Sunday Bummer!

Happy Sunday LilyOnTheLam.Com Readers:

One of my favorite "Fancy Brunches" in Tampa Bay was the extravagant multi-station buffet brunch at Marchand's at the Vinoy in St. Petersburg.  (Read about my past brunch experience at Marchand's here.)

As we gear into holiday season, I have family guests coming twice in the next two months and I wanted to take them for brunch at Marchand's - because it truly is the best in town with some amazing seafood.  Well imagine my surprise when I went to make reservations I discovered that they no longer do the brunch buffet - only certain a la carte items.  I really felt like it was the end of an era in terms of "fancy brunches." Luckily, my second favorite Sunday brunch place in Tampa Bay (Oystercatchers) is still serving their fabulous buffet.

I read the reviews of Marchand's since they have been doing a la carte items - many reviewers shared my same thoughts - wanting the buffet to come back.  I assume it must not have been cost-effective, but I really wish they would return to their excellent brunch buffet.

Truly a Sunday bummer!

An Amazing Lower Carb Alternative! Cheesy Cauliflower Puree!

Happy Friday, LilyOnTheLam.Com Readers!

I hope you great weekend plans in store.  If you live in the Tampa Bay area, I highly recommend that you go to see "Legends of the Knight" a documentary by Tampa Filmmaker Brett Culp - playing one night only (Saturday, September 28, 2013) at the Tampa Theatre as a benefit for local charity Metropolitan Ministries.  Find out more about the film at WeAreBatman.com 

Although it was a gorgeous 85 degrees in Tampa Bay today, my stomach's calendar says it is autumn.  I have been craving comfort food but I've been trying to avoid a high carbohydrate wonderland.  The problem with trying to find alternatives to naughty comfort foods is that the alternatives rarely taste as good as the real thing.  For example, I like veggie burgers but I would never confuse one with a big juicy Angus beef burger in a blindfold challenge.  Same for tofu that is supposed to take like chicken, baked potato chips, margarine ... 

So years ago when I heard of pureeing cauliflower as a substitute for mashed potatoes, I was skeptical.  However food optimism runs deep, so I tried the recipe.  And was instantly sad.  It tasted like waterlogged, pulverized cauliflower.  It was definitely not mashed potato-like in any sense of the word.

Awhile back, I stumbled upon the blog "I Breathe ... I'm Hungry - Deliciously Low Carb and Gluten Free Recipes" by Mellissa Sevigny.  I made Melissa's low carb flax seed pizza crust recipe as the base of my Hickory Barbecue Chicken and Bacon Pizza and really liked it - even though I would never ever ever mistake flax crust for a thick chewy wheat crust.

While reading through Mellissa's blog, I also found a recipe for "Better than Potatoes" Cheesy Cauliflower Puree.  I thought "Mmmm hmmm, I've been down this road before.  Sure it's better than potatoes.  And I'm prettier than all the supermodels in the world too."  

There is a local deli in Tampa that makes Cauliflower Au Gratin - I used to eat it all the time thinking I was having a low carb option until I read the ingredients and found it had potatoes in it!  Well hello!  Why not just put steak in the tofu scramble then!  As you may have noticed, I have been burned by cauliflower in the past!  Oh the post traumatic stress of it all!

But since my stomach has been in a "it's autumn, fill my belly with some comfort food!" kick, I decided to try Mellissa's so called Better than Potatoes.  Reading the blog, Mellissa had noted that she microwaves the cauliflower to avoid the waterlogged taste of pureed cauliflower.  Ah-ha ... maybe she was on to something here.  

Now while this dish is low carb, it is not necessarily low cal or low fat.  According to Mellissa's calculations, it is 148 calories and 11 g fat for a 1/2 cup serving.  One head of cauliflower makes approximately 2 cups (4 servings).  It also contains - butter, cream and Kerrygold Dubliner aged cheddar cheese - but frankly not in ridiculous amounts per serving.  But if you're lactose intolerant, you should make some swaps.  

I microwaved a head of cauliflower per the recipe's directions (click on the link to be transferred to the recipe on Mellissa's blog) and then in my Ninja Blender, blended the cooked florets with butter, cream and chopped up bits of Kerrygold Dubliner aged cheddar cheese (I buy mine by the gigantic brick at Costco - much cheaper than the small overpriced tiny slices they sell everywhere else.)  I would recommend using a food processor to puree and whip the cauliflower, but my Ninja blender is pretty strong and was already on the counter.  The food processor was tucked away in the pantry closet.  What can I say?  I'm lazy.

My Ninja blender took a little while to turn the cauliflower, cheese, butter and cream into a heavenly batch of what looked like whipped potatoes.  I microwaved the pureed cauliflower after blending to make sure any pulverized bits of Dubliner cheese were melted and then whipped the "faux-tatoes" with a fork.  They looked good.  They smelled good.  But how did they taste?

FANTASTIC!  If I were eating whipped potatoes with cheese and this cheesy cauliflower puree in a blind taste test, I would definitely have to take a few bites to figure out which one was cauliflower.  I sprinkled some garlic salt and cayenne pepper in the cauliflower puree to give it a little more flavor and punch.  

I grilled a hamburger patty with Baby Bello (Baby Portobello) mushrooms and served it with the cheesy cauliflower puree and some sauteed green beans with slivered almonds that were too shy to appear in the picture below.

