The building has been sitting for a while. Lets explore what finally took over.  Da'Shrine, 2023 Let me start this one off by stating that I am in no means an expert on Africa, their cuisine, or their culture. Da'Shrine claims to be a mixture of African and Caribbean cuisine. They are sporting a restaurant with a rooftop bar. If you had been to The Refinery prior to coming here, you'll know how the rooftop bar was set up. Unfortunately, the bar wasn't open when we went due to some maintenance that needed to be done before they could open. They did manage to use the space well, tho ..read more

 It's that time of year! Gasparilla season. The pirates have taken over.  Me and another pirate, 2017 Another year has come and that means it's time for another season of Gasparilla. Lets get some of the more important questions out of the way real quick: How much does it cost? Nothing. Gasparilla is a free event. They do offer paid upgrades, but the parade itself is free. Where is it? The Children's parade and Day parade are off of Bayshore Ave in South Tampa into the Channel District in Downtown Tampa. The Knight Parade is on 7th Ave in Ybor City. Where do we park? I ..read more

The Florida Extravaganza had hit me up and asked that we help promote this event. I have been to it in the past and it is a really cool event. Full disclosure: I did get free tickets to promote the event. Truth be told, I would've paid to go even if I didn't. Come out and check it out. Come find us on Saturday and say what's up! Details below.  Florida Collector Extravaganza is Back in Tampa for 2022 with new vendors, new inventory! 150+ Tables of TOYS, COMICS, DIECAST, ARTISTS, AND MORE! TONS of POP CULTURE GOODNESS! 2 DAY SHOW! Saturday April 9th: 9-4pm Sunday April 10th: 9am-3pm KIDS ..read more

 Yes, they're finally open. No, their parking isn't any better than anything else in Seminole Heights.  Xtreme Tacos Sign, 2021 There is no secret that my favorite Tampa based food truck is Xtreme Tacos. That would be the deciding factor if I were debating between two different places. Lots of trips to C. 1949 and 7venth Sun were made because of this truck. You can imagine my delight when I heard that they were going to be opening a restaurant... And in Seminole Heights. This particular trip was actually Stormy's idea, which is funny because Stormy isn't a big fan of Tex-Mex food ..read more

Time for another trendy restaurant in Seminole Heights. Gangchu, 2021 Welcome to 2021. As you can imagine, as anyone living during this period can, new restaurants aren't as easy to come by, and the older favorites are much harder to enjoy. As someone who has taken to using their platform to showcase small, local business, you can imagine how excited I was to find out there was a new place opening. Rumor had been circling for a while that the mind behind Ichicoro was in the process of opening a new restaurant. Then I saw it. On Instagram of all places. An ad for the soft opening ..read more

 Once you figure out how to get there, that is. There May or May Not Have Been a Line, 2020 So, this is one place that I have been wanting to check out for months. With Covid going on, it's been incredibly difficult to leave the house and Stormy just took on a new schedule herself. Alas, Small Business Saturday comes and we now have a chance to check out a new restaurant. Let the games begin! Now, if you're familiar with King of the Coop, you know exactly where Wicked Oak is... Because King of the Coop moved next door. I did not get that memo, so it took a little longer than it should h ..read more

 But was it really necessary? Lets weigh the pros and the cons. Howl-O-Scream, 2020 2020 has put us into some... Interesting times. A global pandemic has managed to bring the entire country to a halt and we're having to adapt to the new precautions and safety measures. Add to that, there is seemingly something new happening every day. With that said, Busch Gardens has decided to go ahead and run their yearly Halloween event, despite the pandemic, no doubt to try to cash in on Universal's lack of Halloween Horror Nights. They have taken away the free ticket for top tier passholders (so y ..read more

It's refreshing to see something local coming to the Carrollwood area. Esposito's, 2020 "Alright Mark, you have some explaining to do!" Yes... I do. During the middle of last year, I took on a job that was a lot more demanding than the job I had at any point during this blog. I thought this job was crazy until the virus hit and everything started shutting down. Then I was telling myself that I couldn't possibly update this blog while the virus had everything shut down. Then I came to the realization that this virus may not end at any point during my lifetime. This very well may be the "new ..read more

Well, at least it's not the 80's. Parks & Rec, 2020 I'm going to start this blog with a disclaimer: I did not like this place, at all. "But Mark," I hear you shouting, "Then why should I even bother reading this?" Because I feel like there is a market for it. And a dude in his 30's who enjoys craft beer and more intimate spaces most definitely is not their target audience.  Coins, 2020 Branching off of the popular Downtown St. Pete bar of the same name, Parks & Rec Tampa opened in (as far as I can see) 2019. The bar covers an outdoor area, mainly used for giant beer pong and ..read more

Another year has come and with that, the future of our city is at the mercy of the pirate invaders. Happy New Year, Tampa! It's now January, and that can only mean one thing... It's GASPARILLA season! This is the most important season for the city of Tampa. Now, for those of you who are looking for information, or simply looking to impress your friends, lets discuss the details of Gasparilla. Dates January 18, 2020, 11:00am: The Gasparilla Children's Parade January 25, 2020, 11:00am: Gasparilla Pirate Festival February 8, 2020, 7:00pm: Gasparilla Knight of Sant Yago Parade February ..read more