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Support your local butcher and baker
By CHRIS SHERMAN, Times Staff Writer Upscale, downscale, all around the bay, it ain't easy being small for groceries and delis, as proven by the closing of two independents in Tampa this month. Closings always jar the lives of customers, but they don't mean the local hunger for sources of better food has disappeared. Still, it's a reminder to use 'em or lose 'em. Stop at an independent butcher, baker, deli, ethnic grocer or produce stand once a week, and the Nibbler guarantees you'll eat better.
The original Jo-El's (2619 23rd Ave. N, St. Petersburg; (727) 321-3847) still has the big pieces of Nova, stacks of corned beef and stern supervision that have made it a destination for Jewish cooks. He plans to make some changes, expanding the kitchen to do more kosher take-home meals and catering. The other casualty is Giancola's, a gourmet food and wine staple for a ritzy stretch of south Tampa since it was called Simon Schwartz. Names and ownership changed several times, but it remained a rare source of haricot verts, baby squash, fresh truffles, chanterelles and morels until it went dark in mid-May. Yet as some doors close, others do open, especially if you're hunting wine and Italian food. -- After the last changing of the guard at Giancola's last year, Ed Giancola and son Perry opened Ed's Fine Wines, 2454 McMullen-Booth Road, Northwoods Common, Clearwater; (727) 791-9551. -- Gianpiero Ruggeri, a familiar fixture in the wine aisles at Giancola's and Simon's, opened Gianpiero's Pick of the Vine, 2506 S MacDill Ave., Tampa; (813) 831-1117. It sells wine and imported Italian delicacies. -- Cafe Marcello will open in the former Streets location (11727 N Dale Mabry Highway, Tampa) next month. Owner Kenneth Stephens plans to keep some deli but put the accent on Italian. He'll use the bread oven for brick-fired pizzas and add TVs to make it a family-style sports bar. -- Mazzaro's, coffee roaster, bread baker and sandwichmaker to St. Petersburg foodies, doubled its space this year. Mazzaro's (2909 22nd Ave. N, St. Petersburg; (727 321-2400) now has room for a full-scale butcher shop, fish counter, cheese shop, small produce selection and more parking. Warning: They moved the door to the rear. -- Jerry Gioia, who closed his family's deli early this year, will open a deli and coffee bar next month on the ground floor of Bayview Tower, the former federal building (100 First Ave. S, St. Petersburg). Menu will include breakfast pastries and frittata panini, lunchtime salads and sandwiches and take-home pastas for dinner entrees. -- The old Gioia location is now Bari Pizza, Bakery & Deli (860 49th St. N, St. Petersburg; (727 322-6308). The Nibbler found familiar faces Gianni and Anna Silvestri, once of Casa del Pane, in partnership with Joe Villari, behind a slick new tile bar serving espresso and wine by the glass. Silvestri bakes sturdy Italian breads and makes fresh mozzarella as well as pizza, pasta dishes and sandwiches for the neighborhood. Gap in the produce sectionAll of these changes still leave us with the problem of where to find chanterelles, but it's not insurmountable. Coosemans Worldwide, a produce broker that has sold specialty crops since they were "weird stuff," has a local branch with warehouse operations near the Tampa Wholesale Market. Coosemans has access to a range of specialty items, and yes, fresh morels when they're in season. The company sells primarily to grocery chains and food service companies that supply restaurants and chefs. So the very good stuff -- from baby golden beets to tat soi and kiwano melons -- is available in the Tampa Bay area, pending the seasons and freak freezes in Guatemala and such. It's still expensive and perishable, and some local grocers take the risk of stocking it. If you find a grocer or produce stand that takes the chance, give them your patronage or forfeit your whining rights. "It's been a long battle" to educate grocers, shoppers and diners about many exotic items, says Roy Kane, vice president and partner of Coosemans, but interest is picking up. Although Coosemans (5106 39th St., Tampa) deals in cases and truckloads, it also will sell to the people who come to the warehouse. Don't bother them with a telephone order; come by in person preferably in early afternoon. "My dock is open," Kane said. "Anyone's allowed to walk up there and purchase." As for those chanterelles, just remember that the mushroom season doesn't crank up until later in the summer. Beyond cafe con leche ...Breakfast may be just Cuban coffee and Cuban toast, but brunch can be something more. Like Cuban French toast, which sounds silly, so call it by the rightful name, torrejas, or a Spanish tortilla. Torrejas is actually a thick concoction of eggs, herbs and potatoes or other vegetables, eaten by the wedge like a frittata or a crustless quiche. Both are on the Saturday-only line at Boulevards cafeteria (3255 W Cypress St, Tampa; (813) 353-0443), along with biscuits and gravy and grits. Together with coffee, copies of La Gaceta and no-hurry service, it feeds the nostalgic hungers of Old Tampa, both Cuban and Anglo. Boulevards opened last last year as a partnership of Nieves Gonzalez and Lorraine Marchetti, two women with deep Tampa roots but different backgrounds. Gonzalez worked at her family's Three Mary's, Palma Ceia Country Club and Brewmasters in Tampa. Marchetti lived abroad and learned to make yogurt and bake. When she returned to Tampa, the two took a small West Tampa spot and steam-table fare and gave them front-parlor frills. They serve sandwiches and $6.95 entrees at lunch, do take-home dinners and catering but the star so far is Saturday torrejas. "It used to be a very old treat for the Spanish people." says Gonzalez. "It was a staple because they had so much old Cuban bread." The bread was soaked in milk, egg, vanilla and sweet spices, then fried and served with a simple syrup of sugar water, cinnamon and star anise. The Columbia recently tried adding torrejas and other Spanish breakfast items to its Sunday lunch in St. Petersburg but has discontinued the experiment. Somehow the Nibbler thinks Cuban French toast will not disappear from our steam tables again. -- Food critic Chris Sherman writes about dining and restaurant news in the Nibbler. He can be reached at (727) 893-8585 or by e-mail at sherman@sptimes.com.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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From the Times Taste section From the features wire |
After almost three years, Joel Goetz, of St. Petersburg's Jo-El's, gave up his effort to expand into Carrollwood, where he had opened a delicatessen and bakery. The deli was strictly kosher at first but last year switched to kosher-style and a new name, Streets, in a bid for a larger audience.
