New South Tampa Sushi Spot

Fall is always the busiest time for teachers, thus my summer blogging hobby has taken a back seat to lesson planning, conference nights, and grading papers. The new school year is off to a great start, though, and I've expanded my resume to include 8th grade Language Arts, Alternative Education, and sponsor of our school's Ladies' Quest club. I've also picked up a new hobby of "couponing", which is fantastically rewarding and only slightly embarrassing (I may or may not have created an excel spreadsheet to calculate savings...). I did want to take a moment, however, to share with you my latest dining experience at the newest restaurant to hit the South Tampa sushi scene- Sushi Ninja!

Apparently, Sushi Ninja has been around in the Brandon area for quite some time, but is brand new to us in South Tampa. I first heard of Sushi Ninja through the Facebook page Never Have I Ever. They wrote a blog bit about their experience at the grand opening, and it seemed pretty legit, so I checked them out on Yelp. I've found Yelp reviews to be pretty accurate and a solid indicator of what to expect at a restaurant, including suggestions for everything from cocktails to entrees. Whilst scanning through the reviews I noticed that they have a cucumber/jalapeno cocktail and I was immediately sold- hands down my favorite flavor combination in a mixed beverage. So, Trey and I jumped in the car and headed north of Gandy (which we rarely do anymore...S.O.G!).

Overall, I'd give our dining experience at Sushi Ninja an 8/10. They received points for the following:

-Yelp did not steer me wrong, the Cucumber Jalapeno Margarita was the best cocktail I've had in quite some time (as you can see, no time was wasted slurping down this magical mixture).

Cucumber Jalapeno Margarita

-Trey's a big fan of sunomono salads, and he was very pleased with their version. Lots more meat than Yoko's or Soho Sushi's, and a little tastier as well. The only draw back for me was the fact that it came in a martini glass (I'm admittedly messy and giving me anything in a martini glass is just asking for a disaster). Trey didn't seem to mind, though. His masculinity stayed in tact.

Sunomono Salad

-Very Tasty sushi! We agreed that the Volcano and the Spicy Tuna were more flavorful than what we'd experienced elsewhere. "Joe's Special Roll", however, was ironically not very "special", and was even found to be a little lackluster.

From Left...Volcano Roll, Spicy Tuna Roll, Joe's Special Roll

-The bill was comparable to other Sushi venues. Our order consisted of my glorious cucumber/jalapeno cocktail, a large hot sake, one sunomono salad, one ginger salad, 2 specialty rolls and 1 makimono roll. Our bill came to around $60.


The restaurant lost points for the following:

-I did feel that the specialty rolls were priced a little higher than what we're used to at Soho and Yoko's, anywhere from $13-$17 each. The Sake was cheaper, though, so I guess it worked out for us.

-VERY slow service. It took us over an hour to eat, and we even waited for our bill for over 15 minutes after our server had cleared our plates. I attribute this to the fact that they just opened and are still training staff and working out the kinks. Our server did seem pretty knowledgable and friendly, though.

I can't speak for the Brandon location, but overall, I'd say Sushi Ninja Tampa is a great place to try if you're looking to branch out.

Sushi Ninja Tampa is located on Kennedy Blvd. near the MacDill intersection.

Deserted Island Camping

When planning a getaway, the phrase "primitive camping" does not typically come to mind. Sharing a living space with wildlife, holding my breath while using an especially pungent port-o-potty, and brushing my teeth with a splash of water from a gallon jug do not rank as top priorities on my vacation must-haves. Even so, I packed up my bags in November 2013 and headed to the Dry Tortugas for a one of a kind camping experience.

Garden Key is not what one would call a "typical" campground. Located 70 miles west of Key West, this destination is reachable only by ferry boat or sea plane. The Yankee Freedom ferry hauled us over the deep blue waters of the Gulf, and we even "caught some air", or at least it felt like it, while plunging through the choppy waters of Rebecca's Channel. Although the ride was a little rough at times, the staff was knowledgeable, friendly, and even fed us a hearty breakfast and lunch. A great way to cruise down to the Dry Tortugas while experiencing a genuine taste of adventure on the open seas.

We were advised to bring everything we would need for the trip, as there would be "no services" available on premise. "No services" equates to no food, no fresh water, and no running water. Only the beach, a small charcoal grill, and three of the worst smelling port-o-potties I've ever encountered. So we packed our bags with care, and set out for one of the most remote camping sites available- The Dry Tortugas!

