Comfort Cucina: Bella Brava

When Bella Brava moved fromCentral Avenue to Beach Drive, both a geographic relocation as well as a culinary redesign big on food/wine and unique flavor pairings.

Post Saturday market, friends meet up at the horseshoe-shaped bar with flat screen TVs for following TVFN or sports, admiring the walls of wine and chalkboard filled with specials. Cute couples nestle in the two dining rooms on either side of the inviting cocktail lounge, sharing caprese or warm sherry gorgonzola dip with housemade potato chips, the ultimate in urban hip weekend meanderings.

Thoughtful chefs provide both gluten-friendly and vegetarian options, well executed with tender produce obviously locavore-sourced.

 Seafood stars here, especially the pan-roasted mussels with white wine, butter, tomato, fresh garlic and basil served with ample grilled ciobatta bread to sop up the sauce.  The North Carolina trout with lemon butter piccata and crimini mushrooms  served with grilled asparagus or mac n cheese rocks my tastebuds as does the seared sea scallops with smokey pancetta brittle. For apps, the fennel-flavored calamari con frito with lemon caper aioli or jumbo lump crab cakes are the perfect starters before sharing the woodstone oven gourmet pizzas.

 This is real pie in the sky, from traditional (sausage and peppers spiced up with caramelized onion and smoked mozzarella) to the asparagus and crispy prosciutto and fromage-fans four cheese with fresh sage delight. The BBQ chicken flatbread is a light and lively pizza alternative with crispy pancetta and creamy gorgonzola drizzle.

 While lobster and white truffle mac n cheese is all the rage in Beverly Hills and worth trying here, I prefer the goat cheese and spinach toasted pinenut ravioli, drizzled in basil pesto cream or the grilled chicken penne pasta with cotto ham and peas in asiago cream for my pasta craving. 

 Salad starlets include the Bella Brava wedge dressed in creamy gorgonzola and dappled with applewood smoked bacon as well as the house spinach salad with pistachio-crusted salmon.  Homemade soups, Black angus burgers with herbed fries and wood-grilled chicken Marsala round out the ample fare.

 Cocktails boast Italian favorites (Negroni, Bellini), classic martinis and Manhattans, Latin pisco sours/mojitos and specialty cocktails infused with herbal/veggie smash (lavender, cucumbers, cilantro) and unforgettable fruit medleys (blackberry ginger, strawberry balsamic). Pair your meal with Peroni on draft, a quirky Brooklyn End India Pale Ale or dozens of boutique wines organized from light to full body, especially the Malbecs and Voignier.

San Diego: Magnificent Mussels

For more than 20,000 years, we’ve enjoyed eating the bivalve mollusk known as the mussel. In San Diego, we cultivate them on special farms — Carlsbad Aquafarm being one of the West Coast’s finest purveyors. Sip crisp Sauvignon Blanc for a perfect afternoon. Get more delish dish at Inquisitive Tongue.

Blue Point Coastal Cuisine: Well known for its Pan Pacific seafood entrees like the Alaskan black cod in spiced misoyaki, Blue Point cooks up pan-roasted green-lipped mussels sensually flavored with coconut and ginger and served with green curry. Its specialty cocktails and amazing oyster bar are not to be missed either.
565 Fifth Ave.; 619-233-6623

JRDN: The sunset view, boardwalk action and crisp boutique beers beckon you to meet friends at the bar, moving on to sup on steamed mussels, prepared with chorizo, garlic, Chardonnay and herb butter, just one of Chef David Warner’s heavenly JRDN’s “surf, sky and spirit” concoctions.
Tower 23 Hotel, 723 Felspar St.; 858-270-5736

Jsix: Discover garden flavors in this tarragon dijon mussel melange cooked in white wine and garlic broth with fennel pollen. Served with fries and lemon aioli, Jsix‘s California modern cuisine sings beautifully in this dish.
Hotel Solamar, 616 J St.; 619-531-8744

The Oceanaire Seafood Room: You know them for their global oysters (including Carlsbad’s Luna, Blonde and Del Sol), but you’ll love them for their glamorous decor and steamed Mediterranean black mussels mariniere (white wine, butter, shallots). At the Oceanaire bar, steamed mussels are only $7.99 nightly, and it pairs perfectly with a half bottle of Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay.
400 J St.; 619-858-2277

Pacifica Del Mar: Pacifica‘s steamed local mussels cleverly seasoned with chorizo, garlic, white wine and sweet onions pleases its beautiful-people clientele nightly. Do not overlook the stellar wine list either.
Del Mar Plaza, 1555 Camindo Del Mar; 858-792-0476

Quality Social: Belgian ale, leeks and fresh bay accent these fragrant West Coast mussels, accompanied by grilled bread for dipping. Add California artisanal cheeses (like Cowgirl Creamery’s Mt. Tam and Point Reyes Blue) and chopped salad with goat cheese for a perfect Quality Social date night out.
789 Sixth Ave.; 619-501-7675

Tampa Bay: Fried Chicken

Dipped and battered dozens of ways and served up on salads or in tacos, fried chicken will never go out of style. These restaurants offer a unique take on the comfort-food classic — from Chinese Katsu to Southern drumsticks, these dishes transcend finger-licking good.  Click here for more Inquisitive Tongue delights.

