FoodFash

Adventure Begins in the Kitchen

Roll Me Out The Door

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Whether it be Crowdsavings, Restaurant.com, Living Social, TaDa, XYZ – they’re all Groupons to me.  Groupon is the new Kleenex.

So Val has mentioned using this Groupon weekly for… lots and lots of weeks.  And I’ve been saying “take your sister” for lots and lots of weeks.  But this week is her birthday week and I have a really difficult time saying no on a birthday week.

Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Pizziaolo’s cheeseless pizza.  It’s the only wood fired pizza in close proximity and I am so down with wood fired-ness!

But this is what happens…  I cheers and finish my wine.

Delicious mushroom and artichoke marinara pizza arrives.

And I finish the WHOLE. DARN. THING!

Rollin’ Oats

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There’s a running joke in Tampa that people who live in South Tampa rarely go north of Kennedy Boulevard.  Technically, I live downtown and the smidgiest smidge north of Kennedy, but apparently I’m still grouped with South Tampanians.  This is neither a fortunate nor unfortunate thing, just a random fact.

A random fact that is mostly likely responsible for the delayed discovery of a new favorite: Rollin’ Oats Market & Cafe.

The “Cooking with Tofu” class started at 6:30, but I arrived a bit early to check out the cafe.  Sesame egg salad on a spinach wrap?  Uh heck yeah!  I also ordered a teeny side of summer bean salad because I wanted to try something else from the magical case of food.

Arriving early, I was able to meet Katrina before she began preparing Polenta Lasagna and Mocha Ricotta Cream.  She was completely radiant and held my attention for the entire session.  For anyone that’s ever sat through a class/meeting/movie/anything over 15 minutes, you can appreciate that holding my attention is a near impossible task.

I have to admit that I was weary of the Polenta Lasagna.  My experiences with vegan ricotta in the past have been less than satisfactory.  And I purchased pre-packaged polenta once, had no idea what to do with it, ate it plain, and deemed it gross.

I’m glad I gave both components a second chance, the package deal was good!  I was the first of fifteen attendees to finish my entire plate and I’m fairly certain my helping was significantly larger than most!

After the first recipe sampling, I was confident the Mocha Ricotta Cream would be tasty as well.  Oh how I like being right!  I really enjoyed the use of coffee extract and I’m looking forward to testing it out in a modified version of The Chocolate Lover’s Tart.

I stayed after the workshop to pick up a few groceries and couldn’t believe how reasonable the prices were.  I looked for the three-ish items that I know how to price gauge and they were either the same or less than what I usually pay (I think).  I ran this idea by Katrina and she informed me that they try to set their prices 10 to 15 percent below the suggested retail price.  Score!

And some more of my cents…  Before tonight, I felt as though the idea of a neighborhood grocer was extinct.  But from the second I stepped into Rollin’ Oats, well…  Let’s just say I called my mom on the way home to brag that I had just discovered the Cheers of grocery stores.

 

Testing, Testing

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After a full day o’ yoga yesterday, Chrissie and I decided to fit in a little more outdoorsyness in our weekend by heading to Taste of South Tampa in Hyde Park Village.

The only tent that caught my attention,  mainly because it was the only tent that had something I could eat, was Rollin’ Oats Market & Cafe.

I was pleased to find out that they offer free cooking classes once a month!  I’m seriously entertaining the idea of attending “Cooking with Tofu” tomorrow after work.

After perusing most of the tents and not finding anything to eat (Chrissie is a veggie too), we decided to have an unofficial ‘best dessert’ contest.

The contestants were The Cupcake Spot, Gigi’s, Amelie’s, and Sweetbay.

So much dessert!!!

So much dessert that I caved…  I was so hungry and couldn’t resist the salted caramel brownie AND the rest of the mini cupcakes that were left behind.

Defeated.

It was unanimous that Amelie’s brownie was the best.  Gigi’s was a close second, but it was near impossible to top the salty, sweet, fudgey brownie!

I

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Where Thai food is concerned, the only thing better than super tasty Thai is super tasty Thai with a side of Thai Elvis, who can be found exclusively in Hollywood at Palms Thai Restaurant.

Frosty mug o’ beer to the tune of Heartbreak Hotel?  Yes, please.

Ariel and I kept it classic by ordering Tofu Pad Thai and Vegetable Curry.  I say classic because I’m fairly certain these are the two most Americanized Thai dishes one could ask for.  Irrespectively, they’re our faves.

The boys opted for a more authentic route.

Matteo had the seafood noodle soup.

And Adam ordered the Spicy Noodle Soup.

Ariel and I eagerly mocked the boys and their food presentation poses.

Palms Thai, or Thai Elvis as we like to call it, is guaranteed goodness.  And!  The deliciously heaping portions are cheaper than cheap.  With most dishes in the $7 range, you can order whatever your little heart desires without breaking the bank.