Camping Supplies - A Pink Bag Was a Must!

Our one night stay was nothing short of incredible. The Yankee Freedom and the sea plane charter company host day tours with an option of overnight camping, so once the day tour crowd sailed away, we felt we were truly stranded on a deserted island with only the neighboring campers and our packs to aid us.

Part of our camping crew

Dinner that night consisted of hot dogs and Fireball whiskey, although our neighboring campers chose to fish for their dinner in the crystal turquoise waters of the Gulf. Cellphone service? Fahgettaboutit. You might as well shut it off. So instead, we entertained ourselves with the hermit crabs that surrounded our campsite, setting them up for races and placing bets on who's crab would be the fastest. (No crabs were harmed, although some of the slower crabs did receive quite the verbal heckling...)

Racing Hermits

We also toured the Fort (which has a surprising amount of history behind it) and found hundreds of amazingly intact conch shells lining Bush Key. You aren't allowed to take anything from the islands (National Park rules) so I took pictures of my specimens before returning them to the wild for others to enjoy. 

Shells, Coral, and Sea Fan discovered in the Dry Tortugas

Although we had no delicacies and certainly not even half of the common place luxuries we take for granted, the glow of a Caribbean sunset, bathing in the warm gulf water, and being surrounded by all of nature's undisturbed glory was an incredible adventure I'll cherish for a lifetime. 

Sunset in the Dry Tortugas

To read more about the Dry Tortugas National Park and to plan your getaway, click here. 

View of the moat from Fort Jefferson

"Ladies' Night" Novel Showcases Sarasota Beaches

Happy 9th of July! I'm a little behind schedule after spending five days on the west coast, then taking the red eye flight home. Never again will I sacrifice sleep for cheap air fare! I had an awesome (and insanely expensive) time visiting my cousin in Santa Barbara, CA. The weather was nice and the food and wine were fabulous (so fabulous that my pants would no longer button by the end of the trip). As nice as California was, however,I found myself homesick by the 3rd day. Between the three hour time difference, the California drought, the $80 dinners, and the wine that costs more by the glass than I'm used to paying for a bottle, I was feeling incredibly disconnected from my friends, family, and general way of life. 

My saving grace on this trip turned out to be a novel that my cousin recommended I pick up- Ladies' Night by Mary Kay Andrews. MKA is actually a pen name for the real author, Kathy Hogan Trocheck, who is a St. Petersburg native and writes "chick-lit" based in the southeast. Her novels are typically set in Georgia (she currently resides in Atlanta) so I was excited to see her finally write a novel centered around Florida! Ladies' Night takes place in Sarasota and references Anna Maria Island, Coquina Beach, Holmes Beach, Siesta Key, and Longboat Key. As I traveled across the country this past week it was incredibly comforting reading Andrews describe our afternoon rainstorms, searching for shells on the beaches, and even the sweltering humidity that are all characteristic of our area.

If you're a female looking for a great beach read this summer, I highly recommend Ladies' Night- especially if you're going out of town and want to take a little piece of Florida with you.

For the full summary of Ladies' Night, click here!

Taking the Road Less Traveled

Being an FSU alumni (Go 'Noles!) I've made that dreaded four hour interstate trek from Tampa to Tallahassee more times over the last ten years than I care to count. Typically on these road trips I'll hit I-75 early to avoid traffic, get stuck in some sort of backup just outside of Ocala, then watch my speed like an OCD maniac on I-10 to avoid getting pulled over, all in hopes of getting to Tally in four hours or less. On my most recent trip however, I decided not to withstand the monotony of another four hour highway drive. Instead, I threw caution to the wind, told Siri to shove it, and chose the "alternate route", even if it meant I would be in the car an extra half-hour.

My journey up US-19 was quite scenic and appealed to the nature-lover in me. I ooo-ed and aww-ed over the rolling emerald hills of the horse ranches and snickered at some of the business names in the rural towns (ie. Yoga Ya'll in Chiefland).

Around 11 A.M I was in Fanning Springs, a small town on the Suwannee River, and was beginning to get a little hungry. I was deciding between a BBQ joint and a country store and grill when I saw it- Chomper's drive-thru diner. Chomper's is a small yellow building off US-19 with double sided drive-up windows and a menu that consists of roughly ten items. I went with a Cuban sandwich, the special that day (but it could be the special every day for all I know). Service was a little slower than your typical drive-thru, but when the cook handed me my lunch he gave me a big ol' southern smile and apologized for the delay- they had just opened and the grill was still warming up. I found that charming, in a southern kind of way, and it made me forget all about my wait (which wasn't that long to begin with).

