Update: Click here to read about the October 2012 new menu items at Ciro's Speakeasy.
If you read my previous blog post on Ciro's Speakeasy, you'll know that I am a great fan of the "Prohibition Chic" nightspot. After hearing about my love of Ciro's, wicked paramour Sergio wanted to check it out as well. Twist my arm, Sergio - sure, I'll head back to Ciro's!
Ciro's was pretty busy for a Thursday night. Sergio and I ordered a drink in the lobby bar while waiting for a booth to open up. You can't go to Ciro's and not sit in one of the romantic, curtained-off booths. I was with a sexy, tattooed boy in leather and I was wearing snakeskin print stilettos -- a curtained booth was absolutely required for this evening!
We knew we needed a base in our stomachs before we started loading on the strong cocktails - so Sergio ordered the fabulous duck fries (French fries cooked in duck fat) with the accompanying three dipping sauces. See my previous blog post on Ciro's to see pictures of these little fried bits of heaven. As before, the duck fries did not disappoint. They had a crack cocaine type effect on Sergio - he was absolutely over the moon for the duck fries and the sauces. I'm sorry but I can only remember that one was tamarind ketchup, the other was my favorite chipotle maple gravy that is also served with the chicken and waffles. The third dipping sauce was white -- I think it was a garlicky aioli. Maybe I need to go back and read my previous post on Ciro's!
Man and woman cannot live on fries alone. Sergio next ordered the octopus and calamari. Now most restaurants have traditional deep-fried calamari as their appetizer. However, at Ciro's their octopus and calamari are grilled, covered with panko crumbs, feta cheese, tomatoes and kalamata olives. In other words, the octopus and calamari was heavenly. The seafood was incredibly fresh tasting and the Greek flavors lifted the dish up even higher. This was some seriously good seafood. I'm sorry to report that we were so busy enjoying the food that I didn't take any pictures of the food. That is a blogger sin!
I love, love, love the fondue at Ciro's, but Sergio is not a fan of hot vats of melted cheese. Oh Sergio, you're losing sexual appeal already! So if you're a fondue fan, check out the pictures of fondue in - you guessed it - my previous blog post about Ciro's Speakeasy!
While I was too busy gorging to take pictures of the food, I did take pictures of our first round of cocktails. I started with the "El Diablo" - a fruity ginger tequila concoction. Insanely yummy. I highly recommend it!
Sergio started with the "Safety Drink"- basically the drink you order when you don't know what to order, according to the cocktail menu! There was also a nod to Samson regarding this drink. There is a hot bouncer at MacDinton's Irish Pub and Restaurant named Samson, however I don't think Ciro's was talking about him. I set aside my budding desire to cut off all of Sergio's hair and instead took a sip of his drink. You should only go to Ciro's with people who don't mind you taste-testing their food and drinks. Actually, I've made it a lifestyle to surround myself with people who don't mind this - and who also don't mind me photographing their food and drinks.
When the "Safety Drink" arrived, Sergio was a bit put off by the old school champagne glass. I think it initially threatened his masculinity. But once he took a sip of this delicious drink, he found his cajones and got over the type of glass he was drinking from! It was also delicious, but I preferred the El Diablo more.
After my El Diablo was finished (in like 2.4 seconds - sadly!), I went on to have a London Fairy - a drink accompanied by absinthe. I have only had absinthe once in my life - onboard the Yacht Promenade - an amazing 65 foot trimaran and the world's best sailing charter in the British Virgin Islands. (You can read Captain Kerry's blog about Yacht Promenade here.) One of the Yacht Promenade crew members, adorably cute and ridiculously tall Richard from England, did the whole absinthe, lighter, sugar cube presentation. I felt decadent sitting on a gorgeous trimaran in the balmy BVI courting the green fairy of absinthe. If you ever want to feel like pampered royalty, spend a week on the Yacht Promenade. You won't regret it. I've done it twice and I wish I could do it every single year. It is the most amazing holiday. I found on that day in the BVI on the Yacht Promenade that I really enjoy absinthe, so I was happy that Ciro's had several absinthe drinks for my royal choosing.
