Creative Loafing Tampa — September 26, 2024 • Best Of The Bay
PUBLISHER James Howard
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ray Roa
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Nearly 40 years ago, Maryann Ferenc and Chef Marty Blitz, in many ways, set Tampa on its fine dining future by opening Mise en Place where some of the city’s most celebrated chefs have passed through. All month, the restaurant—now at 442 W Grand Central Ave.—has been celebrating its 38th anniversary. Last Thursday, it staged an arts and craft cocktail experiment. The fun continues this week with dinners from Castello di Meleto plus a Sept. 28 blowout with Ben Carson-Brown and cake from Chocolate Pi’s Kim Yelvington. See more pictures via cltampa. com/slideshows and read more about Ferenc on p. 106 of our Best of the Bay section.—Ray Roa
do this
Tampa Bay's best things to do from September 26 - October 03
Bats and beer
According to Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, there are 13 native bat species in Florida. They live in caves, cracks, under bridges and even beneath dead palm fronts and Spanish moss. At dusk, many of us see them using their “hand wings” to take to the skies and feed on bugs. We don’t often get to talk about bats, but this chat will change that for a night. The Florida Bat Conservancy—a volunteer group that spends the year tending to injured bats at putting up bat houses—comes to Carrollwood for a lunchtime chat about bats, how to live with them, and more.
Bat talk w/Florida Bat Conservancy: Saturday, Sept. 28. 11 a.m. No cover. Tampa Tap Room, 13150 N Dale Mabry Hwy., Tampa. @WildBirdsUnlimitedTampa on Facebook—Ray Roa
Great griot
Banned Books Week wraps Saturday, and discussion about those works is just part of the agenda this weekend for this expo in its third year. “Our theme for this year’s event is ‘Bringing Black Books Beyond,’” organizers wrote about their desire to push melanted authors past obstacles like censorship, social media, and AI. “We want to celebrate, support, uplift, and educate our modern day griots!” Nearly two dozen authors (including Shantasha Naomi Laing, pictured) are on the agenda, alongside workshops about making a living as a writer, self-publishing, and more.
3rd Annual Tampa Bay Black Authors Expo: Saturday, Sept. 28. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. No cover. Tampa Heights Junior Civic Association Community Center, 2005 N Lamar Ave., Tampa. tbbae.com—Ray Roa
Lard have mercy
As if you needed a reminder about the end of an era in Seminole Heights. Three weeks after its last day in business, Ella’s Americana Folk Art Cafe founder and owner Melissa Deming is auctioning off most of the art that lived at her beloved bar and restaurant for 15 years. “We have over 155 pieces,” Jeni Armstrong told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. Armstrong, owner of the remodeled Corner Club Cafe just a five-minute drive away, is helping Deming catalog the offerings, which include three of the metal Ella’s signs, plus a variety of sculptures, folk art, radios, bourbon barrels and even the stage backdrop. Armstrong is taking the steeple, but the rest of the work can be seen starting at 5 p.m. on Saturday before the auction starts at 6 p.m.
Ella's Live Art Auction: Saturday, Sept. 28. 5 p.m. No cover. Ella's Americana Folk Art Cafe, 5119 N Nebraska Ave., Tampa. @ jeni.armstrong.7 on Facebook—Ray Roa
Play day
Last weekend, downtown Tampa’s Glazer Children’s Museum (GCM) celebrated its 14th birthday in the park, and it parties on the first Tuesday of every month, too. That’s when Children’s Board of Hillsborough County picks up the tab and offers free museum admission for families. The 53,000-square-foot facility opened near the Tampa Riverwalk in 2010, but has had a presence elsewhere in the city since 1965 when it ran Lowry Park’s Safety Village. GCM’s mission is to simply use play as a mechanism for learning. It’s also the current home of Big John, the largest known Triceratops skeleton in the world. And even when it’s not a first Tuesday, GCM offers discounted admission for community helpers ($2 off), and anyone on EBT, SNAP & WIC ($3 admission for up to four guests). Children’s Board Free Tuesdays: First Tuesdays. 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Glazer Children’s Museum, 110 W Gasparilla Plz., Tampa. glazermuseum.org—Ray Roa
Let’s roll
The weather is acceptable again, and that means Tampa’s rolling monthly concert series picks back up. This weekend finds a duo from space-folk songwriter J.T. Brown—whose band, the Groves made one of the first videos promoting the concerts 10 years ago—kicking off the 2024-25 season of Streetcar Live, which goes down on the last Friday of every month. The show is hop-on-hop-off, and music fans’ best bet to guarantee a seat is to catch the streetcar at stop no. 1 near Centennial Park in Ybor City ahead of showtime. The bands—which this season play everything from smooth jazz, fusion, country, soul and pop—play the 2.7-mile route twice and go on summer break after the May 23 show.
Streetcar Live w/J.T. Brown duo: Friday, Sept. 27. 6 p.m.-8 p.m. No cover. TECO Streetcar Line, Downtown Tampa, Ybor City and Channelside. @ TampaStreetcar on Twitter—Ray Roa
Lost and founding
Heidi Schreck’s unique play,“What the Constitution Means to Me,” is a Pulitzerfinalist in 2019 and takes inspiration from her experience as a teenager, when she gave speeches about the U.S. Constitution to raise college money. She re-examines America’s guiding document with candid personal anecdotes and a wry perspective on its flaws and limitations, especially regarding women, then debates a presentday teenager. So who else could Stageworks Theatre cast but Kari Goetz? Not just because she has the range, passion and comic panache the role demands, she was also awarded, she says in her bio, “Best Statesman at the YMCA Youth in Government Conference on National Affairs when I was 16!” And each Saturday, The Plant City Democratic Club has organized a group rate that helps raise money for get out the vote initiatives.
What the Constitution Means to Me: Select nights through Oct. 13. $45. Stageworks Theatre, 1120 E Kennedy Blvd. No. 151 Tampa. stageworkstheatre.org David Warner
“They had enough time to review our list of electors and tell us about any deficiencies.”
West out
By Mitch Perry/Florida Phoenix
Despite earlier claims by his campaign, Cornel West is not on the Florida presidential ballots that supervisors of elections are sending to overseas and military voters, giving Floridians dissatisfied with Donald Trump and Kamala Harris one less option to vote for president this year.
“The West campaign made a diligent effort to secure ballot access in Florida; however, due to administrative technicalities, our nomination was not accepted by the Secretary of State,” Edwin DeJesus with the West campaign told the Phoenix earlier this week.
“That’s on me,” admits Joe Wendt, chair of the Florida Natural Law Party, the slate on which West had intended to run.
ELECTIONS
Some of the presidential electors had omitted parts of their address information submitted to the Department of State, Wendt said, an omission he failed to catch when he sent the paperwork to the state’s offices in Tallahassee.
But he didn’t get a fair shake from the state, Wendt insists, because officials gave him the chance to correct his own title on the paperwork but didn’t do the same for the electors’ addresses.
“If the state’s not reviewing it and letting us know what the issues are before the deadline, how are we going to correct it? And if they have the time to look at the letter, and say that the title I used was wrong, they had enough time to review our list of electors and tell us about any deficiencies in our list of electors.”
Despite repeated attempts, the Florida Division of Elections did not return a request for comment.
The West campaign sent out a press release on July 22 declaring that the Natural Law Party had formally nominated West and Dr. Melina Abdullah to be their presidential ticket in both Florida and Mississippi.
Unaware of a problem
Their campaign appeared to be unaware there was a problem with West getting on the ballot as recently as Monday. DeJesus said at that time that “we’re still gathering information regarding the campaign’s ability for the ballot.”
Then, in early July, he announced that he would compete for the Green Party nomination, which already had ballot access in Florida, before opting not to go that route. Jill Stein won the party’s presidential nomination last month.
Acknowledging ballots have already been mailed out, Wendt said the Natural Law Party of Florida has found a ballot expert to help it and is looking for legal counsel to challenge the state’s decision, “because what the state did was unprofessional, borderline incompetent.”
There are nine candidates running for president on the Florida ballot. Along with Trump, Harris, and Stein, they are Libertarian candidate Chase Oliver, anti-abortion activist Randall Terry of the Constitution Party of Florida, Claudia De la Cruz with the Party for Socialism and Liberation, and Peter Sonski with the American Solidarity Party. There are two write-in candidates as well— Shiva Ayyadurai and Cherunda Fox.
Those “technicalities” include an incomplete listing of the addresses of the presidential electors which had to be sent to the Florida Secretary of State’s office by Aug. 24.
“I’m not saying I’m an angel in this as well, because I did have the oversight to make sure the addresses were intact, but that’s why you submit it,” he said.
In February, West said he was going to form his own political party (called the Justice for All Party) and would hold a political convention, which under Florida election law would obviate the need to collect signatures to get on the ballot.
Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix. com. Follow Florida Phoenix on Facebook and X.
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“Ybor is healing.”
RESTAURANTS RECIPES DINING GUIDES
Call your mema
An Ybor
City
By Ray Roa
Yfavorite announces a comeback.
bor City is changing really fast, but a slice of its golden years is coming back this year. Last Monday, owner Sean Godin told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that Mema’s Alaskan Tacos will reopen this fall.
The new location at 1903 N19th St. was last home to a vegan deli and is just a block away from Mema’s last location, which closed in 2011 after the recession.
“I never stopped eating them,” Godin told CL about the concept’s famous tacos, which saw fillings like gator, shrimp and beef cooked in the shell, resulting in an crispy taco topped with shreds of cold iceberg lettuce and sharp cheddar cheese all served in a sorely-missed translucent wax paper wrapping.
The best news for old school Tampeños and a new generation of kids who’ll finally get a taste? All the recipes inspired by Godin’s grandma—or mema—will stay the same.
“We’ll have the gator, shrimp, beef, and chicken—and possibly three kinds of fish including salmon and grouper,” he added. “All wild caught, too, he said of the seafood options.”
As an added bonus, Godin—who still lives in Ybor City, where in 2004 he first-opened Mema’s in a N 17th St. shack that’s now home to Jimmy’s Tacos—said customers will still be able to get in and out of his restaurant with a good meal for under $20.
“Apparently, I think that people still want it,” he said. Want? More like need. Just look at the comments on the recently-updated Mema’s Alaskan Tacos Facebook page.
“GATOR TACORITO FOREVER,” said Erika Polo, an old school Tampa bartender.
“I’m crying!! Please be real! My parents took me here when i was younger and it was on my mind ever since. Heartbroken to see it was closed, THIS WILL COMPLETE MY LIFE IF THIS IS TRUE,” another user added.
More details as they become available, but as one Reddit user wrote, “Ybor is healing.”
Iconic ‘Seinfeld’ NYC bagel shop, H&H, is coming to Tampa
Decades after Cosmo Kramer famously went on strike against H&H Bagels, the company says it’s now expanding to Tampa. The popular Manhattan bagel shop, which first opened
in 1972, says it’s expanding outside of NYC, and plans to debut four locations in Florida— Tampa, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach and Jacksonville—with others to open later in Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Miami.
H&H is a staple in New York City, and has been featured in shows like “Seinfeld,” “The Office,” “Sex and the City,” “Entourage,” “You’ve Got Mail,” “How I Met Your Mother,” and more. No exact opening date was announced, but the first Tampa location will open at 1155 S Dale Mabry Hwy.
Popular Florida chain Hawkers Asian Street Food files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Hawkers Asian Street Food kickstarted a movement of a new generation of Asian and panAsian restaurants when it opened in Orlando’s Mills 50 neighborhood way back in 2011.
The cacophonous and bustling restaurant, modeled after the hawker stalls in Malaysia and Singapore, was on the vanguard of a movement that’s seen immigrant-run Asian restaurants carry our restaurant scene forward and upward and sideward.
OPENINGS & CLOSINGS
What makes its bagels so unique is that they are kettle-boiled in NYC water before being put in the oven, which gives its “signature flavor.” To keep that NYC authenticity, the bagels will be boiled in New York before being shipped to Tampa to finish the rest of the process, according to Bloom Tampa Bay.— Riley Benson
But on Sept. 15, Hawkers announced it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in order to “maintain operational control of the Company and preserve the integrity of its brand as to protect from an overreaching lender.”
According to a statement provided to Orlando Weekly, Hawkers entered into a debt capital agreement with the lender in early 2023 with the intention of growing the Hawkers brand into a household name across the United States. But in the past 60 days, Hawkers felt the lender’s intentions were to gain control of the company, despite the restaurant having never missed a payment since the inception of the partnership.
Indeed, Hawkers has expanded to 15 locations in seven states—including one in St. Petersburg—with more locations planned. In 2023, the restaurant saw a sales growth of 18.5% and despite escalated macroeconomic pressures and mixed market conditions, the company also saw same-store sales growth of 26%, said the statement.
Filing for Chapter 11 will allow Hawkers to “continue normal, uninterrupted operations and vendor payments,” the statement continues, while company control “is re-stabilized in a way that secures a thriving and successful future for Hawkers and its dedicated team.”
That team, which was founded by Kaleb Harrell, Allen Lo, Wayne Yung and the late Kin Ho, intends “to negotiate a favorable outcome with the lender” and maintains that the future of Hawkers remains bright. “We look forward to welcoming guests for their Hawkers favorites for decades to come.”
BTW: The restaurant just released some new favorites for their fall menu, including curry mash, Penang poutine, Vietnamese “goi ga” salad and chili crisp cucumbers. I sampled the curry mash on a recent visit to Hawkers and it had me screeching (for more, that is).
A version of this story was first published at our sibling publication Orlando Weekly.— Faiyaz Kara
MEMA SITA : Mema’s Alaskan Tacos’ new location is a stone’s throw from the last one.
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MOVIES THEATER ART CULTURE
What’s TheatreFor?
It’s a brand new company in Clearwater, and its co-founders hope to o er theater for everyone.
By David Warner
Eleven actors. Forty-two roles. And a woman who’s spent more than 50 years teaching and directing Shakespeare. Those numbers form the backbone of “The Man from Stratford,” now playing at TheatreFor in Clearwater.
Talk about backbone. The five stage veterans who co-founded TheatreFor have done what many would have considered impossible. Graham Jones, Dee O’Brien, Stephen Bell, Mike Cote, and Susan Dearden have opened a nonprofit professional theater company at a time when many theaters are struggling to survive.
Not that there’s been any lack of struggle to get TheaterFor up and running. The team toiled valiantly over two years to find and transform its new space—the former home of Meraki Solar in the Sunset Square Shopping Center— into a theater. “It took a lot of work, millions of man-hours (not really, but a lot!), paint, lumber, screws and nails (Lowes loves us),” say the co-founders in a playbill note. The plan was to open in January, but multiple permitting hurdles delayed progress. Finally, an inaugural show, “Academia Nuts,” was set to open on Aug. 22nd—when a massive rainstorm flooded the back of the set and shorted out the dimmer board, forcing them to perform the entire play under house lights.
Graham Jones was there, too, that night, on stage manager duty. He said the launch of TheatreFor was the realization of a dream he’s had for 15 years.
Born in Central U.K., the 75-year-old traces his love for the stage back to his first role as a tree at age four and multiple productions at the all-male King’s School in Worcester, England. A career in software design and engineering (he designed the software for Wales’ water utility) took him to Australia and California and away from the theater. But then, he says, “I realized I was on the wrong West Coast.”
THEATER
The Man from Stratford Select nights through Oct. 6, $30 TheatreFor, 1863 N. Highland Ave., Clearwater. theatrefor.com
He moved to Pinellas, where he acted, designed and managed theaters, including a stint as president of Francis Wilson Playhouse, Clearwater’s oldest community theater.
A desire to branch out from Francis Wilson and do the kinds of plays he wanted to do was part of the impetus for TheatreFor. As his wife and co-founder Dee O’Brien puts it, “We wanted to be our own bosses.”
“I want to see you dancing in your seat.”
Mike Cote directed “Academia Nuts.” A graphic designer who once owned a theater company in New Hampshire, he worked with Graham in creating renderings for the architects, Dunedin’s David L. Wallace & Associates, and contractors Roger Steinruck, LLC. The theater has an expansive playing space, a capacity of 40-60 seats, and dressing rooms donated by Nestor Betancourt in memory of the local theater champion and Grapevine publisher Dee Ray Crews.
I met Cote in the spiffy lobby during the closing weekend of “Academia Nuts” and asked what he was feeling now that TheatreFor had finally opened. His answer, understandably enough: “Relief.”
“We thought it would be feasible to do this in Clearwater where there’s a definite lack,” said Graham. In addition to offering more variety in programming, TheatreFor— unlike all-volunteer community theaters—pays its actors.
O’Brien, 77, is the Shakespeare expert who created “The Man from Stratford.” She moved to Florida in 2014, having retired from a longtime job as an English teacher in the NYC suburbs, where she created “the longest continuously running Shakespearean performance company for teenagers in the U.S.A.” For 39 years, she directed and costumed approximately 4,000 teenagers in productions ranging from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” to “King Lear.”
She enjoyed watching her former students flourish. One of them was the Emmy-nominated actor Kevin Dillon of HBO’s “Entourage,” brother of Matt. She says that when people asked Kevin if he started acting because of his brother, he
would answer, “No, it was my eighth grade English teacher.”
In Florida, the Bard beckoned to O’Brien again. She directed eight Shakespeare productions for Tarpon Arts, including “Twelfth Night,” which is where she met Jones. He played the rabble-rousing Sir Toby Belch.
The two of them pooled their resources, both creative and financial, to create TheatreFor, along with their collaborators and donors. Cote, says O’Brien, is “wonderful, wonderful… He fixes so many things in the theater.” Dearden, Cote’s wife, is an experienced actress who brought comic sparkle to her role as a down-on-her-luck stripper in “Academia Nuts.” Bell, a respected local director and set designer, had begun his own journey toward creating a company, TheaterOne, when Covid got in the way.
O’Brien’s Shakespeare pastiche sounds like it should be a good time. “Most of the scenes deal with family dysfunction in kingdoms,” she says, an analysis which pretty much sums up the back-stabbing disputes in many of the
tragedies. And she’s hoping her music choices will surprise audiences. “I want to see you dancing in your seat.” Plus, “after all this tragedy gloom and doom,” the company is finishing out the evening with Tom Stoppard’s comical “15-Minute Hamlet.”
Following “The Man from Stratford,” Samantha Parisi is slated to play firebrand Texas humorist Molly Ivins in “Red Hot Patriot” in October. Next up is Jones’s November production of “Desdemona, A Play About a Handkerchief,” Paula Vogel’s bawdy take on Othello’s not-so-innocent wife. A holiday show directed by Bell is set for December, followed by his staging of David Ives’s sexy suspenser “Venus in Fur” in January 2025. “The Complete History of America (Abridged)” brings the laughs in February, Steve Martin’s “Meteor Shower” is scheduled for April, and additional spring shows are to be announced.
A very busy schedule for the first year of a brand new company, and eclectic enough to live up to its name: TheatreFor wants to be theater for everyone.
HE’S THE MAN: Graham Jones, co-founder of TheatreFor, narrates ‘The Man from Stratford.’
A celebration of artistic practices in the Tampa Bay region, Skyway 2024 is a multi-venue exhibition shared among five institutions. Seven artists will engage with the MFA collection and infrastructure with site-specific works that celebrate unique artistic perspectives from the Tampa Bay area.
Kendra Frorup, b. 1965, Nassau, Bahamas, Lives and works in Tampa, FL, Scarlet Plum Season, 2024, Monoprint, wood, bronze, brass, paper, resin, Courtesy of the Artist
Turbulent skies
Tapping into David Sibbitt’s long, redemptive journey back to painting.
By Ryan McIlvain
If you ask the painter David Sibbitt about his recent success, he’ll tell you he’s mostly bemused by it, and he’ll tease the leisurely pace at which it’s arrived in his life again. “I was looking at the submission emails the other day, and the first one I sent was August of last year,” Sibbitt told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay recently. “A year ago!”
At 71, Sibbitt is basically a patient man, but then he’s needed to be. That email chain eventually included the happy news that several of his latest, large-canvas oil paintings, themselves years in the making, would be included in Skyway 2024, the triennial joint art exhibition featuring the work of top artists from across Tampa Bay. The Tampa portion of the show opens at the Tampa Museum of Art is open now and runs through January 2025.
It isn’t news that the gears of Art turn slowly—Art is the news that’s supposed to stay new, anyway—but it’s still refreshing and often funny to listen to Sibbitt riff on the contemporary art world and his place in it.
“Everybody talks about your art ‘practice’ now,” he said. “’What’s your practice?’ From what I can tell of the current trends, what’s popular is to cram a lot of different shit into the painting, you know? A lot of information.”
Sibbitt’s paintings do happen to be information-rich—a picture of Amelia Earhart, intricately detailed, appears in the page of a magazine that a character is reading in one of the paintings. And there’s a caption in accurate Japanese lettering above the picture. (“It reads ‘Welcome to the South Seas,’” Sibbitt told me.)
In the same painting, a who’s who of the 19th and 20th century art worlds are in an airplane, with the plane’s ceiling blown off or missing. Where the ceiling should be, in any case, a streaming, red-orange sky unfurls like something out of Revelation. Van Gogh is in an aisle seat, looking back at us with that trademark stare, bold colors, short strokes. And there’s Sibbitt’s beloved Frida Kahlo in the foreground, appearing as a giant tattoo on the head of the man reading the magazine, etc.
Up at the front of the plane is Sibbitt himself, disarmingly naked—and shaking Elvis’s hand. It takes a minute to take all this in, or it could take all afternoon, and that’s the point. All the different “shit” in the frame makes for a journey of looking.
It’s a journey through art history too, and a take on that history, as Joanna Robotham observed to me. Robotham is a curator at the Tampa Museum of Art and one of several organizers who took on the Herculean task of sifting through the Skyway 2024 entries, from more than 300 artists, and from out of that pool selecting a show.
“With David’s work, there’s this element of irony and wit, and humor,” said Robotham, “but it’s coupled with an unexpected dark side. He always has these turbulent skies . . .”
Sibbitt’s wife, the realtor and designer Leslie Sibbitt, told me she likes to watch David toward the end of his paintings, during the detail phase.
“I’ll come into the studio and say ‘Honey, your muse is here!’ And of course he grumbles at that—but I’ll just sit there and watch him for a few minutes and it’s just amazing. A few strokes of his brush and it’s like, Whoa, that face just came alive!”
In a sense, Sibbitt had been waiting for 20 years and more for that acceptance email from the Skyway committee.
A professional artist in one form or another throughout most of his life, Sibbitt first trained as a graduate student at UC Berkeley in painting and printmaking. Since then he’s won NEA grants, his work has appeared in Harper’s and in solo and group shows—he’s the real deal, but
to appear on the restaurant’s awning and on its pizza boxes—a job for which Sibbitt was paid in a stack of pizzas, in the barter economy of the Tampa art scene of the 1980s. In the last part of his career, Sibbitt worked as an architectural photographer, often providing the photos for homes that Leslie listed and sold. He went where the money was, and by the time he got tired of all that it was time to retire.
“I was telling him, ‘You know, honey, we’re good, you can retire,’” Leslie remembered. “And I think it was that Christmas when I went to the local art supply store and bought him the best oil paints I could find . . . I just wanted to ignite the fire again, to help him go for it.”
On one of my visits, I had my little son James with me, whom David, always teasing and fond, had started calling Tadpole.
INTERVIEW
Skyway 2024
Through Oct. 27. Various museums in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Sarasota skywaytampabay.com
In the early months of retirement, or really semi-retirement—odd photography jobs for old clients continued to come in—Sibbitt answered emails and played a lot of solitaire in a studio hung with his artwork from previous decades. Then the new work started to come, slowly at first, then faster and faster.
