JANUARY 15 2009
AMERICANWAY 43
on thepatio.Don’t leavewithoutordering the lobsterbisque,NewYork
strip, and shrimp fradiablo.
TapsWine &BeerMerchants
set up shop last spring on the ground
floor of Skypoint, providing tangible proof of the “Retail follows roof-
tops” maxim. The eatery’s plush couches and sidewalk tables were an
immediate draw for the upstairs neighbors, as was the vast selection
of adult beverages. Stainless-steel serve-yourself taps tucked into the
walls dispense more than 100 kinds of wine, while bartenders pour
more than 250 varieties of beer. The lounge has become a favorite for
lunchanddinner—not just forSkypoint residentsbut forofficedwell-
ers from thesurroundingstreetsaswell.Try thecurriedsalmon tartare,
prosciuttodi parma sandwich, and smokeyguacamole.
Located just five minutes from downtown, the historic neighbor-
hoodofHydeParkhas attracted families for yearswith its statelyman-
sions and brick-paved streets. The area has earned a reputation for
dining andnightlife over the past decade. SouthHowardAvenue, also
known asRestaurant Row and SoHo, is bustling nearly every night of
theweek; ithasmoreeateriesper square foot thananyotherquarterof
thecity.Looking forItalian?SoHohas
BellaTrattoria
.MiddleEastern?
Try
SohoOasisCafe
.Tex-Mexand tequila?
TheLime
.And that’s just the
beginning.
ThegranddaddyofHydePark— indeed, ofTampadining— is inar-
guably
Bern’s Steak House
, enticing andworld-famous not just for its
culinary excellence but also for its elegant ambience. Work your way
from the bottom of the restaurant to the top, beginning with a tour
of the 100,000-bottle wine cellar and ending with a trip to the Har-
ryWaughDessert Room, where exquisite creations fromBern’s chefs
redefine decadence. In between, enjoy French onion soup au gratin,
chateaubriand, or yellowtail snapper à la plancha in themain dining
room. ThoughBern’s is a superbdestination for a special occasion (see
the caviarmenu), diners looking for amore casual evening canorder a
steak sandwich at the bar and enjoy the camaraderie of the coterie of
locals there.
Poolside tablesand livemusichavemade
CevicheTapasBarandRes-
taurant
aSoHo late-night favorite.But thecharmingbungalow setting,
inspired by the tapas bars of Spain, is appealing anytime. Pitchers of
sangria are the idealmatch for the 100-plusmenu items, which range
from the house favorite ceviche (tangy, fresh, and served in amartini
glass) to tres leches, the signature dessert (made of meringue cake).
Regulars also can’t resist themejillones ahumados, cazuela de Sevilla,
and solomilloa laparilla.
Bowls, rolls, and sushi meet Italian-influenced California cuisine at
Ciccio&Tony’s
andtheadjoiningrestaurant,
Water
,whichformerlywere
two separateeateriesbutnoware fused together asone. The joint space
is sleek and stylish, with cozy booths inside and patio dining around a
charming fountainoutside.Lemongrass stir-fry, seafoodwakame salad,
and thedynamite crab roll are favorites at this two-in-onedining spot.
For diners who have a taste for tradition, Tampa offers plenty of
places to indulge in theauthenticflavorsof itsCubanandSpanishheri-
tages.
La Teresita
is one of the finest restaurants, legendary for its de-
licious Cuban food not only in its historicWest Tampa neighborhood
(where themain street isdubbedBolicheBoulevardafterapopularCu-
bandish)butall over thecity.Graba stool at thecasual counter, or snag
a table in the main dining room. Tampa politicos and power brokers
gather for lunchat
ValenciaGarden
, a renowned restaurant on theedge
of downtown. Make nomistake: The Cuban cuisine here is delicious,
but it’s the schmoozing that reallyadds spice to this landmark.
Andnogastronomic tourofTampa iscompletewithouta
pilgrimage toYborCity,Tampa’shistoricLatinQuarter.The
SilverRingCafé
is thegemof thedistrictandboasts thebest
Cuban sandwich in town.And
ColumbiaRestaurant
—a lo-
cal favorite since 1905, when it opened as a corner café to
serve cigar-factoryworkers—boastsflamencodancingand
superbSpanishandCubandining inabeautiful setting.
From old-world tradition to the new classics, local es-
sences to international flavors, up-tempodinner anddanc-
ing to downtown cool and cocktails, Tampa has it all. So
don’t hit the roadas soonas you’vehad yourfill of football.
The fun here continues even after the lights at Raymond
JamesStadiumgodark.
big lights, bright city
Nextmonth, the spotlightwill beonTampa in
moreways thanone.
The eyes of theUnitedStates— and about 240 other nations—
will be onTampa come February 1. But in addition to hosting the
biggest showdown in sports (plusBruceSpringsteen and theE
Street Band at halftime), the citywill hold a variety of special events
and swank soirees in the days leading up toSuper Bowl Sunday.
Themost dazzling of these eventswill surely be LightsOnTampa, a
public art project running from now throughFebruary 1.
This cutting-edge venturewowed thousands of viewerswhen it
originally debuted in2006, and it promises to deliver a spectacle of
the same caliber this time around. Artistswill showcase large-scale
light installations that illuminate various spaces and structures
around the urban core, including theTampaConventionCenter,
St. PeteTimes Forum, CotanchobeePark, andFort BrookeParking
Garage.
The artistic team ofWill Pappenheimer andChipp Jansen has
created one of themost intriguingprojects of the series: It’s known
as theTampaPublicMoodRing, a fabulous temporary structure
that recalls the 1970smood-ring jewelry fad on a tremendous scale.
With the help of GerdauAmeristeel, a local recycled-steel company,
the duowill gauge the town’s temperament via online citizen inter-
action. Find thiswork along thewaterfront inCotanchobeePark,
just behind theSt. PeteTimes Forum.
Artists FriedrichFörster andSabineWeissinger, known collec-
tively as CasaMagica, will transform themundane south facade of
the Fort BrookeParkingGarage into a blizzard of light.Meanwhile,
CarltonWard Jr., a conservation photographer based just across the
bay, inClearwater, will have hiswork viewed on aPortal prototype
— a three-sided cube of LED screens thatwill display 10-minute
loops of digital photography.Ward’sworkwill explore arts and cul-
ture, the environment, andwell-being— a trio of concepts integral
not just to the urban landscape but also to the artist’s oeuvre.
Formore information, visitwww.lightsontampa.org.
WENdYMALLOY
is aTampa-basedwriter.
TheTampaPublicMoodRing
