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On TampaPlanet.com every Thursday: Breaking local restaurant news and reviews, beer/wine/restaurant deals, hot and cool wines, and the best ingredients for the buck. Brought to you by TaylorEason.com

Check out www.TaylorEason.com for more daily food and wine information.


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1. Jeannie Pierola Back with KitchenBar

Tampa Tribune: Tampa's Pierola back with another version of Kitchenbar

"When chef Jeannie Pierola opens the third installation of her Kitchenbar pop-up restaurant next week, this time at Restaurant BT, she'll do so with the critical success of two previous incarnations at her back. The restaurant, which she playfully has dubbed KB3 @ BT, will be open Tuesdays through Saturdays, from Tuesday to Aug. 27, at 2507 S. MacDill Ave. But when Pierola announced late in 2010 that she planned to pull off a temporary pop-up restaurant in South Tampa for two weeks in November, food fans were surprised, to say the least. Pop-ups were the stuff of Los Angeles and New York City. Bringing a big-city idea to a town most identified as the home of chain restaurants would be a challenge. Plus, Pierola had been out of the cooking game since 2007, when she left as executive chef at Bern's Steak House and SideBern's in Tampa and did consulting work."
story here

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2. Mary Scourtes Review: Costa's in Tarpon Springs

tayloreason.com: When in Tarpon Springs, coast to Costa’s Restaurant

"When a Greek fisherman catches an octopus, he leaves it out in the sun to dry before he pounds his prey into submission. But there are other ways to soften the cephalopod. Costa’s Restaurant owner Stelios Migadakis boils this creature from the briny deep. He says he is careful not to cook it too long or too short because it’s tricky tenderizing its tough muscles and connective tissues. After broiling it with lemon, garlic and oregano, he sells a whopping 100 pounds of this tentacled treat every week. The dish is No. 1 in his small café.

Costa’s is not on tourist’s row along the Bayou in Tarpon Springs, but tucked on a side street. It is a few doors down from National Bakery where Stelios buys his delicious bread. His mother’s recipes, along with good service, keep his place filled with the locals."
review here

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3. Scotch Whiskey: Lesson Two

tayloreason.com: Answers to 10 essential questions about whisky (part two)

"Sean Ludford is a regular contributor to TaylorEason.com, a veteran spirits educator and publishes at BevX.com. Check out Sean’s bio here.

This is part 2 of 2 posts answering questions about the enigma known as Scotch Whisky. Read part one here.

11. Cask strength whisky; what does this mean? It simply means that the whisky was bottled at the cask’s (or group of casks’) natural strength. Most spirits are diluted with water at the time of bottling to meet a uniform standard, with 40% alcohol by volume being the most common. Cask strength spirits are not diluted and often not altered in any way.

12. How strong is whisky? Whisky must be bottled at a minimum of 40% alcohol by volume, which translates to 80 proof in the U.S. (Read about proof versus alcohol by volume) This is the standard strength found in most dry spirits (liqueurs are typically bottled at a lesser strength.)
rest of lesson here

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4. Scotch Whiskey: Lesson One

tayloreason.com: Answers to 10 essential scotch whisky questions (part one)

"Sean Ludford is a regular contributor to TaylorEason.com. He is a veteran spirits educator and publishes at BevX.com. Check out Sean’s bio here.

There is no reason to fear Scotch Whisky. Be assured that there is no secret handshake, no Gaelic password, and no initiation rights to be performed (although a kilt doesn’t hurt). Your curiosity for new flavors and experiences is all that is required. If you have made the leap to distilled spirits and have acclimated to their inherent strength, easing into Whisky will be an easy transition. If you are a wine lover flirting with the idea of discovering whisky, come on in – the water is warm.

1. What is Scotch? First know that Scotch is purely Scottish. It is not a style of whisky rather simply a whisky that is made in the nation of Scotland. It also has to be aged in oak barrels for at least three years to legally be called Scotch Whisky – more on barrel aging later."
rest of lesson here

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5. Beer Review: Evil Twin Brewing

tayloreason.com: First beer tastes: Invasion of Evil Twin Brewing

"The U.S. is currently being invaded by Evil Twins. No, it’s not the next sci-fi series to be canceled on FX, but beers from the high-end Evil Twin Brewery out of Copenhagen, Denmark. The Danish suds made their American debut in New York City on April 18th, 2011 and release parties have been spotted at beer bars across our thirsty land ever since. Recently I was fortunate enough to attend one of these fests and lay lips to four of these delicious ales first hand.

