Tampa Photo Diary, Part Two

Unexpected Entertainment at the Office Party

My first activity in Tampa was to attend the Lady Friend’s office Christmas/holiday/end-of-year party. It was a pretty nice affair, taking up the entire upper floor of Brio in the International Plaza with good food (lots of appetizers, followed by salad, pasta, meat and dessert courses, each course being served family-style with two dishes) and drinks aplenty.

I asked the Lady Friend if the accordion was an appropriate bring-along, and she checked with HR. HR not only approved, but cleared it with the DJ so that I’d get an introduction and a chance to play a song on the dance floor, which is what’s depicted in the photo above.

Bearss Groves Farmer’s Market

On Saturday, we passed by Bearss Groves Farmer’s Market to get some food for dinner. Set in what used to be orange groves (people live there now), this market’s been running for nearly 20 years, with a great selection of fruits and vegetables.

In addition to fruits and veg, we also stopped by this place:

Snooties BBQ are two twenty-somethings, Janet Studer and Joe Hire, and half the year, from April to November, they’re based in Sandusky, Ohio. During the colder half, their mobile kitchen is based in Bearss Groves Market, where they server big, meaty ribs in excellent sauce.  We took a whole rack home and devoured them happily. I’ll be back for more.

A Birthday Party with a Band

Saturday night, we dropped by our friends’ place to attend their birthday party. They’re married, and their birthdays are close enough together that it made sense for them to combine celebrations. It also gave out friend a chance to debut his newly-formed band, Buddha Bandits, in front of a friendly audience.

It’s hovering around freezing right now in Accordion City, so attending a backyard party lit by a pool in a garden full of citronella torches, sipping a Jack and Coke under the stars beside my favourite girl as a band that sounds like a cross between Blues Traveller and Gish-era Smashing Pumpkins plays is a big treat.

Later that evening, we moved the party indoors. The indoor festivities began with “Guess That Tune”, a game where I played the chords and lead line of a pop or rock tune on accordion without singing any lyrics, while the others tried to guess for prizes. The one they had the most trouble with until I played the closing line: Closer, by Nine Inch Nails.

That was followed by karaoke…

…and gladiatorial drinking:

Lunch at Tampa Thai Temple

Its formal name is the Wat Mongkolratanaram, but it’s better known as the Tampa Thai Temple, a Thai Buddhist temple located on the south shore of the Palm River. It’s been there since 1981, but the present temple (pictured above and below) was built in 2007.

Here’s what the temple looks like from the back:

Here I am, on the grounds behind the temple, looking all meditative:

Many Buddhist temples have miniature temples somewhere on the grounds. Typically there are offerings placed around their base.

Every Sunday, they hold an open market where you can purchase all sorts of Thai food, as well as plants and flowers. The proceeds from the sales go to the temple’s upkeep. You can eat on the premises; they’ve set up dozens of picnic tables on back part of the grounds facing the river. The people who came for lunch were widely varied: not just Thais, but just about every race, color and creed who wanted some delicious Thai food were there.

Photo from Creative Loafing.

Among the dishes available are:

• Grilled pork or chicken on a stick
• Grilled chicken
• Pad Thai
• Various chicken curry dishes with vegetables
• Egg rolls
• Guiteow – beef or pork noodle soup
• Som Dom – papaya salad
• Fried bananas, taro root, and sweet potatoes
• A wide selection of Thai deserts
• Thai tea and coffee

Photo from Meals and Miles.

The food is cheap, cheerful and delicious. Most of the stalls will sell you three dishes served on a bed of rice for about seven bucks.