I was getting to know David at around this same time, turning up to talk art with him, pool-
then money did have to be made.
When he returned to his native Tampa from California, Sibbitt worked in faux finishing, in painting for hire (some of his mural work still graces the low-lit interiors of Bern’s steakhouse), and in occasional logo design. Certainly my favorite logo is Sibbitt’s pizza delivery man, for Sally O’Neal’s Pizza Hotline, which continues
side, or literature or politics, poolside, with our strongest opinions often aided by good, strong gin. At some point we started making little pilgrimages to the studio at the edge of the double lot David and Leslie have owned in Tampa Heights for 20 years, more—and I took in the paintings in their various stages of development, and I took notes.
“Here, get in the pool with Tadpole,” he said when we came through the pool gate, past waisthigh stands of ferns and the clerodendrum Leslie loves. There was Dyaln on the Bluetooth speaker as David worked at a bit of irrigation repair, evidently. He was kneeling in jeans by a little trench not far from the pool’s edge, shirtless but wearing a white bandana to keep the late spring heat out of his eyes. There was a length of white pipe he must have had plans for. I got in the pool with Tadpole, enjoying the water and the music. It was late Dylan on the player that day—what was once a keening, impatient voice now murmured about Key West’s fishtail palms, its bougainvillea blooming in the spring (“Winter here is an unknown thing . . .”).
I told David I envied him his DIY usefulness—not the nebbish, useless artist I’d become, but someone who knew how to do things with his hands. If my irrigation was on the fritz, I’d have to call in the irrigation people.
“And then they’d look at your South Tampa zip code and triple the quote,” he said, laughing his rasping laugh—a holdover from the throat cancer he survived in his 40s.
“Ah, I’ll come back to this,” he said, getting to his feet and dusting himself off.
When we went into the studio that afternoon, David’s paintings had taken an evolutionary leap forward: not just pencil-sketched versions of the lovably weird photo collages they’d started out as, they now had color and rattling energy, and all the more weirdness and beauty. Everything was bigger, more textured, and in some of the paintings the fine, finishing detail work had already begun.
“I’m sometimes out here,” he told me, “and I’m just dab, dab, dab, dab, dab, for hours. Not the 12-hour days I used to do in my 20s, but hours at a time, and I’m excited as ever. Then I look down and my ankles and feet are all swollen up. I have to stop.”
There was a lot more work to be done, he said, in broad strokes and little ones, but he’d already decided on a title for the series: “A Most Ordinary Apocalypse.”
I nodded at the painting on the easel that day—that turbulent, red-orange sky and underneath it a vision of camp and mythology at once, with David appearing as a Charon-like rower across a River Styx. In the boat seat opposite him, a movingly precise rendering of his late mother. You could compare the small, open face of the woman to the photograph taped to the bottom of the easel.
“I’m older now than she was in that photo,” David said. “That’s what she looked like in her old age.”
WELCOME TO THE SOUTH SEAS: David Sibbitt in his Tampa studio.
REVIEWS PROFILES MUSIC WEEK
Issa vibe
Symphonic Distribution’s celebration of local music returns to Ybor City.
By Riley Benson
The Tampa Bay area has a heavy music scene and a strong community of independent musicians and artists, ranging from singersongwriters to flamboyant rising indie-punk rock stars. From a wide variety of venues and festivals, Tampa Bay has long celebrated music and its culture.
Vibes by the Bay, builds on that sentiment and is one of the best celebrations of independent music. The festival, presented by Symphonic Distribution, brings together local musicians of all genres for one night in historic Ybor City every year. This weekend, Vibes celebrates its eighth celebration on Sept. 28 at Crowbar, an iconic venue that’s hosted the event every year.
a collection of over 3,000 independent venues in 50 states and Washington D.C. that were shut down during COVID-19 and had no revenue. The collective pushed to have The Save Our Stages Act passed through Congress as part of the COVID-19 relief bill, which became a $16.25 billion grant program that delivered critical relief to venues, festivals, promoters and performing arts centers.
LOCAL MUSIC
Vibes Of the Bay w/They Hate Change/Katara/Guy Average/ Bangarang/Discord Theory/Geri X/Hindoi Deb/ Jay Browne/moreSaturday, Sept. 28. 4 p.m.midnight. No cover with RSVP ($10 at the door). Crowbar, 1812 N 17th St., Ybor City. symphonic.com
“There’s social media and all these streaming services that have allowed artists to have a larger audience, but we feel that the best place, the place where real connections are made, are when people see live music,” Janette Berrios, Vice President of Corporate Marketing at Symphonic, told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. She was one of the founding four members of Symphonic, alongside her husband, CEO, Jorge Brea and tagged that those connections and moments are important for artist development.
“When you see an artist in person, you’re connecting with that musician on a way deeper level.”
“When you see an artist in person, and you like them, you’re connecting with that musician on a way deeper level,” Berrios added.
This year marks Vibes second time back in person after taking a hiatus from 20202022 because of COVID-19. During that time, it Symphonic, which handles distribution and label services for its clients, hosted a virtual Vibes by the Bay, where it brought local artists and others from around the world to showcase music and to raise money for Crowbar and The National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), with the “#SaveOurStages” campaign. NIVA is
Whether it’s saving Ybor City’s iconic chickens or raising money for Crowbar itself, with every Vibes by the Bay, Symphonic chooses a charitable organization to support the proceeds made from the event. This year, it’s working with Feeding Tampa Bay, which focuses on fighting food insecurity and giving people access to basic health services, educational classes, job training, and connections to other nonprofits. “We chose [Feeding Tampa Bay] because we’ve been seeing all these new developments that are coming about, and there’s a lot of gentrification. There’s a homelessness problem in Tampa that has increased a little bit more, so we felt that this was a cause [that we wanted to focus on this year],” said Berrios.
While the event is free to those who register beforehand, day-of tickets cost $10.
This year, over a dozen local artists, like Bangarang, Discord Theory, Geri X and others, will all perform from 4 p.m. to midnight.
Behind the scenes, Symphonic works to find the best and up-and-coming musicians and bands in the Tampa Bay area to reach out to. It aims to highlight genres and artists that best represent what the Tampa Bay music scene is at the moment— not focusing on any specific genre in particular.
Finally on the bill this year is rap-duo They Hate Change, which has spent the last tour years touring the world, alongside soul-crooner
Guy Average, genre-jumping rock outfit Discord Theory, Best of the Bay-winning harp-drum duo Katara (read more on p. 85), plus sitarist and composer Hindol Deb, and more. DJs like Milla Killa, who opened for the Pangea Sound collective in the same room last January, will spin, too.
“From electronic music to rock to jazz, this year, to hip-hop. It’s a little bit of everything. In a way, it works out beautifully as we create the lineup to be a bit like a BPM so that it’ll flow,” explains Berrios.
Outside of just a range of genres, Symphonic also works to have diversity among its artists. They have a Gender Equity Pledge, where they work to find as much female representation as they do male. Outside of Vibes, Symphonic is an international, independent music distribution based in Tampa. Every year, it hosts a
mentorship program titled
which aims to further women within the music industry.
The program has been going on for almost three years, and they’ve sent over 200 mentors and over 400 mentees. “We felt that it was a little bit of our responsibility to open up the doors for others because representation matters,” Berrios said.
Since the first Vibes on the Bay in 2015, the event has grown to its explosive celebration today. It’s evolved from just a small rock-focused event thrown by Symphonic to the genre-exploratory show it is now.
“We only do this event once a year, but I feel like because now the event has become known for its curation, people go because they know they’re going to be introduced to something different,” said Berrios.
KILLA QUEEN: Milla Killa, who plays Crowbar in Ybor City, Florida on Sept. 28, 2024.
“Women Empowered,”
JA NN USLIVE.C OM
By Josh Bradley & Ray Roa
THU 26
Melissa Etheridge w/Jewel A whole bunch of freewheelin’ women will converge in downtown Clearwater, all to see four-time Grammy-nominee Jewel (supporting her latest studio outing Freewheelin’ Woman ) co-headline a show with Melissa Etheridge who was just in town last April. (The Sound, Clearwater)
C Ray LaMontagne w/The Secret Sisters It’s a wonder that Ray LaMontagne brings his music on the road. Yes, we’ve all got to make money, but more than perhaps any other singer-songwriter, the 51-year-old makes quiet and increasingly-soulful folk and rock that calls for introspection. He continues the work on a new album Long Way Home which features backing vocals from goosebump-inducing duo The Secret Sisters which opens the latest of LaMontagne’s pilgrimages to the Bay area. (Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg)
FRI 27
C Clearwater Latin Jazz Fest: Renesito Avich & Friends w/Mauricio Rodriguez & the MJR Latin Project/O Som Do Jazz The sounds of Latin jazz should fill the air when Cuban-born tres guitarist Renesito Avich brings a Florida-based quartet to downtown Clearwater. Bassist Mauricio Rodriguez, a product of Cuba’s Provincial School of Art de Camaguey, brings his Latin Project to the free gig rounded out by Bay area Brazilian jazz outfit O Som Do Jazz. (The BayCare Sound, Clearwater)
C Dead Mirrors (EP release) w/Izora/ Walled City/Tiger 54/Headless State Dead Mirrors’ willingness to tackle uncomfortable topics is laid bare in the title of a new EP, This Place Ruins Lives . Over five tracks, the hardcore-inspired metal quartet barrels through 15 minutes of black heart brutality, skewers self-righteous Christians, rages against war, and sets fire to dogma in fantastically nihilistic fashion. A hard-hitting lineup of Bay area heavy-metal supports. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
SAT 28
Alix Perez Forty years after arriving on the scene, Belgian-born producer Alix Depauw is making good on a recent promise to release lots of music this year. The bass music pioneer better known as Alix Perez released his grimy Gloom album in March, and is back on the road in support of a new album, Entanglements . On it, the 1985 Music label boss flirts with soul and jazz for an unsurprisingly-melodic outing that should play well
at this restored theater that's carved itself into of the Bay area EDM calendar. (Floridian Social, St. Petersburg)
Beat feat. Adrian Belew w/Steve Vai/ Tony Levin/Danny Carey In 1981, following a seven-year hiatus, King Crimson’s main creative force Robert Fripp put together a new lineup of the prog-rock superband featuring himself, drummer Bill Bruford, American guitarist Adrian Belew and bassist Tony Levin. That lineup—which lasted three years— released three albums: Discipline, Beat, and Three of a Perfect Pair. Now, 40 years later, Belew and Levin, along with renowned guitarist Steve Vai and Tool drummer Danny Carey have formed Beat (stylized in all caps) to highlight that era of Crimson. Read more at cltampa.com/music. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)—Paul Catala
C Beats On the Street: Tank & the Bangas w/Soft Cuff/Guy Average/Mercy McCoy/Boho Sideshow/Daniela Soledade & Nate Najar/Dionysus/more Fans of local music are getting spoiled—and have tough choices to make—on Saturday. In Ybor City, Symphonic Distribution is back at Crowbar with its eighth installment of the expertlycurated Vibes of the Bay (read more on p. 71). A short trolley ride away is Beats On the Street a nascent music festival in Tampa’s fancy-schmancy Water Street District where, in 2024, nearly two dozen artists (including soul-crooner Guy Average, who is playing both Beats and Vibes) take over four main stages, plus a handful of pop-ups on porches, street corners and more. Americana (Mercy McCoy), jazz (Boho Sideshow, Daniela Soledade), instrumental-rock (Soft Cuff), and fusion (Dionysus) are all represented on this lineup headlined by 2020 Best New Artist Grammy nominee Tank and the Bangas. Tarriona “Tank” Ball, who plays a joyful blend of funk-soul, spoken word and pop, just released the final installment of their spoken word collection, The Soul, last month. (Water Street, Tampa)
C Usurp Synapse w/Gillian Carter/ Novely./Thrull/Plague Spitter/Agile Last summer, after reuniting following a 19-year live show hiatus, Indiana screamo outfit Usurp Synapse returned with the band’s first new music in 20 years. Polite Grotesqueries finds the quartet picking up where it left off, but also evolving its odd song structures and grinding sound with different vocal styles. A who’s who of Florida heavy-hitters rounds the bill out. (Deviant Libation, Tampa)
C Violent Femmes Dance, motherfucker, dance. We still can’t thank The Pretenders enough for discovering the folk-punk outfit on the streets of New York City in the early-‘80s. In honor of the 40th anniversary of its sophomore album Hallowed Ground (which had Christian lyrics that were supposed to be defiant towards The Violent Femmes’ original sound, but ended up turning some fans away), Gordon Gano and friends will be playing the record all the way through. Following an intermission, they’ll come back and
THU SEP. 26–THU OCT. 03
play their eponymous debut album—which celebrated its own 40th anniversary last year—and then some. It’ll be the Femmes’ first time in the area since a 2014 gig at the much-missed Big Guava Music Festival, where it shared a bill with Grouplove, ZZ Ward, and Chance The Rapper. (Jannus Live, St. Petersburg)
SUN 29
Dorian Electra w/We’re Sweet Girls From the very beginning, Dorian Electra Fridkin Gomberg has made subversion a convention of the experimental-pop they make. Their first brush with fame came at the hands of a single that invoked the philosophy of the Austrian economist Friedrich Hayek. An Australian philosopher, Frank Cameron Jackson, got a similar treatment on 2014’s ““What Mary Didn’t Know,” and by 2017 Dorian Electra was collaborating with Charli XCX (“Femmebot”). Tampa Bay’s own We’re Sweet Girls collective does a DJ set before this sure-to-be-theatrical show which’ll find Electra bounding between bass music, piano and more. (Crowbar, Ybor City)
C Tampa Bay Indian and World Music Festival Technically fronted by tabla maestro and vocalist Shankh Lahiri, Wahh World Fusion Band (stylized in all-caps) is a veritable megatron of Bay area super musicians. Sitar player Kanad Hari, guitarists Peter mongaya and Thomas Griggs, Elias Tona and Seth Lynn on bass, Guianna and Ona Kirei on vocals, plus Michael Washington and Patrick Hernly on percussion help Lahiri bring to life world music that features life giving drones, a potent mix of eastern and western melodies, plus the occasional reworking of familiar pop megahits. (The Hindu Temple of Florida, Tampa)
MON 30
C The Buena Vista Social Orchestra w/ Cody Jasper Fans of Latin music will spend some time in Pinellas County this week since Friday’s Clearwater Latin Jazz Festival is just days ahead of this visit from Jesús “Aguaje” Ramos. The 73-year-old founding leader, composer and trombonist for The Buena Vista Social Club is technically on the road with a new ensemble (The Buena Vista Orchestra), but the lineup includes percussionist “Betun” Luis Mariano Valiente Marin, pianist Emilio Senon Morales Ruiz, and vocalist Rogelio Ricardo Oliva Orelly—all members of the OG BVSC. Folks say Tampa Bay is closer to Cuba than Key West, and it’ll feel like it at this show as Ramos—who’s also served with Estrellas de Arieto and AfroCuban Allstars—works through BVSC classics like “El Cuarto de Tula” and “Candela.” Cody Jasper, the orchestra’s driver and a singersongwriter himself, opens the show. (Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts at Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg)
TUE 01
C Las Nubes w/Permanent Makeup The realities of living in Miami get increasingly dim as life goes on, and Las Nubes taps into them on a new album Tormentas Malsanas (that translates to “unhealthy storms”). Over 10 tracks, multi-instrumentalist Ale Campos and drummer Emile Milgrim—who recently backed Iggy Pop in an all-female Stooges lineup—sets stories about injustice and struggle to rock and roll that channels the very best of ‘90s grunge into a loud, potent take on modern garage-pop. Best of the Baywinning radio host Chris Nadeau (read more on p. 86) leads his St. Petersburg proto-punk band Permanent Makeup to open the show.
THU 03
C Twyn w/Katara Twyn—Jason Matthews and Aaron Glueckauf, alum of groups like Electric Kif and Lemon City Trio—skip sample packs and instead build their palette of sounds from scratch. While they’re both trained jazz musicians, Twyn’s music leans more into dance music, with the duo sprinkling influences (pop, hip-hop, R&B) into songs driven by Glueckauf’s drums and the corner of Korgs and modulators that surrounds Matthews. Expect Twyn to turn their record into something different at the Far Forest where Tampa harp-and-drum duo Katara, fresh off its debut LP and an anthemic new single “Earrings,” plays support. (The Far Forest, Tampa)
It's Best of the Bay week, and the regular editorial in this behemoth of an issue was cut to make room for all the winners. Read an extended version of our Music Week listing via cltampa.com/music.
C CL Recommends
Tank and the Bangas
After 15 years away, Metallica is coming back to Tampa.
Metallica’s M72 World Tour launched back in 2023, and now the nine-time Grammy Award winning metal outfi t has added more dates, with Tampa in the mix next summer. Last week, the group behind hits like “Enter Sandman” and “Fade to Black” added 21 more North American dates for the M72 World Tour, and shared plans to bring their massive “in-the-round stage” to Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium for two nights on Friday, June 6 and Sunday, June 8.
Jesse Dayton w/Ghalia Volt/Swamp Poney Friday, Oct. 4. 7 p.m. $20. Music Hall at New World Brewery, Tampa
John Nemeth Friday, Oct. 4. 7:30 p.m. $30. Safety Harbor Art and Music Center, Safety Harbor
Offerings w/KT Kink (opening for Xiu Xiu) Monday, Oct. 7. 7 p.m. $20. Crowbar, Ybor City
Damon Fowler Friday, Oct. 11. 7:30 p.m. $25. Safety Harbor Art and Music Center, Safety Harbor
Harry Potter Rave Saturday, Oct. 12. 11 p.m. $10. The Ritz, Ybor City
John Prine’s Birthday Party: Grant Peeples & Friends Saturday, Oct. 12. 7:30 p.m. $30. Safety Harbor Art and Music Center, Safety Harbor
Betty Fox Sunday, Oct. 13. 5:30 p.m. $25. Safety Harbor Art and Music Center, Safety Harbor
WMNF Halloween Ball Friday, Oct. 18. 8 p.m. $20. Music Hall at New World Brewery, Tampa
Julia Cole Saturday, Oct. 19. 8 p.m. $20. Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa
According to a release, Limp Bizkit and Ice Nine Kills will open for Metallica on June 6, while Pantera and Suicidal Tendencies will offer support on June 8. The Tampa stops are the only Florida shows on the tour. The setlist will be different each night.
Select presale tickets for Metallica’s Tampa concerts this June go on sale Sept. 23 at 10 a.m., while general admission, two-day tickets go on sale Sept. 27. Ticket prices have yet to be announced.
See Josh Bradley’s new concert roundup below.—Colin Wolf
XTR Human w/Protokoll 19/DJ FX Wednesday, Oct. 23. 7 p.m. $15. Music Hall at New World Brewery, Tampa
Tommy Castro w/The Shaelyn Band Thursday, Oct. 24. 8 p.m. $25. Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa
Toronzo Cannon Friday, Oct. 25. 7:30 p.m. $30. Safety Harbor Art and Music Center, Safety Harbor
Said The Sky Thursday, Oct. 31. 10 p.m. $30 & up. The Ritz, Ybor City
The Jaywalkers w/Deluxe 12/Quaint Delusions Saturday, Nov. 2. 7 p.m. $10. Music Hall at New World Brewery, Tampa
42 Dugg Monday, Nov. 4. 7 p.m. $29.50 & up. The Ritz, Ybor City
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Thursday, Nov. 7. 8 p.m. $35 & up. Bilheimer Capitol Theatre, Clearwater
Corey Smith Friday, Nov. 8. 8 p.m. $25. Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa
Hippies and Cowboys w/Ivan Pulley Band/The Retrograde Friday, Nov. 8. 8 p.m. $10. Music Hall at New World Brewery, Tampa
FALL
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 5 YOGA IN THE
SATURDAYS, OCT 5, OCT 19, NOV 2, NOV 16, DEC 7, DEC 21
BOKTOBERFEST
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 18
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2
When Creative Loafing’s Best of the Bay launched in 1990, I was five years old. Sandy Freedman was mayor of Tampa while another Tampeño, Bob Martinez, lived 465 miles away in the governor’s mansion. Zooming out, inflation was at 5.4%, and the ratio of CEO pay to the average worker’s was 74-to-1. Back then, readers mailed their Best Of ballots or walked them into our office before staffers counted them by hand. These days, I have an almost-five-year-old of my own. Tampa still has a lady leading the way, and a Republican continues to call the shots in
Tallahassee. Inflation’s down to 2.5% (did Joe Biden do that?), but the ratio of CEO pay to the average worker’s has skyrocketed to 196-to-1. Around the office, Best Of votes are tabulated online (more than a million of you cast votes this year, woof). Hell, there are even two Critics Picks awards that involve robots serving food. That’s all to say that a lot has changed around us. But in so many ways, the spirit of Creative Loafi ng’s Best of the Bay awards hasn’t.
Outside of spellcheck and that ballot, there weren’t many robots directly involved in the
production of this issue. Mostly—like it’s been for more than three decades now—the heart of what makes Best of the Bay mostly involves you, the readers, the raconteurs, the people who’re really, really, really pouring what looks like every ounce of themselves into the thing they care about. The ideas you bring to life with your hard work, and the love you have for your craft and community, is still what we come together to celebrate each year.
In 2024, Creative Loafi ng readers—your friends, neighbors, customers, admirers and
haters—voted in 469 categories. Our paper’s staff and contributors came up with 175 Critics Picks. That’s a whole lot of love, and as this publication careens towards yet another Best of the Bay party, there still aren’t a lot of words to fully capture how much Creative Loafi ng loves and appreciates anyone reading this right now. Instead, we give you this big ass issue of all the best things Tampa Bay has to offer. It’s your hard work, and ours, too. Welcome to Best of the Bay 2024. We’re so grateful to be here with you again.—Ray Roa
Best All-You-Can-Play Pinball Machine Collection
Replay Amusement Museum, Tarpon Springs
This year marks 10 years since Brian and Becky Cheaney publicized their massive collection of pinball machines and arcade cabinets. If you drive to downtown Tarpon Springs between Wednesday and Sunday with $14, you’re given a colored wristband, which gives you all-day access to over 100 free-toplay video games (as rare as “Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker” and as goofy as the novelty “Hercules” pinball machine, known as the biggest one in the world). And as long as you keep the wristband on, you can head across the street to Urban Grounds for a quick snack and you’re good to return for more gaming until close. Kids ages 7-12 get in for $8, and there’s a date night option on Friday and Saturday, where couples get in for $22. The Cheaneys are Disneyheads too, so you had better believe you’ll come across “Tron” and “Fix-it Felix Jr.” on your nostalgia trip. replaymuseum.com—Josh Bradley
Best Art Fort Luci Westphal’s Public Walls And In-Between Spaces
Nestled within Creative Pinellas’ Emerging Artist show, a three-sided shed called to Tampa Bay as a shelter from the storm that is life. On the outside, humanity’s angst is reflected in urban graffiti captured and pasted to wooden fence panels. Inside was everything one needs to survive it—a place to lay your head, books to read, snacks and oral hygiene items. This wasn’t artwork to look at; it was artwork to live in. goodhardworkingpeople.com—Jennifer Ring
Best Cabaret Space That Can Do It All Side Door At The Palladium
This 185-capacity room features relaxed table seating, subdued lighting and sound quality par
excellence. It’s an uber-comfortable space. But none of this vibe would matter if the Side Door didn’t present top-notch performances. Programmed by Palladium director Paul Wilborn, the room puts on a slate of eclectic concerts by local, regional and touring acts. On any given night, you can check out jazz (a lot of it), blues, rock, Latin, roots-country, folk, comedy and, yes, cabaret, in an intimate setting alongside attentive patrons, most of whom are there for the show. mypalladium.org—Eric Snider
Best Comedian
Danny Bevins
Bevins isn’t the kind of comedian you see grinding it out every weekend at random venues in Tampa. Like a seasoned pugilist, he picks his spots. Then you look at his resume and you see multiple comedy albums (when they were a thing), a Dry Bar Special (which is a thing now), headlining spots at Coconuts and McCurdy’s, and regular trips to Brad Garrett’s Comedy Club in Las Vegas. Oh, and he’ll headline the 17th Annual Crack Up Cancer benefit show at Floridian Social later this year. He kind of does what he wants when he wants, and after performing his energetic and opinionated stand-up for decades, Bevins has earned that right. dannybevins.rocks—Michael Murillo
Best Comedy Club Side Splitters
shows to support a variety of causes. The Bone’s Maurice Jovan chose to film his recent special at the Dale Mabry location, and they spearheaded the Sunshine Comedy Festival earlier this year. It’s a standout club in a city full of great comedy. sidesplitterscomedy.com—Michael Murillo
Best Comedy Event Concept
Sunshine Comedy Festival
Best Don’t Buy A Jersey With The Name On Back
Tampa Bay Rays
As a small-market team with a poor attendance record, the Rays have always been inclined to shed payroll—especially when, like this year, making the playoffs seems all but out of reach. The salary dump leading up to the July 30 trade deadline was especially aggressive (or egregious, depending on your point of view), but probably necessary. The Rays jettisoned No. 1 pitcher Zach Eflin (due $18 million next year), this year’s top hitter, Isaac Paredes, and fan favorite Randy Arozarena. Count among them a few lesser names who were also moved. The pundits say the Rays did well in getting back a bushel of prospects. But that’s little consolation for fans whose Arozarena jerseys are now obsolete, not to mention that “Randy Land” in left field needs rebranding. mlb. com/rays—Eric Snider
Best Don’t Say A Word Katara Album Release
The Tampa Bay area never hosted a full-fl edged stand-up comedy festival until this year, when the Sunshine Comedy Festival brought together comedians from around the country for a series of shows and performances in different venues, with plenty of locals as well. While it had its share of first-year issues, it also garnered a lot of praise for pulling off a complicated event and collecting a solid lineup of talent. While its status is up in the air for the future, we’re glad that comedians across the country got to experience our area as a festival-worthy destination.
