The Dessert Spot at Toffee to Go – Tampa, FL

Toffee to Go is a Tampa institution that’s been around for nearly 20 years. I had the privilege this week of having lunch with its founder and co-owner, Lisa Schalk, through my friend Rayla Bailey’s group On Fridays we Lunch. Rayla focuses on a different local female leader each month and arranges incredible lunches with young professionals to hear their success stories.

I already was very familiar with Toffee to Go - my mom worked there during one of their busy holiday seasons and the architecture firm I work for gave their gift boxes to clients last Christmas.  We had a million thank-you notes, so we’re planning to repeat the gifts again this year. I’d highly recommend it for corporate gifts since its so simple and it’s guaranteed to make everyone happy – all you need to do is give them your list of names & addresses and they do all the rest.

Lisa runs the company with her husband, Jim, whose family recipe inspired their business. At first they made it just as a gift for friends, but everyone was so impressed by the treats, they decided to start selling it. It started spreading by word of mouth, then Jim quit his job in the hotel industry to join Lisa in the toffee business full-time. 

They’ve grown from an in-home operation to now running a retail shop in Tampa and 16,000 square foot warehouse in St. Pete. Their product is so amazing that it even ended up on Oprah’s Favorite Things list!

The thing I’m most impressed by is that they have made enormous sacrifices to make their business a success. In the early years, Jim would travel for trade shows regularly, so they went 9 years straight without having a Thanksgiving together. They’ve had to turn down countless holiday parties because 80% of their business occurs in a 2-month window. 

Despite all the hard work, Lisa said that all the long hours are worth it because she loves what she does and it makes so many people happy.

This upcoming week they will launch their latest endeavor – The Dessert Spot at Toffee to Go! They’ve teamed up with other local small businesses so their Bay to Bay location will now offer Kahwa coffee, Working Cow ice cream, and Mike’s Pies. In addition, the shop will feature an assortment of decadent sweets by their pastry chef, Sharon Nasrallah, who previously was an instructor at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Orlando. Their daughter, Courtney Schalk, will be the General Manager of The Dessert Spot.

I stopped by for a sneak preview this weekend. The shop has been completely renovated with beautiful high ceilings, wood-look tile floors, a new seating area, and large display cases showcasing all the treats.

I tried a coffee ice cream with chunks of their dark chocolate pecan toffee (I realized I devoured it so quickly I didn’t get a photo).  We also brought home the most gooey, delicious cake topped with chunks of toffee and a light, airy amaretto cookie. Everything looked amazing, so I’ll need to return soon to try more!

The Dessert Spot at Toffee to Go is located at 3251 W. Bay to Bay Boulvard, Tampa, FL 33629.  They officially open for business 10am on Monday, October 9^th and will be open 10am – 9pm Monday through Thursday and 10am – 10pm on Fridays & Saturdays. Go check them out! 

Oxford Exchange – Tampa, FL

It’s great living in the town I grew up in during the holidays because so many people come home to visit their families this time of year.  Luckily I’ve gotten to catch up with a lot of my friends who have since moved away from Tampa. 

Today a group of us went out to lunch at Oxford Exchange.  I don’t know how I somehow have missed writing a blog post about this place since I've been there many times, but better late than never.  It opened back in 2012 and having a background in design, I fell in love with it immediately.  They took two older buildings (one from the 1800’s) and transformed them into a multipurpose space with coffee a tea shops, a restaurant, bookstore, and gift shop. 

The interiors are beautiful with a gorgeous glass atrium that lets in the Florida sunshine, a mix of marble and herringbone wood floors, a grand staircase in the center, and a mix of brick walls and detailed wood paneling. 

It is right across Kennedy Boulevard from the University of Tampa, so it’s the perfect place for students to come study while enjoying TeBella tea or Buddy Brew coffee. 

Today I had an arugula salad with grilled chicken, quinoa, roasted butternut squash, crispy Brussels sprouts, dried cherries, pistachios, and feta with a citrus vinaigrette.  It was probably one of the best salads I’ve had – I would definitely order it again.  My friend Alex had a side of the fried Brussels sprouts and they were huge!  

