Sunday, October 25, 2015

Fodder & Shine and Hidden Springs Ale Works – Seminole Heights

It’s been a busy couple of weeks!  I went to Boston to celebrate my friend Padma’s bachelorette weekend (more on Boston food coming up soon…) Then the following weekend we had two weddings and a Halloween party.  Now I’ve finally got some down time to catch up on all the October foods.

Lance and I took part in the Heights Vibes Bicycle Ride a few weeks back.  A group met at Fodder & Shine, then biked around Seminole and Tampa Heights visiting different murals and art installations.   At the start was a big mural on the side of Fodder & Shine depicting a quilt-like collage of some of the local Seminole Heights businesses.  They were in the process of finalizing the mural for a launch party the very next day.  Many of the logos looked familiar – including Ella’s, Rooster & the Till, Angry Chair Brewing, and The Independent Bar.     

The bike ride was sponsored by Velo Champ bike shop – and apparently they take similar rides about once a month (check out the calendar here).  We really enjoyed ourselves – I’d definitely recommend taking part in one of these rides!  The next one is November 29th in Bradenton starting at Motorworks Brewing. 


We took a pit stop at Hidden Springs Ale Works – a new craft brewery that just opened about a month ago.  They let us all bring our bikes in and store them in the back while we cooled down with some beers.  Our bartender was really friendly and I enjoyed everything in my flight.  The décor was a little sparse, but they had literally just opened. 


The bike ride ended back at Fodder & Shine, and since we hadn’t dined there before, we decided to grab a bite before heading home.  It was opened about a year ago by Greg & Michelle Baker, who also run The Refinery.  The food is inspired by early cracker cuisine from early Florida natives. 

We enjoyed a wedge of the bacon-fat cornbread along with cornmeal fried chicken, collard greens, and PBR Mac & Cheese.  I cornbread was topped with butter and local honey – it was tasty, but a little drier than I prefer.  But the fried chicken was really fantastic.  Very crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. 

It’s also a great spot to just grab a local beer and enjoy it on the patio with your 4-legged friend  – they have “Yappy Hour” every Sunday 1 – 5pm.  Tonight they actually hosted a pet costume party!

Fodder & Shine is located at 5910 N Florida Ave, Tampa, FL 33604 and is open 5pm – 12am Monday – Thursday, 3pm – 2am on Friday, 1pm – 2am Saturday, and 1pm – 12am on Sunday.     


Hidden Springs Ale Works is located at 1631 N Franklin St, Tampa, FL 33602 and is open 5pm – 10pm Thursdays, 3pm – 12am on Fridays, 12pm – 12am on Saturdays, and 12pm – 9pm on Sundays (they are closed Monday – Wednesdays).  

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