The London Fairy was over the top delicious and I was tempted to order another. However, I'm a girl who likes to taste test, so after courting the lovely London Fairy, I then moved on to order a Moscow Mule - one of my favorite drinks. My friend JWS first made me a Moscow Mule. She saw the recipe on Oprah. Evidently a lot of people saw that Oprah episode because when I told a friend I had been drinking a Moscow Mule, her reply was "Ohhh Oprah!" Really? I seriously believe Oprah has branded everything! The woman owns the world! Sergio tasted my Moscow Mule and said "That tastes like a mojito." I gasped with mock horror and said "Ohhh nooo! It's so much more!" Perhaps the drinks were kicking in as I was getting much more dramatic.
At this point in the evening, Sergio was matching me drink for drink except his drinks were coming from the "Easy boy, that's a sipper!" side of the menu. In fact, our server Sing asked twice "Are you sure?" when Sergio ordered the Millionaire's Cocktail. I took a sip of it (and yes, it was also served in the old time lounge champagne glass) and I basically seared the inside of my mouth. I didn't realize battery acid was potable. Word to the wise - after many cocktails in a small romantic curtained booth at Ciro's, you really should not have the "what's the state of our relationship?" conversation. You should be kissing and flirting and enjoying. There really ought to be a disclaimer on the cocktail menu stating this. (Read my previous Ciro's blog post to hear more about the curtained booths.) If I knew Sergio was going to go all serious talk on me, I would have insisted he order a Coca-Cola instead of battery acid. Puh-lease, this is Ciro's Speakeasy - leave the intense discussions for some other venue!
Since the evening had taken a turn for the serious, I felt compelled to order another drink. And what drink was going to help me ride the rocky seas of Sergio's alcohol-inspired intensity? The Lychee Love Hotel, of course. When I was last at Ciro's, my less intense companion NL had ordered the Lychee Love Hotel and I indeed "loved" it. See a picture of the Lychee Love Hotel in my previous blog post about Ciro's Speakeasy. The Lychee Love Hotel did what I was praying it would do -- move the conversation off serious topics with my wicked paramour Sergio and back to just plain fun. Or perhaps at this point I was inebriated enough to not listen to Sergio! Either way, the Lychee Love Hotel was a good way to cap off the evening!
I adore Ciro's Speakeasy and I will definitely be back again and again. If you are in Tampa, go there - order cocktails, get the duck fries, the calamari, the fondue and the chicken and waffles and prepare yourself for a fantastic journey.
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If you read my previous blog post on Ciro's Speakeasy, you'll know that I am a great fan of the "Prohibition Chic" nightspot. After hearing about my love of Ciro's, wicked paramour Sergio wanted to check it out as well. Twist my arm, Sergio - sure, I'll head back to Ciro's!
Ciro's was pretty busy for a Thursday night. Sergio and I ordered a drink in the lobby bar while waiting for a booth to open up. You can't go to Ciro's and not sit in one of the romantic, curtained-off booths. I was with a sexy, tattooed boy in leather and I was wearing snakeskin print stilettos -- a curtained booth was absolutely required for this evening!
We knew we needed a base in our stomachs before we started loading on the strong cocktails - so Sergio ordered the fabulous duck fries (French fries cooked in duck fat) with the accompanying three dipping sauces. See my previous blog post on Ciro's to see pictures of these little fried bits of heaven. As before, the duck fries did not disappoint. They had a crack cocaine type effect on Sergio - he was absolutely over the moon for the duck fries and the sauces. I'm sorry but I can only remember that one was tamarind ketchup, the other was my favorite chipotle maple gravy that is also served with the chicken and waffles. The third dipping sauce was white -- I think it was a garlicky aioli. Maybe I need to go back and read my previous post on Ciro's!
Man and woman cannot live on fries alone. Sergio next ordered the octopus and calamari. Now most restaurants have traditional deep-fried calamari as their appetizer. However, at Ciro's their octopus and calamari are grilled, covered with panko crumbs, feta cheese, tomatoes and kalamata olives. In other words, the octopus and calamari was heavenly. The seafood was incredibly fresh tasting and the Greek flavors lifted the dish up even higher. This was some seriously good seafood. I'm sorry to report that we were so busy enjoying the food that I didn't take any pictures of the food. That is a blogger sin!
I love, love, love the fondue at Ciro's, but Sergio is not a fan of hot vats of melted cheese. Oh Sergio, you're losing sexual appeal already! So if you're a fondue fan, check out the pictures of fondue in - you guessed it - my previous blog post about Ciro's Speakeasy!
