Dough or D'Oh!? Datz Dough in South Tampa

Hello LilyOnTheLam.com Readers!

We might as well call this Desserts Week at LilyOnTheLam as this will be the fourth time I have mentioned pastries this week!  What can I say?  I have a sweet tooth!

If you are a South Tampa resident, you are probably familiar with the hipster gourmet mecca that is Datz.  In the past several years, I have watched Datz evolve from a deli to a gourmet market/wine bar, to a cooking lessons haven and now highlighting its basic components - a foodie heaven.  And I have loved every stop along the way.

However, I have seen the customer service and the food quality go up and down and up and down.  Sometimes I would have the best meal ever and other times I would be so angry with the poor customer service and lackluster food quality, I would swear "never again!"  

I have consistently hated the lack of parking - even with the nearby overflow lot.  I cheered seeing valet parking this past Saturday morning, but booed the $5 price.  But in good times and in bad, I have loved having Datz be a part of the South Tampa food scene because it set the bar high with decor, hipness and a variety of upscale food choices at reasonable prices.  Datz has made the food scene better just due to its presence.

When I heard that Datz had purchased next door Kalupa Bakery and was turning it into a bakery cafe called "Dough" I cheered.  I was eager to see how Datz would turn the aged building into another hipster must-see/must-taste place.

I made two trips in the past couple months to sample various different versions of Dough's pastries.  I have yet to dine off their lunch menu, but look forward to doing so.

Gelato from Dough

Dough Bakery Case

Dough's Donuts!

Second bakery case

Part of the cafe seating area - LOVE the decor

For Trip One, I purchased: a chicken pot pie turnover, a bacon maple doughnut, a chocolate snickerdoodle - and I think a rum vanilla cupcake - I just thought it was so cute I glossed over the actual name of it.

The chicken pot pie turnover was delicious - an extremely buttery rich crust with a small amount of chicken, vegetables and gravy encapsulated within the folded over crust pocket.  Unfortunately for my tastebuds, the crust was too rich and overpowered the small amount of filling.  I would have liked some shredded chicken and a drizzle of gravy on top to balance out the extremely buttery crust.  

The bacon maple doughnut was amazing - if you like thick slabs of bacon and pure maple flavor, you will love this doughnut.  I had three friends try this doughnut recently, 2 loved it, 1 didn't care for it.  So like a gum commercial - 3 out of 4 say you should try this doughnut!

Oh and did I neglect to mention the doughnut is filled with custard?  Delicious, rich, tongue tantalizing custard .... ohhh so good!  As the world's worst photo stylist, I have positioned the maple bacon doughnut against a large purse/small trunk ("steampunk style") made out of a ouija board that I purchased on Etsy.com.  I chose to do this because the maple bacon doughnut is soooo sinfully good, it's best to call some ghosts to protect you from the devil!

The chocolate snickerdoodle ... first, I have to admit that I am an idiot.  This will come into play later in my tale.  My absolute favorite molasses snickerdoodle cookie is made by D'Amico & Sons in Minneapolis.  (Second favorite D'Amico & Sons' item?  The turkey and dried cherries pasta salad with poppyseed dressing.  AMAZING.  If you're not near a D'Amico & Sons, make a version of the pasta salad at home with this recipe.  Perfect for summer picnics and barbecues- as long as you keep it cold.)  

Which by the way, in googling D'Amico's website for this link I just remembered that there is a D'Amico & Sons in Naples, Florida and yet I have never been there.  Argh!  Another road trip is needed (and a stop for carrot cake at Mel's Diner in Bonita Springs!)

OK anyway, I love a molasses snickerdoodle cookie - well the one from Dough is a chocolate snickerdoodle cookie, but looks exactly the same as a molasses snickerdoodle.  So even though I read the sign that said "CHOCOLATE" snickerdoodle, my brain and stomach were set on a D'Amico & Sons molasses snickerdoodle.  So when I took a bite of Dough's chocolate snickerdoodle-- all sweet with delicious chocolate chunks, I was disappointed because I wanted a molasses one.  That's like my friend Miss A saying that her Cigar City Brewing bread pudding tasted too much like bread.

So if you like chocolate snickerdoodles, the one from Dough is very good.  If you apparently suffer from brain trauma like me, you won't like it because you have somehow convinced yourself that the word "chocolate" means "molasses."

Last but not least was a rum vanilla cupcake.  The cream frosting on this cupcake was rich and decadent.  The cupcake itself a little dry.  My favorite cupcakes come from Sweet Tweets Cakery in Carrollwood.  Dough's cupcake was OK, but I prefer Sweet Tweets.

My most favorite item from Dough is not pictured above - cold brewed iced coffee from local Kahwa Coffee Roasting Company.  This is by far my favorite cold brewed coffee in the  entire United States.  If you're in the Tampa Bay area, you must go to one of Kahwa's cafes or any of the local places that serve their cold brew.  It's really delicious.

The customer service at Dough on Trip One was friendly but slow.  I had the urge to jump over the bakery counter and help myself.  The ladies at Kalupa bakery were a tad bit faster.  Too bad Dough didn't hire them instead of the good-looking, faux boho-hipster wannabes.  Listen, do angst on your time - let's make it more snappy on that cold brew, OK? ;-)

Trip Two to Dough - I was going to attend a small celebration of twin one year olds birthday and since Sweet Tweets didn't open until 11 a.m. on a Saturday which was too late for my needs, I decided to get a selection of pastry from Dough instead.  