Cuban Sandwich from Chompers Drive-Thru in Fanning Springs, FL

I took my lunch over to the Fanning Springs State Park and ate at a picnic table as I watched birthday party guests and vacation-goers enjoying their weekend. As for my meal, the Cuban was delicious; I was quite pleased with the smokiness of the pork. The springs also made for a nice dining atmosphere- I wished I had time to take a dip in the crystal clear 72 degree water.

Swimmers cooling off at Fanning Springs

Fanning Springs opens up to the Suwannee River

With the additional 30 minutes of drive time and my pit-stop in Fanning Springs, my total travel time was increased by about an hour. The fact that I ran into zero traffic and had a nice, relaxing lunch that did not involve the golden arches made up for it, though. The back roads of Florida have a lot to offer if you give 'em a chance. I highly recommend on your next road trip you get out of the fast lane and take a tour of the real Florida on the roads less traveled.

Wearing Flip-Flops to Mangroves...Say What??

According to Tropical Smoothie Cafe', today is National Flip-Flop Day. What better way to celebrate this funky made-up holiday than to bring you a review of Howard Avenue's new "beach bar", Sunova Beach?

If you've tried to go to Mangroves lately (and let's be honest, no one has tried to go to Mangroves lately) you may have noticed that the upscale dinner/dance club has gotten a bit of a...reverse makeover. For imagery's sake, humor me as I take you down a metaphoric road. Picture a beauty queen in a sequined gown, her hair is perfectly coiffed and everything about her sparkles and shines in the stage lighting. She's fun to take dancing every once in while, but noone really wants to hangout with this chick on a regular basis. Even though she's beautiful and has excellent taste, she's expensive to hang out with, attracts a snobbish crowd, and will reject any man that doesn't have on a button-up shirt and closed-toe shoes. Now, let's imagine we catch this same beauty queen at the swimsuit portion of the evening. We sneak her out of the competition in her bikini and buy her a shot of tequila at a dive bar. She let's her hair down, starts groovin' to Bob Marley, and ends up winning Miss Congeniality later that night. 

Metaphorically speaking, this is what has happened to Mangroves. New ownership and some major renovations have turned the once dimly lit restaurant/lounge scene into an open air, multi-colored, "beach bar" with bad-ass dinner and drink specials and a laid-back, flip-flop wearing kind of vibe. I ran across their nightly specials on 813area.com yesterday, so Trey and I headed over to SoHo to check it out. 

Photo courtesy of sunovabeachsoho.com

Trey was happy from the minute we got there, mostly because there were roughly six flat screen televisions mounted over the bar...which is of the utmost importance, because it's (fill in appropriate sport) season right now. We ordered their Thursday night special: 25 cent wings and $2 Sam Adams drafts. We also got some of their "Pomme Frites" for $3, which are just french fries with a variety of dipping sauces to choose from (i.e., siracha ketchup, blue cheese, ranch, horseradish, ect.). Everything was delicious, but what was even better was our bill:

From our arrival at 8:30 p.m. to our departure an hour later, we noticed that the music started to change from laid-back, Jimmy Buffet to Chris Brown around 9. By the time we left the female DJ was doing her thing and Lil' Jon's "Turn Down for What" was blasting through the room. The new owners did manage to keep my favorite thing from Mangroves, the upstairs dance lounge. It appears from their nightly specials list that they still do a bottle service upstairs, salvaging at least a small part of the structure's former lounge-like atmosphere.

I only have one critique for the new addition to Howard Avenue- it's name/branding strategy. Being a native Floridian, I tend to cringe a little when they call themselves a "beach bar". Hogan's can get away with it, because even though Rocky Point is a far cry from a "beach", at least they're still on the water. But a bar that sits on the SoHo strip? I think it's just a little bit cheesy, to be honest, and I'm not sure this branding concept has enough staying power to make it long-term on the strip. They sure have seemed to get everything else right, though.  All-in-all, I give the new Sunova Beach "two-very-enthusiastic-thumbs-up." Great food, great prices, great drink specials, casual and fun atmosphere, and most importantly, it is not yet overrun by 21 year olds. With these drink specials though, it will only be a matter of time before the "younger crowd" moves in, puking in the bathroom stalls and stepping all over my flip-flop clad toes. 

