Vizcaya Restaurant & Tapas Bar – Tampa, FL

 

I heard about Vizcaya from Tasting Tampa’s Top 10 list of restaurants in the Carrollwood area.  I haven’t had one of their top ten restaurants fail me yet, so I was excited to see that Vizcaya had posted a deal on LivingSocial for $50 to spend for only $28 (you can still get the deal by clicking this link).   

Last weekend we went there for dinner.  Being a weekend, it was pretty crowded, but we got a table out on their patio without a wait. 

 

I started with a basil pear martini and Lance had a mojito.  My drink was sweet and refreshing – Lance’s was tasty, but could have just been lime and mint flavored water. 

Their crunchy bread was served with olive oil drizzled with balsamic, peppery romesco sauce, and garlic – If we had more of the dipping sauce, I probably would have finished the bread basket. 

We ordered the Datiles con Panceta (dates stuffed with Manchego cheese and Serrano ham, wrapped in bacon then fried), the Cazuelita de Conejo (wild rabbit, fire roasted peppers and mushrooms in Rioja wine sauce), and the Paella de Mariscos (jumbo prawns, scallops, grouper, calamari, mussels, and clams over saffron stewed Spanish Bomba rice). 

 

The dates were terrific – I would definitely order them again.  The flavor of the rabbit was very good, but unfortunately there were so many tiny hidden bones that it was pretty difficult to eat.  The paella tasted very authentic – $27 is a bit more than I'd normally spend on it, but with the LivingSocial coupon it was definitely worth it.  The rice was so good that we took the leftovers home even after we ate all the fish.  Overall a really wonderful meal and we went home with full bellies! 

Vizcaya Restaurant & Tapas Bar is located at 10905 N Dale Mabry Hwy, Tampa, FL 33618.  They are open 11:30am – 2pm and 5:30pm – 10pm Monday – Friday, 5:30pm – 10pm on Saturday, and closed on Sunday. 

Bacon Wrapped Dates

 

I’ve made bacon wrapped dates for two separate potlucks this week – they are one of the easiest appetizers to make, and they taste incredible.  Anyone could make these – it takes almost no cooking skills whatsoever. 

The second batch I made I actually drizzled with balsamic glaze.  You could also stuff them with goat cheese if you want to be extra fancy!

Bacon Wrapped Dates

Ingredients:

·        Dried, pitted dates

·        Bacon

·        Balsamic glaze (optional)

·        Toothpicks

 

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

2. Cut your bacon in half.  

3. Wrap each date in a half slice of bacon and hold together with a toothpick and place on a baking sheet with edges (to make sure the bacon grease doesn’t run off the sides).

 

4. Cook your dates for 15 minutes, then flip them over and bake them an additional 10 – 15 minutes more, or until the bacon starts to get crispy. 

5. Put on serving plate and drizzle with balsamic glaze.