Brian Ries at CL’s Daily Loaf reports that a new restaurant is coming to Seminole Heights. Michelle and Greg Baker of the Trib’s Culinary Sherpas and owners of Cook & Company will soon sign the papers to buy a spot in Seminole Heights to open The Refinery.
…the new spot will be called The Refinery and will feature a large selection of small plates — “bigger than most tapas,” according to Michelle — and a few entrees, like basil-miso battered tofu and bison country-fried steak. “The lunch menu will be seasonal and brunch will be a collection of dishes from our favorite restaurants across the country,” says Michelle.
The dinner menu will change almost nightly, partly due to The Refinery’s focus on sourcing local ingredients as much as possible. The Bakers plan to have hydroponic farm Urban Oasis grow a lot of their produce, and hope to work with local foods guru John Matthews of Sarasota’s Suncoast Food Alliance. “The menus will tell you where your food is coming from,” says Michelle. “We’re hoping to start a trend. We know a lot of chefs will come in and we want them going back to their owners and saying ‘we can do this, too.’”
Congratulations, guys! I can’t wait for you to open.
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Chris Ingram at Irreverent View files an ethics complaint against Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin White.
“Background: Commissioner White was involved in a sexual harassment case in 2009. A civil court jury found Mr. White guilty of sexual harassment and awarded a large sum of money to the victim. Hillsborough County was a co-defendant with Mr. White.
“On January 21, 2010, Mr. White’s peers on the County Commission voted to sue Mr. White to recover the extensive legal fees the county has expended in defending him for his shameful and reckless acts which he has failed to own up to.
“When this matter was brought to a vote before the Hillsborough County Commission, Mr. White voted against the motion for the county to sue him to recover the aforementioned costs. This is a clear violation of Florida Statutes prohibiting elected officials from voting on matters before them which would cost or benefit them financially.
“Action requested: investigation and appropriate fines, penalties, and removal from office for Mr. White’s blatant disregard for Florida law and the voters and taxpayers of Hillsborough County.”
Ingram writes – “Good government is a non-partisan issue; where is the Democrat’s outrage?”
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Not really a blog, but a handy site, Florida-Friendly Landscaping offers a lot of great advice on how to make your yard more Florida-friendly.
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Sinfonian ended Blast Off! earlier this year. I actually wrote a long post about it, but it’s still in the draft queue. Here’s Sinf explaining his decision to end one of the funniest progressive blogs in Florida after 5+ years. So long Blast Off!, and thanks for all the laughs and liberal camaraderie. I hope you return soon.
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Alan Snel, Tampa’s best bike blogger, is asked to give an invocation at a recent city council meeting and offers the following -
“May we find inspiration in anything we deem holy so that we who attend this legislative forum can make our city a better place to live and a safer place to walk or ride a bicycle. May we embrace the diversity of our city and respect our differences so that when we congregate here as one in the spirit of the Jeffersonian sense of town hall, we work sacredly and bind our efforts to represent the interests of all Tampa citizens. Let’s have a glorious government meeting in the spirit of making our city a place we can be proud to call home.”
Amen