Grilled Hamburger Patty with Sauteed Baby Bello Mushrooms and Cheesy Cauliflower Puree

I was quite happy with my comfort food meal.  It is not diet food but it is lower calories and lower carbohydrates than if I had had a hamburger on a bun with cheesy mashed potatoes.  It was a tasty alternative.  I will definitely be making the cheesy cauliflower puree part of my regular cast of side dishes.  They are so tasty I could just have a bowl of them for dinner like Mellissa did in her blog post. 

If you are eating a lower carb diet and miss mashed potatoes, you definitely need to check out Mellissa's recipe.           

Get Your Museum Time On!

Dear LilyOnTheLam.Com Readers:

Looking for something fun and inexpensive to do this weekend in Tampa Bay?  Check out this link from StPete.org's Arts Alive on all of the museums offering free or discounted admission this Saturday, September 28, 2013.

18 Innings!

Hello LilyOnTheLam.Com Readers:

I am not the biggest sports nut.  I couldn't tell you the last time I watched a sports event on TV in my home, but I can tell you the unit of measurement would be in years if not a decade.  But I do like the enthusiasm of a live game - and I prefer the live sports in this order 1) Hockey, 2) Basketball, 3) Soccer, 4) People on Twitter arguing what Real Housewives franchise team they are on, 5) Mixed Martial Arts, 6) Boxing, 7) My Cats Chasing Each Other, 8) Football, 9) Baseball, 10) Javelin Throwing, 11) NASCAR, 12) Watching My Leg Hair Grow and 13) Golf.  

I used to date a guy who tried to make me watch golf with him.  His butchered body is now buried in the desert.  And I may or may not be joking about that.

My enthusiasm of live sporting games increases exponentially based on the amount of free team merch swag given.  If anyone out there has a Rays DJ Kitty Bobblehead they want to give me out of the sheer goodness of their warm, warm hearts; I would love you forever - or at least long enough to sing your praises in a post on this website.

This past Friday, the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team had an Oktoberfest promotion where they gave away heavy, solid, nicely logo-ed Tampa Bay Rays beer steins.  To my knowledge there were no drunken fans using the beer steins as weapons and if this is true, I salute all drunk fans everywhere!  Because these were formidable beer steins and would cause a lot of damage if wielded like a sledge hammer.  And sports fans who drink a lot are not always the most rational of thinkers.  

Determined to get my hands on a beer stein, I went to the Rays vs. Baltimore Orioles game with two friends.  Yes, I admit it - the actual baseball game was ancillary to my quest for a ceramic beer stein.  I won't lie and I won't be ashamed!  (OK maybe a little wee fraction ashamed, sorry baseball players!)

My desire for a beer stein inadvertently put me on a collision course with history -- in that at the end of the 9th inning, the Rays and Baltimore were tied 4-4.  My friend Ms. SC had happily departed after the 5th inning with beer stein in hand, but big time baseball fan Mrs. KG and I were in it for the long haul as she explained to me that in baseball the teams will just keep playing until someone scores ... no matter how many innings it takes.  Let me just repeat that - no matter how many innings it takes.  

I naively yelled out "COMMITTED!" as in committed to staying in our seats until the tie was broken.  But as we entered into the 14th inning, I was feeling less committed.  To me, nine innings is a lifetime -- so this long extended game was like me realizing I am a vampire who will NEVER DIE.  I felt like every batter was hitting pop flies backward.  I started tweeting messages about my arse screaming from sitting in the hard Tropicana Field seats.  

(Side Note: Follow me on Twitter.com @SouthTampaLily if you like to read snarky messages about The Real Housewives Bravo TV franchise and angry messages about who I wanted to win the Emmys!  @Cinnabon, @MargaretCho and a Twitter account devoted to Grumpy Cat follow me and you should too!  But if you're into shaming and chastising people who express their opinions, then don't follow me - save sweeping generalization holier than thou judgments for someone who wants to hear/read them.)

The scoreboard announced sometime around the 15th inning (I think) that this game had beaten the Rays' record for longest game in their franchise's history.  Mrs. KG and I high-fived in astounding glee.  Hello history-making event!  And I participated in this history making by sitting on my butt and eating a tasty beer-soaked brat with a big ceramic beer stein bubble-wrapped in my purse.

By the 16th inning, Mrs. KG and I kept eyeing each other - wondering which one of us was going to say "Let's stop this madness and go get pie at Village Inn instead."  I quietly said "Committed!" with a lot less enthusiasm than I had before. The crowds were getting smaller and smaller.  It was like Mrs. KG and I were playing chicken - which one would scream "Let's go - who cares who wins?" first.  

The game had started at 7:10 p.m.  Mrs. KG announced when the clock passed 1:50 a.m.  I kept staring the clock incredulously - how could it be so late and why were we still here?  Would this game ever end?    

I started looking for toothpicks to hold up my eyelids.  I was no longer yawning every now and again.  I was just doing one long yawn that lasted multiple innings.

Then finally slightly before 2:10 a.m. in the eighteenth inning, the moment I had been hoping and praying for finally happened.  The Rays broke the tie!  The Rays win!  We vaulted out of our seats and used every last bit of energy to scream, jump up and down and hug.  You would have thought we won the lottery - but really I was just excited that now I could go home and go to sleep!  

Unfortunately for the teams, the Rays and the Orioles would be playing again at 1 p.m. - less than 12 hours away.  The announcer joked that if you were attending the Saturday game, feel free to sleep in your cars.  I was so tired after working a full day and then watching an almost 7 hour game, I contemplated sleeping in my car.  