Enjoy National Flip-Flop Day by making your way out to the new Sunova Beach tonight...you'll be glad you did! 

Click here for nightly drink specials.

Paddle Boarders and Crab Legs

Last night Trey and I were in the mood for dinner on the water, so we ventured out to St. Pete for sunset drinks and seafood.

If you live in the bay area and haven't experienced The Getaway yet, make it a priority. Just a short drive over the Gandy bridge from South Tampa and you'll feel like you're on a vacation in the Keys. We decided to stop here for a drink before dinner since the wait at our restaurant was over an hour. When we arrived we made our way to the tiki bar to order Corona Lights. There was a cover band playing Sublime and two older ladies were on the dance floor showing off some moves that I hope, for their sake, no one caught on camera. A couple of giant-sized Jenga games were found in the white imported sand that surrounds the bar, and all the people playing laughed with big eyes and yelled "Jenga!" when the wooden structure came crashing down. We took our drinks over to the sea wall where brightly colored Adirondack chairs awaited. The bay breeze was nice, and I could wear a dress with no sleeves without getting goosebumps- my favorite time of year. Paddle boarders glided through the water in front of us as we sat and chatted about our day. We even had a dolphin sighting as he made his way through the channel. 

Relaxing before sunset at The Getaway

After sunset we made our way over to the Crab Shack, which is only about a quarter of a mile down the road. Thursday night is All You Can Eat Crab Legs for $25, which is Trey's favorite. He had four plates, but honestly would have eaten more if it weren't for me being bored to tears with a low battery on my cell phone (aka, I couldn't play Candy Crush). With full bellies and the taste of cocktail sauce and lemon butter still on our lips, we left our mini-vacation behind and crossed back over the bridge to Tampa. A quick, inexpensive "getaway" Thursday.

Trey and his 2nd order of Crab Legs at the Crab Shack

Ballin' on a Budget: The Weekend Review

Somehow, Trey and I ended up going on three vacations in the month of May, so needless to say, our bank accounts are pretty pathetic looking right now. We had less than $100 to spend on our weekend entertainment, so we hit up some deals around town that would give us more bang for our buck. 

If you don't mind a late dinner, Outback has a happy hour menu starting at 9 P.M. where you can choose from tons of their awesome apps for just $4 a piece. You can also pick from a wide selection of premium liquors (and wine you've actually heard of) for just $4 a piece as well. We went Friday night and ordered their crab stuffed mushrooms (our favorite!), a margherita flatbread, chicken wings, their signature pumpernickel bread, a Crown and Coke, and a Kettle One cocktail, all for under $25. There was no wait (we sat at the bar), and we left feeling full and satisfied. You can peruse their menu items here.

Saturday we headed over to Tropicana for the Rays game and a Weezer concert, part of their Summer Concert Series. We carpooled with some friends so that parking would be cheaper, then headed over to Ferg's around 3. DEAL ALERT: If you buy a pitcher of beer upstairs, it's only $6. They have special pricing upstairs for home games. Around four we headed over to the stadium for the game. We sat in the party deck where tickets were only $18 a piece. This is a great deal considering it also included the Weezer concert after the game. Seats were general admission for the concert, so you can move all the way to the lower levels as soon as the game ends. Field passes for the concert cost extra ($22 a piece), but we ended up scoring some for free through our friend's boss. The bad news is that it looks like Weezer was the last decent act of the summer. Check out the remaining line up here.

On the Field for Weezer at the Rays Summer Concert Series

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, it's beautiful day in south Tampa! 

#FloridaLife

Welcome!

I am returning to you from a year-long hiatus, but in this blog you won't find me writing about my dating fails or my quarter-life crises. Alas, that time in my life has come to an end. With age comes wisdom, however (and a career, a smokin' hot boyfriend, and a bank account that finally stays in the positive). This time, I'm trading in the traumas of my early twenties for all the good things your late twenties have to offer...specifically in our own awesome state of Florida.

#FloridaLife will showcase cool things to do around our great state that you may not have experienced yet. From restaurants to staycations, you'll get a firsthand review of fun ways to spend your sun-filled days as a Floridian.

So break out the bikinis and the duck-faced selfies....#FloridaLife is about to hit the scene.

FIRST POST COMING SOON!