According to Nate, the manager of Bianchi's, the place is all about small plates and a great wine selection. They are competing with veteran restaurants in the same plaza like Yoko's Japanese Restaurant (great sushi), Osteria Natalina, and BT To-Go for South Tampa food dollar, so the food better be really good. If the lunch is any example of the food, it's a great place to eat.

Long before Uber and Amazon ever thought about delivering food, doormet was in the game. Add the fact that their healthy take on gourmet food was around long before the Fresh Kitchens, et.al. in Tampa, and it makes sense that they are still going. While I have heard of them as early as 2011, I was not aware that it also offered dine-in eating. 

Always looking for something new, Cheezy's in Ybor sounded like an adventure. It's not only an Italian bistro, it also claims to be a speakeasy. That part was intriguing. 
Challenges start with reservations. They do not answer the phone but voicemail directs us to an online reservation form that we fill out with the anticipation that they will get back to us. They never do. We go anyway and the place- at 7:30- is empty but for one other party and a couple at the bar.

The newly re-opened of the Byblos restaurant started offering brunch about a month ago. I was curious as to how this Mediterranean eatery would apply its refined Middle Eastern take to brunch food. The weather outside was pleasant on an April Sunday morning so we elected to sit outside. Patio dining was pleasant especially with the addition of their new cooling apparatus. However, prepare for the whir of traffic going by on MacDill Avenue just feet away.

Cooper's Hawk opened in 2013 in the maze of mixed use businesses and office buildings crowding Boy Scout Blvd. in the Westshore Business District of Tampa. A large component of the CH business model is wine, sponsoring both a national wine club and tasting rooms at their several locations. 
The Tampa store is cavernous, divided in to several dining rooms, the tasting room, and a lovely outdoor patio area. The front entry leads into the tasting area filled with people and an unusual amount of merchandise - some wine related, some not so much.  Inside the rooms are remarkably cold and loud.. The patio outdoors is pleasant on a coolish April eve.
Service is friendly and attentive. Meals start with warm pretzel bread and sweet butter. I consistently hear yapping from restaurant owners about how bread is an added expense and inhibits customers from buying appetizers. This palette pleasing starter just teed us up the rest of our meal and is def a value added for this upper end eatery

So, you're in the mood for authentic Mexican grub but you want to pay authentic Mexican street food prices. Solution? Acapulco's Taqueria!
This Tampa gem is kind of hidden in a strip center north on Kennedy on MacDill Ave. On my recent lunch-time visit it was packed with working folks. The parking lot stuffed with work trucks grabbing some lunch hour food and somehow I knew this was the real deal.

Another burger store has joined the ranks of patty spots in South Tampa. The new Shula Burger is about three blocks from Burger Fi and about half a mile from Goody-Goody, both contenders for those hungry for some ground beef goodness. The store has taken over the former Pita Pit, and is located in a small shopping center along with DP Dough and Noodle Kitchen and Market, all right on the path for those partying in Soho. 
It's moniker comes from the storied NFL Legend and Hall of Fame Coach Don Shula, coach of the champion Miami Dolphins, and joins the family of other restaurants including Shula’s Steak House, and Shula’s 347 Grill. Coach Shula attended the grand opening.
The eatery features a bright and modern interior. The menu offers several variations on burgers, along with a chicken sandwich, a veggie burger, and salads. One of the unique things about their food is the source. According to owner Zydrunas “Z” Rackauskas, Shula Burger uses the same beef as Shula’s Steakhouse. The burgers are a blend of black Angus Chuck, short rib, and brisket.

Located in the sprawling new Tampa Encore project Ella building, this storied restaurant has re-created itself yet again. BTW, if you haven't seen Encore go and look at the architecture, music references, and the amount of new housing available in downtown Tampa. It's massive.
Michelle Faedo's start was in a deli in 1996. In 2012 they rolled into a food truck, Michelle Faedo's On The Go, and last year reopened this bricks and mortar store. They specialize in what they call Tampeño Cuisine, which by the menu looks to be a blend of Cuban food and generic dishes like corn fritters and mac & cheese bites.