Yoga at Bamboozle & The Brew Brunch

 

This past Sunday I started off the morning with my cousin Jenn and friend Hillary at Bamboozle’s Sunday Salutation Yoga.  It is a free class offered every Sunday morning – it’s only been going on for a few weeks now, but I’d highly recommend checking it out! 

 

We set up our mats right in front of the Tea Lounge.  It was the perfect way to start off the morning.  Plus someone outside had adorable corgi puppies!

Afterwards, Lynn at Bamboozle gave us complimentary tea and brunch samples – and I cooled off with my favorite coconut milk drink with chia seeds.  If you want to participate, check out their facebook page for more info.

I was excited to have Sunday off work because Green Bench Brewing hosted a Brew Brunch!  From the flyer, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but I knew I wanted to check it out.  So we headed to St. Pete to see what it was about. 

 

It was PACKED!  Every time I’ve been to Green Bench, it’s been a weekday, so I’m used to there being about a dozen people there.  There were hundreds of people – and their kids and dogs. (We saw ANOTHER corgi!)  The photo below was from Local Buds: Artisan Collective’s facebook page – it shows way better than my pictures just how many people were there.    

We grabbed a saved a spot at a bench inside while some of the other girls waited in line for the food.  The tables were covered in beautiful succulent arrangements by O’Berry’s Succulents.

I ordered a flight of beers while we waited.  I especially liked their featured tap called Sometimes You Don’t – a toasted coconut, vanilla, and chocolate milk stout.  Since Lance had to work, I filled up a growler of the Surrealist IPA to bring home (he likes it, but I’m not a big fan of sour beers).  Apparently Squeeze Juice Works was serving collaborative beer mimosas, but I didn’t realize that until after I already ordered my flight!

 

The brunch was served by the food truck The Twisted Iron, which had all sorts of fancy waffle varieties.  Some were sweet like the Elvis waffle topped with peanut butter, bacon, and bananas; others were savory like the Philly-style steak and cheese waffle with sautéed mushrooms and onions.  It took over an hour to get food since it was so crowded!

 

I tried the chicken and waffles, served with honey mustard and maple syrup.  Unfortunately, by the time we got our food, they had run out of the fancy syrup.  So we ended up with Smuckers instead.  Guess we need to get there earlier next time.  The double stout honey mustard was great – it was made by The Urban Canning Company (I had just bought some of their Pear Dark Chocolate Cinnamon Jam from Duckweed the other day). 

 

Afterwards we stuck around for some fun playing giant jenga out on their patio.

 

 

 

 

Bamboozle Tea Lounge is located at 109 N 12th St #101, Tampa, FL 33602 and open from 11:30am – 9pm Mondays through Saturdays, and 11am – 4pm for brunch on Sundays.

 

Green Bench Brewing is located at 1133 Baum Avenue North, St. Petersburg, FL 33705 and is open 2pm – 10pm Tuesday – Thursday, 2pm – 12am Friday, 12pm – 12am Saturday, and 12pm – 10pm on Sunday.  They are closed Mondays. 

Bamboozle Tea Lounge Takeout

I’m helping write a healthy living blog for the restaurant Bamboozle (we just started, but you can check it out here).  So you may see a lot of their food on my blog! 

 

I called ahead a few nights ago so I could pick up dinner on the way home from work.  You can order online for pickup if you want – this is actually the first time I did carryout (I love their atmosphere, so usually I dine in). 

I normally order the fresh rolls, but I thought I’d try something different this time.  I got the Tiger Shrimp Baby Noodle Salad, a Beef Pho soup, and Pork Banh Mi – lots of different types of meats!

 

The food was ready just as I walked in so it was super convenient.  I carefully drove home with the blue bag in my passenger seat and we enjoyed the meal very much.  Lance was especially a fan of the Banh Mi sandwich (he didn’t want to share!)

Bamboozle Tea Lounge is located at 109 N 12th St #101, Tampa, FL 33602 and open from 10:30am – 9pm Mondays through Fridays, 11am – 9pm on Saturdays, and 11:30am – 4pm for brunch on Sundays.

Brunch at Bamboozle Tea Lounge - Tampa, FL

 

One of my favorite restaurants, Bamboozle Tea Lounge, invited me to preview their new brunch menu, which debuts later this month on Sunday, October 26^th.  You can read more about Bamboozle on this blog post from August. 

 

 

Up until now, they have been closed Sundays.  The owner, Lynn Pham, tells me that they’ll start off with brunch on just Sundays, then if it is popular, it may expand to other days of the week. 

 

 

We sampled a bit of everything from their new brunch menu this morning, and I can tell you it’s all incredible!  Just like their lunch and dinner items, the brunch selection was all carefully crafted with fresh ingredients.  It was filling, yet light enough that we didn’t feel guilty afterwards. 

 

 

We started off with the mini beignets – French doughnuts coated with powdered sugar and cinnamon.  There were several drizzles to choose from – including honey, condensed milk, and chocolate syrup – and then roasted coconut, almonds, and crushed peanuts to garnish.  Lance loaded our beignets with a bit of everything!  They were perfectly light and flaky, just as if they were bought in New Orleans. 

 

 

 

 

Next we split one of the exotic fresh fruit parfaits.  The Greek yogurt was layered with tropical fruits, roasted coconut, local honey, and organic artisan granola from local Bake’n Babes.  I’d say it’s the best parfait I’ve ever eaten. 

 

 

Next we tried the pate chaud – a Vietnamese French chicken puff pastry.  Lance had skipped it at first since he thought it was just bread, but when he saw it had chicken inside, he grabbed one for himself.  It ended up being his favorite item this morning – I think if we didn’t fill up on other foods he would have eaten a half dozen more. 

 

There are several mini dessert options on the brunch menu as well – including Nutella cheesecake bites, mini pear cupcakes, mini Vietnamese coffee cupcakes, and mini 5-spiced carrot cupcakes.  I don’t think the carrot was there this morning, but the rest we sampled were wonderful.  The pear cupcakes were made again by Bake’n Babes – they were topped with a caramel miso glaze and ginger candy.  Wow!  The caramel on top almost tasted a bit like flan.  Then the ginger added a nice Asian twist. 

 

 

 

The fresh rolls from their normal menu were also included in the brunch.  We sampled a chicken one served with peanut dressing, and a fresh fruit roll with citrus dressing.  My personal favorite roll of theirs is the Coco – Tiger shrimp, shredded coconut, pineapple, jicama, and mint with the citrus dressing. 

 

Lynn served us each pineapple lychee mimosas with mint syrup – they were sweet and refreshing.  We also tried the Vietnamese slow drip coffee – made with Monde-French Chicory coffee and sweetened with condensed milk.  It tasted more like a dessert drink – very yummy. 

 

 

 

 

Behind the counter they had 4 flavors of their seasonal fresh fruit infused sake that will be made into spritzers – those will available starting this Friday for their Open Mic Night. 

 

I noticed that they have a Pumpkin Spice tea on the shelf, so once it cools off a bit more, I’ll be back for that! 

 

We feel so privileged to have been included in this preview brunch – I have only good things to say about Bamboozle!  Everyone who works there is so inviting, and the food won’t disappoint.  If you haven’t been – go check them out immediately.  They have a downtown café as well, but I tend to go to the Tea Lounge since it’s close to my work and has a laid-back atmosphere. 

Bamboozle Tea Lounge is located at 109 N 12th St #101, Tampa, FL 33602 and open from 10:30am – 9pm Mondays through Fridays, 11am – 9pm on Saturdays, and 11:30am – 4pm for brunch on Sundays starting October 26^th.