Sono Café at the Tampa Museum of Art

 

Between the new job and wedding planning, it’s been difficult to stay on top of the food blogging!  Believe me, we’re still eating delicious food, but I’m unfortunately posting about it a bit late now.  And if it’s a restaurant or recipe I’ve already posted about, I’m just sharing photos on the facebook page rather than writing a whole new blog post about it.  So if you aren’t already, follow me on there!

Tampa Restaurant Week had 70+ restaurants participate this year.   Each offered a $30 prix fixe menu – we got a sampling of it at their Meet the Chefs launch party at Coppertail Brewing.  Some of the offerings were $30 per person, and some were $30 per couple. 

My friend Maddie and I decided to check out Sono Café’s three-course prix fixe meal, which was one of the $30 shared meals.  The amount of food we got for it being $15 each was pretty generous.   

It’s located in the lower level of the Tampa Museum of Art - the modern architecture of the building is so unique in Tampa that it’s worth visiting.  The view of Curtis Hixon Park, the new Tampa Riverwalk extension, and the Hillsborough River is beautiful – and if it’s a nice day out, you can dine outside in the shade of the museum (although being mid-summer, we ate inside in the AC).  

We each had a cup of tomato soup for our first course.  We split the Four Cheese Grilled Cheese with provolone, white cheddar, goat, manchego, spinach and sundried tomatoes (which also included a side salad).  This was one of the best grilled cheese and tomato soup pairings I’ve had.  Then for our other Second Course selection, we shared the Artisan Cheese and Charcuterie Platter – with crostini, olives, mustard, and pickled vegetables. 

 

For the third course, we got to split a coconut gelato.  While it’s served in a small container, they do fill it well beyond the top and it was plenty to share after the large meal. 

I had only ever had the gelato at Sono Café when I’ve visited the art museum, but I was very impressed with the rest of our meal.  I’d definitely go back again!  Their food is well worth the trip, even if you aren’t already planning a museum visit (although if you haven’t been, you really should see one of their exhibits!) 

Sono Café is located at 120 W Gasparilla Plaza, Tampa, FL 33602.  They are open Monday – Thursday 11am – 6pm, Friday 11am – 8pm, and Saturday – Sunday 11am – 5pm. 

Rooster & the Till – Tampa, FL

Last night my friends Kate, Laura, and I decided to try a new restaurant we’ve never been to before called Rooster & the Till.  It was featured on Tasting Tampa’s Top 10 list for best restaurants in the Seminole Heights area so we knew it must be good.  The outside of the restaurant is a bit nondescript, so we drove right past it while trying to find it. 

Their website describes the food as “modern American cuisine cooked with love and sourced from nearby farms and gardens.”  It also says that they used local craftsman and reclaimed materials in the construction of the restaurant.  It seems that all new restaurants I’ve gone to lately have the same look to them – industrial pendants with filament bulbs, exposed ceiling, wood accents, and subway tiles.  I’m not complaining though – I love that the rustic modern style is so trendy now.  It looks like a sophisticated restaurant you would find in New York. 

We were seated at the bar – I could tell it was a classy restaurant because there were hooks incorporated underneath the bar to hang purses.  The chefs prepared food directly in front of the bar, so it was a great vantage point.  It is clear that they are all well trained on plating and presentation because each chef spent time to meticulously plate each dish in a precise way. 

Our server explained the whole concept to us and advised that we order several plates to sample and share since it is meant to be a communal dining experience.  I do love food, but I am in no way a culinary expert.  When scanning the menu, I was unfamiliar with the names of about half the ingredients.  However, the chefs were very knowledgeable, so they answered a few questions for us before ordering. 

We ordered the Charcuterie Slate – which included chicken liver pâté, gelée candied walnut crumble, coffee cured guanciale, cocoa aioli, bbq spiced pork pâté, smoked onion marmalade, beef heart bresaola, b&b pickles, and a hibiscus allspice mustard.  Most of these were brand new to me, but everything I tried was incredible.  The portion size was quite small though, especially for the price.  However, it is clear that they focus much more on quality than quantity. 

We actually received the Cheese Slate on mistake before receiving the Charcuterie – but they told us to just keep it and try the cheeses as well.  That plate included cabrales, honeycomb, cacetto sardo, golden raisin chutney, bucherondin, fig mostarda, idiazabal, and pepper jelly.  It definitely wasn’t the typical cheese sampling of cheddar and pepper jack – these were all gourmet cheeses that wouldn’t be at your typical grocery store.  Again, relatively small portions but each bite was amazing. 

We also ordered two small plates to share.  The first was gnocchi with short ribs, smoked ricotta, san marzano’s tomatoes, and spicy pickled peperonata (I didn’t get a photo of that one but you can see a photo above right from the blog Eat a Duck.)  There wasn’t much short rib, but the handmade gnocchi were very tasty.

