Daily Loaf

Gratzzi’s not dead yet! CineBistro ups the ante on beer and fries theaters! The Table will not be The Spot, or will it? Primi changes owners, but not much else!

Read on for all the details!

Gratzzi closed up shop in Baywatch a few weeks back, right around the same time that Pacific Wave closed on the other side of Downtown St. Pete. For Pacific Wave, the closure was about revenue, and the economy, and being tired of struggling in an industry that’s tough in the best of times. For Gratzzi, though, it was more about the fact that Baywalk is on life-support, with relatives eager to pull the plug and divide its meager posessions. Don’t count Gratzzi out. The Italian restaurant is planning to re-open in the former home of Pacific Wave before the end of the year, if things go well. Owner Domenic D’Angelo will scale back his upscale menu to concentrate on homier dishes that cater to diners’ reduced budgets, with the smaller space a better match for the more casual fare. Read the rest of this entry »

We’re 2,000-plus votes and counting in this year’s Best of the Bay Readers’ Poll — deadline Aug. 31 — and there are no hotter races underway than the ones for Best Neighborhood/Hillsborough and Best Neighborhood/Pinellas.

After the jump: Find out if your ‘hood is among the front-runners. Read the rest of this entry »

South Tampa is known as a big party spot, but it’s also home to some interesting restaurants — including the only two Ethiopian joints in town. And then there’s Bern’s, of course. Which restaurant deserves to be at the top of this list? That’s for you to decide. Scroll past the list to the poll and cast your vote!

(And don’t forget to vote in the four other regional top tens.)

Bern’s Steak House, 1208 S. Howard Ave., Tampa, 813-251-2421 or bernssteakhouse.com
Bin 27 Bistro, 2702 W. Kennedy Blvd., Tampa, 813-878-2700 or bin27bistro.com (Reader’s Poll Entrant)
Ceviche, 95 Central Ave., St. Petersburg, 727-209-2302; 1502 S. Howard Ave., Tampa, 813-250-0203
Datz Deli, 2616 S. MacDill Ave., Tampa, 813-831-7000 or datzdeli.com
Paci’s Pizza, 2307 S. Dale Mabry Hwy., Tampa, 813-253-2973 or pacispizza.com (Reader’s Poll Entrant)
Pane Rustica, 3225 S. MacDill Ave., Tampa, 813-902-8828 or panerusticabakery.com
Queen of Sheba, 3636 Henderson Blvd., Tampa, 813-872-6000 or ethiopianrestauranttampa.com
Restaurant BT, 1633 W. Snow Ave., Tampa, 813-258-1916 or restaurantbt.com
SideBern’s, 2208 W. Morrison Ave., Tampa, 813-258-2233 or bernssteakhouse.com
Smoke Barbecue & Grill, 901 W. Platt St., Tampa, 813-254-7070 or smokeonplatt.com

VOTE AFTER THE BREAK! Read the rest of this entry »

[Editor's Note: Jennifer Huntsman is a US Army Reserve Signal Captain stationed at MacDill Air Force Base with Joint Communication Support Element (JCSE). She has just returned from deployment in Qatar. Jenny writes for The Daily Loaf about life in the military.]

I am home.  I have been back in Tampa for about a week now, but it feels as though I have never left.  Our flight was long and we first arrived in the U.S. through the Baltimore-Maryland International Airport (BWI).  A military flight to Maryland is a humbling experience.  I smelled very bad and I slept on a toy train at BWI’s Observation Deck.  There was a large homecoming at the Tampa International Airport.  Balloons, banners, friends, families, coworkers, even news crews were all waiting for our arrival.  I had so many strangers come up to me to tell me thank you, God Bless, and welcome back home.  When I saw my loved one my heart skipped a beat, I missed him so much.  Coming home is what we’d wished for throughout the whole deployment.

Just a week ago I remember talking with my coworkers of what we were excited about when we arrived back home. Read the rest of this entry »

Stopped by the beautiful new Publix Greenwise Market in SoHo for some lunch today. After reading Laura Reiley’s cautious optimism about the massive selection of prepared foods, I thought it might be worth a try now that the market has almost a month under its belt to get the kinks worked out. If anything, it seems like the kinks have taken over.

Get past the confusing system of ordering everything from its own section, the areas delineated only by small, laminated “Order Here” signs that are often hidden by waiting diners and you’ll find a staff that has the haunted look of the harried and fearful. Or the defiant glare of workers pushed past the breaking point, just daring you to comment about the slow service. Or the downcast faces of truly practiced restaurant workers who want to avoid eye contact until they finish the task in front of them. If you’re looking for a quick, healthy lunch during a brief work break, it’s a horrifying experience. Read the rest of this entry »

The lobby lounge at CineBistro Miami.

The Trib’s Tampa Bay Online is reporting the construction of a CineBistro theater in Hyde Park Village.

“Cobb Theatres plans to begin construction in January of a CineBistro theater that will have six screens, reserved seating and dining tables. Cocktails and appetizers will be available in the lobby bar. Patrons will be able to order a meal that will be served at the table before the movie starts.”

Metromix Tampa Bay has a lot of images of the CineBistro in Wesley Chapel if you have a hankering to learn more.

And, a few days ago a Charley’s World segment on MyFox Tampa Bay included an interview with CineBistro Executive Chef Mike Outlaw. Mike offers up his recipe for CineMac, the Bistro’s version of mac & cheese. It looks delicious.

Here’s the official CineBistro press release about the opening.