A cozy bowl of Vietnamese noodle soup. Puerto Rican-inspired pizza. A comforting, filling Italian sandwich. These are just a few of the bites that the Times Food Hub has eaten lately around Tampa Bay.
Every Thursday in our Do & Dine newsletter, we take you inside where we’re dining, sharing insights on local spots we’re loving right now across the food scene and recommendations for what to order when you go.
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Check out six places the Food Hub visited in March and April.
March 12 newsletter
Sure, we’re heading out of cold weather season, but it’s never a bad time to recommend a good soup. And the one I had recently at St. Petersburg’s In Between Days is worth a try any time of year. Most things on the menu go down smooth in a place this cool, though. Vibes are paramount here, and this sake spot/restaurant/listening bar really nails it. Sidle up to the bar and order some sake hot or cold, or sit with your group at one of the tables housed inside the charming bungalow. The small, dark space creates a lovely intimacy.
You could spend an evening just drinking and grooving to the vinyl records on rotation (or check out the live jazz offered some Tuesdays on the outdoor patio!), but the food menu is strong, too. A short lineup of usually less than 10 items, the dishes on my recent visit included a hamachi sashimi, braised short rib gyoza and a bone marrow shoyu ramen. The ramen hit the spot on a cool, late-winter night, the deeply flavorful broth holding together a delicious assortment of beautifully rendered components: chashu pork, a jammy soy egg, Japanese mushrooms, thinly sliced scallions. I washed it down with cold sake, and let the vinyl-inflected vibes wash over me. — Michelle Stark
2340 First Ave. S., St. Petersburg. inbetweendays.co
March 19 newsletter
Vietnamese food is the nearest and dearest to my heart. Sitting on a small stool as a tween hunched over a steaming bowl of homemade pho in my best friend’s backyard is one of my most indelible food memories. And I have found some great fare at Gao Restaurant, a central Vietnamese-centered spot tucked into a small strip mall in Tampa. Here, they truly care about what they put in front of you. Pictured above is a bowl of Bun Bo Hue, with silky rich beef broth that’s a deep yellow color and flavored with lemongrass. Thick vermicelli is a vessel for the slick, satisfying broth with fermented shrimp sauce. Generous portions of eye round, beef shank, trotters, tendons and meatballs fill the bowl with lovely contrasting textures. Definitely add the thinly sliced banana blossom, and I also recommend adding garlic chili paste and fresh lime as you slurp to the bottom of the bowl.
Gao is a no-frills place with outstanding and knowledgeable service. I have been guided on my visits by employees about the best way to enjoy or add to a dish without pretension or pushiness. Last weekend I had the Hu Tieu – Mi with a combination of chewy rice/tapioca and egg noodles (highly recommend). The pork bone broth is light and clean, with poached shrimp and thinly sliced roasted pork then topped with chives, sauteed garlic and shallots. Mix the small ramekin of minced chili garlic sauce they serve you with fish sauce and add to your broth as you go along, dotting it with sambal oelek (chili-based sauce) sparingly. Don’t skip the Goi Cuon (fresh spring rolls) to start or to take home; they travel well. The Mi Quang Noodles are divine, with turmeric rice noodles in a shallow pork broth with shrimp, pork and quail eggs. Vietnamese coffees, fresh juices, smoothies and Mexican Coca-Cola round out the menu, plus there’s a beer option if you ask. — Evan Rodriguez
8405 N. Himes Ave., Tampa. gaorestauranttampa.com
March 26 newsletter
Josephine’s Italian Market in Brandon might have my new favorite Italian sandwich. My other half grabbed us takeout from this quaint shop/deli/cafe for lunch, and it was a great find.
The spot stuffs its take on the much-lauded Italian with a healthy helping of classic cuts: ham, capicola, salami, pepperoni, provolone. Lettuce and red onion provide some welcome crunch, and I love the tangy, spicy kick you get from the hot and sweet peppers (they make the sandwich a total stunner). A crusty roll with a soft interior cradles all of the fresh, flavorful ingredients topped with a drizzle of dressing.
