Bowled

One of the things I like about living in St. Pete is the convenience and the neighborly feel about it. There are quite a few restaurants that just give you that casual feel, but are able to offer good food. One of those restaurants is becoming a regular for me, Bowled. It’s a small restaurant in a little plaza off 4th Street North. Very casual, the staff is always friendly, and the food is quite good. They certainly offer variety in their menu, and as for the name sake, they have items in the menu that are served in large bowls.

This was actually my third time at Bowled, and I must admit, the first time I went, I wasn’t that impressed with what I ordered, but then, I went back for breakfast one weekend and the food was great. This time, my friend and I had dinner and I had the Crab Cake. What I liked about the crab cake is that it had a lot of meat, not just stuffing to make it seem meaty. My friend had the Chicken and Portobello Cannelloni, which was covered in cheesy goodness. I admit, I think I liked his food better. Needless to say, Bowled is just one of those places that you go to for a nice casual dinner and you know you will have something good.

Savannah's Cafe

My friend Erica and I tried this trendy southern cafe in downtown St. Petersburg last night. I've heard so many good things about this place, and well, we thought we should try it. We're both very glad that we did. The food was amazing, and the service was excellent. Our waiter was quite attentive, and I'm sorry, but that's hard to come by in the Tampa Bay area. The atmosphere is very downhome like, but quite contemporary at the same time. It does give you that old Savannah feel.

For appetizers, we tried the Fried Green Tomatoes with roasted red pepper puree and topped with goat cheese mixed with pecans. The combination of flavors worked really well together. We also tried to Lobster Ravioli that was poached in lime butter sauce with a splash of tequila. I really could have made a meal out of this one. It was fantastic.


For our entree, we had the Candied Pecan Encrusted Grouper, which laid on a bed of sweet potato salad, with crispy beets and candied cranberries, sprinkled with a sweet balsamic vinaigrette. The fish was fresh and again, they know how to combine their flavors well. We did have a side of Fried Okra just to try, I have to say, I've never been a big fan of Okra, but Erika enjoyed it.


And finally, the dessert! We had this wonderful chocolate mouse on top of candied pecans, drizzled in caramel sauce, need I say more! It was heavenly!

All in all, it was a wonderful experience. The atmosphere was great, the food was excellent, and the service was wonderful.

Homemade Pizza

I invited some friends over for dinner this past weekend, and I was at a loss as far as what to serve since a couple of them are slightly picky about their food. So I had this idea- make your own Pizza dinner. It was actually really simple. I bought premade pizza dough at the grocery store. As far as toppings, well, I bought several types of cheeses, spinach, really good pepperoni, Prosciutto Ham, fresh tomatoes, sundried tomatoes, baby portabellos, and everyone got to make their own pizza. Simply line up the ingredients for everyone, roll out the dough, and have everyone add whatever they want on top. Make sure you have several pizza pans or have several personal size pizza pans.

For dessert, I figured I'd make a Pizza dessert, which was very simple- Gorgonzola Cheese, Apples, and Cinnamon sugar. This is very easy to make, and make a great dessert or breakfast. Simply roll out a pizza dough, then sprinkle a good amount of cinnamon sugar on top, then put a layer of granny smith apples that have been sliced, sprinkle some gorgonzola cheese on top, then more cinnamon sugar. Next, place a few pieces of cubed butter over the top then bake at 400 degrees until it's a little bubbly and the cheese is slightly melted.

Not only was the food great, it made a really interactive dinner party- everyone enjoyed making their personalized pizza.

Amelita's Spanish/Cuban Cafe

So I had lunch at this hole in the wall place on Saturday called Amelita's. It's a small cuban cafe. The cafe is in a little plaza of 62nd Avenue and 2nd Street North in St. Petersburg FL. They recently just opened in this location. The atmosphere needs a lot of work. Not a lot going on. The food was good, but I've had far better cuban food, but the cuban coffee was excellent.

We had Roasted Pork with a side of Yellow Rice and Fried Plantains. The pork was nice and tender, could use a little side of Mojo sauce. The yellow rice was a little on the greasy side but it had flavor. We also ordered a cuban sandwich, which had a good amount of ham in it. I liked how it didn't have an abundance of mayo and mustard.

I would definitely go back to have coffee, and perhaps try something else on the menu, if I'm ever in the mood for cuban food and don't want to drive too far.

Whitehouse Fruit Farm

During my visit to Ohio, my best friend took me to a place called Whitehouse Fruit Farm (located in Canfield). I love this place! What could be better than fresh home-grown produce. All local products, freshly baked goods (you must try the cinnamom apple donut and the homemade fudge) from the bakery, the Deli offers local Ohio meats and cheeses. They carry all local products including my favorite coffee, Mitch's.

So we were on a mission to find things for our Sunday brunch. We found fresh Zucchinis and Blueberries! So we made a Frittata with the Zucchini, and waffles with the Blueberries.

The Frittata was very simple...this is Abby's adaptation of Williams-Sonoma's Zucchini Frittata w/ Goat Cheese. Since Abby is unable to eat goat cheese until after her pregnancy, we used Mozarella cheese as a substitute.

You will need the following:

10 eggs

A pinch of salt

1 1/2 tbsp. unsalted butter

2 to 3 small zucchini (slice 1/8 inch thick)

2 tbsp. fresh oregano leaves

2 tbsp. fresh parsley (or dried)

4 oz. mozarella cheese

Whisk the eggs and salt in a bowl and set aside.

In a deep frittata pan, melt 1 tbsp. of the butter over medium heat . Once melted, add the zucchini and sprinkle with a little more salt. Saute for 30 seconds. Add the oregano and parsley and cook for about 30 seconds.

Add the eggs, quickly and lightly stir the eggs in a small circular motion to combine them with the zucchini. Using a spatula, gently lift the cooked edges to allow the uncooked edges to flow underneath. Sprinkle the cheese on the frittata and do not stir. Reduce the heat to low and cook without stirring for about 4 to 5 minutes.

In the shallow frittata pan, melt the remaining butter over medium heat. Place the shallow pan upside down on top of the deep pan and flip the frittata into the shallow pan. Reduce the heat to low and cook, covered for about 3 minutes. Remove the top pan and continue cooking for another 5 minutes. If you don't have a frittata pan, you can simply put the pan in the oven once you have sprinkled the cheese.

Lift the frittata slowly from the pan and transfer to a plate. Wait about 5 minutes before cutting and serving. This is great for dinner also with some bread and wine! Enjoy!

http://www.whitehousefruitfarm.com/