This Past Weekend

The past weekend was a good time, highlighted by sports on tv and some good meals. Friday night we didn't really do anything at all since Linds had to work on Saturday. After taking her to work Saturday morning, I went to the gym early and then took our new car to get a wash. Billy and Jess then asked me if I wanted to check out some houses in St. Pete with them (they're looking to buy). We spent the afternoon looking at some cool craftsman style houses in nice neighborhoods. It's hard for me to keep my big mouth shut when I'm looking at real estate, but I did my best so that I would not offend them at all if they happened to like something that I didn't. After getting back to Tampa, I went with them to grab a bite to eat at Pane Rustica in South Tampa. We had been there before for dinner, but since then they had been awarded "Best Burger" in the Bay Area by Creative Loafing magazine. I have to say that the burger definately lived up to its billing. The meat was extremely flavorful, similar to a well crafted burger cooked on a charcoal grill in your backyard at home. Since it's not a regular item on their menu, you have to get lucky and have it be a special on that day. In this case, the special was a burger with a nice thick slice of feta, fresh and crisp baby spinach leaves, a tomato slice, and a sweet aioli served on an onion foccacia. Billy and I both had this and I will definately be going back for more in the near future.

Saturday night we had a few cocktails at Billy and Jess's with a group of Billy's friends from work before heading out to another favorite eatery of ours, El Puerto Restaurant and Grill. This is a Latin joint which focuses primarily on Argentinean dishes. We first visited for our friend Patty Del Villar's birthday and everybody recommended the Churrasco (skirt steak). For such a tough cut of meat, they make it extremely tender and flavorfull. It is more than enough food for two people, let alone one. Their sangria is also some of the best I've had down here (not too sweet, just the right amount of fruit). For appetizers, we normally get an order of the Provaleta al Oreganato. This is a semi hard provalone cheese that has been put on the grill to slightly melt it, topped with olive oil and dried oregano. Who doesn't like melted cheese? This time, I tried the Ceviche Mixto and again, no disappointment. Plenty of tilapia, squid, and shrimp with a nice balance of the citrus marinade that didn't overpower the dish. For entree, I had the Camarrones al Ajillo (sauteed jumbo shrimp, wine, garlic, spices, with fried cassava). It was good, but I would not order it again for the simple fact that they have so much on their menu that I would like to try new dishes when I go back. After dinner, the rest of the group went to the Tampa Imrpov comedy club for some late night laughs. Lindsey and I ducked out because she had worked a 12 hour shift and we were both tired.

Sunday was spent lounging by the pool for a few hours, then heading to International Plaza for some afternoon shopping. This place gets so busy it is hard to enjoy, but it makes for great people watching. In this area of Tampa, it's always interesting to see all of the plastic people walking around with their faces pulled so tight they can't help but smile. That night I watched the Penguins vs. Flyers game. I'm a huge Penguins fan and rarely miss any games on TV, especially when they're in HD. Hockey in high def is amazing, and I think the sport has truly benefited from HD more than almost any other sport out there. Golf is also amazing in HD, but hockey is a lot easier to watch and I think that pulls in a lot more common fans to broadcasts. Anyway, the Pens won and then the Spurs vs. Hornets game was on. I'm also a big San Antonio fan dating back to when David Robinson was drafted out of the Naval Academy in 1987. I was only 6 years old at the time, but knew his name from when Navy upset Syracuse in the second round of the NCAA tournament. In that game, Robinson had 35 points and held Rony Siekaly to only 4 points. After spending a 2 years fullfilling his Naval obligation, he signed with the Spurs and went on to have one of the greatest careers in the history of pro basketball, eventually winning 2 championships in 1999 (my senior year of high school) and 2003 (my senior year of college). San Antonio won this game to pull even in the series 2-2.

Another well spent and much enjoyed weekend.