I arrived at 9 a.m. and the skinny, young, faux Boho hipster gentleman serving me was either half-asleep, hung over or both.  He acted as if he was walking through rice pudding.  I started off saying I would be placing a large order and if he could get a large box.  I then requested two items from the first bakery case and he said "OK that's it, right?" in a pained voice.  Well no, that's not it - so after each item I requested he would ask a huffy, annoyed "OK that's it, right?"  Each time he asked he got more huffy.  I would have bought more, but I was afraid I would slap him or he would slap me if I asked for one more thing.  

Side note:  There were only 2 people behind me and they were being waited on by another employee, so it's not like I was holding up a line or being really slow.  The attitude was not justified.  

Gee, I am sorry that wanting to buy multiple expensive items is making you frustrated and annoyed, Mr. Sleepy/Hungover.  Maybe you should get a job that starts later in the day!  Take a page from the deli counter workers at Fresh Market and Publix and say "What else can I get you, today?" instead of making me feel like I am wasting your time by ordering more than two items.  I love Dough's hip cafe feel, but for counter service I'd like a lot less hipness and a lot more fast, efficient customer service.  Whatever happened to upsell, upsell, upsell?

I felt like Homer Simpson shouting "D'Oh!" instead of cheering "Dough!"  

Trip Two - bakery display at Dough

Trip Two - bakery  case at Dough

A Box Full of Treats!

Despite the bad attitude/lack of good customer service, I still managed to go hog wild with the selection of deliciousness - in the picture above starting in the upper lefthand corner - a maple bacon cupcake, a red velvet brownie, Dough's version of a Ding Dong, a mini carrot cake, 2 campfire s'more tarts, 2 of Dough's version of an Oreo and of course the maple bacon doughnut described in Trip One.

My fellow taste testers - Ms. LP and Mrs. KRG joined me in trying some of the items above.  Unfortunately we chose to do this after lunch, so we didn't get a chance to try everything.  Darn stomachs!  But here's the review of what we did manage to try ...

Dough's Version of a Ding Dong - chocolate cake, whipped cream-like filling ... this should have been amazing.  Unfortunately it tasted old and dried out - like it had been in the refrigerator case much too long.  I bet this would be incredible fresh, but all 3 of us agreed it was not good as is.

Mini Carrot Cake - Mrs. KRG is a self-proclaimed carrot cake snob, so I knew we would have differing opinions on the carrot cake.  Ms. LP liked it.  I liked the frosting and the large pecans along the side of the cake, but was confused on the actual cake part.  It tasted like spice cake with a couple long, stringy dried out carrot shreds thrown in.  It did not taste like carrot cake at all and it was very dried out.  Even the crushed pineapple in the batter did not lend it any moistness.  

Mrs. KRG did not like it, plain and simple.  I have had carrot cake at Berns Steakhouse and Ocean Prime - two of the more expensive restaurants in Tampa and I still choose the very inexpensive carrot cake at Mel's Diner in Bonita Springs as the best carrot cake I have ever had.  

Campfire S'mores Tarts - I was excited to try these because I had seen them profiled on our local TV news.  The tart shell is graham cracker.  There is a layer of chocolate ganache and a homemade marshmallow.  The marshmallow is bruleed and then the whole tart is put under a dome and a smoker is used to impart a smoky flavor.  Then honey is drizzled over the entire tart.  Watching the tv show I thought "Really? Does it need honey too?  That seems like too much."  

Our three testers were in agreement on most elements of this dessert.  1) We couldn't taste any smokiness whatsoever.  2) The graham cracker tart shell was lacking flavor.  To me it reminded me of a British digestive biscuit cookie and not in a good way.  3)  The ganache was good but extremely rich and there was way too much of it.  It overpowered everything.  4)  The homemade marshmallow was extremely fresh and very, very, very good - the best part about the dish.  5) The honey was overkill.  

A better tasting tart shell, a lot less ganache, bigger marshmallow, skip the honey and don't tell people you smoked it - and you'll have a winning tart.    

The rest of the treats were left for Ms. LP, her twins and her family - so I'll have to check in with her to get reaction on the remaining pastries!

I have heard via Dough's Facebook page that they are working on their own version of the croissant doughnut, so I'll be interested to see how they stack up against local favorite Piquant Epicure & Cuisine.

So for my two trips to Dough, there were some hits and some misses (D'oh!).  I do look forward to trying their lunch menu.  Their decor is like a French bistro mixed with a cotton candy dream and I love it, love it, love it!

I appreciate that the Tampa Bay food scene continues to evolve and that we have more places in line with a "big city."  I enjoy the decor and atmosphere at Dough, as well as its sister restaurant Datz.  I think if the staff at Dough check their bakery cases to make sure the cooling isn't drying out their pastries and to make sure they keep fresh inventory, their gorgeous desserts will taste as good as they look.  Also take the counter staff on a field trip to a large Publix deli and give them a lesson on speed, efficiency and cheery dispositions.  Trust me, your customers will thank you for it.    

July 20, 2013 Update:  Datz Dough has announced via their Facebook page that starting Monday, July 22, 2013 they will start selling their own version of the croissant doughnut in limited quantities.  If you try one of Datz Dough's "faux-nuts" croissant doughnuts, let me know what you think about it in the comments section below.  If you just have to have a croissant doughnut before Monday, read my review of Piquant's new guava croissant doughnut here.