Michael Murillo
Best Comedy Open Mic
Soggy
Bottom Brewery
Tampa Bay is lucky to have a number of successful comedy clubs running a slate of shows every weekend. Side Splitters continues to stand out for having multiple locations, a diverse calendar of comedians (including popular YouTube celebrities and former locals who have come back home to headline) and a healthy number of benefi t
Comedian Tom Wise runs this Dunedin open mic, which features an attentive crowd (a rarity among mics), hit-and-miss comedy (a guarantee at mics) and a full slate of comedians. Wise also breaks up the experience by adding in a professional to do a short set, guaranteeing the audience will get to hear a few tried-and-true jokes each time they come out. Like all mics, we can’t always vouch for the comedy, but Wise runs a solid mic with something of value for both the comedians who sign up, and the audience that watches them. @tomwise1 on Facebook—
Michael Murillo
In 43 minutes on These Days , Natalie DePergola saw Seth Adam Lynn sum up their six-year journey as Katara. The album is easily one of the best instrumental records of the year, and the April release show was even better. The harp-drum outfit— joined onstage by bassist Sebastian Siaca, Anthony Santaniello on guitar, percussionist Pat Hernly, and saxophonist Nick Bredal—says so much without uttering a single word. And when Katara did need vocals, Guianna Brantley was happy to step in to sing and rap all while soundman JJ Revell mixed the show to perfection. Majestic, magisterial, Katara represents the best of our local music scene—and sounds even better with its friends along for the ride. @wearekatara on Instagram—Ray Roa
continued on page 89
has acquired the oldest wheel of PARMIGIANO REGGIANO
CREATIVE LOAFING • BEST OF THE BAY 2024 CRITICS PICKS: ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Best Dramatic Musical Gut Punch
Alexis Cara-Girbés, Tampa Rep “Next to Normal” immediately sucks the audience down into a swirling, emotional vortex that’s really akin to a bullfight worthy of Ernest Hemingway. Our emotions are like a charging bull that can’t escape the thrusts of the picador. Every forward movement brings a gut punch with the sting of pain. As the sexy and sharp, but delusional bipolar depressive Diana, Alexis Carra-Girbés is at the top of her game both vocally and dramatically with her Broadway pedigree on full display. In one of the great women’s roles in recent memory, her vocal and emotional range is immense and always perfectly calibrated. tamparep. org—Jon Palmer Claridge
Best Fiber Arts Meme-Maker
Karina Plemmons
On the 25th anniversary of its release, “The Sopranos” is doing numbers on the meme market. Millennials and Zoomers too young to have watched it initially have embraced Tony, but how does one show a love for This Little Thing of Ours IRL without donning a Bada Bing t-shirt?
Enter Instiches813’s Soprano Samplers. Handstitched in Tampa Bay, you can get samplers with pictures of your favorite characters with EmmyAward-winning lines like “Fuckin’ nosey? Eat your Manicotti!” and “Mix it with the relish!” Cheaper than an oil painting of a dead horse, you can even commission one for your goomar. @ institches813 on Instagram—Caroline DeBruhl
Best Fringe Show Title
‘Captain Havoc And The Big Titty Bog Witches’
How did Ron DeSantis get the idea that Fringe Festivals were like sexual festivals? No one knows for sure, but it’s possible that State Communications Director Bryan Griffin, who co-owns Flower Crown Kombucha in Tampa Heights, told him about Tampa playwright Christen Hailey’s 2024 Tampa Fringe production, “Captain Havoc and the Big Titty Bog Witches.” Although there was no sex in Hailey’s satire, the title was very naughty and “NOT an appropriate use of taxpayer dollars” according to Griffin, who posted as much on X. “Captain Havoc and the Big Titty Bog Witches” was a great play before the governor’s office noticed it, but now it’s the stuff of legend. I guess conservative politicians just don’t appreciate camp. tampafringe.org—Jennifer Ring
Best Hard In The Paint
lovers have come together to celebrate his memory. In Gulfport last April—where the family has kept a home since 2005—John’s wife Fiona joined the town in kicking off three days of tribute concerts that not only brought together Prine’s biggest fans, but raised money for The Hello In There Foundation. Under the guidance of Gail Gilchrist, the shows went to St. Pete and Safety Harbor, then poured proceeds back into the community. It’s heartwarming to see people coalesce in such big numbers to celebrate the warmth and kindness baked into the Prine catalog—but even better watching homegrown talent like Kaleigh Baker, Patrick Hagerman and Joshua Reilly breathe new life into the tunes, too. thehellointherefoundation.org Ray Roa
Best Home Away From Home Philfest
bringing it to Tampa Bay area venues. @catlimitless on Instagram—Jennifer Ring
Best Leading Man
Jim Sorensen
You need a tall handsome guy who can act and sing, I mean really act and sing, who can do charm and smarm and also manage a theater company with smarts and style? Well, who else you gonna call but Jim Sorensen? This season alone, he soared in two very different roles at Tampa Rep, where he’s also Managing Artistic Producer: the grieving father in “Next to Normal” and the dueling brother in “Straight White Men.” Plus, he’s been the reliably smooth emcee for big events at The Studio@620, where he’s also hilarious in the role of suave gumshoe Nick Flebber for the Radio Theatre Project. @ Jimsoren on Instagram—David Warner
Best Legacy
Concrete Peninsula, Radio St. Pete
Best Final U.s. Concert For A Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Band
The Zombies At Bilheimer Capitol Theatre
In the last five years especially, things have been looking nowhere but up for Zombies main creative force Rod Argent and lead singer Colin Blunstone. The British Invasion legends were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a new album released to rave reviews, and the guys even started a TikTok account and took part in lip-sync trends from “Hi, Barbie! Hi, Ken!” to “You are now one of my elite employees.” The band’s most recent tour ended its U.S. leg at the Cap, where it usually performed biannually. Unfortunately, following a few extra gigs back home overseas, Argent suffered a stroke last July that made him decide that it was time to retire from the road. He still plans to do studio work, and Blunstone is set to do some solo touring, but as far as we’re concerned, the final chance for anyone in the U.S. to see the often-forgotten British Invasion outfit was right here in Tampa Bay. rutheckerdhall. com—Josh Bradley
Best Fortnightly Jazz Show
Sola Bistro
There’s no stage, but that doesn’t matter. Just a space to the left of the front door where, every other Wednesday, this restaurant comes alive with arguably the best acoustic jazz you’re going to hear in Tampa Bay outside of a concert setting. It’s ace trumpeter James Suggs’s gig. He rotates players, usually assembling a quartet. Michael Ross, LaRue Nickelson, Alejandro Arenas, John O’Leary, Jean Bolduc, Steve Bolsen, Stretch Bruyn and members of Hot Tonic are among the superb stable of musicians. Legit pro-level jazz in a restaurant located on a nondescript corner of St. Pete Beach. Keep it going, ownership. Maybe consider adding some Wednesdays. solabistrostpete.com—Eric Snider
Bob
Devin Jones
As the bassist in St. Petersburg proto-punk band Permanent Makeup, Chris Nadeau is
Each spring for the past three decades, Tampa’s Philippine Cultural Foundation, Inc. (stylized as “PCFI”) has hosted a multi-day festival filled with traditional dances, singing competitions, cultural entertainment, dual citizenship ceremonies, parades and dozens of food stalls that dish out regional Pinoy delicacies. This annual phenomenon known as Philfest—visited
somewhat famous for his banter encouraging audiences to not get in their own way of starting a band and expressing themselves. The forward-thinking extends to Wednesday nights where Nadeau (who is one hell of a basketball player, too) spends the 10-o-clock hour exploring not just experimental and often heavy new music (in late August there was free noise and jazz from Storage Music Unit), but also a smattering of more traditional rock music from around the world and these parts, too. The show is available worldwide via stream, but there’s something special about listening to it on the radio if you happen to be in the small coverage area for St. Pete’s 96.7-FM. @sonicnadeau on Facebook—Ray Roa
Best Hello In There
John Prine Tribute Weekend
There’s been a John Prine-sized hole in the hearts of songwriters everywhere since 2020, but each year after the mailman-turned-songsmith’s death, music
by over 10,000 attendees annually—takes months of planning and fundraising to execute, largely depending on PCFI members and community volunteers from the greater Tampa Bay area and beyond. Earlier this year, PCFI co-founder Joey Omila told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that the younger generation of local Filipino-Americans have started to take over Philfest duties, and we hope they continue the tradition of making Tampa feel like the motherland—even if it’s just for a weekend. pcfitampa.org—Kyla Fields
Best Laugh Until Your Face Hurts Cat Lim’s ‘An American Darling’ St. Pete-based comic, musician and designer Cat Lim is always good for a laugh. In a pre-Tampa Fringe interview, Lim told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that the best comedy is personal, and after seeing her show at Tampa Fringe, we have to agree. Sometimes life is funny, and Lim does a fantastic job of finding the humor in her own experience and
The co-founding artistic director of The Studio@620 retired in June after 20 years, having changed the cultural landscape of St. Petersburg with a multicultural multi-purpose arts center that operated on a simple but profound philosophy: “The answer is always yes.” That he picked the brilliant director/ actor/producer Erica Sutherlin as his successor is just another example of his impeccable taste in art and people. Now Sutherlin gets to put her stamp on the beloved institution with an eclectic, exciting season and a “Yes!Maker” campaign to ensure the Studio’s continued success. studio620.org—David Warner
Best ‘Less Is More’ Witch-Hunt Response
Brianna Larson, Think Tank/Tampa Rep Actor Brianna Larson has a long history with the histrionic young girls in Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible.” She played the subservient, naive, lonely Mary Warren in New York City, then the manipulative temptress Abigail in Sarasota. Miller’s tale of the Salem Witch trials (as a parallel to McCarthyism), however, turns on the unwavering honesty of Elizabeth Proctor who ultimately lies to save her husband, John, who has committed adultery. Her portrayal of Elizabeth, inThinkTank/TampaRep’s finely wrought production, is a marvel of restraint. Ms. Larson understands that, especially in the intimate Stageworks space where the play was produced, that the stark contrast to the young girl’s hysteria was her secret weapon. As the dramatic tension builds, a lesser performer might be tempted to embrace theatrics. Larson instead opts for quiet intensity with breathtaking effect.You could hear a pin drop, before the audience gasps. And that makes great theater. thinktanktya.org/ tamparep.org—Jon Palmer Claridge
Best Life-Changing Musical Role
Clay Christopher, Dr. Frank-N-Furter, ‘The Rocky Horror Show’ Clay Christopher has a striking vocal range and a dynamic presence, which has been demonstrated on local stages, film, TV commercials, Disney, and in 33 countries for Norwegian Cruise lines. What he also embodies that’s rarely seen in performers with his abundance of talent is gratitude and humility. Selected thoughts from recent social media posts regarding this dream role are indeed touching: “I am on the cover of the Straz Center for the Performing Arts playbill for the Summer . . . I have been going to see shows at the Straz since I was a kid. To now be on the cover of their playbills for the Summer is an honor and a dream come true . . . When this pic was sent to me, it immediately filled me up with so much happiness. The man I saw in the picture smiling for the Gods was almost unrecognizable to me and it is me! . . . Don’t dream it. Be it! @clayoo7 on Instagram—Jon Palmer Claridge
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Best Legacy
Bob Devin Jones
CREATIVE LOAFING • BEST OF THE BAY 2024 CRITICS PICKS: ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Best Literary Hidden Gem
Read Herring
Every third Wednesday of the month, Read Herring and its dedicated group of local writers gather for a night of readings and games at Tampa’s Corner Club. Read Herring was started in 2018 by a group of writers who felt Tampa’s writer-ly community needed a monthly literary series. Fast forward to 2024, and it’s still going strong. Every month, three local authors read their work, and the audience plays interactive games in between. There are terrible prizes, ample laughter, and a place to connect with other writers. It’s a writer’s reading series that is open and accessible to non-writers (who are encouraged to attend). It is a hidden gem in the local literary scene that folks should know about and support often. @ ReadHerringFL on Facebook—Arielle Stevenson
Best Local Arts Activism
The Warehouse Arts District Association
No one acted faster to rescue the arts in St. Pete than St. Pete’s Warehouse Arts District Association when DeSantis vetoed funding for the arts. Warehouse Arts District Association (WADA) Executive Director Markus Gottschlich and Board President Mark Aeling provided the leadership St. Pete artists needed to stand before City Council and remind the City of St. Pete that being a City of the Arts comes with an obligation to financially support the arts. The result: the city committed to funding the arts in St. Pete at an additional $695,000 to make up for its loss of state funding. wadastpete.org—Jennifer Ring
Best Local Directorial Debut
Helen R. Murray, ‘Indecent’ “Indecent” by Paula Vogel at American Stage was a triumph for Producing Artistic Director, Helen R. Murray was one of the most fully realized evenings of theater in the last decade. Every element of the Holocaust drama exploring censorship, immigration and homophobia worked in perfect sync toward the same ends. The 110-minute intermission-less play went by in a flash. The momentum steadily built as the stellar singing/dancing cast played 42 distinct characters with a plethora of accents. A thrilling element of the production was the extended presence of a virtuoso klezmer trio as costumed characters onstage evoking the joyous folk traditions of the shtetl. It was also an exhilarating piece of stagecraft; each element a master class in the use of color and texture. Ultimately, it stole your heart with the emotional sight of two people falling in love as they dance in the rain. americanstage.org—Jon Palmer Claridge
Best Low Key Concert Livestream Orpheum
Livestreams can bring the sights and sounds of big festivals into your living room, but what happens when you decide to go experience an outdoor show in real life then realize it’s just too damn hot out there? Orpheum Tampa has something of a solution thanks to its big ass projector and the air-conditioned cavern it lives in. While bands and their most devoted followers sweat it out on the patio stage, you can relax inside, watch a feed of the show and have the bar pretty much all to yourself. theorpheum.com—Ray Roa
Best Male Dramatic Closeup
Jim Sorensen, Tampa Rep
The Pulitzer Prize-winning rock musical, “Next to Normal,” is primarily a showcase for a bipolar mom, Diana, and her “complicated” kids. The father/ husband character is constant and genuine but increasingly tired as Diana’s doctors throw every possible therapy against the wall hoping something will stick. But one of the great joys of an intimate theater space is that the close proximity of the actors to the audience allows for great nuance that would be
lost on most other stages. It’s being near enough to see the ache behind Jim Sorensen’s eyes anchoring the ensemble as Diana’s “boring” husband, where Sorensen brings some of his finest acting to the smaller, subtle moments—particularly at the denouement when the welling up of unbearable pain in those eyes will break your heart. tamparep.org
Jon Palmer Claridge
Best Mindbender Of An Art Show
‘Never The Same Song’ At The Museum Of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg
An inspired pairing of two artists of different generations—Lonnie Holley, 74, and Lizzi Bougatsos, 50—with a shared interest in found objects, family histories, and social injustice, filtered through musical sensibilities The co-curators, Viva Vadim and the MFA’s invaluable Katherine Pill, did a beautiful job both coordinating the installation and providing context, so that this was a show that was not only dazzling to behold but
Best Music History Lesson-Turned Concert
The Wallflowers, Bilheimer Capitol Theatre
Unlike a good chunk of his ‘90s rock peers, Jakob Dylan works off of far more than his early hit “One Headlight.” In 2018, he released “Echo In The Canyon,” a documentary covering the Laurel Canyon neighborhood, and just a good number of Californiabased rock legends in general. Dylan told CL Tampa that he was only focusing on bands in the film rather than solo artists, which is part of why Joni Mitchell didn’t appear. Nonetheless, he extends his love of music history into his concerts, one of which happened in downtown Clearwater last spring. That night, he played a “Ramblin’ Man” tribute to Allman Brothers guitarist and Osprey resident Dickey Betts (who died a week-and-a-half prior), with a reminder that Florida is home to a good
fascinating to read and think about. mfastpete.org
David Warner
Best Monumental Art
Ya La’ford
Ya La’Ford’s mark is all over Tampa and unmistakable, too. And while her large scale paintings and sculptures represent some of the best public art in America, she took the show inside last fall for “Henge,” a show built around three large monuments that include leg-like half circles and circular tops, all sculpted with the hypnotizing patterns of La’Ford’s other work. Upon stepping in, viewers were asked to consider ancient art, and henges from England’s Stonehenge, to Nabta Playa in Africa’s Nubian Desert, about 500 miles south of Cairo, and even the ancient unexplained “Circle of Giants” henge in Israel’s Golan Heights. It was easy to to feel like a speck in that context, but once art reminded you of the interconnectivity of time and space, it was impossible to feel alone. yalaford.com—Ray Roa
suggestive options with a huge chef’s knife and a NSFW move on the kitchen faucet. stageworkstheatre.org
Jon Palmer Claridge
Best Mystical Florida Woodlands 'Azalea'
Azalea was supposed to live in the Peninsularium, but when that didn’t happen due to a lack of funding, the art project found a new, temporary home at the Dunedin Fine Art Center this summer. Mitzi Jo Gordon, Emily Stone, Kym O’Donnell and Joe Griffith’s gallery-size installation created a magical Florida forest within DFAC where cypress knees have teeth, trees come laden with protective evil eye talismans, and images of Florida forests combine to form an abstracted woodland environment. mitzijogordon.com—Jennifer Ring
Best Nature On A Grid
Mikhail Mansion’s ‘Nature Pix’
Making and breaking the grid is an essential part of graphic design work. Last spring, Computational Artist and Designer Mikhail Mansion showed Tampa Bay that you can put just about anything on a grid, including nature. Mansion’s “Nature Pix” brought the outside in, using code to transform outside light, shadow, and wind into dancing light and sound-filled data sculptures within The Gallery at Creative Pinellas. In Mansion’s hands, code becomes art. mikhailmansion.art—Jennifer Ring
Best New Radio Station Sector Fm
As the old St. Pete gives way to high-rises and fasterrising rents, the feeling of being left behind is never too far away. At least there’s a soundtrack to remind you that you are not alone. Sector FM is an online radio station curated by some of the Sunshine City’s foremost tastemakers. Everything from straight up bangers, to psychedelic alt-country, hip-hop, oldschool folk and more hits the decks in the weekly programming, which is streamed live and then archived in more-or-less perpetuity, allowing for repeated listens anytime you feel like you need a friend. sector.fm—Ray Roa
Best No Look Pass
‘Blind Squirrel’ By Dave Mishkin
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number of musical giants. One of those giants, Tom Petty, got his very own, three-song tribute encore, which enlightened the sold-out crowd to the fact that Jakob’s Nobel laureate dad might not even be his favorite Traveling Wilbury. rutheckerdhall.com
Josh Bradley
Best Musical Nervous Breakdown With Handjob Choreography
Heather Krueger, Stageworks
Heather Krueger has long been a go-to musical performer and choreographer in the Bay Area. But in “Falsettos,” the musical nervous breakdown for her character, Trina, is one of the single greatest show-off numbers for an actress in the musical theater canon. And Ms. Krueger takes full advantage of the moment to flaunt her prodigious vocal skills and comic timing. When your husband has come out of the closet and run off with a man, it’s OK to sing “I’m a queen, he’s a queen! Where’s my crown? I’m breaking down.”
