This week, Brian and Taylor invite PoHo Wayne Garcia in for a special food-related recession session. We drink vodka flavored with baby aspirin and discuss the reduction in creamy splooge at Dunkin Donuts, SoHo Sushi’s so so sushi, Taylor’s list of recession wines, and the problems restaurants are having in this economy.
Brian and Taylor chat with Gui Alinat — local chef and recent CL food contributor. We also run down Brian’s obsession with Domenica Macchia of Diner 437, the closing of Ybor’s The Nest, the re-opening of Wild Shrimp Company, and Taylor’s love for white wines from Bordeaux.
Whether you are a food blogger or Food Network mega chef, you always have someone with whom you seek “foodie” counsel. This person is in essence a foodie`s foodie, and is great at pointing out new foods/experiences based on their experience. Being a CL food blogger gives me the fortune of having some pretty savvy food and wine people at my fingertips, which became quite evident when I planned a weekend getaway to Sarasota.
It was a beach and food trip, and I’d done research and was convinced that I had found a great fine-dining spot for dinner. I made my reservations and packed the Nexium. Then, in passing, I mentioned my culinary plans to my friend Taylor, who suggested I touch base with CL food editor Brian Ries. He immediately had me change reservations to the relatively new Mozaic restaurant in downtown Sarasota. Armed with his advice, I placed my fate in the hands of Chef Dylan Elhajoui. Read the rest of this entry »
Brian and Taylor chat with CL food contributor and successful blogger for EatLiveRun.com, Jenna Weber; discuss Brian’s love affair with Paci Pizza; Jenna and Taylor’s quest for the Murphy-Goode Dream Job; Brian’s homemade smoky pork product and CL’s new food contributor, Chef Gui.
In general, I like St. Pete Times restaurant critic Laura Reiley. She’s rarely negative, has a bigger dining budget than me, and gets to jet off to Beard dinners in NY, but despite that I’ve found her to be a very nice person. Until now.
She just posted a tidbit on her blog called “I’m laughing at Creative Loafing lovers” where she calls out the numerous voters in our recent Tampa Bay’s Top 50 Restaurants reader recommendation poll. Here’s what she said:
I happened to take a gander at their Tampa Bay Top 50 Restaurants Reader Recommendation Results post (seeing as we’ve been running a reader poll of our own, it seemed only fair) and feel that Creative Loafing readers must be smoking something. Their top recommended restaurants? In order: Paci’s Pizza, The Floridian, Bin 27, Green Springs Bistro, Backfin Blue and Bamboozle. Huh. The top-most, super-special, gotta-try-it restaurant in the whole area is PACI’S PIZZA?
Maybe our readers are cool because they are smoking something, Laura, did you consider that?
Admittedly, I spent a few hours making fun of Paci’s ballot-stuffing efforts yesterday — which is why we only let you pot fiends pick 5 while I picked 45 – but that was before I tried their pizza. Now? I’m kinda happy they won a spot in the Top 50. That pie is very, very good.
Stick it to Reiley by voting for the best of Tampa Bay’s Top 50 Restaurants, in five different categories, later today.
Crossposted from Political Whore blog
Because Creative Loafing Political Editor Wayne Garcia would be far too modest to tell you himself, I’m reporting that “The Political Whore” won first place in the category of Blog-Affiliated last night in the Sunshine State Awards, the Florida-wide prizes given out by the Society of Professional Journalists/ South Florida. New Times Broward Palm Beach’s “The Juice” and the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel’s “Broward Politics” came in second and third, respectively.
And Wayne wasn’t alone in bringing back first-place honors for the Loaf. Food Editor Brian Ries won the top spot in Food/Beverage Writing for “Anywhere But Here,” his story on the lack of healthy food options for Florida families on public assistance. The Miami Herald and MIAMI Modern Luxury took second and third places.
Brian also took a third place in Criticism for his review of MJ’s tapas menu when it was under the direction of Domenica Macchia. And CL’s theater critic, Mark E. Leib, took second place in the same category for his review of the innovative American Stage production of Hamlet. The Naples Daily News‘ Harriet Howard Heithaus took the first-place spot.
Finally, the entire staff of Creative Loafing won kudos for our website, cltampa.com, placing third in the News Web Site category. I like the judges’ citation: This is not your typical news site. cltampa.com represents a new way of presenting news and information to its reader/user. Through a simple design, Creative Loafing offers a wide collection of headlines from just as many distinct sources. (Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers and the Orlando Sentinel took first and second in this category, respectively.)
More judges’ comments follow after the break. Read the rest of this entry »
Taylor went to China and all she brought back was this lousy podcast! We dissect her culinary travels, and discuss Brian’s review of Ocean Prime.
This week, Brian and Taylor sit down with CL food contributor Rishi Ramkissoon and drink some kosher wine. Oh, and talk about Ybor’s The Nest, chain wine lists, and whatever else crosses their minds.
In this week’s episode of Nosh Pit, CL’s food and drink podcast, Taylor and Brian discuss the Top Five food stories of the week (Seasons 52, Pizzaiolo Bavaro, Best Florida Beer Competition, Meatless Mondays, and Brian has food poisoning), wine geek terms that will make you sound smarter at cocktail parties, and the start of CL’s giant Tournament of Tacos. Listen up!
Here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming Watchmen film, opening Friday:
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This week, St. Pete Times restaurant critic Laura Reiley reviewed Ocean Prime, which had been open for just over two weeks. That just sucks.
I like Reiley quite a bit, although we’ve never managed to get together for that lunch we’ve emailed each other about (call me, Laura!). And no, I’m not accusing her of some sort of ethical malfeasance or critic faux pas. Let me explain. Read the rest of this entry »
In the inaugural episode of Nosh Pit, CL food editor Brian Ries and Cl wine editor Taylor Eason talk about Barack Obama’s first meal as president, plus new restaurant openings in the bay area and the worst of the worst chain restaurants:
I eat out several nights a week for work, from fancy-pants joints with fabulous food (like this week’s MJ’s), to dreadful experiences that tax my very soul (here’s one), to typical ethnic take-out. Sometimes, I milk my job just to make it easier for my wife and I to put dinner on the table in the midst of busy work schedules and caring for our 4 year-old son. We also cook fairly often, usually weekly staples like chicken in a pot, fish tacos, or other Rachel Ray-ish quick meals.
Then again, sometimes I end up with a dinner like this:
It was pretty tasty.
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