Eighteen innings - it was like watching a double header.  Mrs. KG, my baseball expert, said that some games have gone much longer than 18 innings.  According to Wikipedia, the longest game in professional baseball history lasted 33 innings.  

Let me just make it clear that if the Rays decide to break their now current record and play longer than 18 innings, I won't be there saying "Committed" - I'll be at Village Inn, committing myself to a piece of pie ... or a whole pie.  Or to a whole pie case.  Doing whatever I have to do to artfully demonstrate my commitment ... to pie.

But regardless of my fickle nature, congratulations to the Tampa Bay Rays for overcoming exhaustion and beating the Baltimore Orioles in the 18th inning.  I don't think I have ever been so happy to see a baseball team win a game!  It was a great lesson in dedication and perseverance that I would have truly reveled in, had I not been so sleepy!   

Thanks for a very long, but ultimately very satisfying 18 inning game, Tampa Bay Rays! 

Begging for Crumbs: Crumb & Cork in Downtown Tampa

Hello LilyOnTheLam.Com Readers:

Myself and two friends decided to check out Sunday Jazz Brunch at "Crumb & Cork" in Downtown Tampa.  Living close to downtown, I appreciate the growth of local businesses and want to do what I can to support them.  Also, Creative Loafing had a $30 certificate for $15.  I thought this would be win-win.  I was wrong.  Being a lawyer, I know my way around fine print and I had read the restrictions on the Creative Loafing certificate before purchasing it.  I wasn't trying to pull a fast one, ignoring the restrictions on the certificate.  But boy, did the waiter treat me like I was a dumbass.  Not what I am looking for with Sunday brunch.  

It says "Limit one certificate per party, regardless of separate checks."  That's fine - we're only using my one certificate.  Rule met.

It says "Not valid with other specials, promotions or discounts."  My friend had ordered the "$15 all you can drink mimosas with purchase of an entree" special.  We were told this could not be included.  That's fine - under the terms of the certificate, it doesn't say "no separate checks" - it says you can't use multiple certificates at one table.  So under these terms, I should have been able to have 2 separate checks and used the certificate for myself and my friend who was not purchasing a special on our check.  

However the waiter said that because all 3 of us were sitting together, we could only have 1 check if we used the Creative Loafing deal.  However if we didn't use the Creative Loafing deal, we could have separate checks.  That is not what "Limit one certificate per party, regardless of separate checks" means.  It's referring to the number of certificates you can use, not the number of checks.  

After politely arguing semantics with the waiter for 5 minutes, I gave up and did not use the Creative Loafing deals certificate - and between the three of us we ordered over $90 in food and drink.  I could have asked for the Manager, but I was so disgusted by the waiter's attitude I didn't want to work that hard to save $15!  

The waiter said condescendingly "you can just come back and use that certificate another time."  Then at the end of the meal, he actually brought a dinner menu over for us to look at for next time.  Needless to say, none of us looked at the menu - we were so put off by the bad experience.  I bit my tongue but wanted to say "Do you really think there will be a next time??"

Creative Loafing has a refund policy where if you request a refund within 90 days, you get a full refund back to your credit card on unused certificates.  I have already requested my refund because I won't be back to Crumb & Cork with their crummy behavior.

My philosophy is that if you're not going to honor your certificates, don't sell them!  If you want to put additional restrictions on your certificates that is fine if they are listed on the certificate - but the waiter was enforcing rules that were not listed.  Had I been dining alone, I would have just left and not given any money to Crumb & Cork.  

I saw a gentleman who looked like one of the owners pictured on the Crumb & Cork website walk up and talk to one table of people who apparently he knew.  It would have been nice if a manager or even the owner had stopped by all tables and inquire on customer service.  But not such luck!

However, putting aside the awful beginning, let's talk about the food, atmosphere, service and entertainment.

Entertainment:  Lisa Casalino was our jazz singer for the brunch.  She is a local jazz artist with a wonderful voice.  She also sings at Love's Artifacts, Eddie V's, Hula Bay, The Living Room and other local venues.  To hear her music and see her performance schedule, check out her Reverb Nation page here.  To see her website, check it out here.  A+ for entertainment.

Atmosphere:  Crumb & Cork is on the corner of Franklin and Madison next to the downtown Tampa Taco Bus location.  I like the corner windows, outdoor seating and one fantastic chandelier in the middle of the restaurant.  

However the walls are strikingly devoid of art and feel kind of "we redid an office with white and blue paint" feel.  The ceilings are so high, the walls are begging for some art or even some streaks of paint to break up the solid color.  

There is a small stage air with glittery curtain type material.  Personally I think it looked cheap and tacky - like an off the strip Las Vegas lounge stage - but I am not sure how they could have done it better on a budget.  It's not a deal killer, it's just not the swankiest thing to look at while dining.  There is some nice foliage decorating the restaurant but the big old fern on top of the drinks cooler has to go.  It was very "1970's ladies who brunch diner" feel.

Service:  Putting aside the Creative Loafing deals certificate fiasco, the service was OK.  Two of our entrees came with toast and when my friend asked for butter, our waiter looked at us like we had asked for a cup of diamonds.  We had to ask for water, but it was refilled in a timely manner - as were my friend's bottomless mimosas.  Our waiter could not remember who ordered what, which was a little off-putting since we were one of three tables in the entire restaurant when the food arrived.  But again, not a deal breaker - just not the best service in the world.

