See you over there!

The first of these is Cajun Cafe On The Bayou. This is located on Park Blvd near the Flea Market and I am told by some friends visiting from Alabama that it is some of the best Cajun food they’ve ever had. The crab cakes in particular were awesome as was the cornbread which had cheese and crawfish mixed in with it. Sounds good!

The second is Johnny’s, which you would never consider eating at unless someone took you there. It’s located in an old gas station on 28th St at 30th Ave N and has a massive menu including pizza, pasta, burgers, Greek food and breakfast. I’m told that the breakfast is a huge hit, but the place is so small and popular with those in the know that unless you get in early, you’ll be waiting a long time.

Has anyone tried any of these restaurants? Can you vouch for them?

It’s salmon-like in colour and flakes beautifully. We seasoned it with some garlic and herbs and while it was very simple, was truly a delightful fish. We served it up with some brown rice and some steamed asparagus.

I bring it up because I’ve never seen Arctic Char on a menu anywhere an would be interested to try it, especially if there was anywhere here in Tampa Bay that anyone knew of?

3218 W Kennedy Blvd, Tampa, FL

I’ve been searching for quite some time for a sushi restaurant in the Bay area that served up fresh fish and just got the basics right. I picked Soho Sushi at the last minute and was thoroughly thankful for doing so. We went in for lunch and opted for the boxed lunch and while it was simple, the fish is some of the freshest I’ve tasted and the sharp interior did not match the fair prices. It’s been a while since I’ve enjoyed sushi that much, but Creative Loafing weren’t wrong when they voted them for best sushi in the Bay this year, an accolade I didn’t become aware of until I was walking out the door and saw the plaque. Now I’m going back to have dinner and enjoy a longer seating at this fabulous place.

http://www.restaurantworldtour.com/

Since the website was started by me and I’m in Tampa, naturally this area is going to grow the fastest initially. We’ve already been to close to 20 different countries on our tour and have another ten or so already lined up. Yesterday, we experienced Peruvian food at Machu Picchu on Hillsborough Ave, Tampa and it was truly incredible. I’d go back in a heartbeat.

However, thus far, our selections have not really reached into the extremes of unusualness as far as world cuisine goes, except for the Ethiopian restaurant we went to. Yet, we are limited to only being able to try the cuisines which are served in restaurants in our city, so while we may strive to have Albanian, Zimbabwean and Polish food, that just might not be possible. However, it will not stop us from trying…

However, it’s very well known that the restaurant industry is one of the most saturated and competitive industries in the world and unless you have an edge, you’re not likely to make it.

All too often we see restaurants that have been open for less than a year or two boarding up their windows because they were unable to make it. Budding restaurateurs are too wrapped up in the excitement of realizing their dream that they fail to think clearly about their business plan.

It was drawn to write a brief note on this matter after an incident yesterday that got me to thinking how all sorts of people end up owning restaurants and whether they are suited to doing so.

I was at Benedetto’s Ristorante Italiano in Land O’ Lakes, FL (near Tampa) yesterday for lunch and was rather enjoying it, when, while paying the bill, the owner (who is also the chef) had a bit of a tantrum in front of house with his staff and a photographer, in plain view of the guests and proceeded to use a good many expletives at the top of his voice.

Well, that event understandably turned my opinion about the restaurant (I was forced to recall an episode of Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares, where the couple who owned the restaurants would frequently fight with each other and the guests in front of house).

When I got home, I proceeded to review my experience at my website, Restaurant World Tour and thought nothing more of the matter. However I logged on to my website this morning and much to my amusement, the owner had registered and proceeded to bombard the site with CAPS-loaded, childish remarks about me, the site, my review and the other reviews on the site.

It just furthered proved his immaturity and irrational nature and I find it hard to understand how people like this can open restaurants (and keep them open).

Just to clarify, Benedetto’s is quite a nice restaurant and serves up some pretty decent Italian food. Just try to avoid any interaction with the owner.

I am writing this message because I was just fortunate enough to have some help from a professional in the field: Andy Kinsey. He was very helpful and gave me some good tips, even though I never asked him for such a service. Check him out, he’s also just started writing s series of articles on this very subject: well worth a read.

With his help, and with any luck, my new website, Restaurant World Tour, just might start ascending those rankings.

About 3 months ago, me and my colleagues started to make a habit out of going to lunch every Friday. After a few weeks, we noticed that each week we had tried out the cuisine of a different country each week. This led to the decision to make a point of going to try a different country’s food each week, which we labeled our “Restaurant World Tour”.

After about 10 stops on our tour, having mentioned it to several of my peers, they all thought it was a wonderful and so I appeared to me as though it was an idea that other people may appreciate as well. As such, I decided to build a website that focused on people being able to find restaurants of the more unusual cuisines in their local area and creating their own Restaurant World Tours. This was accompanied by the ability to rate and review each restaurant, as well as adding restaurants to the site for free. There are also forums on the website for people to discuss their particular experiences, views and lifestyles.

I encourage everyone to have a look at the website (www.restaurantworldtour.com), have a good look around, start adding some restaurants and start thinking about creating your own Restuarant World Tour.