This sammy is the epitome of comfort food. Just know: A nap may be in order after you chow down. — Meaghan Habuda
730 W. Brandon Blvd., Brandon. josephinesitalianmarket.com
April 9 newsletter
This is a tale of two banh mi sandwiches. The first, from a spot I’d been wanting to try for a while: V-Roll Vietnamese Rolls & Bowls (2930 Beach Blvd. S., Gulfport), a charming, laidback spot serving up customizable noodle and rice bowls, banh mi, spring rolls and bao buns. I opted for the House Vietnamese Sandwich (Bánh Mì) the other day when I was particularly starved for lunch, and it hit the spot. Your choice of protein comes topped with cucumber, cilantro, jalapeno, pickled carrot and daikon and a yummy garlic spread and house sauce. Super-fresh veggies, all held together by a particularly toothsome baguette.
A couple days later, I was getting a bit of work done at wine/coffee/flower shop Pistil House (2533 First Ave. S., St. Petersburg) when I spied the weekly sandwich special: Banh Mi. I knew from the smells wafting through the bungalow that I was going to have to order it. A flaky hoagie roll came absolutely loaded with braised lemongrass beef, cucumber, jalapeno, carrot, cilantro, pickled daikon and a sumptuous house chicken liver mousse that kicked things up several notches. A squiggle of Sriracha on top offered a nice, acidic heat to break up the rich flavors. — Michelle Stark
April 16 newsletter
I have long had a fascination with gas stations. Not just any gas stations, but the ones with braised oxtails, fluffy yellow rice and black beans; corner stores that have a food trailer on the grounds with a creamy plantain and spiced ground beef pizza; and places that were once gas stations but have since been converted into a taco heaven with ice cold caguamas of beer still in the cooler doors.
Traveling from the Woodland Terrace neighborhood in northeast Tampa all the way to 66th Street in Pinellas Park, with many stops in between, I wanted to see what kind of affordable fare local gas stations had to offer. It’s surprising what you can find for the equivalent of two or three gallons of gas these days.
What stood out to me the most was a happy accident, when my colleague Martha Asencio-Rhine and I showed up for one thing but encountered something completely different. In place of a cold griddle inside a Pinellas Park Citgo was Wuiry’s Pizza, a food truck parked in the grass lot outside. I ordered the 12-inch Pionono Pizza ($12), dotted with ripe and gooey plantains mingled with a generous spread of spiced ground beef, all tucked under a substantial blanket of melted mozzarella cheese. The Puerto Rican-inspired pizza was like nothing I have ever tasted. The warm sweetness of the plantains played well with the fatty richness of the cheese, the two soft textures working in concert, and the spiced ground beef cut all the unctuous cheese and natural sugar of the banana.
Read my full story about gas station fare here. — Evan Rodriguez
8787 66th St. N., Pinellas Park. instagram.com/wuiryspizzas
April 23 newsletter
It’s been a little over a week, but I’m still thinking about the incredible Filipino-inspired seafood boil I had at Cheeky’s in St. Petersburg (2823 Central Ave.).
The dish, a collaborative effort from Cheeky’s chef Philip Cleary and Julie Sainte Michelle Feliciano of Tampa’s Lucky Tigre, was just one part of a fun-and-food-filled evening at the Grand Central District restaurant, where during two seatings fans from both sides of the bay packed the house. Some were longtime customers of Feliciano’s. Some were neighborhood regulars at Cheeky’s. Some were just there for a taste of something different and new.
Such is the appeal of these types of chef collaborations and pop-ups: They’re always pushing the culinary envelope, and there’s always something exciting and unique to try.
That evening, we snacked on crispy lumpia and cornbread hush puppies dipped in guava jelly before moving on to the boil, which featured a gorgeous spread of coconut garlic shrimp, sausage, jasmine rice, clams and corn, all splayed out over bright green banana leaves.
I left the restaurant thinking how fun (and delicious) it is to watch chefs stretch their wings and have a little fun, and only wishing for more. — Helen Freund
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