But most important (in my opinion) when evaluating a restaurant - how was the food and drinks?

Drinks:  One of my friends (Mrs. KG) and I ordered the mango bellini.  It was very sweet and perfectly clear.  I thought it would be a bit pulpy, but all in all it was decent.  My other friend (Ms. CD) liked her bottomless mimosas.  

For coffee, they have fresh-brewed Nespresso.  It was very strong, high octane coffee.  My friend, Mrs. KG, found the coffee to be too strong and couldn't drink it.  She said it was like a large cup of espresso.  I like strong coffee, but even I had to throw sugar and half and half into it to be able to drink it.  And I normally do not use any sugar or sweetener in my coffee.  No sweetener was offered - just one packet of sugar on each of our coffee saucers.  So if you like strong, rich coffee - this is for you.  If you're more Coffee Americano in your tastes, then skip it.

Crumb & Cork also has wine flights - but your individual waiter chooses the wine for you.  I can understand having a set list of selected wine flights to choose from - but the "you order and I, your waiter, bring you whatever I choose" struck me as weird.  Given our waiter's behavior, I didn't think he was also a sommelier.  They have beer, other wines by the glass and limited cocktails which I believe are wine-type cocktails versus liquor ones.

Food:  Mrs. KG ordered the bacon, egg and cheese croissant sandwich which comes with a side salad.  She also ordered a side of the "Artisanal Cheese Grits."  Ms. CD and I ordered the prosciutto-wrapped shrimp and grits.  I also ordered a blueberry muffin.  

The blueberry muffin was super huge and reminded me of what you can buy at Costco.  It was fresh and tasted decent, but I would have expected something nicer.  It's not hard to make fresh muffins.  I ate part of the top but then decided it wasn't worth the calories.

The 3 half-slices of dry toast were not necessary on an entree containing grits.  But it was very flavorful bread, so I did enjoy it.

The shrimp was cooked very well - perfectly tender.  My prosciutto was so thin and small that it was almost non-existant.  Ms. CD had a little more prosciutto on her shrimp than mine did.  The spice on the shrimp was perfect - a nice kick without going overboard.  Six shrimp on the entree was a fair amount and they were delicious.  They were A-/B+ in my book.  

Our table's views on the grits was unanimous - for something labeled "artisanal cheese" - we could not taste any cheese at all.  I was dismayed that the grits were a congealed mass that i could pick up as an entire disc.  Ms. CD found them to be lumpy as well.  I ate my grits with the shrimp, which was a nice balance.  But if you ate the grits on their own, there was no flavor.  They were not the best grits I have ever had, but they were also not the worst.  I would give them a B-/C+.   

Mrs. KG said that her croissant bacon, egg and cheese sandwich was fantastic and that her salad was very good as well.  My picture does not do the salad justice - it was simply gorgeous looking with sliced strawberries on top.  Mrs. KG's regrets were the coffee and the grits.

The table next to us ordered the bananas foster pain perdu (French Toast).  Out came gigantic plates filled with French toast.  I don't know how it tasted, but it was a huge portion and looked great.  None of the diners finished their French toast, it was so big.

The food and drinks were decent at Crumb & Cork, but for over $90 for brunch for three people before tip; there are better options with better food and better service in Tampa Bay.    

The snafu encountered when trying to use the Creative Loafing certificate was enough to cement in both my mind and my fellow diners', that we will not be back to visit Crumb & Cork again.  Which is sad, because I like to support downtown Tampa businesses.  If Crumb & Cork had some artwork on the walls, it would be a quaint spot to relax, have a drink and listen to some jazz.  

However given my experience there, I'd rather hit other downtown Tampa locations, such as the bar at Malio's, nearby Paninoteca Cafe, Fly Bar and Restaurant, the swanky bar at Anise Gastrobar or Taps Bar and Lounge than go back to Crumb & Cork. 

Sept 23 Follow Up Note:  Creative Loafing Deals promptly refunded my unused certificate price in full.  Then an extremely nice representative gave me a customer service call with an additional credit for the trouble.  Crumb & Cork needs to take their service cue from Creative Loafing Deals.  I buy most of my certificates through CLDeals.com versus Living Social or Groupon because of their quality of service.  Thanks CL Deals!  Much appreciated!

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream For ... Turkey Legs!

Hello LilyOnTheLam.Com Readers:

Today's post is inspired by and dedicated to my Mother.  She is basically the living embodiment of "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" - where the person looks younger and younger the older they get.  I went to visit my family last month and my Mother looked like she was 19.  I suspect that she will look like a fetus by the time I see her for the holidays.  I did not inherit this reverse aging trick and I am very bitter about it.

Inbetween feeling bitter, I was watching a rerun of "Dinner Impossible" - the "Disney Dinner Dash" challenge.  One of the dishes Chef Robert Irvine, the inspirational Chef Jeff Henderson and their team made was Smoked Turkey Legs with Greens (collard greens and spinach).  When I was young, my Mother would make pots of fresh greens - usually mustard greens.  Having a very immature and xenophobic taste palate, I would run screaming from the wilted down pot of fresh grown green things.  Hand me some French fries instead!  I honestly don't think I ever even tried my mother's cooked greens.