Composer-lyricist William Finn has great fun as the song develops, and Krueger does, too—finding lots of
Anyone who’s spent a couple hours in their car listening to any of his iconic play calls knows that Dave Mishkin is a walking, talking embodiment of emotion. For 22 years, he’s been the voice of the Tampa Bay Lightning—giving life to the careers of so many athletes and painting pictures of the team’s most iconic wins—but for many fans, Mishkin’s first novel came out of nowhere like a Nikita Kucherov no-look-pass. The Yale alum started the book about a talented athlete with a lot of hang ups about two decades ago, but wrapped it in a 14-week flurry after the 2021-22 Stanley Cup Finals. Hockey looms large over “Blind Squirrel,”—and it’s especially fun to read Mishkin slowdown the play call as he lets us into the head of minor-leaguer Noah Nicholson—but the heart of the work is an unabashed acknowledgement of (and invitation to talk about) the insecurities, guilt, and sadness we walk around with on so many days of our lives. stpetersburgpress.com
—Ray Roa
Best Non-Comedy Venture By A Comedian
Ward Smith’s The Off-Central Smith has been telling jokes for decades. But when the local comedian (and son of iconic Tampa Bay news anchor Hugh Smith) launched The Off-Central, a nonprofit theater and performance venue in St. Petersburg, he found his calling as its Producing Artistic Director. Now, with a full schedule of plays
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each season, Smith has created a home for a diverse group of productions. Oh, and they do occasional stand-up comedy, too. Some things never change. theoffcentral.com—Michael Murillo
Best Not-A-Sex Festival Tampa Fringe
ICYMI, in late June, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis blamed his $32 million Florida arts veto on “sexual festivals,” calling out fringe theater festivals in Tampa and Orlando. The two festivals wrote a letter to the governor in response, offering to forgo their 2025 state grants if the state would reverse its veto. Although excellently-worded, it didn’t change anything. Now arts organizations across the state are doing their best to find creative ways to replace their state funding, including Tampa Fringe, which designed “Not a Sex Festival” t-shirts and launched a summer fundraiser where they raised $13,197. And though it’s not exactly the $15,678 the Florida State legislature approved, it proves that more than a few people value Tampa Fringe’s contributions to the Tampa arts scene. tampafringe.org—Jennifer Ring
Best NYC Entertainment Indulgence Straz Center For The Performing Arts’ 2023-24 Broadway Season
Tampa’s beloved performing arts complex has seen a lot of names roll through in its 37-year history. David Bowie performed a month before the heart attack that caused his retirement from touring, “Hamilton” spent a month in the space’s Morsani Hall in 2019, and while promoting her debut album in 2008, some singer named Taylor Swift came by. Usually, the Straz puts on one hell of a Broadway season, but there was just something different about last year’s. It kicked off last October with “Beetlejuice,” which actually had to be paused multiple times during opening night (once being right after the titular character joked about gay Republicans, leading some to believe that Gov. Ron DeSantis was in the building). A fresh-off-Broadway “Funny Girl,” the Bob Dylan jukebox musical “Girl From The North Country,” and “Moulin Rouge” (which returns for this year’s Broadway season, too) all headed to Morsani throughout the spring and winter. It culminated in June with the powerful-as-ever “Les Miserables,” and the season as a whole pushed some to book a flight to New York City and delve into the Broadway scene as much as possible. strazcenter.org—Josh Bradley
Best Ode To The Florida Man
‘Florida Man: Poems Revisited’ By Tyler Gillespie
The Florida Man meme is formidable, with countless pages on Twitter and Instagram dedicated to its many shades and shapes, like “Florida man threw live gator in Wendy’s drive-thru.” In “Florida Man: Poems Revisited”, writer Tyler Gillespie debones the myths about his home state using poetry and finds a portal into Sunshine State history, journalism, science, culture, and the messy reality and unreality that is Florida and its man. Initially released in 2018, Gillespie re-released the collection on Burrow Press this year, with the second edition featuring 20 new poems, aka the chapbook-length addition dubbed “HEAT ADVISORY.” Why do we love it? Florida writer, writing Florida lore, published by a great Florida press. tylergillespie.com—Arielle Stevenson
Best One-Woman Three-Way
Jen Casler
In Paula Vogel’s decidedly quirky play “And Baby Makes Seven,” a woman named Ruth tries to stop a fi ght between two of her imaginary children. In Gulfport Community Players’ production, Jen
Casler played all three characters in a thrashing, biting, rolling-around-the-fl oor tour de force that was one of the most memorable moments of the 23-24 theater season. @actorjenny on Facebook David Warner
Best Pre-Country Legend Crying Session
The Avett Brothers, MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre, Tampa
It was a gut punch to read that last summer’s iteration of Willie Nelson’s Outlaw Music Festival tour, with Bob Dylan and Robert Plant on the bill, would only head as far south as Atlanta. Last year, the tour swung into the old Gary amphitheater for the first time, and the Avett Brothers—Scott and Seth— played an emotional set just before Nelson hit the stage. Sure, there were moments of sheer joy (no matter your genre of choice, who doesn’t love to watch a guy tear up a banjo?), but once Seth softy started “I and Love and You”—a song about a newfound city life stripping you of your empathy and lust for life—the waterworks really kicked in. You couldn’t help but wonder either where it all went wrong, or picture yourself facing what the song depicts, in the midst of such a joyful music festi-
Best Public Art To Give A Fax About Fax 727-289-3069
Strange words started appearing on telephone poles up and down an alleyway along St. Petersburg’s Central Avenue. “Poetry Alley,” began filling with the images, black and white, of birds juxtaposed with words back last January. FAX 727-289-3069 is the brainchild of local poets Keifer Calkins, Eleanor Eichenbaum, and Tyler Gillespie. Calkins originally championed the idea of getting folks to communicate with him solely through the fax machine for the project. He began soliciting fax requests, “fax me nudes,” by posting the lo-fi copies around town. Some people responded. The project has grown from there and even included an interview conducted by fax. The alley installation rotates monthly, and stays up, “as long as the weather permits.” The project is a radical and timely attempt to disrupt our day-to-day phone worship and force folks to look up. 727-289-3069 (fax, obviously)
Arielle Stevenson
Best Read My Mind
Pet Lizard, ‘Intrusive Thoughts’
builds community and skills through collaborative creativity; we think that’s rad. printstpete.org/collate—Arielle Stevenson
Best Season In Spite Of It All American Stage
val. And for the boys to follow it up so soon with “Murder in the City,” which displays the narrator’s sappy hopes for what will happen in the aftermath of his potential death, you had to wonder if the two songs are linked to the same character.—Josh Bradley
Best Poet’s Paradise
City Of Writers Poetry Festival
St. Petersburg’s Poet Laureate Gloria Muñoz organized the city’s second annual City of Writers Festival, a month-long celebration of poetry and writing in honor of National Poetry Month last April. The festival featured workshops, discussions, and readings by poets Adam Day, Amy Alvarez, Urayoán Noel, and Pulitzer Prize-winner Jericho Brown. Muñoz and her support team made the City of the Arts feel like a poet’s paradise for a few weeks. For what Muñoz calls “a vibrant city of writers,” the City of Writers Poetry Festival is a rare opportunity to come together, one we hope continues next year. stpete.org—Arielle Stevenson
Upheavals occurred. There was controversy surrounding one actor’s on-stage political protest during a performance of “The Chinese Lady.” An economic shortfall threatening the future of American Stage in the Park. Programming that stretched the tolerance of some audience members. But to my mind, the theater’s 2023-24 season—the first full season programmed by Artistic Producing Director Helen Murray, who arrived at the theater in 2022—was exemplary. The production quality was consistently impeccable, the choice of material stimulating, and the acting and direction, particularly that by Murray herself, both precise and emotionally rich. Here’s hoping the Save Park campaign will reflect the confidence in the company’s future that Murray and American Stage deserve. americanstage.org—David Warner
It’s hard not to be in awe of the crowd at a Pet Lizard show. Fans of the Tampa rock outfit seem to know all the words and can sing them without missing a breath despite the swirl of bodies moshing and jumping around them. And while the gigs feel like celebrations, the band’s debut LP is a little more like a confessional where guitarists Nick Winston and Jamie Perez put a pandemic’s worth of intrusive thoughts to tape in punchy, punky fashion. There are regrettable tattoos in the tracklist, sure, but also lines about lying to your therapist, loneliness and self-care, too. @petlizard813 on Instagram—Ray Roa
Best Riso And Shine Meetup
Collate At Print St. Pete
Last summer, Print St. Pete founder Kaitlin Crockett started Collate, a free meet-up for Tampa Bay area zine and printmakers. More than a year later, the meet-up is going strong and has recently branched out into a few print and zine exchanges. The group even wrote its own manifesto using vintage Letraset and analog type and printed it on the studio’s RISO machine. The Print St. Pete’s free Collate meet-up
Best Smooth Operator Jask
Sade Sundays for me used to mean being alone in my car alone, probably eating fast food, and singing-crying to songs like “When Am I Going to Make a Living” or “Mr. Wrong.” That’s got a lot to do with my own emotional instability, but also the comforting quality of Sade Adu’s vocal and the arrangements of her legendary band. DJ Jask breathes new life into—and largely wipes the tears from—the 65-year-old icon’s catalog at his monthly residency at Water Street lounge Alter Ego. All night, the Bay area DJ scene staple uses remixes to flip tunes by the 65-year-old icon into dancefloor ready tunes. Good times come and go, but this night is always as good as the first time, too. @djjask on Instagram—Ray Roa
Best Spirit Of Kenny K
WMNF On Saturday Night
This year marked three decades since the death of Tampa hip-hop icon Kenny K. A rapper himself who even appeared on record with the Digital Underground, Kenny Waters was best known as the host of WMNF’s pioneering “Wax Attack” program that brought rap to airwaves across the Bay area. It was one of those shows that people would tape and then replay all week (kind of like streaming, but offline, kiddos). The program made the community radio station even more of a staple in the city, and Saturday nights are still dedicated to hiphop thanks to a five-hour block of programming that kicks off with Tone Kapone’s local music show “Waves Of the Bay” and closes with the spirit of more Tampa hip-hop legends, Rahim Samad and DJ Silent Rage. With WMNF Operations Manager Dwaine Terry starting to open the station up annually for a birthday-of-hiphop celebrations, it’s hard not to feel the joy that Kenny K brought to so many in the station’s formative years. wmnf.org—Ray Roa
Best Square Dancing In The Rain
Yonder Mountain String Band, Gasparilla Music Festival
The 2024 installment of Gasparilla Music Festival was the second rainy one in a row, but fans remained all-smiles through the torrential downpour. By Sunday, a good number of people decided to dip entirely, due to both the weather and Lake Street Dive dropping out at the 11th hour (ultimately being replaced by Big Boi and Killer Mike). Before the rap legends hit the main stage, Colorado bluegrass outfi t Yonder Mountain String Band put
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Best No Look Pass
‘Blind Squirrel’ By Dave Mishkin
DAVE
DECKER
CREATIVE LOAFING • BEST OF THE BAY 2024 CRITICS PICKS: ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
on one of the best sets of the weekend. While we still missed the late Jeff Austin, fi ve guys standing shoulder-to-shoulder playing their favorite stringed instrument (of which there were indeed fi ve different ones) and harmonizing to “Two Hits and the Joint Turned Brown” and a twangy cover of King Harvest’s “Dancing In The Moonlight” just made fans that held it out all weekend start dancing with each other in the muddy, borderline swampy fields of Julian B. Lane Park. It was such a joyful feat that by the time you got home and had to wash the shit out of your Vans that night, you’d forget that it was even a chore. gasparillamusic.com
Josh Bradley
Best Stayin’ Alive Floridarama
talent agent, beaten truck driver Reginald Denny, a Panamanian immigrant mother, actor Charlton Heston, a teenage Black gang member, opera star Jesse Norman, a macho Mexican-American artist, Rodney King’s chain-smoking aunt, and Rep. Maxine Waters; you get the idea. Moseley mastered a plethora of cadences and accents: Valley girl, Spanish and Korean, with multiple registers, stutters, rhythms and silent moments when language failed. jobsitetheater.org—Jon Palmer Claridge
Best Theatrical MVP
Roxanne Fay
At one point over the last few years, it looked like Tampa Bay would have art-focused wonderlands on each side of the Bay. But Crab Devil in Ybor Heights never panned out, and the whimsical amusement of The Fairgrounds hasn’t been without its own storms either. So it’s with bated breath that we watch St. Pete’s Warehouse District enter its Floridarama (stylized “FloridaRAMA”) era where new ownership expands the offerings and tries to steer the immersive art experience through fast changes in the Sunshine City. floridarama.art—Ray Roa
Best Stencil Work
Lucky Leroy ‘Florida Famous’ St.Pete artist Lucky LeRoy has discovered the best way to get press at his events—stencil journalist’s portraits among other Florida celebrities in a massive Florida-themed art installation. Journalists and arts advocates Maggie Duffy, Charlie Belcher, Bill DeYoung, Sean Daly and CL’s own Ray Roa were among the Florida Famous stenciled and displayed at FloridaRAMA’s Gallery last month. LeRoy spent years creating the art and collecting the magazines he assembled into Florida Famous. It was a labor of love and a much-needed bright spot In the middle of Florida’s culture war. leroy.land—Jennifer Ring
Best Suburban Jazz Club
Friday Nights At DI Coffee Bar
There’s no shortage of jazz in the makeup of the 2024 Best of the Bay awards, and DI Coffee Bar checks in with its own contribution. Bustling cafe by day, the Davis Islands staple more or less morphs into a straight up outdoor jazz club on Friday nights from 7:30 p.m.-10 p.m. when guitarist Dominic Walker (who also hosted WUSF’s “All Night Jazz” before the programming was unceremoniously killed it in October 2022) welcomes guests—including Grammy-nominated locals like Chuck Owen—to a somewhat tiny stage that is host to big performances of not just standards, but the best in what’s next, too. Get there early, and if you’re not walking home, plan to get a ride because you’re bound to go through a couple bottles of wine before the gig wraps. @dicoffeebar on Instagram—Ray Roa
Best Theatrical Chameleon
Andresia Moseley, Jobsite Theater
This one just missed last year’s BOTB deadline, but Andresia Moseley’s high-octane series of “Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992” performances was a wonder to behold. Creative Loafing Tampa Bay reviewed a superb live-capture video from 2021 during the pandemic where audiences were able to view the 27 diverse characters portrayed by the versatile Ms. Moseley pouring out their souls in closeup. But the live post-pandemic revival at the end of August 2023 was a visceral experience. The range of characters was kaleidoscopic—a disabled Korean man, LAPD chief Daryl Gates, a white male Hollywood
Are Dead”) to the cantankerous seventy-year-old infirmed harridan of a mother (“Beauty Queen of Leenane”). Whether it’s becoming Hercule Poirot on short notice or writing and embodying a enthralling new twist on Lady Macbeth, she always delivers with nary a false note.—Jon Palmer Claridge
Best Theatrical ‘Poptop’ Gasp
Logan Franke, Jobsite Theater
Weird violence permeates the work of playwright Martin McDonagh. But, as an accomplished writer, it’s often accompanied by the element of surprise. And just as Ibsen famously introduces a pistol in Hedda Gabler, McDonagh makes sure we know that there’s a wrought iron fireplace poker in the
Morean Center for Clay Resident Artist Dakota Parkinson knows how to think outside the mug. Instead of the usual functional items, Parkinson fashioned clay body parts for their Gallery221@ HCC and Morean Center for Clay shows last spring/ summer. Sometimes they were as light as a bowl of fingers. Other times, they appeared too heavy to hang from the walls and ceilings that supported them. Parkinson enjoys the heft–sometimes life is heavy, and the world needs more art that reflects that. @transfunctional on Instagram—Jennifer Ring
Some actors strut through life, wearing their required “look at me” personas every waking minute (think Robin Williams). It’s entertaining, but can be tedious. A few are unassuming, quietly working on their craft and consistently delivering character-centered performances across genres. From Shakespeare to musical theater, Roxanne Fay never fails to impress. This season has been particularly versatile. Fay doesn’t have a bag of tricks like many actors, she just lets her characters arise from the text in an emotional range from subtle uproarious mute comedy (“Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
“Beauty Queen of Leenane.” The play is a bubbling cauldron of mother-daughter resentment. As we reach the climax, the Beauty Queen recounts a delusional episode as she paces around her irascible mother Mag, seemingly asleep in her rocker. As she brandishes the poker, the tension mounts in anticipation of violence. But, ever upending our expectations, the gasp-inducing climax is a special effect perfectly designed by Logan Franke. Mag’s head falls forward and the top of her scalp pops open exposing a red chunk of skull. “Twas over the stile she did trip. Aye. And down the hill she did
Best Trio Of Local Concerts By One Artist In One Year
Sting
In the 2010s, Sting only came through Tampa Bay twice: Once for a Florida Orchestra gala at the Mahaffey Theater in 2017, and once in 2010 for his also-symphonic “Symphonicities” tour stop at the old Gary amphitheater. Sure, seeing Sting live twice is something that some people can only dream of, but knowing how massive his touring schedule was last decade (not to mention his critically-acclaimed collaboration with Coral Cables resident Shaggy), it’s a bit odd that he skipped us over so often. On the other hand, we’re almost halfway through the 2020s, and the King of Pain has been to town four times since COVID-19 restrictions loosened up, thrice being in the last year: Once as a co-headliner with Billy Joel at Raymond James Stadium, and the other two reprising his Florida Orchestra gala, which we still think is the ideal setting for a guy like Sting. He just seemed more comfortable and in his element, you know?
Josh Bradley
Best ‘Turning Lemons Into Lemonade’ Production
A Motown Celebration, Freefall Theatre
Running a not-for-profit professional theater is not for the faint of heart. When freeFall was unable to open its season as announced due to unexpected illness, there was a scramble to find a replacement on short notice. Luckily, award-winning Broadway actor-singer, Chester Gregory was available and simply unmissable—a virtuoso’s turn on every level. Joy was the order of the day as he seduced the audience with many charming personal anecdotes and a cavalcade of Motown hits. One minute as Smokey Robinson, then Motown’s founder Berry Gordy (his role on Broadway and on tour), then Jackie Wilson, Sam Cooke, Otis Redding and even after 90 minutes—running up and down the aisles with James Brown’s “I Feel Good”—a sense of euphoria swept the crowd and we all felt good too. Very good, indeed. freefalltheatre.com—Jon Palmer Claridge
Best Up-And-Coming Comedian
Ginger Kelly
Kelly has gone from independent show producer and guest set performer to a regular feature at Snappers Comedy Clubs in Palm Harbor and Ft. Myers, and even closing some independent shows around the state. She’ll drive pretty much anywhere for a gig, showcasing her mostly-NSFW stand-up as a grandmother whose big jokes should be kept far away from little ears. @ GingerKellyComedian on Facebook—Michael Murillo
Best Use Of Balloons
Jason Hackenwerth
His fierce large-format paintings sell for big bucks and recently jazzed up the windows of Bergdorf Goodman in New York City. But the artist, who has lived in St. Petersburg for 11 years, first came to
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Stencil Work
CREATIVE LOAFING • BEST OF THE BAY 2024
our attention with his gigantic balloon installations at Creative Pinellas, where he was a grantee and is now president of the local arts agency’s board. This year he gave us two of his most over-the-top balloon extravaganzas, in a darkly witty performance called “Tarantula” at his Sixstar Art Studios in the Warehouse Arts District, and as one of the models strutting the runway in his own balloon couture at the Dunedin Fine Art Center’s Wearable Art show. jasonhackenwerth.com—David Warner
Best Use Of Processed Food Boxes
Jason Lazarus’ Eclipse Project
Few were more excited about this year’s solar eclipse than University of South Florida professor Jason Lazarus. Lazarus’ eclipse mania began with the 2017 total solar eclipse. Viewing the eclipse with his students, Lazarus realized he was just as interested in their handmade eclipse viewers as he was in the eclipse itself. Thus, an art project was born. As the 2024 eclipse approached, Lazarus launched a community art project, teaching local college students how to make homemade eclipse viewers from used cardboard boxes—the result: a community united in art and science. jasonlazarus. com—Jennifer Ring
Best Use Of New Theater Technology Eric Davis, Freefall Theatre
Since freeFall’s founding in 2012, Artistic Director Eric Davis’ versatility and vision have been on full display. But the surprising placement of detailed miniature 3D printed buildings (with very specifi c architectural components) on a colorful map of the U.S., was a genius solution to establish the many locations needed for “God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater.” Davis also added humor and context with a trio of video screens over each bank of audience members, from silent movie clips to midwestern local color travelogues to character commentary. And his command of projection technology turned the proscenium of the “Fable” stage into a multitude of stunning locations in perfect perspective. As a director/designer with a com- prehensive vision, he (and his team) seamlessly brought this new play’s many scenes vividly to life with
ease and cinematic grace. freefalltheatre.com—
Jon Palmer Claridge
Best Way To Make The Most Of A Rainy Event Day
Rock The Park At The Hub Bar
This free monthly event is typically held in Downtown Tampa’s Curtis Hixon Park and offers concertgoers of all ages a chance to vibe to some of the best local acts around. It is Florida, however, so summer shows are often met with inclement weather, and nearby venerable dive The Hub Bar has become the offi cial relocation spot should the weather not cooperate. Naturally, the bar is 21 and up, so parents will have to find something else to do with the kiddos for the night. @RockThePark on Facebook—Jourdan Ducat
Best World Music Wormhole
Mango Groove, WMNF
Sunday afternoons are often the most relaxing part of the weekend, and if you’re tuned to WMNF-Tampa 88.5-FM you just might get to spend an hour with Hari-Krishna Koipallil. The University of South Florida Biomedical Sciences grad and Blake High School alum is a guitarist and singer who shares a love of Indian music and culture with listeners who not only get a taste of the tunes, but deep explainers on everything from Bengali hymns, to modern pop, playback singers, ragas and so much more. wmnf.org—Ray Roa
Best Yarn-Spinner
Roxanne Fay
The protean actor/playwright Roxanne Fay researched her one-woman show about the real Lady Macbeth, “Thrice to Mine,” while an artistin-residence in a 13th-century Scottish castle. The research proved fruitful: The Jobsite production of the play this summer was magical, imbued with the mists and mystery of ancient Scotland. Fay not only embodied the pagan queen Gruadth from childhood to widowhood, she shifted seamlessly into countless other characters, including gruff Vikings, loving servants and Macbeth himself. Jo AverillSnell’s atmospheric lighting, Jeremy Douglass’s eerie soundscape and Katherine Yacko’s sensitive direction were integral to the mood, allowing Fay to spin an altogether enthralling yarn—one that may forever make us think differently about Lady Macbeth.—David Warner
Best Trio Of Local Concerts By One Artist In One Year Sting
Best $100 Lunch
Psomi
We know, we know, $100 could feed some families for a week—but if you’re gonna splurge, do it with a midday menagerie at this Michelin-approved Greek hotspot from Chef Christina Theofilos. All-day breakfast is fun, but start with a dip (the airy, fresh, favosalata or trio if you’re feisty), then fill up on the hearty horiatiki salad topped with a brick of feta and a crusty baguette (baked in-house, of course). Split a lamb pita or smashburger to round things out. All that, combined with a wine and/or cortado (the latter Elais’ way with a splash of EVOO), your take home dessert and tip will easily leave a Benjamin Franklin-sized hole in your bank account, but you’re guaranteed to walk out knowing it was one of the best meals of the year. eatpsomi.com—Ray Roa
Best All Grown Up And Working From Home, Seminole
Driftwood Coffee And Kava
Growing up, Seminole used to have a lone Rita’s Italian Ice and a crappy mall (shoutout Cloud 9 arcade). Now, there are options galore for stuff to do in Seminole, which is weird if you were raised near here. One of the tremendous new advents? Locally owned coffee and kava bar, Driftwood, on Seminole Boulevard and Park Street. Folks in St. Pete might know the sister location already on Central Avenue, but the Seminole spot is the perfect place to get some work done or have a coffee date. The best part? Driftwood is open early and closes late, a rarity for coffee shops today (not even Starbucks or Dunkin does that anymore). We haven’t tried the kava yet, but the in-house roasted coffee is top-tier, and the folks at Driftwood are some of the kindest in town. driftwoodkavacoffeecafe.com—Arielle Stevenson
Best
Ass-Whoopin’
Of A Celebrity Chef Rob Reinsmith, Wild Child
In an August episode of “Beat Bobby Flay” on the Food Network, the executive chef of Wild Child in St. Pete first dispensed with another chef in a battle over mahi mahi, then took on celeb chef Flay using Reinsmith’s chosen dish, corn empanadas. The show is edited to heighten tension, so of course the cookoff seemed neck-in-neck. In the end, the judges of the blind taste test chose Reinsmith’s version. If you’re not familiar with the show, Flay wins a lot of these contests, so taking him down was no small feat. Reinsmith also acquitted himself well during the brief interview segments. He did St. Pete (OK, Tampa Bay) proud. And he did himself and his restaurants (and future restaurants) a lot of good. @rreinsmith on Instagram—Eric Snider
Best BBQ Before The Beach
C & J’s Bar-B-Que
If a little BBQ truck is parked near a church, and it’s been there a long time and always smells good, you should probably try it. C & J’s Bar-BQue is a food truck parked on 117th Street and Ulmerton Road in Largo, and it’s some of the best ‘que in town. As the sign says, “Ribs/Chicken/ Pulled Pork” are available, along with sides like the collard greens (in the most heavenly potlikker known to man), baked mac & cheese (as it should be), and more. It’s cash only, so come prepared and come hungry.—Arielle Stevenson
Pinellas, you’ve probably driven by it a million times and never noticed. But El Milagro Mexican Store is a portal into another world filled with the most perfect birria tacos served on homemade tortillas from a bodega that does it all. Piñatas fill the ceiling like a paper mache Milky Way inside El Milagro’s part grocer, part take-out cantina. On Sunday, a cooler is filled with still-warm tamales and wax-paperwrapped homemade tortillas from Milagro’s on-site Tortilleria. To be fair, everything El Milagro makes is delicious. But the Birria tacos take one far from the traffic and grind of East Bay Drive to some little town in Mexico, where meats are still slow-roasted, and tortillas are still made from scratch. Yes, they’re on Uber eats, too. @elmilagrotiendamexicana on Facebook—Arielle Stevenson
Best Branzino (That Ain’t Cheap, But Worth It) Allelo
Let’s say you’ve got the urge to splurge. And let’s say you’ve got a hankering for fish. We got you. The branzino—aka Mediterranean or European sea bass—at Allelo is terrific. Flaky but also moist. The restaurant is a worthy addition to St. Pete’s upscale Beach Drive. The fine-dining establishment’s vibe is not stuffy or pretentious, although you can pay nine bucks for “bread service,” which is what restaurants call it when they charge for bread. As of June, it cost $47 for a “half branzino,” which is kind of misleading because it’s actually an ample portion. Eat slowly. Savor. allelostpete.com—Eric Snider
over ties to a troubled nonprofit. Then in mid June, Big Storm was evicted from its Ybor City location. The company has also closed locations in Odessa, Cape Coral, and Orlando. But it’s poised to bounce back after confidentially settling the lawsuit, and only time will tell if it’s clear skies in ‘25. bigstormbrewery.com—Ray Roa
Best Burger That Seemed Beyond Impossible
Burger Monger’s Impossible Burger Most fast-casual burger restaurants offer a nonmeat option—usually Beyond or Impossible—and they’re usually a waste of time and stomach space, with a fl avor and texture that comes off as fake. That’s why eating the Impossible Burger at Burger Monger on 4th Street in St. Petersburg was such a delightful surprise. It had the pebbly feel of cooked ground beef, a char on the outside, and tasted … like meat. It held together like meat. One night at least, the restaurant’s Impossible Burger was better than its signature Steakhouse Monger. burgermonger.com—Eric Snider
Best Chicken Shawarma
Petra Restaurant
Best Bodega Birria In The ‘Burbs El Milagro Mexican Store
The shopping plaza on East Bay Drive in Largo doesn’t look like much from the road. If you live in
Best Brewery That Lived Up To Its Name
Big Storm Brewing Co.
