Totally Tampa
The Tampa Bay area isn’t easy to navigate – lots of expressways, cities and bodies of water – so I decided to focus on downtown Tampa and the surrounding area for this road trip. And it’s delightful.
A sparkling metropolis on the Gulf Coast, Tampa is a four-hour drive from Miami on I-75. Look for the East Hillsborough Avenue exit and head west, then stay off the expressways until it’s time to head home. First stop: Sanwa Farmer’s Market, whose owner started as a farm growing specialty Asian produce. Today, it’s a one-stop shop for exotic produce, bulk spices, huge bags of jasmine rice and fun items like DIY boba tea kits. Next, continue on Hillsborough, turning left on US 41 to enter charming Seminole Heights, an eclectic neighborhood of bungalows, mid-century modern homes and Victorian buildings. The Independent Bar and Cafe is a neighborhood gathering spot featuring local craft brews. The Sunday Morning Market, held the second Sunday of the month, is the place to go for local fruits and veggies, plants and artisan foods. The Summer Market is located at Southern Brewery but they plan to return to their original Hillsborough High School location in the fall.
Heading south, the next stop is the Armature Works, an old streetcar warehouse now converted to a food hall overlooking the Hillsborough River with lots of outdoor spaces for dining and drinking! One mile south is downtown Tampa, with several restorations of cool old buildings in progress. Take a guided tour or catch a classic film at the Tampa Theater, a 1926 opulent movie palace. The one-time Federal Courthouse has been transformed into the pet-friendly Le Méridien Tampa. TECO, the city’s historic streetcar system, was revived in 2002 with electric streetcars, and it’s a free, easy way to explore the Channel District and Ybor City from downtown.
Take the Trolley
Get off the trolley at the Amalie Arena Station and walk to Sparkman Wharf, an eclectic collection of restaurants, bars and shops inside colorful shipping containers. Boat Run Oyster Company serves up their own Cedar Key farm-raised oysters, delicious with nori seaweed fries and a cold beer from the Fermented Reality Biergarten.
Hop back on the trolley and head to Ybor City, Tampa’s Latin Quarter. In the late 1800s, this district was the cigar-making center of the U.S. and the location of Florida’s first commercial brewery. Today, Cigar City Brewing is located a few miles west; their Cider and Mead Shop in
Ybor City is down the street from the original Columbia Restaurant, Florida’s oldest restaurant. At Carmine’s on 7th Avenue you can try Tampa’s classic devil crab along with Italian, Cuban and Spanish dishes. The Ybor City Saturday Market in Centennial Park sells produce, crafts, plants and herbs among the wandering chickens.
A few miles from Ybor City is the Thai Sunday Market at Wat Mongkolratanaram. A Sunday brunch is set up under huge oak trees. Eating spicy papaya salad and mango sticky rice while watching the fish from the dock at the nearby Palm River makes a perfect ending to your Tampa experience.
Tampa Bay Craft Breweries
The greatest concentration of craft breweries in Florida is in Tampa Bay – and a free new pass can help you explore them easily. Download the Bay Crafted Pass to your phone to get a collection of participating breweries. There’s no app to download – just save the pass to your home screen for easy access. Check in to breweries via geolocation on your phone. When you check in at four locations, get a Bay Crafted pint glass; eight gets you a t-shirt. visittampabay.com/baycrafted/pass
Find Out More
Visit Tampa Bay • visittampabay.com
Cuban Sandwich Festival (Warning: Cubanos here use Genoa salami)
Sept. 5 • cubansandwichfestival.com
Gasparilla Music Festival
Oct. 1-3 • gasparillamusic.com
Oktoberfest Tampa
Oct. 8-10 • oktoberfesttampa.com
Viva Tampa Bay Hispanic Heritage Festival
Oct. 10 • vivatampabayfestival.com
Wat Mongkolratanaram of Florida Buddhist Temple
