Pizza Fusion – Tampa, FL

 

We bought a Creative Loafing deal for Pizza Fusion awhile back, so last night we headed there for dinner to try it out.   

 

It is located downtown in the condo Skypoint right across the street from Curtis Hixon Park.  We didn’t realize that an Oktoberfest event was going on in the park that night – so searching for a parking spot downtown was pretty difficult.  We finally found one a few blocks away, and by the time we got there we were both very hungry. 

 

 

It was quiet for a Saturday night, so we had no problem getting a table.  They have a few beers on draft, but a wide selection of bottles.  Lance ordered the Peak Organic Continually Hopped IPA and I had the Key West Southernmost Wheat Ale while looking over the food options.  Mine wasn’t as citrus-y as I was expecting (the menu compared it to a Blue Moon), but the IPA surprisingly was a bit fruity. 

 

For a pizza restaurant, their menu has a surprising amount of gluten-free, vegan, and organic options.  Their motto is “Saving the Earth, one pizza at a time.”  They use hybrid cars for their deliveries, have LEED certified green restaurants, and even offer discounts to customers who bring back their pizza boxes for recycling.  

 

There were not only pizzas, but sandwiches and salads on the menu as well.  We thought pizza was our best bet though since it’s in the name.  We each ordered a small personal size so we could try two kinds – the Big Kahuna on multigrain crust and the Prosciutto Pizza on organic white.

 

We got our pizzas and they were both fantastic!  The Big Kahuna had crumbled bacon, pineapple chunks, red onion, homemade tomato sauce, and a blend of three cheeses.  It was an upscale version of the typical Hawaiian pizza. 

 

The Proscuitto one was slightly sweet, with fig jam, goat cheese, arugula, and their signature cheese blend.  While I liked the flavor of both crusts, I think they could have been slightly crispier.   It is clear though that they use high quality ingredients for the toppings. We devoured both of them. 

 

The only complaint I had about the restaurant was the cleanliness.  While they did clear the tables after each customer left, they just wiped the mess onto the floor.  The ground was littered in straw wrappers and bits of food – which really stood out on the dark wood. 

 

After we paid, we were offered organic lollipops that we took with us.  I liked the mango flavor – the watermelon tasted more like medicine to me.  We took a walk around the park and enjoyed the slightly cooler weather (although much of it was gated off between the Oktoberfest and a wedding at the Tampa Art Museum).   

 

 

 

While passing Pizza Fusion again on the way back to the car, it was much more crowded – I think we dined between the dinnertime and late night crowds.  It is in a smart location with all the condos downtown.  If I lived above it, I’d dine there regularly.  I’m sure we’ll be back – there were lots of other flavors left to try! 

Pizza Fusion has locations in Colorado, Florida, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Ohio.  The one we dined at tonight is located at 777 N Ashley Dr, Suite C, Tampa, FL 33602 and is open 11am – 9pm Sunday through Wednesday and 11am – 11pm Thursday through Saturday.     

Cru Cellars – Tampa, FL

I drive past Cru Cellars all the time (it’s about a block north of Datz), but until I read that it was in the top 10 best restaurants in South Tampa on the blog Tasting Tampa, I didn’t realize it was more than just a wine shop. 

We bought a $40 deal for only $20 on Creative Loafing a little while ago (if you’re ever looking for great deals on restaurants, CL Deals are the best!)

Yesterday we had already spent most of the day eating – starting off at the Madeira Beach Mid-Week Market, then having lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings.  After all that, we took a long walk around the boardwalks at Weedon Island Preserve (actually where Lance and I had our first official date…) 

That evening it started pouring rain and lightning like crazy – probably not the best time to head out for a date night.  But we were looking forward to trying Cru Cellars out! 

From the outside, all you see is the wine shop (which looked pretty quiet).  But once we walked inside, we saw that around the corner was a bar with several bar-top tables for dining.  It was decorated very simply, with a few industrial lamps and one accent wall with a sepia-tone photo of wine barrels.  Their specials were outlined on a chalkboard-painted door mounted to the wall. 

The menu had an impressive selection of unique wines, as well as bottled beers.  I tried out the “European Road Trip” flight – a sampling of 1 white and 2 red wines.  The Zudugarai Txakolina was a sweet, tart white wine.  Next was the Chateau Saint Roch Cotes du Rhone red blend which was dry but fruity.  Then finally, I had the Sebille Chinon, which was a completely different red wine that tasted a bit like olives. 

Next, we ordered the Fig Jam & Prosciutto Flatbread, which was topped with bleu cheese and arugula.  OMG I think it may have been the best flatbread that I’ve ever had.  It was the perfect mix of sweet and salty.  The bleu cheese on this one tasted more like brie. 

After that, we tried the “Farmer’s Platter” sampling.  We could choose from a list of cow, sheep, goat, and bleu cheeses, along with cured meats and small bites. 

We chose the deviled eggs (topped with caviar and pickled red onion), duck rillette (a house-made truffled duck pâté), Sottocenere with Truffles (a semi-soft Italian cow cheese with black truffle shavings), Cypress Grove Humboldt Fog (a California goat cheese made with buttermilk and fresh cream), and the Manchego (a Spanish sheep cheese).  The platter was served with a sweet jam, caramelized nuts, and a warm baguette. 

Wow – I’m so glad we tried the Farmer’s Platter.  Everything on it was incredible.  Those were by far the fanciest deviled eggs we’ve ever had.  The duck pâté was a great topping for the crispy bread.  My favorite of the cheeses by far was the Cypress Grove goat cheese.  It was so creamy and paired nicely with the nuts and jam.  The Manchego and Sottocenere were both good, but there actually wasn’t as much truffle flavor as we expected in the cow cheese.

We finished the meal with the Banana Foster Cheesecake – described as vanilla cheesecake, brûléed banana, salted caramel, and meringue. While it was tasty, I probably wouldn’t get it again.  The cheesecake was pretty small, surrounded by unimpressive Vanilla Wafer cookies – considering a Cheesecake Factory slice costs about $6-7 for a huge piece, this one was definitely not worth $9.  It’s my fault though since Lance really wanted to order the Strawberry Shortcake Funnel Cake instead.

We ended by browsing their wine shop afterwards.  It has hundreds of varieties of wines – most of which I had never heard of before.  They had an entire table dedicated to wines under $13 (which would be a nice place to pick up a unique bottle for a party).  

Overall it was an amazing meal – the perfect spot for a date night!   

Cru Cellars is located at 2506 S MacDill Ave, Tampa, FL 33629 and is open 12pm – 10pm Tuesday – Thursday, 12pm – 11pm Friday and Saturday, and closed Sunday – Monday.