It’s been a hell of a year for Big Storm Brewing Co. Over the summer, the 22-year-old project dealt with a lawsuit
Petra, located across Kennedy Boulevard from the University of Tampa playing fields, has been making authentic Middle Eastern food for a very long time, without much acclaim. Anything on the menu will be worthwhile, but for starters try the chicken shawarma wrap. The pita is the right amount of chewy. The seasoned chicken within is a mix of pieces, not just breast meat, which can be dry. Order your shawarma with the basmati rice that’s enhanced by a hint of turmeric. If it’s not sweltering out, eat on the restaurant’s charming covered patio out back. petratampa.com—Eric Snider
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Presents
Pablo Vindel en la noche prevalece un corazón lleno enlanocheprevalece uncorazónlleno
October 4 -
November 26, 2024 October4November26,2024
Artist Walkthrough: ArtistWalkthrough: Friday,October4|5pmto8pm
T:904-826-8530
crispellert@flagler.edu www.flagler.edu/CEAM
CREATIVE LOAFING •
Best Doc Ford’s
The One On Bay Pines Boulevard
Best Chunky Chocolate Chip Cookie
Cassis Bakery
Cassis is primarily known as one of downtown St Pete’s best al fresco eating spots. But it also boasts a top-notch bakery. So if you’re in the mood for a decadent chocolate chip cookie, but not a whole package, buy a single one here—to go. It’s more than a half-inch thick, moist and chewy and riddled with generous chocolate chunks, not those wimpy chips. Actually, you really should buy an extra one for later. cassisstpete.com—Eric Snider
Best Century-Old Dim Sum
Retro House Asian Bistro & Coffee Shop
Earlier this year, Meishan Lu of the Heritage Dim Sum pop-up secured an Ybor City brick and mortar alongside Felicitous Coffee owners Corrinne Liou and Paul Venghaus. The up-and-coming space will soon provide a coffee shop and dining room to enjoy its Asian fare in, but currently slings Lu’s comforting Chinese plates, housemade baos, and dumplings (which utilize her family’s 100 year-old recipes) on a to-go basis. Chef Lu’s great-grandfather, grandparents, and parents have all dedicated their lives to the craft of making dim sum and other specialty pastries from the Canton region of China, with Lu continuing the family tradition right here in Tampa Bay. While the menu is still ebbing and flowing during its soft opening period, a few early favorites on the Retro House menu include its har gow shrimp dumplings, pan-fried pork and shrimp bao, crab rangoon egg rolls and crispy mango and shrimp wontons. retrohousetampa.com—Kyla Fields
Best Cruelty-Free Baking Extraordinaire Gabby Bakes
The lines around Gabby Bakes’ bright pink tent at Indie Flea market in St. Pete are proof that Gabby Duncan’s treats are definitely worth waiting for. Over the past few years, Duncan leased a larger Seminole Heights commercial space and has geared up production of her custom cakes, pastries, doughnuts, savory galettes, ice cream and more. And as tasty, creative and cruelty-free as Duncan’s vegan baked goods are—with complex flavor profiles and seasonal ingredients—her decorating skills are equally as stunning. A few signature Gabby Bakes adornments include picture-perfect piping, bright colors, whimsical designs, and of course, the use of ethically-sourced ingredients—since Duncan is always keeping the best interests of “human and non-human animals across our food system” in mind. gabbybakes. com—Kyla Fields
Best Decadent Burger From A Food Truck
The Franco Avocado At Go Stuff Urself
The truck is painted in flames, and that’s no lie because Go Stuff Urself fire-grills its stuffed burgers. The Franco Avocado’s black angus beef is gorged with fresh avocado, bacon, red onion, melted cheese blend, tomato and lettuce, served on a brioche bun. If it sounds like an unholy mess in the making—nope. The Franco Avocado comes neatly halved in a basic cardboard container, and you can actually eat it with one hand (carefully). Bring a defibrillator. gostuffurself.com—Eric Snider
Best Delicious But Bittersweet Dish
Charred Cabbage At Ten Rooms
Ten Rooms, we hardly knew ye. The multi-concept establishment in Centro Ybor opened with much promise in April but was closed by early July. Even in that brief life-span, it left some lingering culinary memories—none more indelible than its extraordinary transformation of an ordinary cabbage, beautifully charred and brightened by scallions and peanuts.—David Warner
Doc Ford’s on the St. Pete Pier is the best-known local outpost of Randy Wayne White’s mega-popular seafood chain, opened with much fanfare along with the Pier itself in 2020. Accordingly, it’s the one where it’s harder to get a table, let alone a seat with a view. A better alternative for fans of Yucatan shrimp and campeche fish tacos by the water is Doc’s Jungle Terrace location. There’s a big parking lot, two- and four-tops on the outdoor deck, and a sublime view of boat slips and Boca Ciega Bay looking west into (hopefully) a perfect sunset. docfords.com—David Warner
Best Downtown Passage To Another Dimension
2d Cafe, St. Petersburg
The folks behind this black-and-white cafe on Central Avenue keep its environment as minimalistic as possible, and were inspired by the diners and cafes of Europe to create a haven where writers and artists can get work done, friendships can be made, and just about everything is locally made. It’s no secret that there’s no shortage of coffee on Central (read: Bandit Coffee Co., The Under Grounds, etc.), but 2D’s charcuterie boards, chocolate chip muffins, and iced chai lattes are rich and flavorful enough that once you’re done, you’ll almost feel depressed about returning to our own dimension. 2dcafe.com—Josh Bradley
Best Gulfport-And-Beyond Mini-Empire
Stella’s Expansion
The memory of her Aunt Stella, a Catholic nun and a talented cook, inspired Barbara Banno to open Stella’s 15 years ago in Gulfport. In 2018 the beloved breakfast-and-lunch spot moved across Beach Boulevard to its present location in the Village Courtyard, where the outdoor patio is almost always packed (especially at weekend brunch). Then Banno went on to open Stella’s Sundries, a wittily curated gift and kitchen boutique across the courtyard, and— just this summer—Stella’s Divine Wine and Gourmet in the former home of Red Hot Tiki. And that’s not all: Banno’s Salty Nun continues to be a hoppin’ spot in St. Pete’s Grand Central District, especially for the ladies. The spirit of Stella will not be stopped! stellasingulfport.com—David Warner
Best Event That Mixes Education And Booze Pints Of Science At New World Brewery
Drinking while playing entertainment trivia at a local bar is nothing new, but New World Brewery has found a unique way to infuse a night of drinking with educational topics that actually pertain to the local community. Each event brings three experts in their fields to discuss a range of topics including water conservation, behavioral analysis and coral restoration. newworldtampa.com/pints-of-science
Jourdan Ducat
Best Excuse To Get ‘One More’ Una Más
Tampa specialty coffee and breakfast pop-up Una Más may not have a permanent home just yet, but its regulars have proved that they’ll follow owners Paola Chamorro Ward and Curt Hensley wherever they go. With Chamorro Ward helming the coffee program— which boasts straightforward lattes and cold brew plus specialty beverages and bags of beans—and Hensley dishing out prized breakfast burritos, pasteles de pollo and arepas, it’s hard to resist ordering just one more item from their Colombian and Cubaninspired menu. While these longtime hospitality veterans may change up their offerings from pop-up to pop-up, ordering an Una Más latte sweetened with a syrup made from panela (unrefined whole cane sugar) never misses. @unamastpa on Instagram Kyla Fields
Best Fandom Commitment To The Bit: Elevenses’ ‘Gilmore Girls’ Pop-Up
Nothing has a death grip on millennial women come autumn like “Gilmore Girls.” Its annual viewing is as sacrosanct as pumpkin spice itself. So last October, when Elevenses bakery hosted its first “Gilmore Girls” pop-up, we swarmed, devouring Team Jess & Team Dean macaroons, sipping on coffee concoctions bearing the “Luke’s” emblem, and purchasing the topical “Babette Ate Oatmeal” t-shirts. When Elevenses came back in May with the “1000 Yellow Daisies” fest, we were back again. For fans, it’s the culinary equivalent of Comic Con, the proper way to celebrate the show. Elevenses nailed it. Even Sooki would’ve approved. elevensesco.com—Caroline DeBruhl
It endured a dead downtown (who remembers the people mover?), and made a name for itself on the strength of al fresco dining with ridiculous views, all while looking across the channel as the urban core grew up. Over the last year, it got a little nip and tuck in the form of renovations that’ve set the restaurant and nightspot up for at least another few decades of looking good. jacksonsbistro.com—Ray Roa
Best Head
Barriehaus Beer Co.
Best Bodega Birria In The ‘Burbs El Milagro Mexican Store
Best Happy Hour For Hungry Sober
People
Tori Bar
This downtown Tampa hotspot offers a fantastic happy hour for drinkers, too, but its daily discounted food menu stacked with karaage, crisp cucumber salad, hand rolls and skewers are definitely worth the trip even if alcohol isn’t your thing. Tori Bar—a late-night Japanese pub owned by the same folks that operate restaurant Izakaya Tori—offers a range of sake-based drinks and craft cocktails in a hip atmosphere, but also a spread of affordable eats and mocktails for your average, food-loving sober person (or a “California sober” individual who has the munchies). Happy hour for both food and drinks runs every day from 4 p.m.-6 p.m, as well as 10 p.m. to last call Monday-Thursday and 11 p.m.-to last call on Friday-Saturday. toribartampa.com—Kyla Fields
Best Harbour Island Facelift
Jackson’s Bistro And Sushi Bar
For almost 30 years, Jackson’s has been a staple—and in many ways the face—of Tampa’s Harbour Island.
We could give Barriehaus Beer Co. a lot of awards, but they’ve already won so many. Their Vienna Lager, Family Tradition, earned a gold medal at The Brewers Association’s World Beer Cup in 2022; a German Style Gold Lager, Florida Export, won a gold medal at the 2023 Brewer’s Ball; and this year, they earned the title, “Best Small Brewery in Florida” at the Best Florida Beer Championship. What they haven’t won an award for yet is their commitment to giving great head. Barriehaus installed Lukr pull faucets from the Czech Republic for their ability to produce a variety of foam levels. Here, you don’t have to ask for the perfect pour. Three fingers of dense foam are standard. But if you’re in the mood for something different, Barriehaus offers five different styles of head, all with varying amounts of foam. Now that’s how to keep your customers satisfied. barriehaus.com—Jennifer Ring
Best The Hub, But Bougie Wine On Water
Every neighborhood needs a friendly gathering space. For the longest time, folks on the north side of downtown Tampa have coalesced at The Hub to either grab a drink at the horseshoe bar or pick something up from the package store. It only makes sense that fancy schmancy Water Street would have something similar just a mile away. Nowhere near as divey (the light comes through the windows, people), WoW has more than 150 wines and liquors to choose from, but more importantly offers events like its weekly wine divvy where folks can buy a bottle, have a glass of their own and share the rest with others. And get this, there’s no smoking inside either. wineonwatertpa.com—Ray Roa
Best Ice Cream Sundae With A Surprise Layer
Small Batch Creamery
True to its name, this place on 4th Street in St. Petersburg makes its ice cream in-house in small batches. The place has a lot of custom flavors that rotate, so building your own sundae is plenty of fun, and the results are sublime. The not-so-secret weapon, though, is the shell, which is a small tub made out of waffle cone. It gives this shop’s sundae an added crunch that makes them stand out from the pack. @smallbatchcreamerystpete on Facebook Eric Snider
Best Indian Food Cooked And Served By A Married Couple Whose Only Help Is A Robot
Cafe Masala
Madu and her husband Ray, Cafe Masala’s owners, are the sweetest people. They’re the only two humans working the place, and it appears as if they share the cooking and the serving. Cafe Masala’s traditional Indian cuisine is first-rate, especially the vegan and vegetarian options (try the paneer). Madu and Ray make their small restaurant in a St. Pete shopping center but it seems like they’re serving you a homemade meal in their personal dining room— which, in a way, they are. Their only help is Lychee, a robot that brings the meals out from the kitchen. It’s a cute touch. cafemasalaflorida.com—Eric Snider
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Best Introduction To Tampa Brews
Lighthaus Beer Garden
Tampa brews a lot of beer–so much beer that it’s diffi cult for tourists, and even locals, to know where to begin. Which is why, hear us out, sometimes it’s better to start at a taphouse that has beer from several Tampa breweries than to choose a single Tampa brewery. On a recent trip to LightHaus Beer Garden in Sparkman Wharf, there were eleven beers from seven Tampa breweries on tap. And if you tell the bartenders at LightHaus what kind of beer you like, they are excellent at helping you choose a Tampa brew or two to try. Try enough, and it will suddenly become clear what Tampa breweries you’d enjoy visiting in the future. linktr. ee/LightHausTPA—Jennifer Ring
Best Librarian Of Booze
Daniel Bareswilt
If you’re looking for a special bottle to bring to a party, restocking your bar cart, or you’ve got a hankering for a classic cocktail with a twist, Bareswilt, now crafting drinks at Alter Ego, is your go-to guy. “The Leopold Bros. 4 year is really pretty and light,” he says, after recommending a trip to Gaspar’s Liquor Shoppe with an open invitation to text him pictures of the vast array housed there. “They have a lot of bangers—ArteNOM 1146 is the Mount Rushmore of tequila producers; one of the best añejos you can find anywhere. Fuenteseca is the oldest and rarest tequila full stop. I buy those as investments.” With a stacked resume that includes years at some of the best bars in the Bay (Gin Joint, Azure, and now, Alter Ego), it’s no wonder he knows his stuff. Stop in and ask for something special. @edwardswizzlehands on Instagram—Annalise Mabe
Best Like Fine Wine Bella’s Italian Cafe
With almost 40 years under its belt, Bella’s has cemented itself in the fabric of South Tampa thanks to big ol’ portions, solid service and an ability to regularly upgrade parts of the dining room until it looks like a whole new restaurant altogether. So many favorites have endured menu changes, too (shoutout to the carpaccio, goat cheese appetizer, chopped salad, pollo rosso, and Nate’s chicken) meaning, you, your mom and grandma have all been able to take each other out to eat there over the years. While we miss the weekend nights eating half-price pizzas and BellaRitas until the restaurant had to legally close, Bella’s is still one of the last places to get a good meal until midnight (FridaySaturday), too. bellasitaliancafe.com—Ray Roa
(Still) The Best Little Smoothie Shop In Tampa Fit Bowl Co. Davis Islands
Spend any amount of time on Davis Islands and you’ll see clear as day that the makeup of the storied Tampa neighborhood has changed (thanks, Tom Brady). Something that’s always stayed the same is perhaps the tiniest small business in Tampa, Fit Bowl Co., tucked into a veritable closet that still pumps out some of the healthiest bowls, smoothings, coffee and soft serve in town. Founded by Trent McAree and his brother Kyle seven years ago, the company has expanded to Sparkman Wharf and Armature Works but maintains its first location that is a reminder of a time before TMZ landed in the 813. fitbowlco.com—Ray Roa
Best Meal Under Oath
Sal Rosa
We cannot lie, Sal Rosa inside downtown Tampa’s historic-federal-courthouse-turned hotel offers one of the city’s criminally-overlooked dining and cocktail options. With spacious lobby seating for a work meeting or happy hour, and a comfy dining
room that serves breakfast, brunch, plus Cuban and Caribbean-inspired comfort food, we’re compelled to find a seat in the courtroom at least once a week. salrosatampa.com—Ray Roa
Best Men In Kilts With Wee Drams Scotch With Bob & Matt, New World Celts Whisky Tasting
You would be hard-pressed to find more knowledgeable and enthusiastic champions of “usquebaugh” (water of life)—or whisky—than Bob Peirson and Matt Hartigan. Their peripatetic tastings through the New World Celts, Dunedin chapter not only demystify the world of Scotch whisky, but they feature opportunities to experience lesser known, or even rare drams. Whether it’s Flanagan’s Irish Pub, the VFW, or even Ruth Eckerd Hall, you’ll be transported to the nuanced world of Single Malts paired with a delightful and delicious assortment of tasty appetizers. And, as a nonprofit, all the proceeds go toward scholarships to support individuals or organizations who demonstrate an interest in learning and promoting Celtic culture and heritage in our community. As they say “feel good about feeling good.” dunedinnwc.org—Jon
Palmer Claridge
full stoner-rific with straight up pass around appetizers, burgers and tenders for the kids, and even boozy desserts. With late night hours Friday-Saturday (11 p.m.), it’s been a welcome addition to the downtown Tampa scene. meltingpotsocial.com—Ray Roa
Best New Batcave Sky Puppy Brewing Co. By the time this hits your eyeballs, Sky Puppy will have only been officially open for two weeks, but in many ways, the brewery at 1313 E 8th Ave. in Ybor City has been a lifetime in the making for Danielle Vergnaud-McKinnon and her husband Matthew McKinnon. The beers are a product of years spent tinkering in their kitchen (and alongside teams at TBBC & Coppertail) and bound to win awards. What’s more is that Danielle has taken her design experience and created a ridiculously cozy tasting room complete with sculptures from Florida artist Copper Tritscheller who’s helped Sky Puppy place 13 bats on the tap handles, more near the entrance and one (albeit temporary) almost human-sized sculpture
roll is quintessentially American. It’s smallish and cheap ($3.50), and covers all the basics: light donut glaze on top (not some heavy icing), lovely veins of cinnamon throughout and bread that has the right level of chewiness. All the elements balance beautifully. This cinnamon roll is a can’t miss if you’re looking for an empty-calorie breakfast or snack (and there are five locations across the Bay area). mamagsbakery.com—Eric Snider
Best ‘Only In Florida’ Artery Clogger
Best Monthly Bloody Mary Event
Shadrack’s
On the last Sunday of each month for the last seven years, Shadrack’s has enticed throngs of locals to line up for what is arguably the most extensive bloody mary buffet in town. Skewers loaded with chicken wings, bacon, pizza rolls and a plethora of other snack-sized options perfectly accompany the drinker’s choice of vodka and housemade Bloody mix. Vegetarians can still partake in the traditional offerings of okra, pickles, olives and cheese. @ ShadracksPAG on Facebook—Jourdan Ducat
Best Moved My Cheese
Meltso, Downtown Tampa
Some kids grow up thinking an extra Kraft single on grilled cheese is decadent; for them, fondue is like manna from heaven. But even Swiss cheese in a caquelon can become routine. So it makes sense that The Melting Pot moved its needle a bit with Melting Pot Social. Sure, you can still get gruyère, raclette and other cheeses to dip, but MeltSo goes
at the front door. We’re excited to wear in the seats of the 45-person tasting room in the years to come. skypuppybrewing.com—Ray Roa
Best New Skyway Marina District
Hangout
Skybar
Tampa-based developer Ben Willner bought the former Magnuson Hotel Marina Cove two years ago and transformed the 18-acre property between I-275 South and Tampa Bay into the SkyBeach Hotel & Marina. The snazzy re-do opened with much fanfare on July 4th weekend, and offered a fresh new destination for Skyway Marina District locals: The renovated two-story SkyBar. With its sweeping views of the bay and all-week happy hours, it’s a convenient alternative to Gulf-side beach bars. skybeachhotel.com—David Warner
Best Old-School Cinnamon Roll
Mama G’s
This charming place in Kenneth City is a proudly German bakery and coffeehouse, but its cinnamon
The Cheesy Todd; Datz, St. Petersburg Oldsmar’s Craft Street Kitchen once did a damn good job replicating this sandwich, and there’s a difference between this beauty and the monstrosity that Krusty the Clown begrudgingly promoted in 2007. But the last remaining location of the “flavor-crusading” eatery (which used to have three establishments open) captured national foodie attention a few years ago with The Cheesy Todd, a burger made with a threemeat patty, American cheese, and for the buns, two slabs of deep-fried, bacon-and-jalapeno mac and cheese. It’s $17, which is considerably cheaper than some local artisan burgers, and it’s definitely not a “pick it up like a sandwich” ordeal; you’ll need a fork and knife. You can head to Krusty Burger in Universal Studios and get the greasy “Clogger Burger” itself, yes, but you and Plopper the Pig both know that those buns are plain AF compared to this all-American beast. However, if you’re gonna chow down on one before heading across the street to Jannus Live, just be ready to lose your ultraclose spot when that poop starts a-bubbling. datztampa.com—Josh Bradley
Best Pardon Her French Maryann Ferenc, Mise En Place Maryann Ferenc has never really pulled any punches. Nearly 40 years ago, she and Chef Marty Blitz, in many ways, set Tampa on its fine dining future by opening Mise en Place. Some of the city’s most celebrated chefs have passed through the Mise kitchen, and Ferenc regularly speaks her mind about the state of the local hospitality and tourism industries. Late last month, she took Visit Florida to task during public comment at the Tampa Convention Center by confronting the agency’s CEO, Dana Young, over the removal of LGBTQ sections from the state tourism website. “It doesn’t make sense,” she said as kindly as possible, while reminding the board of how much hard work the community has done to make gay people feel welcome. “What are we going to do?” Young— appointed in 2019 by Gov. Ron DeSantis to lead the state’s public-private tourism program which uses taxpayer funds to promote the state to visitors worldwide—had no choice but to roll over for the guv, but Ferenc made her point. May oui all have the spine to say what’s right when the time comes. miseonline.com—Ray Roa
Best Patio, South St. Pete Estate Cigars & Social
Tucked alongside St. Pete’s Booker Creek, in a notyet-gentrified strip mall, Estate Cigars & Social offers an oasis of sociability from the city’s surrounding neglect. You never know who you will meet here; the bar, tended by the affable Christian rocker Jonathon Waterman, somehow manages to be just the right kind of half-full. A good cigar forces you to sit still. And when you sit with other people, you chat. On St. Pete’s southside, folks from different worlds come together. I like to grab a high-top on the patio, watch the tide push black water past the parking lot, and get to know some locals. With rampant construction redrawing the city skyline, and real community being swallowed by high-end development, Estate Cigars
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Best New Batcave Sky Puppy Brewing Co.
