywags and rowdy revelers we saw at Tampa's 2023 Gasparilla parade

An estimated 300,000 people found themselves stumbling up and down Tampa's Bayshore Boulevard and downtown on Saturday, for the 2023 Gasparilla parade.…

By Ray Roa

Photos: All the pirates, scallywags and rowdy revelers we saw at Tampa's 2023 Gasparilla parade
375 slides

25 hard-to-get restaurant tables in Tampa Bay that are always worth the wait

There's busy restaurants, and there's ones that seem to always be slammed. Tampa Bay has a thriving restaurant scene and some of…

By Tyana Rodgers

Noble Rice
615 Channelside Dr #112, Tampa, (813) 542-2021
 Noble Rice, a modern Japanese restaurant that recently opened a new location in Sparkman Wharf, features a menu with nigiri and sashimi, as well as appetizer-style shareable plates, ramen bowls, grilled dishes and desserts. Diners can expect high quality selections such as bluefin tuna otoro, hokkaido scallops, and uni. There is also an extensive Japanese whiskey selection and signature cocktails that include the Hibiscus 75, a blend of Roku gin, hibiscus syrup, lemon and sparkling wine. Frank Anderson, Noble Rice’s executive chef, was most recently the creative culinary director at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. 
Photo via Google Maps
25 slides

Photos: On 50th anniversary of Roe v Wade, Tampa activists rally for reproductive rights

With reproductive rights under attack in Florida, activists have not backed down, and gathered across Tampa Bay to mark the anniversary of…

By Ray Roa

Photos: On 50th anniversary of Roe v Wade, Tampa activists rally for reproductive rights
118 slides

Photos: In Tampa, Tesla is still out there 'kickin' ass'

Elon Musk is really putting a damper on searches for "Tesla," but at least the Sacramento rock band is taking it in stride…

By Ray Roa

Tesla
14 slides

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Photos: After controversial vetoes, activists gather outside Tampa City Hall to say 'Castor Suppresses Votes'

Yesterday, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor published an Op-Ed in the Tampa Bay Times that told city councilmembers that she vetoed their desire…

By Ray Roa

Activists gather outside Tampa City Hall on Jan. 18, 2023.
23 slides

Everyone we saw when Mike Ingold launched his new guitar company with a free Tampa concert

Tampa-based luthier, musician and educator Mike Ingold got his new guitar-making company out in the public eye last Friday with a free…

By Ray Roa

Roxx Revolt & the Velvets plays Hooch and Hive in Tampa, Florida on Jan. 13, 2023.
76 slides

Photos: An ageless Barry Manilow plays Tampa's Amalie Arena

History says Barry Manilow is 79 years old. Don't tell that to ageless iconic American songwriter though. Mr. "Copacabana" was in Tampa…

By Ray Roa

Barry Manilow plays Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida on Jan. 14, 2023.
13 slides

Photos: Activists protest anti-trans legislation outside office of Tampa surgeon Michael Wasylik

Despite Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo making an argument based on "seriously flawed" science, the state board of medicine, in November,  finalized a rule that aims…

By Ray Roa

Activists outside the office of Dr. Michael Wasylik in Tampa, Florida on Jan. 7, 2023.
62 slides

Nelly, and everyone else we saw at Tampa Edition’s New Year’s Eve party

Everyone kept their clothes on, but Nelly got it hot on the Tampa Edition rooftop for a New Year’s Eve party at…

By Ray Roa

Nelly plays the Tampa Edition on Dec. 31, 2022.
111 slides

Step inside Screen Door Microcinema, a new hidden gem of Ybor City

Off 7th avenue in the heart of Ybor, three friends have formed Tampa’s first official microcinema with a simple yet potent vision:…

By Jessi Sherbet

Ybor City's Screen Door Microcinema is a 800-square-foot theater that holds 38 seats, has theater quality sound and screen, Super 8-mm, 35-mm, and 16-mm projectors, and a vast collection of films.
23 slides

Everyone we saw at Titus O'Neil's 'Joy of Giving' celebration in Tampa

There's literally not another bigger Tampa philanthropist than Titus O'Neil. The WWE superstar born Thaddeus Bullard has already taken to Raymond James Stadium…

By Ray Roa

Photos: All the happy people we saw at Titus O'Neil's 'Joy of Giving' celebration in Tampa
172 slides

Photos: Backstreet Boys, Flo Rida headline Jingle Ball’s nostalgic return to Tampa

Since COVID-19 shut things down in mid-March 2020, Tampa Bay's megaconcert scene has seen two installments of 97x Next Big Thing, Reggae…

By Josh Bradley

Nick Carter (L) and Howie Dorough of Backstreet Boys at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida on Dec. 16, 2022.
58 slides

All the little elves, and Tampa Bay Lightning players, we saw at the 2022 onBikes Winter Wonder Ride

For more than a decade now, Winter Wonder Ride has been the vessel for nonprofit onBikes to raise money so it can…

By Ray Roa

All the little elves, and Tampa Bay Lightning players, we saw at the 2022 onBikes Winter Wonder Ride
61 slides

Photos: UK metalcore favorite Loathe plays Tampa Orpheum

Liverpool metal band Loathe was in the states yesterday for a show at Tampa Orpheum where Omerta and Unity TX opened.