When I moved to Florida, I was exposed to more "Southern" style cuisine - true, amazing, wonderful Southern cooking.  My first soul food style favorite restaurant in Tampa was a place that is no longer open - the wonderful Lincoln Heights Bistro.  (Read more about it here.)  It was at Lincoln Heights Bistro that I first tried Chef Dawn Algieri's collard greens.  I had ordered a "meat and three" plate and just for the heck of it ordered collard greens.  Well it was like my tastebuds woke up and slapped me.  These collard greens were amazing!  I quickly became a diehard collard greens fan.  Since that first bite of collard greens, I have had some great collard greens and some not so great collard greens.  

I cook a healthy copycat version of Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana soup with a 1/3 collard greens to 2/3 kale ratio, however I have never made just traditional style soul food collard greens studded with meat.

So there I was watching "Dinner Impossible" and seeing the big succulent turkey legs with greens.  It was then that I decided I wanted to try making traditional Southern Soul Food-style collard greens.  Online there are many recipes where the collard greens are cooked with smoked turkey wings, but I wanted to use a big smoked turkey leg. 

My mother never met a smoked turkey leg she did not like - Renaissance festivals, Disneyland, Minnesota State Fair - she's had smoked turkey legs at all of them.  When I last visited my Family in August 2013, we went to the Minnesota State Fair.  My Mother had salmon and roasted corn on the cob.  As we were getting ready to leave the fair, I teased my Mother that I couldn't believe she was leaving the Fair without having a smoked turkey leg.  She looked torn - could she actually leave without a turkey leg?  I turned around and Miss Benjamin Button had run off to buy a turkey leg to take home.  The woman loves her smoked turkey legs.  

I found a great sounding recipe at DivasCanCook.com for collard greens cooked with a smoked turkey leg.  The recipe seemed pretty simple - onions, garlic, crushed red pepper, chicken stock, collard greens and a smoked turkey leg.  But then it hit me - where could I purchase a big, deliciously smoked turkey leg?  The Minnesota State Fair was 11 1/2 months away!  

To the internet I searched and I found that many people in Tampa Bay think the best smoked turkey legs are from a food truck called "Ice Cream's Delicious Turkey Legs and BBQ" in the Seminole Heights area.  Ice Cream's Turkey Legs?  What??  The name made me think of those "Drumstick" novelty ice cream cones, not of turkey. 

When I was in high school, I worked for a restaurant in Minnesota called "The Italian Pie Shoppe and Winery."  About once a week, someone would come in, look around and sigh in disappointment.  They thought "Italian Pie Shoppe" was a bakery, when in fact "Italian Pie" referred to "Pizza Pie."  Even though we were not a bakery, the passer-bys would then ask what kind of desserts our restaurant served.  They would ask in desperate hope that we had some little old Italian Grandmother chained to the back stove making Italian desserts.  

I'd shake my head with mock regret and sadness, shrug my shoulders and say the only dessert we sold was mudslide ice cream pie.  Hardly an Italian specialty and we bought it pre-made.  While we disappointed Italian dessert lovers on a regular basis, the Italian Pie Shoppe pizza was and still is incredibly delicious.  (My favorites - the Italian Fries and the Deep Dish Pizza).  If you're in Minnesota, check them out - just give the hostess a break and don't ask if the restaurant is a bakery. (Please!)

When I first read about Ice Cream's Turkey Legs and the confusion that many people thought it was an ice cream truck, I thought about every time I had to apologize that The Italian Pie Shoppe was not a bakery.  I wonder how many times "Chef Ice Cream" - the owner of the truck -- has been asked for ice cream.  I assume the Chef's name is like Ice-T or Ice Cube, but who knows maybe his name is Ice Cream on his birth certificate!

Ice Cream's Delicious Turkey Legs and BBQ is located on N. 22nd Street in Seminole Heights, two blocks south of Hillsborough Avenue, between Hillsborough and Osborne.  Yelp.com lists its location as 5112 N. 22nd Street.  I didn't see any building numbers, so look for a meat market and a T-shirt company; Ice Cream's is a small food truck near them.

Sign next to the lot where Ice Cream's Delicious Turkey Legs and BBQ Food Truck is located

Turkey Leg Food Truck of Deliciousness

The Yelp.com listing for Ice Cream's Delicious Turkey Legs is partially incorrect when it comes to operating hours.  It says Ice Cream's Delicious Turkey Legs is open Wed - Sunday 11:30 a.m. - 6 p.m.  This is incorrect.  Ice Cream's Delicious Turkey Legs is open every day according to Chef Ice Cream himself.

I arrived at 11:30 a.m. thinking I could order some smoked turkey legs for my collard green recipe.  However I was told that smoked turkey Legs are not available until after 1 p.m. every day.  You should have seen my sad face!  Before Daylight Savings time, Ice Cream's closes between 6-6:30 (except for Sundays when they close between 5-5:30).  During Daylight Savings time, Ice Cream's closes between 5:30 - 6 p.m.  

So if you're looking for turkey legs, don't come by before 1 p.m. or you'll be sadly disappointed like I was.  

Other items on Ice Cream's Delicious Turkey Legs and BBQ  menu include - barbecue ribs, barbecue chicken, baked beans, potato salad, sweet potato pie, bottled water and drinks.  On Thursday and Friday, Ice Cream's also sells collard greens with a generous smattering of smoked turkey pieces throughout.  Also on Thursday and Friday, a cheesy, hearty macaroni and cheese is available.  But bring cash - because that's all they accept.  

I had a lot of afternoon conference calls, so I wasn't able to get back to Ice Cream's until 3:30 p.m. - and can you believe at this off time I was the 5th person in line?  That's how good these smoked turkey legs are- people are lining up even at the "off hours."