KELSEY FUSE/SKYPUPPY BREWING CO.
CREATIVE LOAFING • BEST OF THE BAY 2024 CRITICS PICKS:
provides an unexpected public house. estatecigars. com—Thomas Hallock
Best Pizza To Embody A Sandwich
Cuban Sandwich Pizza, ABC Pizza House Pickles and mustard on pizza may sound psychotic, but like with most pies, it all comes down to the crust. ABC Pizza has been perfecting its thick crust for nearly 60 years, which has a sweetness that can seemingly encase a Cuban sandwich’s core ingredients (ham, salami, pork, mayo, mustard, pickle, and cheese. And you call yourself a Tampeño) ideally. While you can order classics like a meat lovers or a veggie pizza, the Greek-run eatery—which has six locations in Florida—has also taken to putting cheesesteak and gyro toppings on its pies, while still being able to slap some lamb in between actual pita for the less bold ones in your life. abcpizzahouse.com Josh Bradley
Best Place To Double-Fist Chicken Wings And Snail Mucin Serum Lotte Market
Behold! Far north on Bruce B Downs Boulevard lies New Tampa’s beacon of a supermarket, a land of plenty where you can get curry puffs, collagen cream, ahi tuna for a song. A place filled with Halal meat, Korean fried chicken, 24-packs of frozen naan. A palace whose halls are lined with sacks of sushi rice, fascinating snacks, produce that beguiles the mind. Carrots the size of toddler arms for pennies! Dragon fruit, donut peaches, durian! Go, pilgrim. Dine in the food hall, stock up on skin care, purchase fresh fish and fruit you’ve only dreamed about. Enjoy the splendor, because it’s a Lotte. lotteplaza.com Caroline DeBruhl
Best Place To Drink Like A Bougie Pirate Morgan’s Cove
If you love Gasparilla but don’t want to wait until January to get your fix, this recently opened craft cocktail bar in downtown Tampa hits the spot, matey. The space is nautically themed from floor-to-ceiling, including windows that were actually used on a ship in the movie “Pirates of the Caribbean.” The elevated craft cocktail menu and small bites are tiki themed, a nod to the bar’s parent company, Don the Beachcomber. @morganscovetampa on Instagram Jourdan Ducat
Best Post-Concert Car Pizza New York New York, Ybor City
A common rule of thumb is that you shouldn’t leave leftovers in the car for too long and then eat them, otherwise you’ll pay for it. That is, unless it’s a buffalo chicken pizza from the Ybor hub of this legendary joint with eight locations (including one in Tampa International Airport). That’s not to say that we don’t love a hot pie (or at this point, a hot meal in general), but leftovers from lunch hit differently when you’re sitting and waiting for parking lot traffic to clear at a long-awaited Lana del Rey gig at the old Gary amphitheater. It saves you a few quick bucks if your normal go-to is a late-night Wawa sub, and plus, you’ll probably still have leftovers for the next day. nynypizzeria. com—Josh Bradley
Best Post-Mental Breakdown Enchiladas
Poblanos Mexican Grill And Bar, Clearwater
If your life is falling apart, the circles under your eyes won’t slag off, and your heftiest knit sweater is clean, the creamiest beef enchiladas in Pinellas County are made in this 47-year-old establishment just off of McMullen Booth, and will give you hope within an hour. After you’re done indulging in chips and tableside guacamole, these enchiladas come wrapped in two big, cozy corn tortillas, and are
topped with shredded cheese and a white sauce. If you order a combinacióne, it comes with two sides of your choice, so if you’re slowly getting back on your feet and want to push yourself for some fried ice cream, the seasonal vegetables (bell peppers, zucchini, and squash) are a hit, too. poblanosmex. com—Josh Bradley
Best Pre-Historic Movie Date Night Gin Joint
It doesn’t take newb or native Tampeños long to figure out that a date at the Tampa Theatre is the romantic option for moviegoing, but the go-to pregame is a little harder to figure out. Look no further than CW’s Gin Joint, just a block away, and a few stories below Creative Loafing Tampa Bay’s downtown HQ. There’s the famous gin matrix that’ll pull
Best Pub Grub Angry Chair
The marquee at Angry Chair Brewing proudly calls the dining room a food shanty, and if that’s what the popular watering hole wants to call itself, then we welcome the crude offerings. From the wet ass wings, to the poutine fries with duck fat demi, or smashburgers and elote, the two-page menu is a straight up daydream for daydrinkers and barclosers alike. If only they had an outdoor bathroom option so we could all go even harder. angrychairbrewing.com—Ray Roa
truly all are welcome at 1001 N. Florida Ave. where the cafe serves as a place for folks to transition out of homelessness and into job training, work and—get this—safe, affordable housing. It’s hard to consume anything these days without feeling like you’re harming the world around you. The Portico Cafe offers an alternative. porticocafe.org
—Ray Roa
Best Robot Breakfast Corner Café In Gulfport
Best Quiet Cafe For A Cause
The Portico Cafe On E Tyler Street outside
Best
Pre-Historic Movie Date Night
your through a rabbit hole of aromas and flavors (and leave you with one hell of a buzz thanks to the few dozen options), and a solid menu that offers it all from bar snacks (get the pork belly fried artichoke) to seafood (lobster potato, anyone?) and full-on entrees. With sometimes hard-to-get reservations, it’s always best to call ahead (and don’t let too many people in on the secret). cwginjoint.com—Ray Roa
The Portico Cafe in downtown Tampa is a recreation of Timothy Schmalz’ so-called “Homeless Jesus” statue depicting someone, covered in a blanket, sleeping on a park bench. In a city that has not given up its war-on-sitting, the work is a refreshing sight. But what happens inside the cafe—and at The Portico’s adjacent co-working and gathering areas— is even more inspiring. Yes, there is a religious aspect to the mission, but skeptics, agnostics and
Grumbling greeted the idea of a cafe staffed by robots, but the concerns proved to be unfounded. Because, while this eatery’s dishes do travel to your table via self-driving trolleys, friendly human servers greet you, take your orders, hand you your plates, check your coffees, and generally make Corner Cafe a pleasant place to be. Chef/owner Sal Ibraimi takes frequent tours through the dining rooms to check on diners’ experiences and we tell him, every time, “It’s wonderful!” Excellent pancakes and egg dishes, plus lunch and dinner options, too. An added boon of the bots: You get to check out the dishes rolling by toward other customers so you can make a mental note of what to order next time. Plus, you can ask your personal robot to sing “Happy Birthday.” cornercafegulfport.com
—David
Warner
plates,
Best a wi h To Come to The e Reeking Like An Italian Stallion Supernatural Food & Wine
The staff at downtown Tampa’s beloved slightlylarger-than-a-window shop can do a lot more than make the best breakfast sandwich Alton Brown has ever had. If you’re ever depressed about Supernatural’s weekly supply of donuts selling out in the blink of an eye, this sandwich, loaded with four meats, provolone cheese, LTO, and a rich, pepperbased mayo can put your sweet tooth to sleep for a few hours. Perhaps the most genius part is the fact that somebody thought to incorporate everything on ciabatta bread (which you can substitute for sourdough or Focaccia if you don’t want to overstretch your mouth). For an extra 50 cents, you can make the sammich spicy, and if you spend the extra $2 to add avocados? To hell with avocado toast, man. supernaturaltpa.com—Josh Bradley
Best Sourdough Croissants In Tampa State Flour Bakery
Not all croissants are created equal, even if they all need butter with the highest fat content of all. State Flour Bakery’s Sourdough croissants exist in another realm of flavor altogether, a pastry with both butter and body. There aren’t many bakeries in the state that are producing this level of laminated pastries. The bakery’s retail setup is no frills but the pastry case is packed with impeccably assembled baked goods. We recommend the guava croissant, with its gorgeous bands of bright red and fresh guava jam. stateflourbakery.com—Arielle Stevenson
Best Specialty Coffee Shop With A Side Of Full-Service Restaurant L.P.C.X Cafe
If you’re looking for an exceptional cup of specialty brew in Tampa, odds are the shop isn’t selling a full spread of hearty breakfast, too. But the marriage of locally-roasted coffee from Wuz Here and the comforting eats of La Pequena Colombia find a perfect marriage at Armenia Avenue’s L.P.C.X Cafe. Sorry bland avocado toasts and day-old pastries, there’s no average coffee shop fare at this family-owned and operated restaurant where Colombian breakfast plates, loaded arepas, empanadas and sandwiches
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CW’S GIN JOINT
CREATIVE LOAFING •
reign supreme. And when it’s not slinging shots of espresso or Spanish lattes during daytime service, Wuz Here hosts curated coffee pop-ups and sells ethically-sourced Colombian beans at its home base of L.P.C.X Cafe—where coffee and breakfast don’t have to be two different stops in your morning routine. lpcxcafe.com—Kyla Fields
Best Supermarket Row
4th Street N In St. Petersburg
Someone once asked the president of Sears Roebuck why he built his department store so close to the vaunted Marshall Field & Co. (now Macy’s) on Chicago’s State Street. His answer? “Traffic.” So maybe that’s the reason St. Pete’s 4th Street N sports six supermarkets in just 11 blocks: Trader Joe’s, The Fresh Market, Wild Fork (under construction), and a Whole Foods lurking just to the northeast of the two Publixes, located across the street from one another at 38th Street. And we can’t forget Rollin’ Oats, just a few blocks west from Trader Joe’s on MLK. “Traffic” would seem to be a given, though it might mean that this supermarket row (rhymes with “hoe”) could devolve into a supermarket row (rhymes with “wow”) if the traffic gets too, um, good.—David Warner
Best Taste Of New England
Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls
Lobster rolls are steadily expanding their reach beyond New England—but still, can you really expect to find a good one in downtown St. Pete? Mason’s Famous, founded in Maryland with three locations in the Bay area, manages to export its excellence well South. Prime lobster meat, lightly seasoned and mayo’d, rests inside a piece of bread that splits the difference between sub roll and hot dog bun. The sandwich goes down easy, although it’s pretty small for the price ($20 plus). At Mason’s Famous, you can get a lobster fix without all that cracking, pulling and prying. masonslobster. com—Eric Snider
Best Thing To Happen To Grilled
Cheese Ever
Best Turkish Doner This Side Of The Ottoman Empire
Sara’s Mediterranean Market And Kebab House
Sara’s Kebab specializes in authentic Turkish cuisine. Traditional dishes are made with imported ingredients, many of which are available for purchase in the attached Mediterranean market inside. Every meal at Sara’s begins with complimentary hot Turkish tea, and an assortment of homemade breads with dipping sauce. Sara’s doner kebab sandwich on homemade pita bread in particular is worth driving to Clearwater for. Warm, soft, thick pita bread that tastes more like focaccia is sprinkled in olive oil and sesame seeds, the kebab is smoky, and the toppings inside are so beautifully fresh. These flavors have been around since the Ottoman Empire, probably longer, and Sara’s does history right by offering up impeccable renditions of traditional Middle Eastern classics. saraskebab.com—Arielle Stevenson
Best Unexpected Stoner All-You-CanEat Joint
Nine Spices Hot Pot, Clearwater
This new Korean barbecue-slash-hot pot spot by Countryside Mall (which is open until 1 a.m. most nights) runs about $30 per person, and while your server brings out all-you-can-eat raw meat for you to cook yourself, most of your non-meat ingredients come by on a fully-functional conveyor belt, whether it’s ramen noodles for your spicy broth, spam for your table-installed griddle, or a slab of coconut cake for once you feel the fullness coming on. In short, when you’re fl ying high on Delta-9 (wipe that smirk off your stupid face and go vote yes on Amendment 3), munchies are inevitable. But when cake comes
The Adult Grilled Cheese At Urban Brew & Bbq
My god, this is a good sandwich. A big mess o’ pulled pork drenched in Gouda cheese sauce and tangy BBQ sauce, topped with grilled tomato and onion and piled between two slices of grilled sourdough bread. And it’s only eight bucks! It need only be accompanied by a cold beer from Urban’s many brews on tap. Be sure to ask for extra napkins. Lots of extra napkins. urbanbrewandbbq.com—David Warner
Best Trashy Eats
Trash Panda Provisions
Don’t let this award title fool you—this Tampabased food truck is dishing out “familiar favorites and Asian-inspired street food” of the highest quality. Alberto “Tito” Jusi, who worked at the now-closed ramen spot Ichicoro for several years, launched his food truck in late 2022 and has boasted a rotating menu of Filipino favorites, beer-friendly snacks, “trash” burgers, tacos and more ever since. A few more menu favorites include Trash Panda’s vegan bang-bang caulifl ower, lemony crab fries, bulgogi burritos, fi sh sauce caramel chicken wings, crispy chicken bao buns and even a homage to Ichicoro-style ramen. While Trash Panda can pop-up at different events throughout Tampa, its main homebase is at Seminole Heights’ Common Dialect Brewery, where you’ll fi nd Jusi pulling a solo shift on any given day. @trash_panda_provision on Instagram—Kyla Fields
by on a working conveyor belt? Forget it. ninespiceshotpotfl.com—Josh Bradley
Best Versaggi Shrimp Ambassador Clammaster Jay
For about a century plus a dozen years, Versaggi Shrimp Co. has served Tampeños by delivering delicious Gulfcaught sea bugs to the docks. Get him started, and local chef Jason Rodriguez will talk about them for about as long. “Key West Pinks are probably the best shrimp you can buy,” he’ll say, lauding their clean flavor. Rodriguez, known behind the flattop as Clamaster Jay, will put his money where is mouth is, too, by making anyone one of his famous shrimp rolls on bread baked less than four miles from the docks at Jamison B. Breadhouse. “It’s a New England Style lobster roll bun that he customized just for me so it’s perfect for the Key West shrimp roll,” Rodriguez adds. “Match made in Tampa.” Indeed. @clammasterjay on Instagram—Ray Roa
Best Way To Blow Your Diet On The Weekends
Donut Burgers At Thee Burger Spot
This Tampa Heights burger joint is already well-known for its stacked offering of specialty burgers and has been featured on local news channels and food blogs since opening in 2016. Every Friday and Saturday, foodies can enjoy “Thee Glazed One,” a bacon cheese burger sandwiched between two Krispy Kreme glazed donuts. Just be sure you clear your calendar for the inevitable midday nap you’ll need afterwards. theeburgerspot.com—Jourdan Ducat
Best Way To Chase A Shot Like A Contestant On ‘Fear Factor’
Tequila & Dried Scorpions At Reservoir Bar
Risk takers will delight in this extremely unique combo offered at Ybor City’s finest hole in the wall.
It’s as simple as it sounds—take a shot of tequila and eat a dried and food-safe scorpion after while fellow patrons look on in both disgust and amazement. For bragging rights, be sure to spend a little extra to get a commemorative T-shirt. @reservoir_bar on Instagram—Jourdan Ducat
Best Way To Justify Drinking Two Liters At Lunch
Das Boot At Independent Bar & Cafe
If you love all things German beer but can’t afford a trip to the motherland, Independent Bar & Cafe in Seminole Heights hosts two annual events—Halfway to Oktoberfest in March and Oktoberfest from lateSeptember through the first week of October—where you can challenge yourself to down two liters of your favorite draft from a rather hefty glass boot. Sharing is allowed, but the pride of finishing one on your own is what it’s all about. independentbartampa.com Jourdan Ducat
Best Witching Hour Egg Cream
Papa’s New York Diner, Clearwater
After a scorching hot show at The BayCare Sound, or even just waking up in a cold sweat at 2:30 a.m. realizing how much you miss the 24-hour spots of your youth, there’s really nothing quite like a chocolate egg cream (chocolate syrup, milk, and seltzer) from one of the last remaining all-night joints in Tampa Bay. After you’re greeted with a warm ‘50s vibe on the checkerboard floors and an ideal amount of neon (and a friendly “what’ll it be?”), if you want a gyro, granola pancakes, or even a banana split to go along with it, nobody’s gonna judge your needs. Time restrictions are preposterous at this joint— which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year—and anything on Papa’s massive menu can beat out that late-night Big Mac any day. papasnewyorkdiner. com—Josh Bradley
Best Versaggi Shrimp Ambassador Clammaster Jay
Best Brochures
West Coast Graphics
Tampa Bay galleries and art museums know that if you need to promote an art exhibition, West Coast Graphics are the people to print your postcards. The full-service commercial printers always get the colors right, so the art on the postcard matches the art on the wall. Beyond that, West Coast Graphics provides excellent service to their repeat customers, responding to emails promptly, giving quick quotes, and advising on dimensions and paper types when asked. wcgprinting.com Jennifer Ring
Best Comic Book Store-Turned Strip Mall
Wonder Water Sports Cards Comics & Games, Clearwater
In an area where the comic book store scene could be so much stronger (MegaCon isn’t that far away, yo!), this nerdy haven that was once tucked in between an Amscot and a dance studio has taken over the entirety of the building on US-19. Half of it is taken up by boxes and a few shelves loaded with graphic novels and fairly-priced back issues that go decades back. On the other side, you’ll find all of your trading card needs, from storage books and sleeves, to a wide selection of cards pertaining to Pokemon, Star Wars, the Rays, and even John McCain (a card that we know you’ve been dreaming of). Though with the ongoing construction between Tampa Road and the overpass, you might want to bring a comic book to read while you sit in Florida traffic. @ WonderWaterSportsCardsComics on Facebook
Josh Bradley
Best Dark Academic Apothecary And Occult Shop:
Spellcrafter, St. Petersburg
Do you self-identify as a “book witch”? Are you interested in ethically sourced bones, B Corp incense, small batch spell candles? Do you have a “Beauty is Terror” tattoo and a green velvet couch? Then you may be interested in Spellcrafter in St. Pete. New to the occult shop scene, Spellcrafter sets itself apart in a few ways. The first is its in-house line of candles and anointing oils. The second is the vibe. This isn’t some hippie head shop with questionable sourcing. Everything here—from the products to the knowledgeable staff —feels intentional. It’s a place that takes magick seriously. shopspellcrafter.com
Caroline DeBruhl
Best Lumber Yard
Anderson’s Lumber Come here for the scent alone. Or a true 2x4. Lap siding, cypress, heart pine, or a cedar post. In operation since 1908 and providing retail since 1949, Anderson’s carries the wood you cannot find at a big box store. Run by Fred Anderson, a Boca Ciega high grad, this yard serves a crucial role in the St. Pete community. When new home owners realize their McMansion was trimmed with crap composite, Fred and his crew will mill the proper replacements. In a city increasingly built out of stick frame and construction adhesive, everything done on the cheap, Anderson’s feels special—like
an olfactory forest in south St. Pete. andersonlumberstpete.com
Best Mechanic
Dan’s Brake World
Dan’s Brake World holds down a corner of St. Petersburg’s 34th Street and 22nd Avenue S, just off I-275. Anyone looking for a straight-up and affordable mechanic will ask, “Why didn’t I come here sooner?” The almost 400 reviewers on Google Maps agree, near perfect 4.9 stars. Run by the unflappable Dan Dacey (never a hair out of place) with sons Anthony and Dominic, Dan’s Brake World at 2200 34 Ave. S keeps your old vehicle on the road. No drama, no surprises (if Dan can’t do the job, he’ll tell you), just a shop you can trust. dansbrakeworld.com —Thomas Hallock
Best One-Man Retail Team
John At The Optic Shop
With a heavy New York/North Jersey accent and a fast-talkin’ wit to match, John—who’s quick to point out that he’s the manager, not the owner—makes shopping at this high-end shop in downtown St. Pete a blast. Plus, he’s always ready, willing and more than able to fix or adjust eyewear that customers bring in for a tune-up. You’ll walk out with your glasses feeling right. John has manned the small(ish) floor of the Optic Shop for 23 fucking years. Can you imagine? And he’s always in good humor, never seems like a caged animal. theopticshops.com—Eric Snider
Best PT For A New Knee Carey Zilbauer, Central Neurology
She’s the lead physical therapist in a facility specializing in neurological issues, but a certain Creative Loafing Tampa Bay writer turned to her after a knee replacement in mid-June. Turns out she’d worked on a lot of knees in her early years as a PT. Zilbauer has put the writer through the proper paces, knowing when to push him, when to pull him back. She’s also had to play psychiatrist, talking the writer off the ledge almost every week when he came in bitching about his supposed lack of progress. Also, kudos to Kim and Heather for helping make Central Neuro PT fun, as well as providing occasional rehab tips. centralneuro.com—Eric Snider
Best Reason To Still Act Patriotic Red White & Blue Thrift, Tampa
In a world of Goodwills and Salvation Armys, Tampa alone has been blessed with two of Red White and Blue’s nearly 30 national locations. Both—one on Hillsborough Avenue in Town ‘n’ Country and another in Seminole Heights—constantly have new (and we mean new) inventory coming in, and items with certain colored tags go on sale every day, for abnormally cheap. Even when something isn’t on sale, these things head out the door faster than the speed of light, and sometimes, right off the cart and racks fresh from the stockroom. There won’t be a “next time” if you pass on something, but Red White and Blue is probably the only place in the world where you’re able to celebrate finding a signed Blue October CD, an Xbox 360, and black Banana Republic boots without shattering the bank by skating across the store on a RipStik. Just make sure to bring cash. redwhiteandbluethriftstore.com—Josh Bradley
—Thomas Hallock
Best Bittersweet Farewell Cameron Dilley
The last of the WMNF founders to host a regular show signed off in May and headed for Chicago (with intentions of returning at some point as a snowbird). Dilley commandeered the Morning Show on Friday for 45 years. Along the way, his program evolved from a focus on singer/songwriters in the early days, to a wildly eclectic three hours that left no genre unturned. Dilley eschewed the interminable between-sets patter that some of the MNF jocks indulged in. He was a pro in a volunteer environment. Dilley meticulously prepared his shows for flow and coherence, and sprinkled in heaps of musical surprises. He simply loved turning listeners on to shit they’d never heard before. And not for nothin’, Cam is just a really good guy. Come back and guest DJ, friend.—Eric Snider
Best Boneheaded Anti-Environmental Move
The Pickleball-In-The-Parks Plan
The laughably named Florida Department of Environmental Protection came up with a nifty idea: Protect our state parks by adding hotels and golf courses and pickleball courts! Because nothing says protection for endangered species and wild places like acres of pavement and tourist traps.—David Warner
Best Bridge
Highlands Hammock State Park
Florida’s Gulf Coast is a region of bridges. Traffic on the Gandy hump. A towering Corps of Engineer causeway replacing a favorite drawbridge to the beach. (Everything but a commuter rail bridge, but that’s another story.) Our most cherished crossings are small-scale affairs, and with the indefinite closure of Hillsborough River State Park’s wobbly steel cable concoction, the nod for “Best Bridge” must go to
Highlands Hammock State Park. Four planks, with a 2x4 guard rail, zig-zagging through a cypress bottom. Follow this bridge to the oldest oak tree you will ever see, or to an historic orange grove; grab an ice cream at the gift shop, then check out the outstanding little Civilian Conservation Corps Museum. We cherish our state parks. We fight for them. Hold onto the mossy railing at Highlands Hammock with one hand, swat a mosquito with the other, and amble—single file—through this miraculous preserve. floridastateparks.org—Thomas Hallock
Best Campaign Flops
Desantis’ Failed Run For Prez And Failed School Board Candidates
Best ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’ (Over 50)
The Windlasses Sailing Center
Best Crossword Jocks
Pete Fairbanks And Jason Adam
Face it, Ron. Trump dumped you (and yet you still suck up to him), and Florida voters are sick and tired of the oxymoronic Moms for Liberty trying to limit liberty in our schools.—David Warner
The Tampa Bay Rays’ ace relief pitchers Pete Fairbanks and Jason Adam (now with the Padres) share more than a killer fastball. Turns out they’re also big crossword puzzle fans. Voices of Hope for Aphasia invited them to its June crossword-puzzle gala, a fundraiser to help people with language disorders due to stroke or brain injury. The players not only attended (and brought contributions of free tickets and other swag), they led their table to a closelyfought second place in the crossword contest. vohaphasia.org—David Warner
Best Finally-She-Has-A-Book Book
Stephanie Hayes’ ‘Be Serious’
Let’s hope the BOTB curse doesn’t come for Stephanie Hayes. She’s been the Readers’ Pick for Best Columnist for three years running now (and was relegated to finalist in 2024), not surprising since she’s one of the few remaining reasons to have any faith in the Tampa Bay Times. And now, finally, she’s collected her columns into a book, “Be Serious,” in which we guarantee that you can open to any page and land on a laugh line. (Even the titles are funny, as in “This Summer, Beware the Wet Families in Hotel Lobbies.”) Perfectly encapsulating the everyday oddness of Florida, especially in the last few years, it deserves a place on every Tampa Bay bookshelf. (That is, if you can find it. On Aug. 30, I bought the last remaining copy at Tombolo Books. But they’ll reorder if you ask.) @stephrhayes on Instagram—David Warner
Best Fuck The System
Bree Wallace
The system—and more literally than ever, the man—has its foot on the necks of everyday people now more than ever—but there are people out there throwing all of themselves out there to fi ght back. For a brief moment last spring, Bree Wallace thought she wanted to do it by running for state house in District 66. She dropped out of the race over the summer, citing a lack of accountability and a prioritization of special interests over constituent needs in the current system. Instead, she’s continued her work as case manager for the Tampa Bay Abortion Fund (TBAF) and launched the Tampa Period Pantry. At TBAF, Wallace acts as sounding board and liaison for pregnant people in peril while the Pantry provides free menstrual hygiene products at nine locations across the Bay area. @bree. wall on Instagram—Ray Roa
Living near the water is a way of life that gets under your skin. And if you’ve been lucky enough to experience the thrill of wind filling your sails as you cut effortlessly through the water, you’ll understand why sailing has captivated generations since Homer’s “Odyssey.” A committed group of local seafaring women meet for both fun and competition at the newly renovated pram shed at the Dunedin Marina. They race in the intracoastal waters of St. Joseph Sound most Thursdays to prepare for competitions with other sailing groups from around the state in regattas. While some members are middle-aged, these are strong Boomer women who span many decades. They also never miss a chance to dress up; a recent Halloween featured a flamboyance of pink, feathery flamingos as well as many variations on the Barbie revival. windlasses.org—Jon Palmer Claridge
Best ‘Giving The Finger To Sisyphus’ Couple
Elizabeth Brincklow & Zeke Durica For The Dunedin Public Theater Foundation, Inc.
