Another Version

Let’s be honest here – Tampa is Derek’s town. 🙂

He was born here, raised here, and (minus those 4 years in college) has lived here his whole life. He knows the city like the back of his hand (sort of) and arrives at most places using backroads my GPS will never pick up on.

Well… he knows his version of Tampa and that version of Tampa is the only version I’ve known since we’ve been dating. It’s a nice version, but it’s missing a few things that have me missing home.

My goal in moving here is discovering a new version. A version i’ve heard so many other people from the area rave on and on about. I know it’s out there and I’m hoping the girls I met tonight will help me discover it.

My new twitter friend, Kristin, was sweet enough to invite me out for Happy Hour with a few of her girlfriends tonight. All of the girls were really sweet and had nothing, but wonderful things to say about the Tampa area. They had the inside scoop on the local restaurant scene, food festivals, bars, etc. and are all going to the Rasa Lila Fest Yoga Festival I registered for next month. Yay for new friends!

We met at the Fly Bar & Restaurant in downtown where, oddly enough, a TBO.com Tweet-up was happening upstairs. What are the odds?

The bar was gorgeous! It had a wonderful modern, hip vibe that made me want to return for a fun cocktail in the near future. 🙂

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To start I ordered my first Cigar City Oatmeal Brown Ale.

Cigar City is locally brewed in Tampa and I’ve been told the brewery needs to be top on my list to see. I’m waiting for my sister and Anthony to visit as an excuse to go , but after today’s beer I’m itching to go sooner. I have a new love for brown ales and this one was particularly rich and delicious. 🙂

The Fly menu is small with an emphasis on shared plates. For a menu with bar food feel to it, the options were surprisingly gourmet and reasonably priced.

I ordered the Meditterean Garbanzo Beans which was a tomato based dish with chorizo and wilted spinach. It was flavorful and delicious.

And I stole a few bites of the table’s hummus and garlic frites.

All delicious. 🙂

All in all, the evening consisted of great drinks, great food, and great company. Tampa win. 🙂

Before meeting the girls I snacked on an apple with a spoonful of chocolate toffee peanut butter.

And afterwards I had a serving of Moosetracks with a Thin Mint.

Derek and I are currently watching a reality show that features a moving company in Boston. They’re currently moving a piano to a third story apartment with the help of a crane. They really do have a reality show for everything, don’t they?