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sarahjayn Says: Festa Italiana is held every year in Ybor City to help raise funds for the Italian Club (L'Unione Italiana) and celebrate Italian culture (which, according to my Nana, is the only culture worth celebrating). There's lots of different components to Festa Italiana: there's a...
richiecdisc Says: Normally, a trip to Ybor City would be a great overnight trip from our home base in South Florida. It has nice architecture with wrought iron balconies ala New Orleans and some historical significance as a home to refugee Cubans. If you like cigars it is rich in this regard...
doug48 Says: 7th and 8th aves. in ybor city is the tourist and night life center of town. 7th ave. is lined with restaurants, cigar stores, bars and night clubs. for the older crowd 7th ave. is a very nice place to visit during the day and the early evening. around 11:00PM the night...
doug48 Says: cuesta-rey of the ybor city manufacturers fine quality cigars. cuesta-rey was founded in ybor city in 1893 by angel cuesta and peregrino rey. in 1959 cuesta-rey was bought by the j.c. newman company. the company produces and markets cuesta-rey and arturo fuente cigars. you...
Tampa Bay Brewing Company: the local brewpub always gets their man
richiecdisc Says: The brewpub was modern with an oddly industrial yet cozy feel to it with huge copper vessels and a very long bar with copper affixed in sheets that while looking cold managed to add an overall warmth to the bar. The two beer engines looked ornamental but I'd happily read...
doug48 Says: carmine's is located in the heart of ybor city's entertainment district. carmine's is a combination bar and restaurant. carmine's is an old casual restraurant that is a good place to have lunch. try one their cuban sandwiches. cuban sandwich
doug48 Says: established in 1905 by hernandez gonzmart the columbia restaurant is an ybor city institution. the columbia is one of the best spanish/cuban restaurants in florida. the ybor city restaurant is the original with six other locations around the state. the columbia features a...
New York New York: New York, New York - what can I cook for you???
sarahjayn Says: Usually things with the words "New York" in the title are anything but New Yorky, but this place is the real deal. It's the best overall delivery in the city - - and they are super nice. They have great manicotti and ravioli. Only D'Italia is better for pizza.
Gaspar's Grotto: takin' a theme as far as it will possibly go . . .
sarahjayn Says: Gaspar's Grotto is a bar, but they do serve some food. The service is pretty good here, and it's a definite finalist for the cleanest bar in its zip code. The thing that really annoys me about this place is how (even though it's independently owned and operated), it feels...
La Tropicana: Cubans and Coffee
sarahjayn Says: Open only until 3 p.m., La Tropicana is a good place to go and eat for not much money. I'm a teacher, and we got lunch for 100 hungry 5th graders here while we were field tripping in Ybor . . . everyone seemed to enjoy it. I like any form of bread that they stuff with guava...
The Masquerade: Man, it's so loud in here!
sarahjayn Says: This place, back in the day, used to be called The Rtiz, but that was long before my time - - the theatre has been around since the 1800s and it's kind of neat to think that it's still being used for entertainment purposes. Though, I doubt the annual Gwar show was around...
doug48 Says: gaspar's grotto is one a many bars and night clubs on 7th ave. in ybor city. gaspar's is famous for it's rum selection. most of the night clubs on 7th ave/ cater to a young late night crowd while gaspar's gets a mixture of tourists and locals. a fun place to have a drink in...
Flirt: My Favourite Politically Active GLBT Club
sarahjayn Says: Normally, a place called 'Flirt' would totally make me wretch. I mean, usually that translates to snotty meat market. Not this place, though. It was more like parties at New College (my former school and the one *true* love of my life), where everyone was just dancing to...
The Castle: Oh, man! My vampire teeth keep coming out!
sarahjayn Says: The Castle is a mostly goth / punk / metal / industrial club in the middle of Ybor City. The cover is usually pretty cheap (free if you get their early enough), and the booze isn't that much, either. It's called The Castle because of the building's shape . . . like a castle....
Helpfulness
Back in the day, the trolley was the hip way to get around Tampa. In the spirit of reviving Ybor to its historical past, a new trolley system has been installed. It will take you to a few points in Ybor that you could just as easily walk or to downtown and Channelside. It's not a far stretch, and most locals find it to be a total waste of tax payer money.
That said, I personally kind of enjoy riding the trolley. I don't know why. I just think it's cool to be on a freaking trolley. I'm a terrible nerd, though.
Check the website for fares and schedules - - and be sure you have exact change.
Updated Apr 4, 2011
Green Dragon Books: Not Just for Nerds . . .
sarahjayn Says: Well, maybe it is just for nerds, but a more widely diverse population of nerds than one would think from the outside. (It looks like a total Dungeons and Dragons nerd lair.) I like this place because they have a pretty good selection of Tampa / Florida History books AND the...
La France: Neat Little Vintage Shop
sarahjayn Says: La France is like your Grandmother's closet - only eight million times bigger and better. For people like me who just can't seem to grow up, it's totally awesome. . . eternal dress-up. The store often features "grab bags" for the penny-pinchers out there. For a small fee...
Helpfulness
the tourist/entertainment area around 7th ave. is perfectly safe for tourists but there are blighted neighborhoods nearby. if you are not familiar with the tampa it is wise to limit your visit to the 7th ave. area especially after dark. just be aware of your surroundings in this part of tampa.
Written Oct 21, 2007
richiecdisc Says: We secured a room in Crystal River and ate food we had in the car. It would be an early night as we would have an untimely morning wake up once again, this time to swim with the manatees which was the reason for this stop in the first place. My wife had been living in...
richiecdisc Says: We got up around five thirty or six the day after my parents' 60th Anniversary in early April. We had been itching to leave for weeks but we'd stayed specifically to spend that day with them. As it turned out it was the last anniversary they would have with my Mom passing...
I've been kind of hanging out here my whole life. I sort of grew up here because there was (in my mind) nothing to do in the rest of Tampa. Various parts of my family lived here, too, after...
Ybor City is not an obvious stop that comes to mind when planning a cross country tour of the United States. But when you're saying goodbye to your country for what you think is the last time and...
ybor city was founded in 1885 by vicente ybor, tampa's first cigar manufacturer. ybor laid out the town plan and sold lots to other cigar manufacturers. by the turn of the 20th century ybor city was a...
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