Sisyphus, a deviant tyrant in Greek mythology, was punished by the gods to spend eternity rolling an immense boulder up a hill, only to have it roll back again. So in modern culture, that classical reference has been linked to tasks both futile and laborious. But Elizabeth Brincklow, despite being the daughter of a beloved Dunedin teacher who taught generations of students classical arts and ideas, somehow got a bug in her ear that her Dunedin hometown needs a professional theater complex. She came back to town from New York City to marry Zeke in the ‘80s and they’ve both continued on page 122
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been fully immersed in local art and politics since. Now, they’ve assembled a team of donors, developers and supporters and are close to having the funds for a feasibility study as a fi rst step toward this marvelous dream. dunedinpublictheater. org—Jon Palmer Claridge
Best Going Back To My Roots Tampa’s Historic 7th Avenue Bricking Project
The City of Tampa took us back in time with this year’s 7th Avenue bricking project, breaking up the asphalt and adding 80,000 historic bricks to the two blocks between 15th and 17th Streets. Two blocks down and 12 to go. Bricks and money permitting, The City of Tampa plans to rebrick all 14 blocks of Ybor City’s Seventh Avenue, restoring the avenue to its pre-1960s glory. So get ready to slow your roll and soak up the historic vibes.—Jennifer Ring
Best Hyper-Local Radio Black Power Radio, 96.3-Fm
Tampa Bay is blessed with radioactive airwaves, though with all due respects to our beloved WMNF, the Uhuru’s Black Power WBPU 96.3-FM lays down a soundtrack for south St. Pete. In the internet age of downloads and live-stream, radio holds a special appeal; the signal from a tower only extends so far. Tune into Black Power Radio for an unexpected cut of Bill Withers or old school soul—barely accessible much north of City Hall. The Powers That Be will continue their assault on Uhurus, taking leaders to court, stripping funding, or revoking broadcasting rights—whatever, you can ban the music but you can’t stop the song. St. Petersburg would be a lesser place without the dissenting, challenging, jamming Uhurus. blackpower96.org—Thomas Hallock
jobs in communications including one that saw him run his wife’s Tampa City Council campaign which ended in an upset victory against the Times’ recommended candidate, Janet Cruz. “Those aren’t the functions of a journalist. Our code of ethics frowns upon it,” Katches wrote. Ethics? Pretty rich coming from a guy whose paper still hasn’t disclosed all the identities of the mystery investors that bailed it out with a $15 million loan. Katches might be talking about journalists at the Times, but his comments hurt journalists everywhere else. Reporters and media watchdogs around the country naturally dunked on Katches' column for a couple weeks (has anyone seen what journos get paid these days?), but Burke is still awaiting his fate at the federal courthouse. Before working toward a journalism degree at San Jose State University, Katches wanted to become a sports writer. He ended up going the investigative reporting route, but that apparently hasn’t stopped Katches from keeping score. @ markkatches on Twitter—Ray Roa
over the country,” she told CL. “They’ve been lying from day one.”—Ray Roa
Best Late Night Listening
Tampa City Council
Why Tampa City Council people do it to themselves should be the subject of a college course, but the electeds’ commitment to their constituents was on full display last February during a quasi-judicial session discussing a developer’s request to build a tower near Bayshore Boulevard’s Congregation Rodeph Sholom and Tampa Bay Garden Club. In a 5-2 vote that ended at 3:35 a.m., councilmembers ultimately denied Related Group’s plans for their tower, but kudos to council chair Guido Maniscaldo for remaining collegial—and councilmembers for thoughtfully making their arguments—throughout the marathon session with more than 100 commenters present at city hall.—Ray Roa
During a 60-day campaign in Tallahassee, more than 375 volunteers helped to stop such anti-gay and antitrans bills as an expansion of the “Don’t Say Gay’” bill from schools to the workplace; a Pride flag ban; and a bill that would have criminalized sex education. That said, DeSantis and company’s attacks on Florida’s LGBTQ+ citizens aren’t letting up (see elsewhere in BOTB), so we’re fortunate to have Equality Florida continuing to fight the good fight. eqfl.org—
David Warner
Best Muni Saint
Marty Shelby
Best Indication That Ron Still Hates The Gays
The Removal Of Lgbtq+ Content From The Visit Florida Site
We go to restaurants and ball games. We stay in hotels and hit the beaches. We might even stick around and buy a home. So of course Visit Florida, the state’s tourism arm, doesn’t want us here. Who needs all that economic activity, all that talent, all that—ugh—diversity? Despite appealing in past years to the gay tourism market, Visit Florida has now taken down the “LGBTQ Travel in Florida” page from its website—the latest indication that the DeSantis administration is a hotbed of homophobes. It’s worth noting, however, that there’s still a robust LGBTQ travel page at visitstpeteclearwater.com. So, all you gay tourists who weren’t planning on going anywhere near Tallahassee anyway—welcome to Pinellas!—David Warner
Best Journalism Gatekeeper
Mark Katches, Tampa Bay Times
The world needs more journalists, and Tampa Bay Times Executive Editor Mark Katches must know this (his paper just had to offer buyouts last month). The height of his ivory tower, however, must be clouding Katches’ view of the ground. As Tampa journalist Tim Burke faces federal charges related to his unearthing of unsavory, un-aired video of Tucker Carlson interviewing the rapper we currently call Ye, Katches made sure to pen a column explaining why his pub refers to Burke (who has bylines at CL, in full disclosure) as a “media figure” and “former journalist.” His argument? Burke—who has a rich history with Deadspin, Gawker and Daily Beast—has side
Best Local Witch Teaching Practical
Magic
Lorraine Monteagut, Witchy Heights
Writer, teacher, and witch Monteagut began teaching practical magic in 2016. With a PhD in
Martin Shelby might be the closest thing to a holy man in Tampa City Hall. The actor formerly known as Marty Cohen has had many government roles since his days trying to make it on Broadway, including a time as Largo city commissioner and assistant public defender in Tampa—but he’s been Tampa City Council attorney since 2004. His clients get a lot of credit for that marathon February session, but day in and day out Shelby is the real star, reminding councilmembers what they can and can’t say, how to make certain motions, and generally keeping every-
Best Hold The Line
Tampa 5
Standing up for what you believe in can ruin your life in a lot of ways. That’s why it’s been heartening to see students—particularly those on the Tampa campus of University of South Florida—protest for marginalized voices despite the consequences. Five activists scored a huge win last winter when the state attorney announced plans to drop felony charges related to arrests that happened during a rally against Florida’s “Stop Woke Act.” Gia Davila—one of the “Tampa 5” along with Chrisley Caprio, Lauren Pineiro, Jeanie Kida, and Lauren Rodriguez—put it quite simply outside the courthouse last December. “We never said we were guilty of anything, except doing the right thing, which we’re proud to say students are doing all
Communications from USF, Monteagut reached new heights in 2021 with her first book, "Brujas: The Magic and Power of Witches of Color," now followed by the highly-anticipated "Modern Witchcraft for Dummies" (2025). Opening the area’s first ritual astrology school in St. Pete via Witchy Heights, Monteagut seeks to make magic accessible to everyone. witchyheights. com—Annalise Mabe
Best Milestone
Equality
Florida’s Million-Dollar Haul
Despite (or really because of) Florida’s backward politics, the LGBTQ+ equal rights nonprofit Equality Florida raised a record $1-plus million at its St. Petersburg Gala at The Coliseum in May. That support came on the heels of EQFL’s successful lobbying efforts in the Florida Legislature earlier this year.
one above board. Shelby’s also ridiculously kind, and an ace spelunker in the City of Tampa’s municipal code, able to guide wayward reporters to the cold hard code that shapes so much of every day citizens’ daily lives.—Ray Roa
Best New Life Given To An Absolutely Haunted Building
The Guinn Center At Adams & Jennings Funeral Home
The Adams & Jennings funeral home, most famous for spooking drivers with its ceramic cat falling off of the roof, has died. But this hella haunted building on the corner of Nebraska and Sligh Avenues in Tampa has been given a new life as a community center.
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Best Bridge Highlands Hammock State Park
YBOR CITY - 1812 N 15TH ST
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From homework clubs to support groups, farmers markets to neighborhood meetings, the Guinn Center is repurposing this ghost-centric space to a place for the living to gather in happier times. So far it seems like the specters are enjoying sharing the space with children STEM clubs and mommy & me groups. guinncen ter.com—Caroline DeBruhl
Best ath er Carlto War r
The quest to photograph a Florida Panther in the wild is basically like trying to capture a ghost. Tampabased National Geographic photographer Carlton Ward Jr. does that beautifully, and then some, in his book “Path Of The Panther,” released last year in conjunction with the film of the same name. Its 240 pages are full of glossy images that’ll make anyone love—and want to protect—wild Florida, and Ward, who turns 49 this year, does more than snap a shot. He walks the walk, too, advocating for the conservation of land along the state’s wildlife corridor, which gives the big cat a chance at survival. In a world that feels hopeless, Ward’s work makes it feel like there’s a feasible path forward. carltonward.com—Ray Roa
Best erso To Wal Thro h or Cit
With a erma , Tampa Ba To rs
Max Herman brings Ybor City to life more than all the clubgoers on a Saturday night. The veteran tour guide and owner of Tampa Bay Tours knows so much Ybor City history, he can even teach Tampeños a thing or two. Calling Herman a tour guide almost feels like a disservice. Max is one of the best storytellers Tampa Bay has to offer, and he’s out telling Ybor’s most days of the week. Tampa Bay Tours offers three walking tours—a historic walking tour every morning at 11 a.m., a ghost tour every night at 8 p.m., and a 3 p.m. food tour with a free cigar and Cuban coffee at the final destination. We can’t think of a better way to introduce your out-of-town guests to Ybor City. tampabay-tours.com—Jennifer Ring
Best i le all er fle
The a tor lap
When news spread last year that real estate investor Tom Gaffney had bought The Factory arts complex with the hopes of turning it around the way he kickstarted the 600 Central block, optimism ran high—that is, until the imminent arrival of EGADS!!! PICKLEBALL!!! was announced in June. Communications between Gaffney and the Factory’s resident artists were lousy, aggravating the sense that they were being pushed out for the latest fad. But the fact is, most of them weren’t—they’re mostly moving to (ostensibly) better gallery spaces down the street. Plus, the team with the dreaded paddles and nets is made up of arts supporters in St. Pete’s entrepreneurial and restaurant scene, not out-oftown fat cats. Let’s hope they prove to be respectful guardians of the Factory’s original ethos and maybe even bring it more visitors. thefactorystpete.com— David Warner
Best i s i Beat Writer
i tro , Tampa Ba Times
He started on the Bucs beat during Ray Perkins’ last year as head coach. That was 1990, folks. (Perkins called Stroud to ask him if he was going to be fired, which he was.) Stroud has notched countless scoops, and it’s kind of a shame that he doesn’t have another daily paper to compete with (remember the Tampa Tribune?). But scoops aren’t the primary criterion of a top-notch sportswriter. They must tell stories, make people chuckle at turns of phrase, keep readers informed, engaged and entertained. Stroud succeeds on all those counts. To do so for nearly a quarter century—covering a team that’s seen far more bad years than good over that span—is an
accomplishment worth celebrating. @nflstroud on Twitter—Eric Snider
Best oliti al pee h i hie lo , o To a s ta i m Gas Plant? Let’s call it gaslighting. To justify funds for a new stadium, the Tampa Bay Rays cooked the numbers, finessed local history, and floated a costbenefit analysis that even City Hall (behind closed doors) does not believe. The mainstream press (notably sports writers whose jobs depend upon a baseball beat) milked dubious arguments with platitudes about community good. Local politicians, knowing they lose their seat if St. Petersburg loses the Rays, saddled city and county with a generational debt. Given the heart-sinking mendacity and spin, Richie Floyd’s dissenting “no” felt like a blast of truth. “Hundreds of millions of dollars for a stadium,” Floyd argued, is simply “not in the public’s interest.” The future will bear him out: this is “corporate welfare,” a costly wrong decision, “unjust, irresponsible, and flat out immoral.” @richiejfloyd on Twitter
Thomas Hallock
Best oliti all oti ate is eratio e reat atio al stit tio esa tis Cor ora s Cr sa e
Best a io tatio assa e Chair B a rm
Not sure any of the bubba army should put their hands on anyone, and that’s probably why they have a full-body massage chair in their green room. The seat—cushy, not creepy—almost put me to sleep as rollers delivered a relaxing deep tissue massage ahead of a recent appearance on the show. I might sneak back in uninvited. bubbaarmyhq.com—Leigh Wilson
Best oa Warrior
a a a ar s
Sometimes a neighborhood needs a spokesperson for the confusion, angst, and, well, anger that can bubble up when the government repeatedly brings up plans to build more roads right through it. While she’s just one of many brave enough to march up to the dais in public meetings, Dayna Lazarus—an
A.I.C.P. certified urban planner—goes beyond the mic via her role on the board of Sunshine Citizens and as a member of the Hillsborough
years. An award-winning writer herself, we hope to follow her prose wherever it leads her next. @ colettemb on Twitter—David Warner
Best a ews or rts o ers a ie ea i The Times It was a one-two punch to arts and culture aficionados in the Bay. First, Colette Bancroft and soon after that, Maggie Duffy’s announcement that she too is taking a buyout and leaving the paper. Her farewell column on Aug. 30 gave a sense of the astonishing scope of what she’s covered over the past five years as the paper’s full-time arts writer: museums, galleries, murals, theaters, concerts both classical and pop, and lately, because there wasn’t enough on her plate, food. She deserves a rest, no doubt, but what does it say about the Times that it’s willing to do without its only full-time arts writer? As for Maggie, she’s a talent, and clearly inexhaustible, so we wish her many great arts experiences to come.—David Warner
Best iss eath or Times C lt re Writers
Best The Ba war s Last year we gave Best-of’s to both Colette Bancroft (“Best Friend of Tampa Bay BookLovers”) and Maggie Duffy (“Best Arts Journalist Who Covers Almost Everything at the Times”). This year? See above.—David Warner
Best hameless isrespe t or ear i
The Boo mp t ew Colle e
The pictures said it all: a dumpster overloaded with books, many from the now-abolished Gender and Diversity Center. Perhaps it was a routine “weeding” of library collections, as one college spokesperson claimed, but the visuals confirmed what New College had already become—a money-grubbing monument to intolerance and censorship on a campus that had once been a bastion of academic freedom.—David Warner
Best hasers lr ports
The team at RBLR Sports broke the news about Tampa Bay’s first professional women’s soccer team, and its reporters—James Knowles and Yurika Wheeler—haven’t backed off. They’re checking in with followers before, during, and after the games, and leading the postgame scrum with players and coaching staff as they try to chronicle and explain the ins, outs, ups and downs of a team that’s been a lot of fun to watch. Every team deserves journalists who’re obsessed with the day-to-day, and RBLR makes it happen for the Sun. @rblrsunfc on Instagram—Ray Roa
To estro ew Colle e
What am I saying, their crusade to destroy? They’ve already destroyed what New College was, well on their way to eradicating its open-minded ethos to build a clone of right-wing Christian Hillsdale College in its wake. And Corcoran’s coup didn’t come cheap: He’s being paid over $1 million in salary and incentives, plus a $200,000 performance bonus after one year as college president.—David Warner
Best sh a
The ass rotests ai st ep s Bo ehea e o e
Following bipartisan protests across the state, Gov. “Nature Boy” DeSantis pulled the plan, with yet another of his wimpy blame-shifting excuses: The plan was “leaked” to some “left-wing group” before it was ready to go. Right. “Leaked, ” as Politifact pointed out, via a press release and announcements of public meetings by FDEP, which the governor’s office oversees.—David Warner
Transportation Planning Organization’s Citizens Advisory Committee. Her voice is always out there demanding better transit for neighborhoods and a smart approach to building roads that improve the quality of life, not take away from it. She most recently supported a plan that could potentially make one of Hillsborough County’s most popular downtown routes free-to-ride, and you can bet she’ll be fighting for all of us in the years to come.—Ray Roa
Best a ews or Boo o ers
Colette Ba ro t ea i The Times
Her valedictory column upon taking one of the buyouts the Times offered in its move to cut 20% of its staff reminded us how much Tampa Bay readers will miss. As the paper’s book editor for 17 years, Colette Bancroft graced its pages with the clarity and thoroughness of her criticism, and as the driving force behind the St. Pete Times Festival of Reading she enabled countless close encounters between local book fans and their favorite authors for the last 14
Best Tips istor
a eto t Tampa h fle Manny Leto is a generally reserved guy. The former Cigar City Magazine Editor and current Executive Director of Preserve The ‘Burg is a straight up fount of knowledge and usually shares his enthusiasm for preservation and history via tempered reports and anecdotes. But for one night only, in celebration of Tampa’s 137th birthday, Leto let it flow. In front of a packed crowd at Tampa Shuffle, the lifelong Tampeño sipped beer, and took shots, all while working through a detailed Powerpoint presentation that laid out one hell of a expletive-laced lecture about political violence, transportation, and development that ended up feeling like the ultimate love letter to the city we call home. “I didn’t want this to be a boring history talk. I want it to be like a Cheap Trick concert,” he told the crowd at one point while airing a grievance about Tampa’s old streetcar grid.
