Duckweed Urban Market – Tampa, FL

 

I bought a LivingSocial deal for $10 that gave me $20 to spend on meat and seafood at Duckweed Urban Market. 

It’s in the lower level of the Element tower, and it’s the only local grocery store for all the residents of downtown Tampa.  I had never been before, but since I sell lots of furniture to residents of the Element, I’ve heard good things about it. 

The first impression was very good – the outside is decorated with plants in brightly colored pots and has seating for people wanting to grab a quick bite.  It looks like something you’d find in New York City. 

It’s a pretty small store, but they do have many of the essentials along with some really great local venders.  When I told them about my coupon, they said I could actually use it towards anything in the store, not just meat and seafood. 

I was excited to see that they had Whatever Pops – fantastic gourmet popsicles that are normally sold at food truck events and farmer’s markets in Tampa.  I picked up a Strawberry Basil and Earl Grey Lavender Lemonade. 

I also bought some lobster ravioli from Tampasta, granola with vanilla and chocolate clusters, a dark chocolate bar with chilies & cherries by Chocolove, and a jar of pear dark chocolate cinnamon jam from The Urban Canning Company. 

We had the ravioli for dinner last night and it was delicious.  The granola I’ve been eating for breakfast in parfaits, and we’ve been savoring the chocolate bar (I love the sweet & spiciness).  The chocolate had a Shakespeare poem inside, which was a nice touch.  

 

 

I haven’t had the chance to eat the popsicles or jam yet, but I’ve had several other Whatever Pops and they’ve always been incredibly fresh.  We have a few other jellies to use up before I crack this one open, but if it tastes as good as it sounds, I may have to go back for more. 

I will say that the quality of what I bought was fantastic.  But the prices are out of my normal grocery budget – the 6 items I bought came to a total of $33.  I’m all for supporting local businesses and I love the unique products, but I’d have to make a bit more money if I wanted to shop here regularly. 

Duckweed Urban Market is located at 803 North Tampa Street, Tampa, FL 33602 and is open 10am – 10pm Monday – Thursday, 10am – 11pm Friday, 8am – 11pm Saturday, and 8am – 10pm on Sunday.   

Locale Market – St. Petersburg, FL

 

We spent the day on Tuesday wandering St. Petersburg with our friends Laura and Thu.  We started the afternoon off at Locale Market – which just opened in the brand new Sundial shopping mall (previously called Baywalk). 

The market is led by chefs Michael Mina and Don Pintabona and consists of 11 different food stations in a gorgeously designed space.  When I was in college studying interior design, one of our school projects was to design a gourmet grocery store.  This is everything I could have imagined and even more!  The signage, artfully arranged displays, and even the plating of the food are all so thoughtfully crafted – it is clear their designers were attentive to the little details.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It spans two stories and has everything – including a butcher, bakery, freshly made pasta, cheese, and charcuterie stations, produce, wine, beer, kitchen gadgets, and even ready-to-eat meals that can be enjoyed on their outdoor patio. 

 

 

 

 

While wandering, Thu enjoyed a grapefruit sorbet that was tart and refreshing.  We were given free samples as we walked around – including mozzarella that had just been made, sausage, and some delicious cheese. 

 

We ordered some lunch at the counter to eat out on the patio – the smoked St. Louis ribs with guava BBQ sauce came with an almond, molasses and marshmallow filled sweet potato and braised greens.  Lance had the Commander Hileman’s fried chicken, with potato & mushroom gratin and also served with greens. 

The seasoning on the ribs was incredible – and the fried chicken was surprisingly light with a bit of citrusy flavor.  The sides were equally as delicious.  We were blown away by our meals. 

It reminds me of Mazzaro’s Market (although it is definitely on the higher end for prices…)  It has only been open since December 17^th, but it has already had rave reviews.  The quality of everything they sell is top-notch.  If I had tons of money to splurge, I would buy this place out. 

Locale Market is located at 179 2nd Ave North  St. Petersburg, Florida 33701 and is open 10am – 9pm Monday – Saturday and 12pm – 8pm on Sunday.   

Trader Joe’s Cheeses

We went on a grocery run to Trader Joe’s last night.  They have such an amazing selection of cheeses at a bargain, so every time we go, we buy a kind we haven’t tried before. 

