Cori and I had lived in Tampa for less than a week when something happened to make my heart sink. I was chatting with the cashier at Wal-Mart and asked her what some good restaurants in the area were. Her reply consisted entirely of chain restaurants. I could have cried right there in the check out line! Don't get me wrong; growing up in the suburbs of Richmond, Applebees was my favorite restaurant, and the chicken and gnocchi soup from Olive Garden is pretty much the best thing in the world. And if New Orleans lacked anything, it was Panera- seriously, a tragedy to not have a single Panera! But after 5 years of living in a city that specialized in local restaurants, the idea of living off of chain restaurants in Tampa was a pretty depressing thought.
Thankfully, the more we settled in here, the more we realized that the 'no local restaurants at all' thing wasn't true. Cori and I haven't ventured out too much during our (almost) 7 months living here (see: newlywed hole), but we've received multiple recommendations for good places to eat. We found that Ho Ho's Chinese is just as good as the Yummy Yummy Chinese we frequented in NOLA. We've fallen in love with the Holy Hog, both for their barbecue and their Southern specials, like chicken and waffles. And last night, we discovered Ella's.
We've had several people recommend this place to us, and last night we finally decided to try it. I had high expectations, and I was not disappointed in the slightest. It's right near where we live, and it capitalized on the unique, funky feel of our little slice of Tampa. We live in an area called Seminole Heights, and we absolutely love it. The neighborhoods are full of unique architecture and the whole area is just different- no cookie cutter houses and shopping centers here! Anyway, Ella's is a huge house, filled with booths made out of couches, art, and a band that plays at 10pm. We got to eat outside on their huge porch, and loved it.
We decided to get an appetizer called CB & J, which consisted of star shaped cornbread crostini with bacon Granny Apple jam. It was such a unique flavoring, ad it was delicious! For an entree, I ordered the Filet Medallions (Two 4.5-oz beef tenderloin filets with roasted garlic goat cheese, drizzled in port wine reduction served with garlic mashed potato cake and bacon wrapped asparagus). If you know me, you know that I was so not going for that garlic goat cheese, but I got it on the side so that Cori could try it. Let me tell you, this meal was AMAZING! Every bit as yummy as it sounds. Cori went for the Chicken Spidini (Chicken Breast rolled in Herbed Breadcrumbs, Stuffed with Pancetta, Fontina Cheese & Portabella Mushrooms served over Spinach Fettuccini Alfredo) and was also a big fan. We both agreed that this was the best meal we'd had in Tampa, and the only downside was that we didn't save room for dessert. Not that we needed it, but that just gives us more reasons to plan a trip back! Especially when we heard that they have Soul Food Sundays, including every yummy and southern food you could want. Sign me up!
The entire night made up one of our best date nights. We loved the food and the atmosphere, and had some quality conversation. We are so thankful that we finally checked out this gem of a restaurant!
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