Ella’s Soul Food Sundays – Tampa, FL

 

I ate at Ella’s Americana Folk Art Café for the first time last month (see this post) and was blown away by the food.  Even before that, I’d heard high praise for their Soul Food Sundays.  Unfortunately Lance and I rarely have Sundays off together (downside of working retail…) so we hadn’t gotten the chance to try it out.

 

He’s been scheduled to work Thanksgiving night next week, so as compensation they gave him this Sunday off.  First time we’ve had a weekend day off together since Easter! 

Since I’ve heard that Ella’s gets packed on Sundays, we got there a half hour before they opened just to be safe.  There were already about a dozen people in line before us, and by opening time at 11am, nearly 50 people were in line!

 

 

We sat out on the patio to enjoy the nice weather and started with breakfast cocktails – I had their famous Bloody Ella, and Lance had a Mango Mimosa.  Lance’s drink was very sweet – there were so many mimosa flavors to pick from, but he seemed happy with the choice of mango. 

 

 

 

Their version of a Bloody Mary is garnished with an olive, lime, and a whole hickory smoked rib!   The drink itself was a bit spicier than I’m used to, but it was worth it just for the rib – I should have ordered a whole rack of them. 

For my meal I ordered the Funky Monkey Waffle – topped with Nutella, banana, and toasted peanuts.  I of course loved it, but Lance’s meal was really the one that stood out.  He had the Smoked & Fried Chicken and Waffles with a side of collard greens.  The chicken is marinated in buttermilk and tarragon, hickory smoked, then Corn Flake fried.  The two drumsticks and thigh were served with a Belgian waffle and bourbon maple gravy. 

 

It was the best fried chicken either of us had had in our lives.  The meat was juicy and bursting with flavor, and while most fried chicken has greasy skin, the corn flake exterior was perfectly crispy. 

 

The huge meal held us over until dinnertime.  After brunch, we stopped by Treasure Island Beach to check out their Sanding Ovations sand sculpting competition.  They’ll still be up for 3 more weeks if you have the chance to see them yourselves!

 

Ella’s Americana Folk Art Cafe is located at 5119 N Nebraska Ave, Tampa, FL 33603 and is open 5pm – 11pm Tuesday through Thursday, 5pm – 12am Fridays and Saturdays, and 11am – 8pm on Sundays.

Back to the Thai Temple – Tampa, FL

Two weeks ago, we went to the Thai Temple Sunday Market with our friend, Vimmi.  I enjoyed it so much that Vimmi and I headed back today! 

You can read my previous post for more info on the market.  Although I loved all my foods from last visit, I wanted to try a few new things this time. 

We still bought a bag of the fried bananas – they are too good to pass up.  I’m sure they are one of the least healthy options at the market – but at least we split them. 

This time I tried the pork noodle soup – Vimmi had the vegetarian version.  The line for the soup is one of the longest, so it is clearly a favorite of the regulars.  They let you pick the thickness of noodle for the soup (we both got thin angel hair noodles). My broth had meat mixed in to the noodles and vegetables, as well as Thai pork meatballs.  The meatballs tasted like doughy dumplings…I didn’t realize there was any meat in them.  We both ordered the “small” size soup – although they were actually pretty large!

Last night it poured rain, so the area with picnic benches was flooded.  We found a pavilion to sit under and avoided the muddy tables. 

After our meal, we picked up dessert to-go.  I chose the “khanom kauew” (small banana cakes).  There was a bonus orange-colored cake called “khanom taan” in with the others.  It was made from the fruit of a palm tree, which I had never tried before.  

The khanom kauew didn’t really have a cake texture - it just felt like mashed up bananas coated in coconut flakes.  I preferred the khanom taan – it had a spongy texture and sweet flavor.  It’s too bad my box only had one of the palm cakes.  Most of the desserts are new to me, so I’ll never know until I try them.  

Visiting the Thai Temple is the perfect way to spend a Sunday morning. 

The Wat Mongkolrata Sunday Market is located at 5306 Palm River Rd, Tampa, FL 33619 and is open 10:30am – 2pm.

Thai Temple – Tampa, FL

A few weeks ago, our neighbor, Vimmi, told us about a Sunday morning market at the “Thai Temple”.  I had somehow never heard of it, yet when I looked up more info online, it was rated as the #10 best attraction in Tampa on Tripadvisor and everyone on Yelp raved about it!  Growing up in Tampa (and loving Asian food), I’m not sure how I could have possibly missed the memo. 

It takes place at grounds of the Wat Mongkolrata Buddhist Temple, which is just between Brandon and Tampa overlooking the Palm River.  You can tell the food is worthwhile because there were people directing the traffic for parking!  The location is beautiful.  The first thing we noticed was the ornate temple and golden Buddha statue.  There are picnic benches shaded by oak trees overlooking the river – a nice peaceful site to enjoy a Sunday morning. 

Dozens of tables were set up with volunteers serving a variety of meats, curry dishes, noodle soups, kabobs, salads, egg and spring rolls, drinks, and desserts.  They also had stands set up selling fresh fruits, vegetables, and flowers.  Some of the foods were ones I had never even heard of before.  We sampled a small sweet fruit called a longan (which translates to “Dragon Eye” – the texture actually was a bit like an eyeball).

Vimmi got a vegetarian noodle soup and some amazing fried bananas.  

I had Thai tea, and Lance and I split pork egg rolls, shrimp spring rolls, and a coconut dessert made with sticky rice.  Everything tasted so fresh and authentic.  I really loved the peanut dipping sauce for the spring rolls.  Lance also bought some chicken wings and sausage to bring to work for lunch.  

Be prepared with cash since there are no credit cards accepted.  Although you really don’t need much because it’s all very reasonably priced!  Lance and I together barely spent around $15, and that included the extra food he bought to go. 

I’m only regretting that I didn’t find out about this market sooner!  I’m sure I’ll be a regular now – especially once the weather cools off a bit.  If anyone is free on a Sunday, let me know because I’m already ready to go back again! 

The Wat Mongkolrata Sunday Market is located at 5306 Palm River Rd, Tampa, FL 33619 and is open 10:30am – 2pm (but get there early!).