So far we’ve have loved every single one we’ve tried.  The Smoked Gouda is one of our favorites (you can see it in this post).  Their Toscano cheeses are amazing (they have one coated in black pepper and one soaked in Syrah).  The Unexpected Cheddar is a crumbly cheese with bits of Parmesan mixed into the white cheddar.  Lance’s favorite is the Red Leicester with Chili and Red Bell Pepper, which is a mix of sweet and spicy.  I think my favorite so far has been the English Farmhouse Cheddar with Caramelized Onions (it was amazing in this salad, but also perfect for snacking with crackers). 

Last night we tried two new varieties – Blueberry & Vanilla Chevre Goat Cheese and Creamy Danish Havarti.  For dinner we snacked on a plate with these two cheeses, Kalamata olives, Italian salame, “More Than a Mouthful Trek Mix”, olive tapenade, Raisin Rosemary Crisps, and Fig & Olive Crisps. 

Both cheeses were fantastic – the Blueberry Chevre tasted like it should be a dessert.  And the Havarti is a nice basic cheese that would pair with anything. 

The Raisin Rosemary crisps are my go-to cracker at Trader Joe’s (I found a recipe for them in this post).  The Fig & Olive crisps were a bit chewier – still nice flavor, but I like the Raisin Rosemary better. 

The Trek Mix is a blend of dried cranberries, dark chocolate sea salt & Turbinado sugar almonds, pumpkin seeds, and Greek yogurt coated pretzels.  It was very good, but I think I’ll stick with just buying the dark chocolate almonds since they're the best part of the mix.  The sea salt & Turbinado sugar are a perfect sweet & salty combo - they are one of my favorite sweet treats. 

We buy the salame almost every time we go – the peppered kind is my favorite.  We also bought fresh garlic & herb pizza dough and Creamy Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce on this trip, so we're planning to use the rest of the salame as a pizza topping. 

I love that we can go to Trader Joe’s and make several impulse buys, and yet the total bill always ends up being much lower than I anticipate.  It’s like getting Whole Foods or Fresh Market quality foods for Publix prices.  So happy we have a Tampa location now! They’ve been spreading quickly, with 15 open or soon-to-open Florida locations. 

Trader Joe’s Tampa is located at 3808 W Swann Ave, Tampa, FL 33609 and is open 8am – 9pm every day. 

New Leaf Produce – Tampa, FL

Our fridge was running pretty low on fresh fruits and veggies (I think all we had in the crisper drawer was a lemon and some parsley), so this morning I stopped by New Leaf Produce.  They had sent me a coupon in the mail for $10 off my purchase of $20.  

I had been there awhile ago when I lived down the street, but back then it was called “Garden of Eaton”.  It is a small farmers market with decently priced produce and plants.  They also have seafood, cheeses, and freshly cut roses in their refrigerated section.  You can take a walk-through of the market on their Google Map here.

They have a nice variety of basic produce that is in season – but if you’re looking for something specific, you may want to check your normal grocery store.  Today they didn’t have pomegranates or Serrano peppers that were on my shopping list. 

The only other complaint I’d have is that my receipt didn’t really itemize my purchase – they just rang up “tomatoes” multiple times for different prices, so I couldn’t really tell how much I paid for each item.  I didn’t even buy tomatoes today!  The top says “refund requires receipt”, but it doesn’t really make sense if it doesn’t even outline the foods. 

One thing I really love is their bumped and bruised area in the back – fruits and veggies that are marked down because they aren’t in perfect shape.  As their sign says, they are great for cooking or juicing.  They also have overripe bananas that would work well for banana bread. 

A French supermarket called Intermarché came up with a similar way to prevent food waste.  They marked down the imperfect produce, calling them “Inglorious Fruits and Vegetables”.  The idea was so popular they couldn’t keep the damaged foods on the shelves. 

Overall, New Leaf Produce was a nice place to shop, but I did need to take a trip afterwards to Publix to pick up the rest of my list.  Without my $10 off coupon, the prices would have been pretty similar to other grocery stores, so I’d probably only go there if I was already in the area and only had a short grocery list.   

New Leaf Produce is located at 3401 S West Shore Blvd, Tampa, FL 33629 and is open from 7am – 7pm every day.