The air around the food truck was seasoned with the most delightful smoky aroma.  I just wanted to stand there and sniff all day.  So delicious smelling!

My original plan was to come to Ice Cream's Delicious Turkey Legs and BBQ to buy one turkey leg to use in my DivasCanCook.Com Southern Collard Greens with Smoked Turkey Legs recipe.  Yes, that was the original plan.  But standing in line in front of Chef Ice Cream's food truck eagerly inhaling the wonderful scents, I decided I needed a smoked turkey leg, collard greens and mac and cheese for dinner.  This would be in addition to a turkey leg that I would use to make my own collard greens later this weekend.    

Chef Ice Cream packaged up a side of collard greens and macaroni and cheese for me.  Then he handed me these two large bags - one smoked turkey leg in each.  I asked for barbecue sauce on the side versus on the turkey leg.  Chef Ice Cream asked me if I'd like a little braising liquid with the turkey leg.  I said "Yes, please!"  The bags were packed so mightily I wondered what was all in there!

When I arrived home, I peered inside the bag.  The bottom of the bag was lined with newspaper with a double foil wrapped turkey leg, a plastic bag with two pieces of white bread, a side of barbecue sauce, paper towels for napkins and a plastic fork.  

What's In The Bag?

Chef Ice Cream said the reason why the turkey legs are not ready until 1 p.m. each day is because he wants them so tender that you eat it with a fork as it falls off the bone.  And he was right - this was the most tender smoked turkey leg I have ever eaten.  Smoky, flavorful, not salty, tender and extremely delicious.  The internet was right - these are the best smoked turkey legs in Tampa Bay!

A Fred Flintstone sized turkey leg - smoky, tender and incredibly flavorful

My kitten (Chibby) could smell the smoky goodness and started crying for a taste.  I gave him a piece of the tender meat and he gave me a look of total adoration.  Spoiled kitten!

I stood in my kitchen greedily peeling off pieces of tender, smoky turkey and slowly letting them melt in my mouth.  Soooo delicious.  I then turned to the packages of collard greens and macaroni and cheese.  When I opened the collard greens, I thought "why am I making my own - these collard greens look amazing!"

Chef Ice Cream's collard greens are the perfect texture with large shards of smoked turkey and the right amount of "pot likker/pot liquor" cooking liquid.  The greens themselves tasted like they were smoked.  I've never had collard greens that tasted quite like these.  I enjoyed dipping the white bread in the pot likker.  Side note: did you know that according to Wikipedia, pot likker contains iron and vitamin C?    It also contains a lot of Vitamin K, which aids in blood clotting.  I am interested to see how the DivasCanCook.com recipe compares to Chef Ice Cream's collard greens.  I can't believe they are only available on Thursdays and Fridays!  I'll have to stock up!

There was enough smoked turkey in the collard greens for me that I almost didn't need the turkey leg.  I have a lot of turkey leg left, but I will gladly use that for my own collard greens recipe.  The macaroni and cheese is very hearty and a very large portion.  I like to take about 1/3 of the mac and cheese and mix it with the full portion of collard greens - makes a delicious and satisfying meal.

  
I have lived in Tampa Bay for almost 10 years, but it took a rerun of "Dinner Impossible" and a fondness for my mother's love of smoked turkey legs to propel me into finding the best smoked turkey legs.  I am very glad I found the quizzically named but ever so fantastic Ice Cream's Delicious Turkey Legs and BBQ.  If you are in the Tampa Bay area, I highly recommend you check them out!



    

And That Takes The Cake!

Hello LilyOnTheLam.Com Readers:

How is your weekend going?  I am always amazed at how quickly weekends pass by and how slowly work days move.  Yesterday, I was at a 2 year old's birthday party.  I know, I know - I have the social life of a young Paris Hilton.  

Years ago, when one of my friends had her eldest daughter, I was inadvertently exposed to "The Wiggles."  I speak of this event like an outbreak type contagion, because it's knowledge I didn't want and I didn't feel the same afterward.  The Wiggles are four Australian men driving around in a big red car singing songs for children, I guess.  

It reminded me of the Orange Mocha Frappuccino "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go" male supermodels in a Jeep scene from the movie Zoolander.  But these Wiggly men were laughing all the way to the bank and now I guess there are 3 new Wiggles because I suspect 3 of the original members are doing backstrokes in swimming pools filled with cash.  

So now years later, I found myself in a friend's backyard as she transformed her pool area into a Wiggles-themed shangri la for her son's birthday party.  Even I, with my cold, dead heart, had to be impressed with all the play stations coordinated with Wiggles member activities.  The kids loved it and had a great time.

However the key to my heart is not finding Jeff the Wiggles member who apparently gets lost ... the key to my heart revolves around cake.  The birthday boy's family friend and owner of CakesOfStyle.com outdid herself with this amazing "Big Red Car" Wiggles cake complete with singing Wiggles members with audio headsets.  

Created by CakesOfStyle.com

Created by CakesOfStyle.com

The cake was chocolate with vanilla frosting filling and incredibly delicious!  Some people may weep to see such a beautiful cake chopped into pieces, but when it comes to cake I say "let me at it!"

The birthday boy's Mom saved the most creative parts - The Wiggles themselves.

   

A fun party with terrific weather (we somehow managed to escape the summer Florida rains) and a gorgeous, tasty cake from CakesOfStyle.com - now that's what I call an excellent birthday whether you're 2 years old or 102 years old!

