Da'Shrine: An African Caribbean Restaurant

  T he building has been sitting for a while. Lets explore what finally took over.  Da'Shrine, 2023 L et me start this one off by stating that I am in no means an expert on Africa, their cuisine, or their culture. Da'Shrine claims to be a mixture of African and Caribbean cuisine. They are sporting a restaurant with a rooftop bar. If you had been to The Refinery prior to coming here, you'll know how the rooftop bar was set up. Unfortunately, the bar wasn't open when we went due to some maintenance that needed to be done before they could open. They did manage to use the space well, though, given how small the building actually is. They also have music playing from the TV, which is fine, but you can't hear the bartender over the bass. But that's not why you're here. Old Fashioned, 2023 T he bar is a square bar sitting against the back wall when you walk in. They have a decent selection with six beer taps as well. The bartender was telling us about some unique ...
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Tampa Pizza Company: Making Tampa Proud

New York style? Chicago style? No thanks. I'll take it Tampa Style.

Tampa Pizza Company, 2017

Another Fourth Friday came and went. The group was Stormy, my mom, my dad, and myself. However, touring museums, checking out Curtis Hixon, and hitting bars is exhausting. Food was a must. We decided to check out a place I've always heard of, always wanted to check out, but never did. That place was the Tampa Pizza Company, located just across the Ashley from Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park. With all the new buzz going on around Downtown Tampa, a decent pizza place is exactly what was needed. I mean, outside of the overhyped and underwhelming Eddie and Sam's.

Tampa Mural, 2017

Opening in 2015, Dave Burton and Ralph Stantell decided to break their contract with Deerfield Beach's chain Pizza Fusion. Dave Burton and Ralph Santell decided to turn their two former locations into the Tampa Pizza Company. Offering fresh, organic ingredients, vegetarian friendly and special dietary needs menus, Tampa Pizza Company is catering to just about everybody. With two locations (Downtown and Westchase), it's not hard to find their local offerings. Along with their pizza, they also offer typical pizza restaurant fair, wines, and, my personal favorite, craft beer. Everything about their restaurant is local, from the employees to the tables and chairs they use in the dining room. 

 Waitress, 2017

Lets get this out of the way early: The restaurant is small. Luckily, they offer sidewalk seating as well. The waitress we had was friendly, albeit rushed, and was incredibly attentive. Along with some of the typical pizza ingredients, TPC offers a Ricotta and fig jam cheese topping, vegan soy cheese, and Daiya cheese as well as specialty olives, mushrooms, and peppers. As for meats, there's nothing you can't find elsewhere, but we're not holding that against them. The staff, for the most part, seemed to dance across the floor with little to no hiccups in service. I'm not a wine drinker, but my mother did claim that the wine selection wasn't the best. This became clear as she ordered herself a water. The craft beer selection was impressive, however Stormy and I needed water as well. But you all didn't come here to hear me ramble about our water drinking needs.

Pizza, 2017

First thing's first, do you see this thing? It's HUGE! On one half, we have mushrooms, on the other, spinach. On the entire thing we have sausage and black olives. What can I say? We're fancy like that. I was always told that a pizza is only as good as the crust, and this pizza definitely had a nice crust to it. Unlike some other pizza places, the crust on this pizza was a joy to eat. The rest of the pizza was just as good. I, myself, am a huge sauce person. I will admit out the gate, this sauce is either love it or hate it. I fell in the former. It was perfectly seasoned with a nice dash of what I believe to be rosemary. The cheese also added a nice touch to the sauce, cutting down slightly on the herby flavor. The sausage was perfectly and the mushrooms, black olives, and spinach all added to the overall pizza. I would definitely put this pizza about both Bavaro's and Cappy's. 

Stormy enjoyed it too, 2017

But it's not all about how it tastes. I hear you all screaming at your screens right now, "BUT HOW MUCH WAS IT!?" The bill came to about $30. $30 for an extra large pizza that fed four... Lets just say well-fed individuals. This was, of course, an extra large pizza with four toppings and no alcohol. Of course, the bill will go up if you partake in their awesome beer selection. However, four people, one pizza, it came to ~$7.25 a person. None of us left hungry, which speaks volumes about the size of their pizza. Did I mention that their pizza is big? If you'd like to check out their pizza for yourself, their hours are Sun-Thurs: 11-9, Fri-Sat: 11-11. 

Eat Like A Local, 2017

Things to know before you go:
- This restaurant, like most Downtown restaurants, is small.
- This is my current favorite pizza place in Tampa.
- The more people you have, the better the value.
- Not far from Curtis Hixon.
- Not a lot of variety with meat toppings, but the cheese and veggies make up for it.

What is your favorite topping on your pizza? What do you all think of the Tampa Pizza Company? Leave a comment below. If you'd like more information on Tampa, check out my YouTube Channel and if you'd like to support my efforts, don't hesitate to buy a shirt from our Spreadshirt. Also, don't be afraid to click subscribe and you'll instantly be notified whenever a new entry is posted. If you'd like to meet other people who love Tampa, consider joining our Facebook Group. Thank you all and I will see you next time!
Location: 777 N Ashley Dr, Tampa, FL 33602, USA

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