Enough About The Croissant Doughnuts, How Is The Food? Piquant Epicure & Cuisine

Hello LilyOnTheLam.com Readers:

If you read my previous two posts, you will know that the croissant doughnut has made its way to Tampa Bay at Piquant Epicure and Cuisine in Hyde Park Village, South Tampa.  If you did not read my prior two posts, check them out here and here.

Just among my friends alone, my pictures on Facebook of crispy, huge, croissant doughnuts have sparked a near riot of frenzied doughnut-lust.  Since my first post, Piquant has gotten smart on their croissant doughnut distribution policy.  It still gets some exasperated looks and some customers walking out in disgust, but there's a lot less croissant doughnut-induced rage from customers than I saw the last time I was at Piquant.    

Part of the new policy, is that Piquant has created a new number system (get a number when you arrive so you can sit in their lounge area versus standing in line).  Orders are filled by number.  There is a four croissant doughnut maximum for the "first come, first serve" batches that appear at 8 a.m. and 3 p.m.  (July 2013 Update:  The walk-in maximum policy is now two instead of four - bring a friend when you go to buy croissant doughnuts!)  You can also pre-order croissant doughnuts in quantities of half dozen or a dozen, but your order may take several days to fill.  For example, orders placed this afternoon will not be filled until Saturday.  

Now I will say that Piquant's new policy has definitely made the croissant doughnut distribution less frenzied, however they still need to work on communication as the first counter staff person told me there were no croissant doughnuts available for sale from the 3 p.m. batch.  She also told this to a woman who had come ahead of me.  Luckily a waitress who had served me in the past came up, said "welcome back" and got me a number.  Also every person who came after me was given a number as well, so I don't know why the counter person was telling people there were none available.  

I arrived at 2:47 p.m. on a Wednesday and was given #6, which was actually #7 since the staff accidentally gave two people a ticket with #4 on it.  When my order was filled, there were only enough croissant doughnuts for about 2-3 people so some of the people in line were going to have unhappy stomachs.  

I must emphasize that these are not your typical doughnuts - they take several days to make and are well worth the hassle.  Trust me.  A woman in line said "All this for a doughnut?"  I said "Spoken like someone who hasn't tried Piquant's croissant doughnuts."  I must have said that statement with such intensity and confidence, because the woman clutched her number (which was ahead of my number) close to her chest and nodded with wide-eyed awe.  

In retrospect, I should have said "You're right - this is ridiculous!  You shouldn't stand for this!  Now give me your number and go home now!"  I really need to learn to be more cut throat in bakery matters.

The staff at Piquant boxing up the limited amount of croissant doughnuts at 3 p.m.

I have been telling friends, everyone who follows me on Twitter and basically anyone who listens that Piquant's vanilla creme croissant doughnut is the best of all the flavors.  Do you know what happens when you do that?  Everyone listens and the vanilla creme croissant doughnuts all sell out before Ticket #5 places their order.  I need to learn to keep my big mouth shut!  

Today I had four conference calls and three cancelled.  I had been to Piquant for lunch with a friend and of course they had no croissant doughnuts available.  So when my afternoon conference call cancelled, I thought I would run out and try to see if I could get some croissant doughnuts for the first person I became friends with in Tampa when I moved here nine years ago (a.k.a. Mrs. JWS).  Believe me, after hearing me babble for nine years she deserves a million croissant doughnuts.  But alas - Piquant has a maximum of four rule!

I was able to procure a sugar-coated; cinnamon sugar-coated and raspberry-filled croissant doughnut for Mrs. JWS -- however when the Piquant staff said that they also had Nutella-filled, I said "ahem - put that one in a separate box for me!"

Nutella filled Croissant Doughnut from Piquant

I am the world's worst food stylist, so now I just try to position pictures against backdrops that make me laugh-- like when I placed a sock monkey next to comedian Rachel Dratch's book or a Chinese dragon next to a grilled Italian slider.  So for the Nutella filled croissant doughnut, I have put it on a fish plate from Williams Sonoma on top of a beach towel with the print of Estonia national flag and a lion that I purchased in Tallinn - the Capital of Estonia.  I think the Estonians would love a good croissant doughnut, so really this photo is an homage to them.

Flaky and delicious! My croissant doughnut with a big Lily bite.

The nutella croissant doughnut - like all the other ones I have tried was fantastic.  It is my 2nd favorite next to the Vanilla Creme.  (Oh wait, didn't I say I was going to stop telling people that???) 

(Side Note:  I have tried all of Piquant's croissant doughnut flavors except the cinnamon-sugar one - which Mr. and Mrs. JWS said was their favorite of the ones I "allowed" them to have.  They should have a 6 foot framed and illuminated poster of me in their home for giving them croissant doughnuts!) 

But since croissant doughnuts at Piquant are in such high demand, let's talk about the food instead - since chances are not everyone who goes to Piquant will actually be able to get a croissant doughnut. 

When I arrived for lunch at Piquant, I received a warm welcome from the staff and was seated in a nice tall backed banquette.  The lunch menu had soups, flatbreads, salads, quiche, sandwiches and a nice variety of drinks.  Since I arrived early, I first started with an iced coffee.  They delivered it to me in a plastic cup which seemed weird for someone having a sit down meal, but it was quite tasty.  A sign said that they served local Buddy Brew coffee and another sign showed Te Bella tea.  Since I live very close to the original Te Bella, I appreciate supporting local Tampa businesses.