I love all of TeBella’s teas – I’ve tried a different kind each time I’ve gone there.  With my lunch today I had the carrot cake rooibos tea which was sweet and cinnamon-y.  They bring you a little silver teapot so you can enjoy several cups. 

My only complaint is that the prices are pretty high.  Although the food is incredible, I spent $30 on a salad and tea, which is a lot more than I’d normally spend on lunch.  And their gift shop is outrageously priced – I played a game with my friend James once where we had to guess the price of different items in the shop.  They do have some really beautiful gifts and it’s nice to browse. 

I’ve actually been to two wedding receptions at Oxford Exchange – my friend Leslie’s in June of 2013 and my cousin Chris’s in March of 2014.  It is the perfect backdrop to celebrate and since the Oxford Exchange does the catering, the food at both weddings was delicious. 

Photos below of Leslie & Greg’s wedding are by Anna Kirby Photography

And these pictures from Chris & Marty’s wedding are by Jason Angelini Photography (who is our photographer for our wedding next April!)

The Oxford is located at 420 W Kennedy Blvd, Tampa, FL 33602 and is open 7:30am – 5:30pm Monday – Friday and 9am – 5:30pm Saturday – Sunday.  

bartaco – Tampa, FL

 

Hyde Park Village was one of my favorite places to spend time when growing up in South Tampa.  Sadly, for awhile it turned into a bit of a ghost town, but in the past several years it’s started to revive!  Several new businesses have opened their doors in Hyde Park, and half a dozen more are scheduled to open in this next year – including Buddy Brew Coffee, Goody Goody Burgers, On Swann, and Sur La Table. 

One of the latest new arrivals was bartaco – a California beachy-vibed Mexican restaurant that took the Cactus Club’s old abandoned space on Snow Ave.  We finally checked it out this week and it definitely lived up to all the great reviews I’d heard so far!

We expected that going on a date night on a Tuesday wouldn’t be a problem, but this place was actually packed – not sure if it’s just the newness, but it seems that it’s the popular place to be.  We snagged some seats at the bar, which was fine for just the two of us.  Their atmosphere feels laid back yet upscale at the same time – I guess I’d describe it as sophisticated surfer.  The employees all wear blue and white checkered button-up shirts.  Our bartender, Raul, was super friendly and informative.  He seemed pretty excited that we were checking out the restaurant for the first time, so he went over the whole concept for us. 

Clearly their main focus is tacos.  They’re pretty cheap – just $2.50 or $3.50 each – and not just your standard beef or chicken flavors.  We ordered one each of baja fish, pork belly, spicy chorizo, curry shrimp, and sesame ribeye tacos.  We also ordered a side of their grilled corn with lime, cayenne, and cotija cheese.  You fill out the menu by ticking off how many of each menu item you’d like (sort of like at a sushi restaurant). 

While we waited for our food, we sipped on a mojito and margarita.  I think they offset the inexpensive food prices with pricey drinks, but they can definitely justify doing that because they were amazing. The margarita was one of the best I’ve ever had – they squeeze the lime juice right there in front of you, so you know it’s fresh, and it wasn’t sickly sweet like the pre-made mix that a lot of Mexican restaurants serve.  They have an entire menu just for different types of tequila (if you really wanted to go all out, you could try their tequila flights – we weren’t quite that adventurous). 

I’d recommend pretty much everything we ordered.  The corn was traditional Mexican street-style – which I’d never had before, but now I don’t want corn on the cob any other way.  I think our favorite tacos were the pork belly and chorizo. 

We finished off with something sweet – churros with chocolate dipping sauce.  When I was a kid, there used to be a churro truck that parked outside our elementary school, so they are a nostalgic food for me. 

It’s kind of a loud atmosphere, so if you’re looking for a quiet date night, this isn’t your place.  But if you want a fun night out with really tasty modern takes on Mexican food, go check them out! 

bartaco has several locations around the country.  The Tampa one is located at 1601 W Snow Ave, Tampa, FL 33606 and is open 11:30am – 11pm Sunday through Wednesday and 11:30am – 1am Thursday through Saturday.