It Takes Guts To Make A Difference

Hello LilyOnTheLam.Com Readers:

I'm ready for the weekend to begin, how about you?  On Thursday, I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off writing presentations and putting out corporate "fires" that in the grand scheme of things are really not emergencies at all.

By mid-afternoon, I finally came up for air - and a chicken salad sandwich.  I turned on the local news and there was a press conference about a 12 year old girl in nearby Lakeland, Florida who appears to have committed suicide by jumping off a building.  Investigators claim that over a year of bullying appears to be cause behind the apparent suicide.  

World Suicide Prevention Day was just the other day -September 10.  My Twitter feed had been full of messages about how to read the signs and how to help people who are contemplating suicide.  And now barely 2 days later, my local news is talking about a suicide of a child.  Twelve years old.  

I remember seeing my first arena rock concert at age 12 and feeling so grown up.  But twelve years is a blink of an eye.  Today is my 8th anniversary working at my place of employment - my longest job with the same company.  And even that seems to have gone by so quickly.  So to think of a twelve year old looking down from the roof of a building and feeling like death was her only solution.  I mourn for the situation as well as the loss of a life barely led.

In addition to bullying - cyber and in person, many children and young adults are faced with "adult" situations.  I was first offered marijuana when I was nine years old.  Although I came from a drug and alcohol free home, growing up in low income housing there were many addicts in my neighborhood.  I remember thinking to myself way back then "I am nine years old, I can't smoke pot!  What would be next?"  I didn't want to turn into the strung out people with dead eyes that I saw every day on my way to and from elementary school.  

I consider myself lucky that I made that choice so many years ago.  But I had friends that were not as fortunate in their childhood.  If you're a regular reader of LilyOnTheLam.com, you may remember that I wrote a post about actress Kristen Johnston's book "GUTS" - an amazing book about life, humor and addiction that should be mandatory reading for all young adults.  It should be given to you with your driver license application.  It should then also be given to you again freshman year of college.  And then in your mid-20's when you're torn between being an adult and still wanting to party.  And then in your 30's ... I could go on and on and on ... 

Kristen Johnston has teamed with SLAM (Sober Learning and Motivation) to raise funds to build New York's first sober high school via GUTS t-shirt sales.  You can purchase GUTS t-shirts here.  

I feel sorrow for the young girl who apparently took her life today and for the pain her family is going through - but feeling sad doesn't help change what happened or prevent bullying.    However I do feel like my contributing money (via a t-shirt purchase) to SLAM is "doing something" to help children and young adults.  I read a great post by Veronica Valli entitled "Why We Need Sober High Schools."

There are many things people can do to help children and young adults - communication, volunteering, contributing to organizations who help -- whether you have children or not, there is always something individuals can do to make things better.  I hope more people take up the cause and I hope less children see their only escape through suicide, drugs or alcohol.

Resources:

Suicide Prevention Services: Crisis Center of Tampa Bay

Anti-Bullying:
Anti Bullying Network

And the slow crawl toward global domination continues ...

Hello LilyOnTheLam.Com Readers:

If you read my last post, you'll know that I gave up Facebook and am now overcompensating by Tweeting every random thought in my wee, little head.  

(Twitter.com @SouthTampaLily - follow me, people!)  

Social Media Addiction is not a pretty mistress.

I feel like the last 12 months have been all about seeing where I randomly pop up - I've been on TV a couple times, in a couple online newspapers and my Tweets have made several social edition episodes on Bravo TV.  All without any pre-planning on my part.  

I went to my "aloe shake guru" and he said "Hey I saw you on TV."  I just brushed it off with a "well of course you did" in mock celebrity pretentiousness.  (Ha ha!)

I think my shining moment of my budding vapid social media presence was when The Biggest Loser Trainer Jillian Michaels retweeted me to her almost 1 million followers.

I am like a J-list celebrity (many levels below a "D List" celebrity).  But then what can you expect from a woman who has been in several Malaysian and regional Asian newspapers?  (It's true, I have!)  

So perhaps I shouldn't have been so surprised to hear one of my Tweets was mentioned on an internet live streaming talk show ("The Gina Show" starring Gina Cutillo).  Check it out at the 15:58 mark at the link here.

Being an American well-versed in how fluffy-headed our reality entertainment reporting is, my Tweets are just as empty-headed.  However they make me and many other people laugh ... so why not?

On this day - September 11, 2013 - a very sad day in American history, it seems like the air is thick with emotion.  My work schedule has kicked into flaming overdrive.  I started this morning feeling like someone had bubble-wrapped me in layers of STRESS and RAGE.  My emotions were so intense that I had to force myself to step back and take a moment to collect myself.  

It was in that moment I discovered that my Tweet was on The Gina Show.  I just started laughing at the silliness of it all - and in that moment, the intense emotions slid away.  I've written posts about how to cope in the face of inexplicable tragedy before.  (See In Times of Sorrow, Take Action and The Wise Guy Diaries Thought Provoking Blog Post).  But overall on September 11, I hope that people are not wrapping themselves up in sorrow, anger and pain.  I hope instead that people are looking at ways to channel their emotion into positive action.  Or at the very least, I hope people who may be sad today are also taking time to laugh, love and be happy.  We honor the dead best when we are enjoying every moment of our lives.

Happy Wednesday, my dear readers.  Thank you for being a part of my tiny corner of the internet.