The second small plate was the house smoked yogurt, vinegar soaked tomatoes and cucumbers served with flax seed pumpernickel crackers. We were intrigued about this dish after we learned about their process of smoking yogurt to infuse it with flavor.  The dish tasted like a very upscale caprese salad.

The staff was very friendly, and the executive chef, Ferrell Alvarez, spent a lot of time getting to know us and telling us about the locally sourced ingredients and his previous experiences at Mise en Place and Café Dufrain.  You can tell that he takes pride in his restaurant and really cares about the customer experience. 

I think it is definitely worth checking out – maybe go when you aren’t quite as hungry though since like I said, the portions are relatively small for the price.  And go with an open mind to try everything – I grew up as a picky eater, but over the years I’ve become much more open to trying almost any food.  It was a totally unique dining experience that you couldn’t have anywhere else in the Tampa Bay area. 

After our dinner, we headed down the street to Bo’s Ice Cream for dessert.  It reminded me a lot of Dairy Joy.  I had a soft serve vanilla cone dipped in chocolate.  It was a great night catching up with friends!

Rooster and the Till is located at 6500 N Florida Ave, Tampa, FL 33604 and is open with a limited menu Monday – Saturday 3:30 – 5pm, Monday through Thursday from 5 – 10pm for dinner, Friday & Saturday from 5 – 11pm for dinner, and closed on Sundays. 

Bo’s Ice Cream is 7101 N Florida Ave, Tampa, FL 33604 and is open 11am – 11pm every day.  

 

Carmel Café & Wine Bar – Tampa, FL

Today was a day of catching up with friends.  This morning I had coffee with my friend Laura who is in town from Vermont (who went to lunch with her sister at Mazzaro’s after my recommendation!) Then for dinner I joined my friend Maddie at Carmel Café & Wine Bar. 

The South Tampa location of Carmel Café has been open for about 2 years now - I've been there several times already.  The design is sleek and sophisticated with vibrant artwork (several of the oil paintings were painted by Alfonso Architects).  To complement the modern interiors, they also have state of the art technology with an iPad ordering system.  I love that the iPad menu is so interactive – you can see actual photos of the food prior to ordering – and even type in special instructions for the chefs.  The visuals ensure that you get exactly what you want – I hate when I order something solely based on the menu description and it shows up completely different than I had envisioned.

The food has a Mediterranean vibe and there is a wide selection of specialty cocktails, wines, and a full liquor bar.  Once ordered, the food arrives very quickly, so I’d advise pacing yourself while placing the iPad orders if you don’t want everything to arrive at once.  Despite most of the work being done via iPad, the servers are still very attentive – almost too much so.  It seemed that every time we took a sip of water, our waiter was there to refill our glass. 

On Sundays and Mondays there is an option for a special Prix Fixe menu – 3 courses for only $14.  I went ahead with the special and ordered the chickpea fries, black olive Caesar salad, and Moroccan lemon chicken.  From 4 – 7pm on weekdays they also have several appetizers and drinks on special for $4.  Maddie ordered the mini mezze platter and the tomato Margherita flatbread. We also split a press of their red sangria with fresh fruit. 

I’ve had the chickpea fries before so I knew that I’d like those.  They are served with a sweet tomato jam and a curry aioli sauce which you’ll want to lick clean off the plate.  Unfortunately for the Prix Fixe menu I actually got less fries than normal portion – 4 instead of 9.  The Caesar was good but nothing too exciting – I probably wouldn’t have ordered it if I weren’t doing the special menu.  But the Moroccan lemon chicken was excellent!  It was served with pine nuts, saffron, olives, lemon, and a mix of roasted vegetables, including large stalks of broccolini.  The chicken dish on its own is normally $12, so it was definitely worth it to do the Prix Fixe meal. 

The mezze platter that Maddie ordered is my go-to appetizer at Carmel Café.  It has grilled pita with a variety of dips and toppings – including muhammarra (a Syrian pepper dip), edamame hummus, goat cheese, roasted garlic, olives, and sun dried tomatoes.  A lot of the dishes like that one are perfect for sharing – probably the best way to experience Carmel Café is to go with a group and just order a bunch of dishes to pass around the table.  It was pretty quiet tonight, but it does get very busy on the weekends.  Most days have specials like today – you can check out their calendar here. 

Carmel Café and Wine Bar has several locations.  The one we visited tonight is located at 3601 W. Swann Avenue, Tampa FL 33609 and is open from 11am – 10pm Monday through Thursday, 11am – 11pm Friday & Saturday, and 11am – 9pm on Sunday.