Piquant – Tampa, FL

 

One of our Christmas presents from my parents was a stack of CL Deals to use for date nights!  So for dinner last night, we headed to Piquant in Hyde Park. 

It’s in a cute location right on the corner of Rome & Snow Avenues.  I don’t think we’d been there since Sophie’s French Bakery was in that location a few years back. 

The previous restaurant had more of an eclectic coffee shop feel – it still has the bakery, but now it’s a bit more upscale now with ghost chairs, high-back black leather banquettes, and mood lighting.

I ordered the La Tour Eiffel cocktail – the Ketel 1, passion fruit, St. Germain, bubbly & rosemary.  It was served with crushed ice, so it tasted more like a fancy slushy drink.  Lance had the Coppertail Unholy Trippel (served in a 3 Daughters glass…) We still haven’t made our wait to Coppertail Brewery in Ybor, but Lance enjoyed his beer, so we’ll have to check it out soon! 

They served some crispy baguettes before the meal – I had to restrain myself from eating the whole bread basket. 

For my meal, I ordered one of their Signature Entrées, the Braised Boeuf Short Ribs with gratin dauphinoise, wilted spinach with pine nuts & preserved lemons, bordelaise sauce, and crispy leeks.  The portion wasn’t huge, but it was plenty enough for me.  And it was clear that it was quality over quantity.  The meat was tender and flavorful, and the potatoes and veggies were perfectly cooked.  

Lance had the Piquant Burger – made with Niman Ranch grass-fed beef, topped with a red wine onion confit, heirloom tomato, and white cheddar on a challah bun. It included parmesan, parsley, and truffle oil fries.  It was the perfect burger & fries. 

We didn’t have room for dessert, but their pastry display was filled with all sorts of goodies including tarts, cupcakes, and their famous cronuts.  We’ll need to come back another day and just have sweets & fancy coffee. 

It was a really wonderful meal.  The CL Deal definitely helped with the price though, so keep an eye out on the Creative Loafing website to see whether they post another deal!

Piquant is located at 1633 West Snow Avenue, Tampa, FL 33606 and is open 8am – 8pm Sunday – Wednesday and 8am – 10pm Thursday – Saturday.   

717 South – Tampa, FL

 

Last week, we headed to 717 South for date night.  We had a CL Deal, so we got a pretty fancy dinner for a great price.  It was a Friday night, but surprisingly there was almost no one in the restaurant.  Every other time we’ve been there it’s been packed!

 

We started off with a Jai Alai & a Syrah (my wine was excellent!) 

 

 

And usually free bread isn’t worth the calories, but 717 serves complimentary toasty bread with a delicious tomato dipping sauce before the meal. 

 

For my meal, I chose one of the house specialties – lollipop pork chop.  It was served lightly smoked with Old Smokey Tennessee “apple pie moonshine” sauce, asparagus, and bacon-truffle mac & cheese. 

Lance had the hanger steak – with a fried egg, house cured bacon, baby arugula with gorgonzola vinaigrette, cilantro chimichurri and house-made white cheddar stone ground grits.  He actually got the same meal last time we went there.

 

We both cleared our plates – the food at 717 is always fantastic.  I loved the sweet sauce on my pork chop, but chimmichurri served with Lance’s steak was even better! 

It would normally be a bit pricey for us, but it ends up being reasonable if you have a CL Deal or Groupon.  Just make sure that you tip on the pre-discounted amount.  My credit card company actually sent me an alert making sure I meant to give a 40% tip – they must have thought I was just being extra generous. 

My parents gave us a bunch of CL Deals as Christmas presents this year, so we’ll have lots of date nights already paid for! 

717 South is located at 717 South Howard Avenue, Tampa, FL 33606 and is open 11:30am – 10pm Monday – Wednesday, 11:30am – 11pm Friday – Saturday, 5pm – 11pm Saturday, and 5pm – 9pm on Sunday.