CCE
(Keyrock the unfrozen caveman lawyer; your world frightens & confuses me)
1357
Regarding Marco, we’ve stayed there a few times, IIRC in each case for Thanksgiving week. We had our full family plus my wife’s parents (8 total) each time and rented a house on a canal with close open water access.
I found it a very nice place overall, but a bit off-putting as the locals seem to resent the weekly renters, a lot more so than other places we’ve rented in FL. Just my opinion, of course. And we had some eventual nice interactions with the residents next to the houses we rented, but it seemed their guard was up a lot more. Couple that with the “locals only” beach access, and Marco has become one of my lesser favorites.
I know that area! Next trip I’ll check it out. I better make a note, though.
I can’t help much in re Tampa, although I hear that Ted Peter’s Smoked Fish is great, but then most smoked fish is pretty darn good. I think that’s where Columbia started. I’d like to go to the original some time. I’m eagerly looking forward to your reports when you get down there.
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CCE
(Keyrock the unfrozen caveman lawyer; your world frightens & confuses me)
1359
Thanks John. We’re probably going to help move our daughter to their new shared apartment later this month (I tried hard to get them into a rental house, as I despise apts, but that’s where they landed).
I’m definitely going to check out the Tampa-to-Sarasota restaurants while there.
I forgot to mention earlier a big favorite of me and my son in the Boca/Boyton Beach area - a Haitian place called Tropical Island Restaurant in Boynton. Their goat stew with beans/rice is killer, and they’re super nice folks.
Tucson, AZ—UNESCO City of Gastronomy. I noticed that Tucson, Phoenix/Scottsdale is not mentioned much here. Did anyone notice the final Top Chef Houston was filmed here?
I love talking about Chinese food that we had growing up, dim sum and my endless search for the best xiao long bao.
Fresh king crab in Alaska.
I grew up in the Bay Area, I am an artist, and I’m really good at not killing cactus and succulents.
Welcome aboard. We need more info on AZ. I haven’t been there in close to 10 years, but I remember some great tortillas in Phoenix and good pizza and roast chicken in Scottsdale. I’d love to get back, not least for Spring Training.
Oh, and I was surprised by how engaging the Museum of Musical Instruments was.
Welcome welcome from a tiny island far away on the other side of the pond.
Nice people and great food are what you will find here. Oh and some useful life-hacks.
What food-related topic are you most passionate about, that you want people to ask you about and you can’t stop talking about it?
Food recommendations and cuisines around the world (especially Asian and Mexican)
What’s a great food experience you have had?
My stomach brought me to Florence and a local told me about a gelato festival going on, so I had to go. One of the makers invited my friend and I to tour around and try a bunch of gelato at the festival and inside the gelato school.
A little tidbit about you
I believe “Anything that walks, swims, crawls, or flies with its back to heaven is edible.” Always thinking about food and my next meal.
Several meals in Italy come to mind first: Rainy day-long lunches in really good but not fancy restaurants {La Chiusa in Montefollonico; Cicchetti in Rialto Market at a place whose name I forget, the late and lamented Fiaschetteria Toscana in Venice, a long ago BBQ meal at Woodley’s Sunspot BBQ in Tennessee}
I used to own restaurants in DC and I am definitely in restaurant owner/chef recovery. Now I can cook my passions which tend towards Asia.
We have a huge urban garden and so far we have the world’s only $1000 sungold tomato to show for it. On the other hand, it did taste great.
Sondheim and opera are passions.
Dean formerly of Dino’s Grotto and Dino. Partner is Kay.
Pioneer Pit Beef is like the one ring in LOTR. One pit beef to rule them all!
Canopy is the best of the rest in areas urban. I think the guys at the Baltimore Farmer’s Market have the smell down perfect, but the lines are too long for me to have actually tried them. Maybe if we show up decently early.
Have not done much crab or crab-cake eating as prices are thru the roof. Nicks and LP Steamers have great crabs but maybe/probably not local. Wild Seafood in Jessup Fish Marketplace has great cold crab.
Our Cat Lord is Lord Poopington of the Patapsco-adjascent Bal Meow Estate. He adopted us just over 2 years ago after living the high life {living with a bottomless chow bowl and 7 more pounds than today} before he needed to get rehomed. He does not have a high opinion of me but I AM alpha cat.