Because there were no croissant doughnuts at lunchtime, I needed something to take the edge off my pastry craving.  I asked if they had any almond croissants left.  There were none in the case, so our waitress went to see if there were any in the back.  She returned and said "No, but we have one chocolate croissant left."  I said "OK" and ordered that one.  Then she returned sheepishly and said "Um ..." and I said "Let me guess, no chocolate croissant either, right?"  She nodded sadly.  Why do you hate me, Piquant?  I sighed.  Evidently Jesus didn't want me to have any pastry.  

Both Mrs. JWS and I ordered the house iced tea.  WOW!  We both agreed that the unsweetened iced tea at Piquant is the best we have ever had.  Our waitress told us it was a blend of teas - she rattled off a bunch of flavors.  I think she said blackberry and peach or maybe it was apricot - I don't know, whatever the blend is, it was super tasty.  I'm going to have to bribe the owners at Te Bella or Chef Ricardo Castro at Piquant to tell me what that tea is, because it is so flavorful and refreshing.  Excellent!

Now in my first Piquant blog post, I had the bacon, egg and cheese baguette for breakfast - which was chock full of bacon and very delicious.  For lunch at Piquant, I had the Butternut Squash Salad - butternut squash, bleu cheese, dried cranberries, candied pecans and smoked chicken with a raspberry vinaigrette.  When people say you first eat with your eyes, they had this salad in mind - the blend of colors, the perfect diced ingredients - I took a minute just to savor its perfection before eating. 

This salad is the perfect blend of ingredients - smoky, rustic, sweet, salty, tangy and crunchy.  I also liked that if I went to every restaurant in a 30 mile radius of Piquant, I bet I wouldn't find another restaurant that had a butternut squash salad.  So many places fall back on traditional salads - caesar, Italian chopped, the wedge, chicken tortilla ... so to have a new flavor combination was really appealing to me.

Mrs. JWS had the Power Salad.  It normally comes with pulled chicken, but Mrs. JWS has gone vegetarian - so here is a picture of the salad without chicken.

The Power Salad comes with purple spinach, brown rice, avocado, feta, grape tomatoes, pulled chicken, chickpeas, roasted red peppers and a Dijon mustard vinaigrette.  Talk about another great flavor profile.  Mrs. JWS loved her salad.

I also had the "Puree du potage et lardon" soup.  With my 4 years of high school and 1 year of college French, I'm going to guess - pureed potato and bacon soup.  It was good and flavorful but too thick for my liking.  I wanted to warm up some evaporated skim milk and thin it out a bit.  But if you like really thick, hearty soups - check it out!

The lunch at Piquant was very good.  The service was sincere - there were a few hiccups, but overall pretty good.  The woman who I would assume is front of the house manager and Chef Ricardo Castro walked around the restaurant and checked in with the guests to make sure everything was great and that everyone was happy.  I love the decor - modern French bistro/bakery cafe.  To me, Piquant is like the Oxford Exchange without the pretension - just upscale, reasonably priced, delicious food with sincere staff in a great modern environment.

Candle-topped banquette

The Croissant Doughnut line

So whether you're looking for croissant doughnuts or just want to check out a great place to eat in Hyde Park Village, try the breakfast or lunch menu at Piquant.  I enjoyed the food, atmosphere and service and recommend it for your next South Tampa meal!

Nutella croissant doughnut on a BMW convertible leather seat - decadence at its finest!

P.S. What other bakery/restaurant has this ... SUPER COOL!

  
July 20, 2013  Update:  Piquant is now offering the Guavassant - a croissant doughnut with guava filling dusted in powdered sugar.  I, of course, had to try it.  Crunchy flaky croissant doughnut with a most amazing pure, not too sweet, very fresh tasting guava filling - incredible.  It tastes like a bite of Hawaii by way of Paris.  Give your tastebuds a culinary passport by checking out Piquant's Guavassant.    

Happy Monday! Cigar City Brewpub and Cronut-Style Pastry Love

Hello LilyOnTheLam.Com Readers:

Happy Monday!  How was your weekend?  I was super proud of myself this morning.  I had an 8:30 a.m. conference call but decided to start my work day at 7:30 a.m. to get ahead of the week before Monday officially came crushing down on me.  I was filled with the glow that morning people and the super-organized must radiate on an hourly basis.  

Then I logged into my computer and read some emails before turning to my calendar and realizing that my first conference call of the day was not at 8:30 a.m. but at 7:30 a.m.  I was now 12 minutes late for my first meeting instead of being almost an hour early.    Instead of being uber-organized, I was really slow slacker!  Harumph!  Not a good start for my Monday!

But after three back to back conference calls, I looked at my Twitter account and Piquant Epicure and Cuisine in Hyde Park Village had personally tweeted me to say they had a vanilla custard filled croissant doughnut set aside for me on the house.  Now if you do not know what a croissant doughnut is, you didn't read my last blog post.  So go back and read it ... I'll wait.  