While I was too busy gorging to take pictures of the food, I did take pictures of our first round of cocktails. I started with the "El Diablo" - a fruity ginger tequila concoction. Insanely yummy. I highly recommend it!
Sergio started with the "Safety Drink"- basically the drink you order when you don't know what to order, according to the cocktail menu! There was also a nod to Samson regarding this drink. There is a hot bouncer at MacDinton's Irish Pub and Restaurant named Samson, however I don't think Ciro's was talking about him. I set aside my budding desire to cut off all of Sergio's hair and instead took a sip of his drink. You should only go to Ciro's with people who don't mind you taste-testing their food and drinks. Actually, I've made it a lifestyle to surround myself with people who don't mind this - and who also don't mind me photographing their food and drinks.
When the "Safety Drink" arrived, Sergio was a bit put off by the old school champagne glass. I think it initially threatened his masculinity. But once he took a sip of this delicious drink, he found his cajones and got over the type of glass he was drinking from! It was also delicious, but I preferred the El Diablo more.
After my El Diablo was finished (in like 2.4 seconds - sadly!), I went on to have a London Fairy - a drink accompanied by absinthe. I have only had absinthe once in my life - onboard the Yacht Promenade - an amazing 65 foot trimaran and the world's best sailing charter in the British Virgin Islands. (You can read Captain Kerry's blog about Yacht Promenade here.) One of the Yacht Promenade crew members, adorably cute and ridiculously tall Richard from England, did the whole absinthe, lighter, sugar cube presentation. I felt decadent sitting on a gorgeous trimaran in the balmy BVI courting the green fairy of absinthe. If you ever want to feel like pampered royalty, spend a week on the Yacht Promenade. You won't regret it. I've done it twice and I wish I could do it every single year. It is the most amazing holiday. I found on that day in the BVI on the Yacht Promenade that I really enjoy absinthe, so I was happy that Ciro's had several absinthe drinks for my royal choosing.
The London Fairy was over the top delicious and I was tempted to order another. However, I'm a girl who likes to taste test, so after courting the lovely London Fairy, I then moved on to order a Moscow Mule - one of my favorite drinks. My friend JWS first made me a Moscow Mule. She saw the recipe on Oprah. Evidently a lot of people saw that Oprah episode because when I told a friend I had been drinking a Moscow Mule, her reply was "Ohhh Oprah!" Really? I seriously believe Oprah has branded everything! The woman owns the world! Sergio tasted my Moscow Mule and said "That tastes like a mojito." I gasped with mock horror and said "Ohhh nooo! It's so much more!" Perhaps the drinks were kicking in as I was getting much more dramatic.
At this point in the evening, Sergio was matching me drink for drink except his drinks were coming from the "Easy boy, that's a sipper!" side of the menu. In fact, our server Sing asked twice "Are you sure?" when Sergio ordered the Millionaire's Cocktail. I took a sip of it (and yes, it was also served in the old time lounge champagne glass) and I basically seared the inside of my mouth. I didn't realize battery acid was potable. Word to the wise - after many cocktails in a small romantic curtained booth at Ciro's, you really should not have the "what's the state of our relationship?" conversation. You should be kissing and flirting and enjoying. There really ought to be a disclaimer on the cocktail menu stating this. (Read my previous Ciro's blog post to hear more about the curtained booths.) If I knew Sergio was going to go all serious talk on me, I would have insisted he order a Coca-Cola instead of battery acid. Puh-lease, this is Ciro's Speakeasy - leave the intense discussions for some other venue!
Since the evening had taken a turn for the serious, I felt compelled to order another drink. And what drink was going to help me ride the rocky seas of Sergio's alcohol-inspired intensity? The Lychee Love Hotel, of course. When I was last at Ciro's, my less intense companion NL had ordered the Lychee Love Hotel and I indeed "loved" it. See a picture of the Lychee Love Hotel in my previous blog post about Ciro's Speakeasy. The Lychee Love Hotel did what I was praying it would do -- move the conversation off serious topics with my wicked paramour Sergio and back to just plain fun. Or perhaps at this point I was inebriated enough to not listen to Sergio! Either way, the Lychee Love Hotel was a good way to cap off the evening!
I adore Ciro's Speakeasy and I will definitely be back again and again. If you are in Tampa, go there - order cocktails, get the duck fries, the calamari, the fondue and the chicken and waffles and prepare yourself for a fantastic journey.
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