Cafe Dufrain: This romantic waterfront bistro boasts a stylish regional American menu, eclectic beer/wine list and seasonal dishes such as organic fried chicken and smoked bacon braised collards drizzled with Eden’s Nectar spiced honey and served on a buttermilk waffle.
707 Harbor Post Dr., Tampa; 813-275-9701

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store: If you want boy-howdy cooking, order up the Colby cheese melted fried chicken BLT, buttermilk fried chicken and dumplings and Sunday chicken fried chicken blue plate special, a meal for two at this homespun favorite.
2151 54th Ave. N., St. Petersburg; 727-526-0031
4011 Ulmerton Rd., Clearwater; 727-572-8685
13833 W. Hillsborough Ave., Tampa; 813-855-4200

Lee Roy Selmon’s: Fried is a religion here (sweet potatoes, green tomatoes), but you’ll be a fanatic after biting into the Selmon family classic sandwich, cooked crispy and hot, topped with Swiss cheese and served with lettuce, tomato and garlic horseradish aioli sauce.
2424 Tyrone Blvd N., St Petersburg; 727-347-5774
Additional locations in Tampa, Brandon, Bradenton, Sarasota.

Pei Wei Asian Diner: Roy Yamaguchi’s popular fast food healthy eatery will make you crave the fire not typically associated with granny’s fried chicken. Take a bite of the honey-seared crispy chicken tossed with garlic sauce, chili oil, rice sticks, scallions and red bell peppers, and you”ll be hooked.
1402 66th St. N., St. Petersburg; 727-347-1729

12927 North Dale Mabry Hwy., Tampa; 813-960-2031

Tampa Bay: Texas de Brazil Churruscaria

Run, don’t walk, to Texas de Brazil Churruscaria, the new Brazilian steakhouse and bring your appetite. The generous portions of 15 traditionally grilled meats carved tableside by servers costumed as Gauchos flow like a river; just turn your card to green and the delicately seasoned meats appear, cooked just the way the cowboys seasoned and grilled their meats over the open pampas campfires.

Start by filling your plate from the seasonal buffet of soups, salads (Caprese, spinach), appetizers and gourmet cheeses and charcuterie. Save room for the sides, especially the garlic mashed potatoes, Brazilian cheese bread, and sweet-fried bananas served family style with the parading pork loin, Brazilian spicy sausage, garlic picanha, leg of lamb and filet mignon skewers, delectable and tender.

In addition to a gut-busting dinner fit for a king, the kicky Brazilian cocktails (mojitos, Caipirinha) and South American wines (Argentinian reds, Chilean pinot grigio) are a spirit and wine connoisseur’s delight. For dessert, the flan and decadent rich chocolate cakes challenge your better judgment on overindulging.

Valet parking add to the joie de vivre of this upscale chain’s entry into the Tampa special occasion restaurant market. Join the e-club for discounts and rewards.

4112 Boy Scout Blvd.; 813-871-1400

Art of Dining Out 4 One

The Inquisitive Tongue

(Tampa Bay) – Thursday night is my ode to Jame Beard and MFK Fisher. Thanks to the return of food critic goddess Laura Reilly to the St. Pete Times this summer, I no longer have to do reconnaissance solo. She turned me on to Jade Bistro, fusion Asian veggies so savory I must visit once a week,  sometimes weak kneed from the pad thai and sure to run into another gastro-posse there, like Luigi from Villa Gallaci (another fave).

Lately, I’m in love with anywhere I can sit at the bar, sip a glass of California Paso Robles Rhone or Spanish Rioja and chat (“no such things as strangers, only friends you have not met”). Top of my list is Bella Brava (lavendar martini), Middlegrounds (Mike the bartender has a wicked country band that plays Gators and Sea Hags, Wild Horses), Tapas Garden (Paula, mistress of wine and bon mots, keeps me in stitches), Slyce (gourmet pizza) and De Siesto prove worthy of the dining diva.  If I can force myself over the Horrific Howard bridge, I’m torn in a thousand directions, Seasons 52, Capital Grill, Wine Bar, Bistro Bleu and dozens of other untasted canapes on my list.

Once knighted, my night’s repast includes a good book (Tender is my new obsession) if no one convivial arrives before my entree. Dressed to impress, wearing my latest frock and bling just for me, I savor the menu, hoping for a few small plates (early bird at Tapas includes pate, baby filets so tender I crave nothing more than a green flash during my post-supper beach walk).  Dining alone is never solitary when you are accompanied by the gift of gab, an enticing meal and the feeling that this could be the start of something new. Email me your latest dining find at wisernan@aol.com

Ageless Minds, Timeless Bodies

By Nanette Wiser

We’re living in an age of Rodney Dangerfield. No respect for talent, upgraded skills, people savvy and work experience. Everyone wants three to five years which equals ageism. Everyone agrees–new social media skills, a digital marketing masters, adding Chinese to Spanish and English, fresh computer/web skills–just don’t matter. Playing Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” takes the sting out of the ouch for a minute. So does chatting with friends.

“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage,” wrote Anais Nin.  Life isn’t a dress rehearsal, and you can dance to your own drummer. When you see Marlo Thomas or Jane Pauley talking about mid-life changes, pay attention.  Did Van Gogh stop painting when he was shunned? Silence your voice and you destroy your options. “Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did,” said Mark Twain, who bravely journeyed the world filing newspaper missives for peanuts.

It’s not always about money, though you have to have enough sous to survive wisely. Recently, Florida loosened its tighty whiteys and allowed home-bakers to sell their sweetie pies to coffeehouses and farmers markets without a commercial kitchen. Bravo! I’d love to grab the 4-H kids at Extension, paint a schoolbus and travel neighborhoods selling their garden’s bounty, preserves and cakes/cookies/pies, maybe even offer soups/chilies/chowders from local restaurants with their menus, an edible Electric Kool-Aid acid test that proves eating locally, thinking globally can pay off.

Got a new idea, share it like the Japanese do at Pecha Kucha (chit-chat) ateliers, now percolating at http://studio@620.org on random Fridays. Age is just a number; creativity is timeless. And it will pay off. Share your Work Smart ideas at wisernan@aol.com.