Welcome back!  Now you know that a cronut/doughssant is a croissant doughnut and that I consider Piquant's vanilla custard filled version of a cronut/doughssant to be a gift from baby Jesus.  It is crispy, crunchy, flaky, buttery, sugary, creamy, custardy, smooth, rich, delectable and darn tasty.  If you like a well-made piece of pastry, you need to get yourself over to Piquant NOW.  And I mean NOW because ever since word came out that Piquant brought their version of the New York City cronut creation to Tampa Bay, pastry-hungry Tampa Bay citizens have been descending like zombies in World War Z. 

There's nothing like having a great Monday that suddenly turns into a sucky Monday and then finding out that a local bakery cafe has sensed you need a pick me up and tweets that they have free pastry for you!  Piquant, you are fabulous!

However since there is such high demand and I still have some of their fantastic croissant doughnuts, I do not want to bogart a pastry that a fellow Tampa citizen who has not yet tried a cronut-style confection could have had.  (Look at me, for once I am being altruistic!)  

I will be going to Piquant in the near future to try their lunch menu.  I plan on making a long Cher-style wig out of my black cats - no not killing them, just having them lay still on my head.  I also plan on wearing gigantic sunglasses so that no one recognizes me as THE Lily On The Lam.  It's very easy to camouflage yourself in a crowd when you have cats on your head.  Trust me.

On Friday, before seeing the hysterical comedian Josh Wolf at Side Splitters; my friends and I had dinner at Cigar City Brewpub in Carrollwood.  Now to be a little confusing, Cigar City Brewing and their tasting room have a separate website from Cigar City Brewpub.  I have included links to both webpages.  

Cigar City Brewpub gets major points for changing the decor of the previous restaurant - a TGI Friday's.  I walked in and it didn't scream "Hey, I used to be a TGI Friday's!"  The beer can light fixtures and barrel/cask detailing was very nice - modern and yet a nice nod to Cigar City Brewing's theme. 

I arrived first - I am trying to turn over a new leaf where I am promptly on time instead of always running in 5 minutes late with my hair on fire.  The hostess seated me at a booth right across from the merchandise case.  Evidently she knew I always love a good shopportunity.  

Also evidently, Cigar City Brewpub must know that I love a good tattooed, hipster brew loving man with a nice beard - as 2/3 of the staff seemed to be straight out of a Pacific Northwest skinny lumberjack-looking brewmeister facial hair enthusiast dream.  (Or am I the only one who has that dream?)  Not trying to be sexist here, but if you enjoy looking at handsome men with beards get on over to Cigar City.    

After staring at the male lumberjack wannabes, I had Cigar City brewing's cider to start.  I do not like overly sweet ciders, so I liked that Cigar City's cider was more on the dry side.  However the flavor components tasted a little flat to me, so I hope that they continue to work on their cider as it is a relatively new product in the Cigar City Brewing family.  Also it is important to note that Cigar City has a cocktail menu and wine, so if beer is not your thing do not despair they also have hard liquor.  

For an appetizer, I had the stuffed piquillo peppers - chorizo, manchego cheese and a very little bit of rice as the filling.  Usually with a stuffed pepper you get a lot of rice and a little meat, this stuffing was almost all chorizo.  I actually would have preferred a little more rice to cut the richness of the chorizo and the cheese, but hey if you love chorizo you have to try these.

For dinner, I had the shrimp and grits.  The grits were incredible and the sauce was beyond perfect.  However the shrimp were anorexic and the grits were topped with a gigantic pile of micro greens that were larger than the portion of grits itself!  In Florida, I am used to getting a bowl of grits as big as my head.  At Cigar City, I was served the tiniest portion of grits I have ever received in my entire life.  (And honey, I have had a lot of grits since moving to Florida.)

Because there were more micro greens than grits, I felt like I was eating a stringy salad with a couple pieces of grits as wet croutons.  I like cheese grits for the warm, creamy, cheesy mouthfeel.  The microgreens felt like you were throwing in chunky lawn clippings-- NOT a good taste sensation both in terms of texture and flavor.

One of my friends had been to Cigar City Brewpub a few weeks earlier and had said the menu was different and the grits were half the size portion that she had had on a previous visit.  Another friend said that the menu on the website had so many things she had wanted to try and none of those items were on the menu placed before us.  Obviously Cigar City Brewpub's menu is in flux and it doesn't seem like the pendulum has swung for the better.

Please Cigar City, get some better quality shrimp, ditch the micro greens garnish and give a better portion of grits.  Everyone knows grits are not expensive, you could afford to dish out a little bit more!  I feel like a Dickensian grits-loving urchin: "Please sir, s'more grits, please."

Three of us had the shrimp and grits, my other friend had the tomato bisque and the salad.  She loved, loved, loved the bisque but wished the crouton had been placed on the side versus half in the bisque as it was quite soggy when it arrived at the table.  She also remarked that her salad was bigger than all three of the shrimp and grits entrees combined.  (OK that's an exaggeration - bigger than two of them.  Ha!)  

For dessert, I had the flourless chocolate cake that has chili spices in it.  It came out topped with fresh blueberries.  The cake was incredibly rich with a nice bit of heat from the chili peppers.  The fresh blueberries were a surprisingly great combination.  But the cake itself was way too rich for my palate.  I would have appreciated half a portion the cake with a nice side of fresh whipped cream or ice cream.  (Less cake, more grits!)  There was nothing to really cut the richness of the cake other than the blueberries.  