By Ray Roa

Photos: UK metalcore favorite Loathe plays Tampa Orpheum
37 slides

Photos: Busch Gardens Tampa Bay celebrates 10 years of Christmas Town

A decade ago, Busch Gardens launched Christmas Town, covering the Tampa theme park with millions of lights, holiday themed shows and displays,…

By Chelsea Zukowski

Photos: Busch Gardens celebrates 10 years of Christmas Town
29 slides

Breaking bread: A culinary history of Tampa in 10 meals

If food defines culture, then what kind of city is Tampa? The answer can be found in these 10 notable meals, which…

By Andrew T. Huse

Tampa Bay Hotel opens, 1891
When tycoon Henry Plant brought his railroad to Tampa in 1884, he found a pathetic hardscrabble town of 700 people. But in the years after the railroad connection, Tampa’s elite clamored for Plant to open a luxury hotel in his latest terminus. On Feb. 5, 1891, Plant’s Tampa Bay Hotel opened with a grand ball. At 9 that evening, the capacity crowd enjoyed an opera. Then Mayor Herman Glogowski led a grand procession to the dining room for a reception and dancing. At 11, a buffet offered oysters, fish, cold roasts, salad and desserts. The party didn’t wind down until 1 a.m.; the guests slept on couches and chairs in the lobby, as the bedrooms had not yet been furnished.
The Tampa Bay Hotel frequently made headlines, especially during the Spanish-American war when journalists and generals commiserated from the veranda’s rocking chairs. The kitchen served up lavish meals with menus written entirely in mangled French. But with a short tourist season of just four months, the hotel never really flourished. The old Tampa Bay Hotel is now home to the University of Tampa and the Henry Plant museum.


Photo via Burgert Brothers/USF
11 slides

Photos: Tampa Bay Iranian students honor and rally for Mahsa Amini as part of global day of action

On Saturday—just days before Iran's national team refused to sing the country's national anthem at the World Cup—100 cities around the world…

By Dave Decker

Photos: Tampa Bay Iranian students honor and rally for Mahsa Amini as part of global day of action
70 slides

Photos: Mario and Bow Wow bring Ying Yang Twins, Keri Hilson and more to Tampa's Amalie Arena

Christmas came early for fans of early-2000s pop, hip-hop and R&B on Friday, Nov. 18 when the Millennium Tour rolled into Tampa's…

By Ray Roa

Photos: Mario and Bow Wow bring Ying Yang Twins, Keri Hilson and more to Tampa's Amalie Arena
52 slides

Tampa Museum of Art debuts expanded gallery spaces with new exhibition ‘Time for Change’

The Tampa Museum of Art will soon open the new exhibition “Time for Change: Art and Social Unrest in the Jorge M.…

By Chloe Greenberg

Barthélémy Toguo (Came
roonian, b. 1967)

Road to
Exile
, 2018

Wooden boat, cloth bundles, glass
bottles, and plastic containers

120 x 60 x 45 inches

Jorge M. Pérez Collection, Miami
12 slides

The 'Jurassic World' live tour is bringing dinosaurs back to Tampa this winter

You should probably stick together, for survival, at this one. Tampa Bay “Jurassic World” fans can now go prehistoric for a three-day…

By Chloe Greenberg

In the Jurassic World' live tour, audiences are brought to the jungles of Isla Nublar as scientists are tasked with saving dinosaurs from a corrupt fate.
13 slides

Everyone we saw in Ybor City on Halloween night

Across Tampa Bay, kids and their parents took to the streets in search of treats on Halloween night, but as usual all…

By Ray Roa

Everyone we saw in Ybor City on Halloween night
101 slides

Photos: Deathcore favorite Lorna Shore brings 'Pain Remains' album to Tampa Orpheum

Lorna Shore has seen a lot of change in the course of its 13-year existence, but the best version of the Jersey…

By Ray Roa

Photos: Deathcore hero Lorna Shore brings 'Pain Remains' album to Tampa Orpheum
63 slides

Photos: Tampa-based Iranian student group stages ‘die in’ rally outside USF Marshall Center

With over 40 days passing since the death of Masha Amini while in Iranian police custody, a Tampa-based Iranian student group gathered…

By Dave Decker

Photos: Tampa-based Iranian student group stages ‘die in’ rally outside USF Marshall Center
35 slides

Review: In Tampa more than 13,000 fans show why the Iron Maiden family might never slow down at all

“I like a crowd I can see…and a crowd I can smell!” energetic lead singer and frontman Bruce Dickinson announced while addressing…

By Gabe Echazabal

Iron Maiden plays Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida on Oct. 27, 2022.
32 slides

The arrival of Tampa Edition and Chef John Fraser marks major shift in flavor and palette of local culture

Inside his Lilac restaurant last Friday afternoon, Chef John Fraser explained that he’s been learning more about Tampeño flavor. “I’ve gotten to…

By Ray Roa

'There is depth of flavor and sort of a heft that’s expected in what would be considered a great meal here,' Chef John Fraser told CL.
243 slides

Review: In Tampa, Aston Barrett Jr.'s Wailers satisfy the souls of Bob Marley fans

On Tuesday night, The Wailers came to the Ritz Ybor for a soul shaking experience that only a reggae show could offer.…

By Isaiah Stephens

The band including original members Aston “Familyman” Barrett, Junior Marvin, Donald Kinsey, and an assortment of members from the famously gifted Barrett family.
33 slides

Photos: Cuban music superstar-in-the-making Cimafunk rocks Ybor City

He came, he saw, he brought the cumbia. Cuban music superstar-in-the-making Erik Alejandro Iglesias Rodríguez was in Ybor City last Friday night for…

By Ray Roa

Photos: Cuban music superstar-in-the-making Cimafunk rocks Ybor City
32 slides

Photos: Cypress Hill plays Tampa's Hard Rock Event Center

Dr. Greenthumb was in the building last Sunday night when B-Real and Cypress Hill invited fans to inhale, exhale and rock with…

By Ray Roa

Photos: Cypress Hill plays Tampa's Hard Rock Event Center
20 slides