It was a great morning for a bike ride in Tampa, what with temperatures of 24°C/75°F and plenty of sunshine. Here’s what I saw as I biked past the our yard and got today’s workout.
Category: Tampa Bay
Last year, we had a problem with a household who in addition to keeping chickens in their yard, also kept a rooster. I have no problems with neighbors keeping chickens, but the rooster was a big problem at the crack of dawn, for reasons that should be obvious if you’ve ever been to a farm or rural town. That problem was solved by identifying the household and going through the appropriate City of Tampa code enforcement channels. Urban chickens are legal, but a roosters aren’t.
Over the past few days, we’ve been woken by a rooster again, and this time, we think it’s a free roamer, which isn’t uncommon here in the Sunshine State, and part of the scene in Ybor City, just a couple of miles south of our neighborhood.
Anyhow, all this had led to the most “Florida” conversation I’ve ever had on Facebook chat with my neighbor Jennifer, as pictured above.
It looks like Seminole Heights is going to get another speciality chicken place. In addition to King of the Coop, whose signature dish is Nashville hot chicken, we’re about to get Gangchu, whose stock in trade is Korean fried chicken. I enjoyed eating “K-fry” back in Toronto, and I’m looking forward to having a place in the neighborhood where I can get my fix.
Ganchu is located at 6618 North Nebraska Avenue, just south of Gott Glass and the Sulphur Springs Post Office, and across the street from 7venth Sun Brewery, who’ve come up with a custom beer to go along with your Korean fried chicken: K-Hop IPA!
Badass Korean provides this translation for the word gangchu:
Roughly equivalent to the English “it rocks,” this expression is an abbreviation of gangryok chucheon, meaning to strongly recommend something. Gangchu started online in internet chat rooms by young people, but is now used in everyday conversations. Similar to “It’s the shit!”
Gangchu is the creation of the other Filipino who’s made his mark on Seminole Heights: Noel Cruz, who’s behind Tampa Bay mainstays Ichicoro Ramen, Ichicoro Ane, and Ichicoro Imoto, c. 1949, and The Corners pizza at Sparkman Wharf.
The folks at Gangchu have been pretty tight-lipped about when they’re going to open. Your best best to keep up with their activities right now is to follow their Instagram account, @eatgangchu. I’m looking forward to their grand opening!
Today in the Tampa Bay Times: Coronavirus cases are up in Tampa Bay care centers since Thanksgiving.
If only someone had warned us that treating Thanksgiving as a “business as usual” affair would have serious consequences!
Oh, wait…
Categories
Tampa’s messed-up intersections
I’ve lived here for almost 7 years (my anniversary will be in March), and I can say I’ve driven across most of the messed-up intersections on this poster. It’s almost as if Tampa’s roads were designed as a challenge by the designers of the Grand Theft Auto videogames rather than competent civil engineers.
(Source: /r/Tampa)
Here’s a local (if you’re in Tampa) business worth supporting: Flan Factory. There’s no lie on their mural — their flans are flantastic.
We first tried their flan at the North Tampa Market, which used to take place in Carrollwood back before the plague. We made a habit of taking home several of their individual-sized ones, notably the original, guava, dulce de leche, cafe con leche, coconut, and arroz con leche flavors.
We’re very happy to see that they’ve gone from temporary setups at markets to a full-blown brick-and-mortar shop on Nebraska, just at the northern edge of Ybor City (a stone’s throw from Centro Asturiano).
In addition to tasty flan, they have amusing merch:
Yes, that was a funny shirt, but for those who “get it”, this is the money shirt:
They have a regular set of a half dozen flavors, with another, larger, rotating set. If they have Nutella flavor available, get it:
They don’t just have flan — they make a mean cafe con leche, and also have some very interesting sandwiches and other dishes as well:
The sandwich I’m most intrigued by is their take on the Elena Ruz sandwich, the Elena 1985. Served during merienda (an afternoon teatime that’s practiced in Spanish colonies — even my birth country, the Philippines), it’s a sweet and savory sandwich that combines turkey, jam, and cream cheese.
Here’s the description of Flan Factory’s Elena 1985:
Thick-cut brioche bread, deep fried in cinnamon batter, then filled with flan factory guava sauce, cream cheese, and oven roasted turkey breast, then dusted with powdered sugar.
Flan Factory is located at 1718 N Nebraska Avenue in Tampa. Their phone number is (813) 402-2400, and you can find them online in several places:
Categories
Sunday sunset
I took this photo of our house just a moment before walking across the street to our neighbors’ house for a socially-distanced barbecue on their front lawn. It was just a few of us from the street, and it was a lovely way to spend Sunday evening.
I love this neighborhood.