My friends and I also wanted to try the maple bacon ice cream.  It comes out in a small espresso cup-style dish- very small scoop.  It was maple-y without being cloyingly sweet.  There was a piece of bacon on top and a slight hint of smokiness in the ice cream.  It was interesting to try but probably will not enter my repertoire of ice cream favorites.

Two friends had the bread pudding - one had the pineapple and Florida cracker ale bread pudding.  The other had the chocolate-cherry-raisin bread pudding.  They are both served in small mason jars.  Neither friend was impressed with the bread pudding.  My friend who ordered the pineapple bread pudding said that it was just too bready.  We then relentlessly teased her about complaining that bread pudding tasted too much like bread.  I offered to buy her dinner if she flagged down the Manager to say "This bread pudding is too bready."  She did not take me up on the offer.  However I did recommend she go to Duval's in Sarasota and have their to die for bread pudding which is made with homemade danishes instead of bread.  (Crazy good!)

The customer service at Cigar City Brewpub was top notch.  From the moment the hostess ran to open the door for me when I approached, I knew that Cigar City placed an emphasis on quality service.  I felt our waitress took the time to thoroughly explain the menu and make recommendations.  The runners brought our drinks and food out very quickly and the Manager stopped by to say hello and to make us feel welcome.  I was very appreciative of the quality and frequency of the customer service from all staff members with whom we interacted.  I feel like customer service has gone out the window in most businesses, so to have dinner on a busy Friday night and get A+ customer service is a blessing!

I feel that Cigar City Brewpub is still trying to get their culinary footing - are they Cuban tapas?  Are they urban brewpub?  Are they Cuban bistro?  Are they Southern down home cooking?  Are they elevated fusion cuisine?  On their snacks menu they had chicharones and corn nuts, but also asparagus in romesco.  I was craving a more brew pub friendly snack other than asparagus!  They should take a page from The Ravenous Pig - An American Gastropub in Orlando to see how good gastropub cuisine can be. 

If Cigar City Brewing could adjust their menu to be in line with their great customer service, I think Cigar City Brewpub could be a winner.  I'd like to go back to try their arroz con pollo two ways.  Overall Cigar City Brewpub had good atmosphere, excellent service and a nice selection of beer, cocktail and wine - I'd like to see their menu evolve into a stronger culinary statement but the restaurant is still relatively new and worth being patient with some menu growing pains.

P.S.  Unfortunately I was too busy chatting and having a great Friday night out to take any pictures of the food, so here's a freaked out picture of my kitten Chibby instead.  You'll see he has his talons extended - ready to swat me.

Piquant Has The Recipe For Anger: Tampa's First Taste of the Croissant Doughnut Sparks A French Revolution

Update:  Read about Piquant's new croissant doughnut policy and their lunch menu items in a follow up blog post in addition to the one below.

Hello LilyOnTheLam.com Readers:

Sixteen hours before this blog post was published, our wonderful local food critic Laura Reiley of The Tampa Bay Times announced the news that the croissant doughnut (also known as "cronut" or "doughssant") had come to Tampa.  This is a fantastic hybrid of a croissant and a doughnut.  

The cronut was invented by Dominique Ansel Bakery in New York City.  It stirred up an immediate frenzy and has been setting foodies on fire with lust ever since.  So much so that it was recently reported that a "crazed cronut fan" had threatened the Dominique Ansel Bakery staff! 

Now as someone who devotes a tremendous amount of her time thinking of food, dreaming of food and consuming food, I wanted to try a piece of this cronut action for myself.  But I thought I'd have to go to New York City to do it. 

(Side note: Even a flight to NYC does not guarantee you a cronut.  My friend Ms. LC flew to New York and went to Dominique Ansel Bakery in SoHo but sadly they were out of cronuts!)  

Now Tampa is not exactly the bakery trend setter of the world (although shout outs to Datz Dough, Pane Rustica and Le Mouton Noir Bakehouse for all being the stuff of my carb-filled dreams.)  So imagine my salivating lust when I read Laura Reiley's Tampa Bay Times article that Piquant Epicure & Cuisine in Old Hyde Park Village in South Tampa had developed their own version of a croissant doughnut.  

On Sundays, Piquant opens at 8 a.m.  I was there at 8:20 which for a Sunday is like 4 a.m. to me.  I am NOT a morning person, especially on weekends.  But I imagined that Laura Reiley's article would spark a firestorm of stomach interest and I wanted to get there before Piquant sold out.

A gentleman walked in ahead of me and waited by the hostess stand.  I walked up to the bakery counter, assuming this was proper procedure for ordering something to go.  A woman behind the bakery counter looked at me and walked away without saying a word.  The hostess went to the gentleman standing at the hostess stand and he said he wanted the last 4 croissant doughnuts in the bakery case.  She rang him up and again no one acknowledged me.  Had cronut/doughssant frenzy rendered me invisible?  

The bakery case at Piquant!

Then the hostess told the gentleman that they also had filled pastries in addition to the sugar ones but they were not finished yet - they were being filled with raspberry preserves in the back and would be out shortly.  The gentleman said he would like to buy one.  The hostess said that she could not sell him a croissant doughnut unless it was in the case.  She could not pre-sell any pastry unless you bought half a dozen or a dozen.  The gentleman was quite perturbed about this and just stood there in shock.  