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Best Vasilevskiy, Schmasilevskiy
Ashley Orkus, Tampa Bay Sun FC
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“Just scream at me with anything you want to say.” Manny, we hope you hear us loud and clear when we say that this talk needs to be an annual affair. @mannymakeshistory on Instagram—Ray Roa
Best Ultimate Philanthropy Warrior
Titus O’neil
He’s not exactly Woke Hogan, but if there’s a good cause in Tampa, then Thaddeus Bullard is probably behind it. The humongous WWE superstar better known as Titus O’Neil is a big teddy bear and he makes the lives of local school kids (and their guardians) so much better each year through backpack drives, family festivals, and holiday giveaways. Between him and Dave Bautista (who spends a lot of time helping local animals), Tampa’s got the beginning of a do-gooder-wrestler-Avenger team. bullardfamilyfoundation.org—Ray Roa
Best Use Of Leftover Oyster Shells
Tampa Bay Watch’s Shells For Shorelines
Last October, we followed oyster biologists as they collected leftover oyster shells from local restaurants, cured the shells to eliminate any foreign bacteria, and created 1,600 square feet of new oyster reef outside of MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa. Our story celebrated an important milestone for Tampa Bay Watch’s Shells for Shorelines program—collecting 100,000 pounds of oyster shells. Once cured, oyster biologists and volunteers shovel the shells into aquaculture mesh bags, which they deposit into Tampa Bay, establishing oyster reefs that help protect Tampa Bay’s shorelines. tampabaywatch. org—Jennifer Ring
Best Vasilevskiy, Schmasilevskiy
Ashley Orkus, Tampa Bay Sun FC
The Tampa Bay Lightning kicks off its 2024-25 campaign next month, and all eyes will certainly be on Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy. There’s been an equally-exciting athlete to watch between the pipes lately, however, and her name is Ashley Orkus. The Ole Miss product was SEC Goalkeeper of the Year three times, and over the first two matches of the Tampa Bay Sun FC season, she made 13 saves including one on a penalty kick. She was the league’s player of the month for August, and while it’s early in the club’s inaugural campaign, the Bay area’s first-ever professional women’s soccer team is in playoff position thanks in huge part to Orkus and her amazing ability to work with defenders to be in front of the ball on so many scoring chances. @ashorkus28 on Instagram—Ray Roa
Best Wimp Excuse For A Funding Cut Desantis’s Fringe Festival Diss
After vetoing $32 million in arts and culture funding for more than 600 organizations—funds, mind you, that were recommended by legislators in his own party—DeSantis left the state’s arts and culture nonprofits in shock and, in many cases, desperate financial straits. His lame excuse? Because a tiny percentage of that funding went to two Fringe Festivals—including Tampa’s own—whose programming was too, in his words, “sexual.” Apparently it was just one show that got his panties in a twist: “Captain Havoc & the Big-Titty Bog Witches,” which only admitted audiences over 18. In a perfect world, our pissant guv’ would be condemned to watch those big-titty bog witches wreak havoc until he clutched his pearls and keeled right over.—David Warner
RYAN KERN
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Best Actor
Matthew McGee
Finalists: Sam Sobel, Jeffery Walker III
Best Actress
Lisa Reimer
Finalists: Lana Greene, Alexa Lowrey
Best Art Gallery (non-museum)
Dunedin Fine Art Center
Finalists: Five Deuces Galleria, Morean Arts Center
Best Art Party
Trashy Treasures @ Dunedin Fine Art Center
Finalists: Gasparilla Festival of the Arts VIP
Experience, Five Deuces Galleria
Best Band
The Shakes Society
Finalists: Crossfire Creek Band, K-Luv & the United Funk Foundation
Best Bluegrass Band
The Wandering Hours
Finalists: Blackwater Jack, Applebutter Express
Best Book by a Local Author
‘The Donzi’ by LeRoy Schreiner
‘Remember Who the Fuck You Are’ by Katie Dickieson, ‘60 Minutes A Week Saved My Life’ by Farin Ellis
Finalists: Yina Cuevas - The Source Chiropractic, Dr. Frank Fabbiano/ Valrico Spine
Best Cigar Shop
Smokey Jones Smoke & Vape Shop
Finalists: Estate Cigar & Social, Central Cigars
Best Clothing Boutique (Men)
Atlas Body + Home
Finalists: Sacino’s Formal Wear, The Back Room by ZaZoo’d
Best Clothing Boutique (Women)
Seersucker Sassy Boutique
Finalists: Boho & Boujee Boutique, Key West Express Boutique
Best Comic Book Shop
Six Strings and Superheroes
Finalists: Emerald City Comics, Nerd Out Comics
Best Commercial Cleaning Service
Lee’s Royal Services LLC
Finalists: Accent American, Boss Lady’s Cleaning
Best Consignment Shop
Curv Exchange
Finalists: Vintage Post Marketplace, Valhalla Resale
Best Cosmetic Surgery Center
Castellano Cosmetic Surgery Center
Finalists: BODZE Plastic Surgery, Wellness Center, and Medical Spa,The Garden Medspa and Plastic Surgery Center
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Best Auto Mechanic Wrench Masters LLC
Saturday, September 28
Ybor City Museum Garden 1818 East Ninth Avenue
Tampa, Florida 33605
MyEPICMasquerade.org
Join us for the 8th Annual Masquerade for an evening of whimsy and wonder amidst the lush greenery of our garden sanctuary. Proceeds benefit EPIC (Empath Partners in Care). The Masquerade is presented by Balance Tampa Bay in support of EPIC’s work to improve lives by addressing the social determinants of health, regardless of HIV status, gender or sexual identity.
wmnf.org/events
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Best Furniture Store (new or used)
Vintage Post Marketplace
Best CPA/Tax Preparer
Monica Rivera - Monica’s Accounting
Solutions LLC
Finalists: Snyder, Snyder, & Kessenich CPA Firm LLP; James Pulkowski
Best Customer Service
Rayz Tanning Salon
Finalists: White Duck Espresso, Erica Hernandez; bubbaarmystore.com
Best Dentist
Dr. Nicholas Mickelson - Nova Dental
Finalists: Dr. Cindy Brayer - Creating Smiles Dental, Dr. Stephen Klement - Klement Dental
Best Dispensary
Jones Genetics Dispensary
Finalists: Greenhouse Girls Dispensary, Smokey Jones Smoke & Vape Shop
Best Distributor
Paradise Craft Distributors
Finalists: Great Bay Distributors, Pepin
Best Doctor for a Nip and Tuck
BODZE, Dr. Eric Khairalla
Finalists: Dr. Joseph Castellano - Castellano
Cosmetic Surgery Center, Dr. Michael Mirmanesh - The Garden Medspa & Plastic Surgery Center
Best Dog Groomer/Pet Stylist
Finalists: Coastal Fine Furniture, Ethan Allen
Best General Contractor
Oasis Custom Homes
Finalists: Deklyn Does It Construction, Ferrill Construction
Best Group Fitness
The Bar Method - Tampa
Finalists: Apex Performance, Freebird Fitness
Best Gym The Bar Method - Tampa
Finalist: Apex Performance, SPENGA
Best Hair Salon
Black Amethyst Hair Co.
Finalists: Salon Blond, Whole Aveda Salon & Spa
Best Hair Stylist
Tristan Fox - Whole Aveda
Finalists: Laura Blankenship - Salon Blond, Sasha
Ahles - JCon
Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming - South Tampa, Clearwater, Dunedin
Finalists: Two Mutts and a Poodle, Yappy Hour Pet Spa
Best Dog Training
Total Dog Tampa
Finalists: Kyser K9, Sit Means Sit
Best Doggy Day Care
Paws ‘n’ Rec
Finalists: Paws Paradise Fur Life, Bay Paws Pet Resort
Best Drone Operator (Independent)
Tyji Armstong - 86 Drone Photography and Video
Finalists: Anna Faiola, Kris McKenzie
Best Dry Cleaner
Sacino’s Dry Cleaning & Garment Care
Finalists: Sun Country Cleaners, Laundry Day Delivery
Best Electrician
Tesla Electrical Solutions
Finalists: Everything Electric LLC, Electrical Professionals of Florida
Best Event Planning Service
Elegant Affairs by Design
Finalists: Confetti Events, Breezin’ Entertainment
Best Financial Advisor
Priscilla Nunez - PMN Financial Associates LLC
Finalists: Deidre Fernald CFP, Lincoln Investments, Tammy Alumbaugh Primerica
Best Fitness Studio
Studio Physique
Finalists: Best Day Fitness, SPENGA
Best Florist
Jennie’s Florist
Finalists: Mona’s Floral Creations, House of Petals Flower Co
Best Free Clinic
Clearwater Free Clinic
Finalists: Planned Parenthood, St. Pete Free Clinic
Finalists: Moore Resources Insurance, Gulf Water Title
Tampa Bay’s best strippers reveal their secrets to success.
By Selene San Felice
Most male Ybor City dancers will make you think of “Magic Mike,” but Scott is more like Mr. Rogers. Just swap out the red sweater for a thong that shows off the lipstick kiss tattoo on his ass.
The 32-year-old dancer at Bradley’s on 7th— second runner up in the 2024 Best of the Bay contest for “Best Stripper”—shows up an hour before his shift to catch up with regulars. He worries about Tom, a teacher whose mother had a fall last week. He makes David’s eyes sparkle by remembering the fellow Leo’s birthday.
“I was not a finalist because I’m the sexiest man alive—I’m not. Or because I’m the best dancer alive— I’m not. But I’m one of the nicer people who works in this industry,” he said. “And I think people recognize that.”
For runner up Cleo, who strips at Reign in Clearwater, kindness also goes a long way. Both she and Scott are among the highest tipped at their clubs. “I always make sure to talk to everybody, whether it’s their first time, or they’re never coming back,” she said.
Best Stripper is a category that gets giggles every year, but Scott, Cleo and your winner, Victoria at Reign, are among the best in the nation. Tampa Bay’s reputation for sex work started near MacDill Air Force Base in WWII and took off in the 1980s when local strip club kingpin Joe Redner opened Mons Venus on Dale Mabry Highway. The Bay area is now synonymous with strippers thanks in part to movies like “Magic Mike”—based on Channing Tatum’s teenage stripper career in Tampa— and “Zola,” another true local story.
The wholesome stripper
Scott’s first night stripping at Bradley’s was only the third time he’d been in a gay bar. His second time was at an amateur night at Johnson’s in Old West Tampa, where the owner told him, “Not a chance.” A month later, in March 2023, he booked an opening at Bradley’s.
“I sucked. He shouldn’t have offered me the job,” Scott said. “The cuter you are, the less good you can be at dancing. … I have a nice smile and a cute butt.”
Those assets could only get him so far. Patrons picked up on his self-consciousness.
“That first Saturday, a guy comes up to me and says, ‘I’m giving you these two dollars because you’re working really hard, but you suck.’ And he grabs my hips and starts saying, ‘This is how you need to dance.’... I’m not tipping you until you’re good, OK?’ And then July, four months later, he came up to me and gave me a five and said ‘You got much better.’ That was the best tip I ever got.”
Scott is sober, so the two free shots Bradley’s offers dancers each shift to enhance their performance won’t help. One of those early nights when he was stiff in the wrong ways, a security guard encouraged him to take his shots.
“I said to myself, ‘I will either conquer this sober or I won’t conquer it. … I’m not the world’s best dancer, but I’m now decidedly average, at least.”
Defeating his nerves and getting the moves right wasn’t about making money. Scott’s an accountant for a New York company by day.
Growing up in New Jersey, seeing dancers on YouTube helped him come out of the closet. But he found gay bars intimidating, especially being sober. So he isolated himself from the LGBTQ community. When he moved to Tampa from New York in 2022, he pushed himself to do the things that scared him.
The honest stripper
For Cleo, dancing came naturally. As a former cheerleader and competitive figure skater, she was used to showing off her body. But she wasn’t used to lying. When she started stripping at a club in Tampa, her coworkers told her to use a fake name and give herself a fake backstory and personality. But she couldn’t keep track of what she told each customer.
“I got caught in a lot of lies at the beginning because I was trying to do that. And then I realized I didn’t really care. Like I was just gonna be myself,” she said, “If it worked, it worked. If it didn’t, it didn’t.”
It worked. The 24-year-old (who kept a fake name) is one of the highest tipped dancers at Reign in Clearwater. By day she does cybersecurity, but dancing money bought her a new car and an apartment.
BEST OF THE BAY
Cleo started stripping on a whim, but doesn’t recommend others follow in her eight-inch heel clad footsteps.
And Scott wants to make them less scary for others. He makes eye contact with everyone in the room, and lets more patrons dance with him than others do. “I’m the value dancer, but I know what it’s like to feel invisible. I want to be someone who makes people feel comfortable being here,” he said.
After visiting Tampa Bay in the pandemic, Cleo packed up her car and drove down from upstate New York hoping to get a job as a bartender. When the bar her friend worked at didn’t have an opening, they suggested she try dancing. For others who want to start stripping, Cleo advises doing more research.
“Don’t just talk to one or two dancers. Talk to people who work in different positions in the industry, and also realize that it is sex work,” she added. “You are selling yourself a bit.”
“A lot of people get into it, and they just think, ‘Oh, I can go on stage and dance and make tons of money,’ but that’s not what it is,” she warned. “People are gonna touch you, people are gonna say things to you, people are gonna try to get into your life, people are gonna judge you, and people are gonna reject you.”
The strong stripper
Victoria, voted Best Stripper in this year’s Best Of the Bay, started dancing five years ago to help her family immigrate to the U.S. from Cuba. Now that she’s made it happen, she dances for fun.
“I love to dance,” she said. “Everybody likes money, but I like to dance.”
Reign opened a year ago, around the same time the 30-year-old came to Florida from Syracuse. Victoria’s been dancing there ever since.
Victoria (also her stage name) prides herself in being friendly like Cleo and Scott, but customers know and love her for her muscular look, especially her tree trunk thighs. As a competitive bodybuilder and powerlifter, she can deadlift 360 pounds. Her next big challenge isn’t at the gym or the club. In a year or two, she hopes to open her own beauty salon.
“Me gusta desafiarme a mi misma y mostrar que siempre puedes más,” she said. Translated, it means: “I like to challenge myself and show that you can always do more.”
SEND NEWBS: Scott’s first night at Bradley’s was only the third time he’d been in a gay bar.
“I want as many people as possible to see my penis and tell me that it’s magnificent.”
Watch me now
Tampa Bay’s favorite OnlyFans creators are building community.
By Selene San Felice
OnlyFans has been a dream come true for J.S. And he’s not making a cent.
“I’ve been trying to show everyone my penis since I was six or seven years old,” he told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. “I want as many people as possible to see my penis and tell me that it’s magnificent, and I don’t want money to be an obstacle.”
Those who have seen it voted Gashblaster, as he’s known on the website, as second runner up for the Best OnlyFans in the 2024 Best of the Bay awards. The award is a new category in a constantly-evolving contest. Gashblaster, along with runner up Jack Rozsa and winner Ariel Marie, are popping the Best OnlyFans cherry. J.S., as he preferred to be called, isn’t just posting dick pics. He’s putting in work. In his most popular video he filmed a sort of jack-off-olantern, putting a camera inside a lit pumpkin to
film himself fucking the gourd. For “Space Penis,” he used a green screen and morph suit to film his floating member jacking off among the stars. He turned into a human glow stick this spring with glow in the dark lotion. His most impressive effort: flying a drone inches away from his penis to shoot it down with his semen.
“I’m on there pushing boundaries and envelopes. I’m trying to be as creative as I am in every endeavor artistically. It just so happens my penis is in there,” he added.
Rozsa, AKA Escape the Vault, and Marie, AKA Sirens Mermaid, use a different niche style. They fulfill sexy, nerdy fantasies by mixing cosplay into adult content.
Rozsa’s stage-namesake is Jack from “Mass Effect 3”. Her other popular characters are Punchline from DC comics and Mei from “Overwatch.” She’s also turned viewers on
to scar fetish content, and has some popular head shaving videos.
The Largo resident’s page is free to join, with more videos available on a pay-per-view basis based on length. She occasionally drops free photos as thank yous to loyal followers and makes herself available for direct messages.
“I know people go through rough patches and don’t want anyone to feel like they have to have an additional expense to be able to stick around when it happens,” she said. “I view (followers) as real people with goals and dreams and bad days versus seeing them as a payout.”
Tampa Bay’s 2024 Best OnlyFans winner, Ariel Marie, is a real life mermaid with clam shell tattoos around her nipples. She just has those… what do you call them? Feet. The Little Mermaid was her first adult cosplay character in 2019.
“Best decision I ever made,” she said.
To be part of her world, followers need to pay $8 per month. Marie offers discounts for
three, six and 12-month subscriptions and also has pay-per-view content.
Her character rotation now includes Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Velma, Wanda Maximoff, Mary Jane from “Spider Man” and classic horror movie characters. And she’s just as committed to spicy holiday content.
“I’ve stuck an actual rose in my asshole for a Valentine’s set,” she said. “I’ve had a volunteer cut a whole into a pumpkin and place it on his cock while I suck him off, and I fucked my asshole with an organic carrot for an Easter set. My birthday just passed and I decided to turn myself into a hot fudge sundae.”
Soon, you can see Ariel Marie perform in real life with Ybor City Sirens burlesque troupe, where she’s currently a “first mate” assisting with marketing and behind-thescenes work. For now, she’s at her happiest connecting with followers online.
“People make me happy and OnlyFans brings people together,” she said.
VIEWERS LIKE YOU: Meet the first Best of the Bay OnlyFans finalists.
Lies that bind
By Dan Savage
What do you think of a man who lied to a woman to manipulate her into staying in a relationship knowing that if he told her the truth she would leave? My boyfriend agreed to exclusivity and monogamy. He immediately began to violate this agreement. He lied repeatedly to me about who these other people were, what he was doing with them, and constantly told me he was honoring our agreement to be monogamous. He gaslit me and made me feel ridiculous for worrying. I eventually found out he was constantly engaging women online in chats and asking them to have phone or video sex with him. He had video sex with someone the same week he began talking to me about getting married! He got a phone number from a woman he met at work and only stopped texting her because sneaking out to date her was a “step too far” for him morally. I told all of his family and friends that he had been lying to me and cheating on me throughout our relationship. I stand by my right to let people know this. What do you think about my refusal to be quiet about his behavior? I believe women too often protect men’s reputations at our own peril. That is why I refused to keep his secrets. The shame should be his, not mine!
lot narrower than yours, you didn’t turn to your friends and family for moral support or drag him to a couple’s counselor to hold him accountable. No, you dragged his friends and family into your conflict. Not because they needed to know, not because they could do anything about it, but to punish your boyfriend by making him look like an asshole in the eyes of his friends and family. And while you probably succeeded in making him look bad in the eyes of his friends and family, you also succeeded in making yourself look like a crazy person.
SAVAGE LOVE
So, while I agree that women shouldn’t have to keep men’s secrets to protect their reputations, no one wants to live in a world where dragging in friends is the go-to move for every angry boyfriend, girlfriend, enbyfriend, husband, wife, spouse, etc., on the planet.
explain that I don’t understand the importance of the secrecy? Because I really don’t. Or should I just keep doing what I’m doing and not worry about it? For more context, my husband is also incredibly thoughtful and he’s super good at processing things. And while this other guy is the only person in my life like this now, there have always been others like him. What do you think?—A Gal In New England
We’re all entitled to a zone of erotic autonomy—even married people—and I believe brief and/or harmless flirtations fall with that zone, AGINE, and it sounds like your new husband might agree. Additionally, very few marriages would survive for long if we disclosed every dumb-but-essentially-harmless thing we did that might annoy our spouses. If you wouldn’t actually fuck this guy or any other guy without your husband’s approval, and if you’re plowing the erotic energy this stirs up into your marital relationship, I think you can enjoy this connection/flirtation without guilt. Keeping something to yourself—keeping something for yourself— isn’t the same thing as keeping something secret.
phone plan), and she has been talking with this man and texting with him incessantly. She says she is leaning on him as a friend, but it is way too much contact for that. I think she is in love with this person, but she won’t admit it because she doesn’t want to hurt me. Every time I bring up the subject, she accuses me of being crazy or jealous. I got her to admit to some feelings, but she swears it’s not what I think. Then she says it’s none of my business. The paperwork hasn’t even been submitted. Is she right? Is it none of my business? I just want the truth even if it kills me so I can have some closure.—World Of Hurt
Now he tells me his friends and family don’t want us to get back together because I “overreacted” to his shameful behavior. I feel that with all the cards out on the table there’s no room for lies and that we could rebuild. What’s your opinion?—Choosing Absolute Truth
What I think of your ex-boyfriend—you should get used to calling him your ex-boyfriend—is irrelevant. What matters here, CAT, is what you think of your ex-boyfriend: you think he’s a manipulative piece of shit who cheated on you throughout your relationship and lied to you and gaslit you and emotionally abused you. And you—not a crazy person — want to get back together with him?
Let’s quickly review what he did: he flirted with other women online and asked them to have phonesex/cybersex with him, CAT, which was a shitty thing to do each and every time he did it. At least one woman agreed to listen and/or watch while he had a wank, which was an even shittier thing for him to do. And he got one women’s phone number and was tempted to meet up with her but didn’t go through with it, which allowed him to tell himself he didn’t do the shittiest thing he could’ve done—he may have even told himself he honored the monogamous commitment he made to you because he never actually touched another woman with his dick—and he lied to you about all of this and made you feel like a crazy person. Now let’s review what you did: When you found out that his definition of monogamy was a
Even if your ex-boyfriend’s friends and family think he was in the wrong—even if you succeeded in exposing him for the manipulative piece of shit they already knew him to be (they’ve known him longer than you have)—they don’t want him to get back together with you because they don’t want you blowing up their phones every time you have a fight.
And if you convince him to get back together with you, CAT, you’re gonna have more fights— hell, you’re going to have this fight again because he’s not going stop flirting with other women. So, unless you’re looking forward to having this fight again—and maybe you are (some people think conflict is passion (crazy people))—you’ll stop pursuing this lying, manipulative, deceitful piece of shit.
I’m a mid-40s bi woman newly married to my second husband. He’s 34, extremely hot, and I’m 13 years older. My last marriage had elements of openness to it, and I came into this relationship knowing I would eventually want some level of ethical non-monogamy. Although my husband hasn’t had that sort of relationship before, he’s very open to it. Anyway, I have an old fling that I text with sometimes. He’s a single guy and we hooked up off and on for a few years, a few years ago. It was always just no-strings-attached sex. He has very good judgment and boundaries, and he knows I’m recently remarried. Our chats get sexual pretty quickly. I’m 99% sure that my husband would be fine with this, but I haven’t told him because—and this is the problem—I don’t think I’d enjoy it as much if it weren’t a secret. I’ve been talking to my therapist about this, but I’m interested in your take. I want my marriage to be based on honesty and authenticity, but I really enjoy these little secret flirtations. Should I tell my husband and
But knowing what you do about yourself, AGINE, you could’ve and should’ve had a conversation with your husband before the wedding about privately (not secretly) enjoying a flirtation. It’s not too late to have that conversation—it’s never too late to have a conversation— and I’ve gone ahead and written your opening line “Hey, if there’s ever someone else either of us wants to fuck—if we ever wanna move from talking about ethical nonmonogamy to actually practicing it—we’ll come to each other for permission before anything happens. But I’m not going to ask for your permission to flirt with someone else—just flirt, only flirt—and you don’t need mine.”
My wife of 12 years is divorcing me. She went on a cross-country road trip with someone she’s in a band with and she was cold when she returned and then told me she wants a divorce. This person is a much younger man, and I suspect cheating. She denies it, merely chalking it up to camping and clearing her head. I know she’s been unhappy for a while, but I thought the relationship could be worked on. She is unwilling to try. Then I looked at her phone (we are on the same
Would being told that your wife had an affair—and it seems pretty obvious she did— give you the closure you claim to need, WOH, or would it allow you to assign blame for the collapse of your marriage? I don’t doubt that you’re sad, angry, and confused about the end of your marriage, but you knew your wife had been unhappy for a long time and it doesn’t sound like you were motivated to do much about her unhappiness until she announced that she wanted a divorce. (You talk about work that could’ve been done to improve your marriage, but you don’t mention doing the work or even offering to do the work.) If she’s leaving you for this man, WOH, that’s not a secret that’s going to keep. You might not know exactly what happened until after the divorce is finalized, but you’re going to find out eventually—so the closure you claim to need might not come before you close the books on your marriage, but it will come.
P.S. Your wife might be willing to see a couple’s counselor with you to mediate between you while you wind down your marriage, but it doesn’t sound like her mind is going to change. I’m sorry.
P.P.S. Closure isn’t always something we’re given by someone else, WOH, closure is often something we have to do for ourselves. Got problems? Yes, you do! Email your question for the column to mailbox@savage.love! Or record your question for the Savage Lovecast at savage.love/askdan! Podcasts, columns and more at Savage.Love.
Notice of Public Sale Notice is hereby given that the undersigned will sell, to satisfy lien of the owner, at public sale by competitive bidding on www. storagetreasures.com ending on October 11th, 2024 at 11:00 am for units located at: Compass Self Storage 2291 S. Frontage Rd, Plant City, Florida 33563
Purchases must be made with cash only and paid at the time of sale. All goods are sold as is and must be removed at the time of purchase. Compass Self Storage reserves the right to refuse any bid. Sale is subject to adjournment. The personal goods stored therein by the following may include, but are not limited to general household, furniture, boxes, clothes and appliances, unless otherwise noted. Unit #2174 Joel Moralez Unit #2022 Ashley Carter.
Notice of Public Sale Notice is hereby given that the undersigned will sell, to satisfy lien of the owner, at public sale by competitive bidding on www. storagetreasures.com. ending on Oct.11 th 2024 at 11:00 am for units located at Compass Self Storage 1685 Hwy 17 N Eagle Lake Florida 33839. Purchases must be made with cash only and paid at time of sale. All Goods are sold as is and must be removed at the time of purchase.
Compass Self Storage reserves the right to refuse any bid. Sale is subject to adjournment. The personal goods stored therein by the following may include, but are not limited to general household, furniture, boxes, clothes and appliances, unless otherwise noted. Unit 3205 Maria Morato.
Bus Dev Eng – Protection & Controls; Hubbell Power Sys in Largo, FL. Support bus dev project for strategic OEM & Utility customers. Assist OEMs & customers w/ prod support, installation, service, or repair during the bus dev stages. Hybrid; WFH up to 2 days/wk. 25% domest. travel req. Must have at least master’s or equiv in Elect Eng’g or rltd fld & 3 yrs exp as Design Eng w/ Electric utility equip, incl. testing & troubleshooting (OR a bachelor’s or its equiv and 5 yrs of progressive exp). Must have at least 3 yrs exp w/: sw & hw for power sys apps protection & control; test equip & test procedures; writing tech doc & presenting to tech & nontech stakeholders; & telecommunication for power apps. Apply at https://www.hubbell.com/ careers (Req. #96086).
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