Yin: An Imperial Stout weighing in at 10% ABV. Ominously dark but clean with plenty of roasted malt notes. The alcohol could be felt throughout, especially on the finish. Grade: B"
full review here

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6. Mary Scourtes Review: L'Eden

tayloreason.com: No forbidden fruit at Tampa’s L’Eden Restaurant

"Remembering the most spectacular fireworks show along the Champ de Mars on Bastille Day epitomizes my taste for all thing French. Being part of that massive July 14 holiday is a celebration that I can cross off my bucket list. And every Bastille Day I long for a return to France. Despite the fact Gerard Jamgotchian has observed many Bastille hooplas, his global restaurant L’Eden had no special menu planned. But he did offer beer and wine specials. Raised in Marseilles, the widely travelled chef of L’Eden recasts traditional French finds along with toothsome Spanish, Greek and Italian dishes."
review here

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7. Jason Fernandez To Open Ybor Restaurant

St. Petersburg Times: Longtime Bay Area restaurateur eyes new spot in Ybor City

"YBOR CITY — Jason Fernandez, fourth-generation Tampa native and longtime bay area restaurateur (Bernini, Ybor's Green Iguana, former co-owner of Malio's and founder of Ybor's new Hot Willy's hotdogs), has just signed a lease at 1600 E Eighth Avenue. At the site of the defunct L'Olivier Restaurant and Cabaret, he will launch Carne Chophouse in October."
story here

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8. Pop Up Restaurants Make Mark in Tampa

Tampa Tribune: Pop-up restaurants make their mark – even in Tampa

"TAMPA — Unless you've lived in Los Angeles recently or are a fan of "Top Chef," there's very little chance you know Ludo Lefebvre. But for hardcore foodies, Lefebvre is a rock star. Like other innovative chefs who have yet to break big in the public consciousness, his influence is being felt across the country, including in the Tampa Bay area. Lefebvre's pioneering example of creating temporary "pop-up" restaurants has spread across the United States and inspired chefs such as Jeannie Pierola of Tampa to create their own instant-eateries. (Her Kitchenbar concept opens for a third time Tuesday in South Tampa.) Trained in French kitchens and celebrated for innovative cuisine and an unorthodox rise to prominence in the late 1990s at restaurants in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, Lefebvre became well-known among West Coast food fans when he opened LudoBites in 2007 with a raft of eclectic and funky food. Think chocolate foie gras cupcakes and soft-shell-crab-stuffed cornets."
story here

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9. Local Ice Cream Shops

Tampa Tribune: Short List: Favorite old-school ice cream shops

"Welcome to The Short List, where each week we pick a topic and share our favorite things about the Tampa Bay area. This week we're screaming for some ice cream, and we're not picky. We can't keep up with all the frozen yogurt shops popping up around the Bay area, but we know exactly where to head for a cone, cup, soft-serve, scoop, sundae, shake - anything that will provide some cooling relief as temperatures prematurely hover near the mid-90s. With the kids out of school and summer upon us, we're heading out to our favorite old-school ice cream shops. Nothing fancy here; we just want to step out of our car, walk a few feet to the window, and place our order. Malted, anyone?

Dairy Joy: 3813 S. Manhattan Ave., Tampa. Simple and quaint, this walk-up shop offers soft-serve vanilla, chocolate or the classic twist in a cone. You also can gussy up your dessert with sundae toppings, have a milk shake or even chow on a hog dog. But whether you drop by after work or school or are beckoned in the evening by the soft glow of its sign, the true lure of Dairy Joy is nostalgia. Open since 1959, the pace of life seems to slow here, especially on a hot summer night with a cool treat while sitting in an open tailgate.
rest of list here

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10. Cafe Dufrain: Sourcing Local Food

Creative Loafing: Sourcing local ingredients is becoming more of an option for Bay area restaurants: Cafe Dufrain’s Ferrell Alvarez finds the time

"Most restaurants in the Bay area follow a simple formula for stocking their coolers. Every few days they call a number and leave a recorded order for their produce needs. It might be with a local produce wholesaler, or even more likely with one of the major wholesale restaurant suppliers like Sysco. The order will be checked over when it arrives the next day, but the provenance of the produce is often much less important to the average chef than price or quality."
story here

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