  

Social Media Detox - Almost 2 Months Without Facebook And Still Holding Strong

Hello LilyOnTheLam.Com Readers -

Well it's been almost 2 months since I deactivated my Facebook account (read more about the origins of this here).  At the time I deactivated it, I had serious concerns about whether I could break the Facebook "habit."  I have friends and acquaintances all around the world and Facebook was my primary mode of keeping in touch.  When I entertained, all invites were on Facebook.  And like any good addict, I dutifully checked Facebook several times a day.  It was a massive time suck and to be honest it seemed to invite a lot of negativity.  Neither of which is a win-win in my book.  

I felt that many times in innocently posting a Facebook status sharing what I was doing in my life, the status could be misconstrued as bragging or boasting.  I travel a lot.  I enjoy a great social life - and in sharing what is going on in my life, I felt like I was also opening the door to a lot of negativity in responses.  

A Facebook friend of a friend of a friend (six degrees of LilyOnTheLam?) posted some racist comments and insults toward me and I thought "Really?  I am choosing to spend my time on a social medium that allows such hate into my life? REALLY?"  

People who wanted me to stay on Facebook told me I should just unfriend certain people and edit my news feed so I wouldn't see other people.  But frankly that just seemed like a lot of work for what end? I guess in my old school mentality I didn't see why you would want to be Facebook friends with a bunch of people and then hide the news feeds on some of them.  There were also other events that led to my decision to deactivate Facebook and I have to say once I did it, I felt like a burden had been lifted.

After the first couple days, the Facebook habit was successfully broken and I felt very good about my decision.  Friends and acquaintances were not so happy with the outcome.  I received a lot of flack about no longer being on Facebook and demands that I reactivate my account.  Even though I have 3 email accounts (work, website and personal), a cell phone, a telephone landline (required by work - sigh- money out the window), a website (LilyOnTheLam.com of course), a business networking site account, a Twitter account (@SouthTampaLily) and of course a good old-fashioned snail mail address, evidently people required that I be on Facebook.  

However at heart I have the mentality of a grumpy toddler or even a petulant teenager.  If you tell me that you don't have time to read LilyOnTheLam.com or get a Twitter account and that I must rejoin Facebook so you know what I am doing 24-7, via reverse psychology I become more obstinate in not wanting to rejoin Facebook.  Definitely that foot stomping "You're not the boss of me!" attitude that screams maturity - ha ha!  

I had one person text me 4 times in the first 3 weeks I deactivated, pestering me about rejoining Facebook.  I wanted to text back "You haven't texted me 4 times in the past 3 years and now 4 texts in 3 weeks?  Why is this issue so important to you?"  But I didn't - I explained why I wasn't rejoining the first 3 times I was texted. On the fourth, I stopped responding.  Dead horse, beaten. 

The difficult part in quitting Facebook for me turned out to be three things:

1)  Many people thought I personally unfriended them on Facebook versus deactivating my entire account.  I had at least 15 people contact me asking if I had unfriended them.  Which I was glad that they asked so I could correct their incorrect assumption.  I have to imagine that somewhere out there- there is a group of people who automatically assumed I unfriended them and instead of asking me about it are making voodoo dolls in my image.  (Stop sticking me with pins!)    

2)  I stopped keeping track of when people's birthdays were because I would see it on Facebook.  Since quitting Facebook, I have missed birthday notifications.  So again I can imagine there is a group of people out there creating Lily voodoo dolls because I didn't remember their birthday.  (Sorry!  Stop stabbing the doll!)

3)  And last and most importantly, I am missing out on a lot of news from friends and acquaintances.  Since many of us used Facebook as our official "friends/family/acquaintance" news source, by not being on Facebook I am missing out on a lot of information.

However even with the 3 issues above, I still feel like on the scales of decision-making that there are more pros than cons for me not being on Facebook. I will say the drawback has been that I have been Tweeting more than ever on Twitter.com.  It's like exchanging cigarette smoking for boozing.  But I don't encounter anywhere close to the amount of negativity on Twitter that I did on Facebook, so maybe it's more exchanging cigarette smoking for occasional red meat eating on the addiction/bad habits scale.  

Unfortunately, my Tweets are not pearls of wisdom handed down through the ages. They are either about LilyOnTheLam.com or bubble-headed reality shows on BRAVO TV.  My Tweets have been on the social editions of Real Housewives of New Jersey and Real Housewives of Orange County.  So I guess I should tell people who miss me on Facebook to just tune in to Bravo to see my "bon mots."

While nothing is ever perfect, I still feel like the positives outweigh the negatives on deactivating my Facebook profile.  It's been almost 2 months and for the most part, I don't miss the multiple times daily check of news feeds and status updates.  For people who really want to know what's going on in my life, they have multiple outlets to reach out to me and many have.  

And for those who require that I post on Facebook and won't communicate with me in any other fashion, well I guess they can just spend their time making voodoo dolls and wishing on a star for my return.  But really, life is too short. ;-)

So the moral of the story for me has been to stick to my guns - I made a decision to break what was a source of negativity and time wasting and I'm glad I did it.  

What are your thoughts on social media detoxing?  Leave me a comment in the comments section!  

P.S.  Since writing this post, my Tweets were featured in an article recapping The Real Housewives of Orange County reunion and also on an internet talk show at the 15:58 mark.  So while I fully admit my Tweets are babble - not much more intriguing than Facebook statuses when I used to have Facebook - I'm getting a wider audience for my website through the silly Tweets - and to me, that's not a bad thing!