Then the woman looked to me.  My invisibility cloak must have fallen off.  Because the gentleman decided to get a filled pastry, there was one lone sugar-coated one in the case.  (Today they had been offering cinnamon-sugar, sugar and raspberry-filled croissant doughnuts.)  

I asked for the 1 pastry, but because I was buying them for myself and a friend; I decided to "beat the system" and order half a dozen.  This was probably not the best thing to do as I stood right next to the previous customer.

The gentleman was like "What??? Wait, if people behind me all order half a dozen, does my one order get put aside or do I lose out?"  

A fair question.  The response was in my opinion, not so fair.

The hostess explained that because there were no croissant doughnuts in the case, the man did not have claim to any because he didn't buy the filled pastry.  Is this like old time real property law?  Is this a doughssant in fee simple?  I didn't pay a lot of attention in Property Law class.

This explanation was like waving a red flag in front of a bull.  The gentleman then asked if he sat at a table and ordered a filled croissant doughnut off the menu, wouldn't he then stake a claim to said cronut/doughssant?  By this time three women stood uncomfortably behind the counter, fidgeting trying to explain what they said was "The Chef's Policy."  At this point a long line of people had formed, listening to the outrage.

I felt like I was in Micro Economics class again.  (Another class I did not pay enough attention to -- whoops.)  What part of supply, demand and Keynesian economics was "you can't pay for the croissant doughnut unless it's in the glass case"?  The counter staff also started talking about how the pastry had to be "on the board."  They had wood planks as serving trays that sat in the counter.  I wanted to ask the counter staff if a pastry was in the glass case but not on the wooden board, would this be a case of voodoo economics and could I use the Gross National Product of Chile to pay for the doughssant?  But I was afraid the Counter Staff would ban me from Piquant for life!

I asked the counter staff if any more sugar non-filled pastry were coming out as I wanted my friend and I to try both and God forbid we actually share one.  (First world pastry problems!)

The woman behind the counter said "no," which I found hard to believe at 8:35 a.m. that they were already done for the day with sugar croissant doughnuts but who am I to argue?  I paid for my 1 sugar pastry and my pre-ordered 6 filled pastry.  And after I paid, out came 3 cinnamon sugar and 3 sugar croissant doughnuts.  I looked at the counter staff woman with a slack jaw of shock and disappointment.  She grimaced sheepishly and said "Oh I didn't know."  I wanted to ask her why she hated me.  I could hear people in line barking to try to claim the pastry in the case, but I was still in front of the register so I said "One more sugar one then!"  

The line of people were all grousing as if it was their God-given, constitutional right to get a cronut-style pastry.  The atmosphere building up around the waiting customers was definitely like Game of Croissant Doughnuts - I was waiting for someone to come up and decapitate me in the name of Winterfell.  I wonder if they served cronut-style pastries at the Game of Thrones' Red Wedding?

After paying for my pre-ordered croissant doughnuts, I went to sit down and wait for my egg, cheese and bacon baguette and afore-mentioned cronuts.  I was quite smug (OK extremely smug) watching the angry line of customers foam at the mouth and shout about the lack of pastry.  The remaining 5 croissant doughnuts that had come out from the kitchen were quickly bought up.  

The poor counter staff tried to explain how you could only buy a croissant doughnut if it was in the case and now said that they could not give any time estimate when any pastry would be ready.    

They apologized that this was only the second day they had this cronut-like pastry and they hadn't anticipated the frenzy.  (When Tampa Bay Times Food Critic Laura Reiley talks, everyone listens!)  The fact that they could not even estimate a general time window of when cronuts would be available was like throwing a Molatov cocktail on the dried wood branches of the waiting customers.  More fury, more bitchy comments to the counter staff.  A lot of ugliness for a bakery on a Sunday morning.

I watched two separate customers walk out in a huff.  This was a recipe for disaster, bad service and a bad reputation.  I surely hoped these croissant doughnuts were worth all the insanity!

To be fair, one of the customers who walked out wearing his huffiest of huffy pants had yelled "YOU SHOULD HAVE MADE FIVE HUNDRED!"  Like seriously, sir?  How about this-- you pre-order and pay for five hundred and I am sure Piquant would be glad to make them for you.  Let's be a little realistic with our zaniness.  Please!

As I sat waiting for my pastry, my bacon, egg and cheese baguette came out- a vision of loveliness on a crusty but easy to eat plank of French bread.  Delicious - I highly recommend it.  The bacon alone is worth the price of the sandwich.  Sooo smoky good - a thick slab of heaven.

Piquant's Bacon, Egg and Cheese Baguette at Sand Key Beach - check out all that BACON!

Then from the back comes two raspberry-filled croissant doughnuts on a board.  The woman sells them to the two men who had been waiting ahead of me who were not allowed to pre-buy them.  I could have been a colossal douchebag and demanded them because I had already paid, but I really didn't want to die at the hands of a pastry-loving mob.

The two gentlemen each bought a filled croissant doughnut and left but were still disgruntled and making comments on their way out the door.  

One of the counter staff comes over to me and asked me my name.  I said "Lily" and she jumped back and said her name was Lily too.  I was hoping sharing the same name would mean speedy pastry service.  BUT NO!

And side note - is this a ploy to make me feel better about the situation?  Had I said my name was Beulah, would the Piquant employee be named Beulah too?  I may need to test this theory.  I need a wig, fake glasses with a nose on them and a mustache ... and three chihuahuas.  Don't ask why. 

"The Other Lily" told me that she wasn't sure when my six cronuts would be ready and that the cronuts would "probably" be ready before they closed at 3 p.m. but if I gave them my telephone number that they would call me when the croissant doughnut were done.  I was shocked and asked "Just how long does it take to fill a pastry with raspberry preserves?"  

"The Other Lily" said it would take time to proof the pastry.  Now I am not a baker, but even I know that PROOFING a pastry means waiting for the dough to rise.  You don't fill a croissant doughnut before it is baked.  What happened to the ones they were supposedly filling in the back?  

"The Other Lily" said that the recently filled ones were going to the glass case to be sold to customers in line.  That pre-orders took second place.  WELL HELLO YOU DIDN'T SAY THAT WHEN I WAS IN LINE!  Grrrr ... disgruntled I was!  I didn't want to be like Mr. Huffy "Make 500 Croissant Doughnuts" Guy, but I was getting close to that level of rudeness.  (First world problems, I know, I know.) 

I thought I had beat the system by securing a claim to croissant doughnuts by purchasing half a dozen as prescribed ... but no, I had been suckered.  I should have brought a tent and just camped out in front of the bakery case.  What was it going to take to get a raspberry-filled croissant doughnut?   

Before I could set up a tent community of "Occupy Piquant," my look of murderous cronut wanting-induced rage sent "The Other Lily" scurrying back to the kitchen to double-check with the Chefs if there was anything they could do.  I was heading out for a beach day and could not be back before 3 p.m. to pick up croissant doughnuts that may or may not be available.  Really Piquant?  You expect me to sit by the phone and wait for your phone call?  Are you my next inconsiderate boyfriend?  Are you going to next try to borrow my convertible and ask me to do your laundry?  

By some miracle, "The Other Lily" came out with two boxes for me.  She looked embarrassed and said "I didn't know they were already done for you."  I was so happy to see the boxes that I just let my snarkiness over being jerked around for pastry go.  Just call me Deepak Chopra!  

Now let me tell you, with the exception of the older staff member who had taken one look at me and walked away without saying a word - the two younger counter staff members were as polite and courteous as they could be while trying hopelessly to explain and enforce a riot-inducing croissant doughnut policy.  So I am not going to kill the messenger and honestly neither should any guest.  The poor young ladies are just trying to do their job.  I thanked them both as I skipped out with bags of pastry and breakfast food from Piquant.  

But here's the thing - there was no longer a line when I left.  The croissant doughnut policy was making enemies and instilling bad feelings left and right.  Not a good public relations move for Piquant.  

(Although P.S. Piquant sold out of all their croissant doughnuts at noon according to a Tweet they sent me, so like a bad boy boyfriend who treats us poorly - evidently we just can't stay away from Piquant!  So maybe they don't need my pearls of wisdom on how to run their business!)  

Piquant's cronuts - the most delicious pastry that you MUST try!

    
Next to the inevitable question - was Piquant's raspberry-filled homage to cronut-style pastry worth all the ruckus, commotion and negative energy on a Sunday morning?  

Oh yessssssss.  

Still warm, crusty sugary outside, flaky layers inside with an amazingly fresh tasting raspberry filling, Piquant's version of a croissant doughnut was well worth the aggravation.  And like climbing to the top of Mount Everest, the intensity of the journey made me appreciate the sweet reward of the pastry even more.

Later as I sat at Sand Key beach working on my glorious tan, my friend and I ate sugar coated and raspberry-filled croissant doughnuts.  Talk about decadence by the seashore!  My friend nodded appreciation- she agreed the madcap adventures were worth the reward of the croissant doughnut and thanked me for retrieving them from Old Hyde Park Village.  

If you go to Piquant in search of a croissant doughnut, find your inner happy spot and get zen so you don't go ballistic and postal on the poor young ladies working the counter.  Please!  Their jobs must be hard enough working around such great food and not devouring it every minute of the work day.

(Side Note: at the time I didn't realize Piquant gave me an assortment of filled croissant doughnuts - I had vanilla custard filled, chocolate filled as well as raspberry filled cronuts in the box above.  My favorite?  Vanilla custard!  With flecks of vanilla bean, luscious custardy mouthfeel against the crunchy, sugary croissant dough - amazingly tasty!)

I will absolutely be back to Piquant not only for their croissant doughnuts but for the rest of their menu as well.  

Thank you to the Chefs of Piquant for bringing this New York Trend to Tampa, but please please please for the love of your customers and your counter staff could you come up with a better croissant doughnut purchasing policy?  South Tampa and all of Tampa Bay will be happier!

Even Chibby Kitten wants in on the cronut action!

P.S. Piquant tweeted me and thanked me for the constructive criticism and said they have taken it to heart.  What more can one ask?  (Free croissant doughnut?  Hahahhahaha!)  Do check out the pastry at Piquant, your belly will be happy you did!

P.P.S.  The next day Piquant offered me a free croissant doughnut!  LOVE!  But because of the high demand, I didn't want to be the selfish croissant doughnut lover bogarting all the top Tampa pastry - so I declined their very generous offer.  Thanks Piquant!  I'll be back to try your lunch menu!

Piquant Epicure and Cuisine
1633 W Snow Ave, Tampa, FL 33606
http://piquanthydepark.com