Tampa Taxi Shots

Borders Books Is Closing...I Take My Coffee Black

The meter is running and the taxi is in park. Normally I’d be outside of a strip club or message parlor, this time it’s a book store. I’m waiting for my passenger to return. 

The large poster declaring 20% - 40% off looms over my cab parked outside of Borders Books on N Dale Mabry which is closing as soon as they sell all their stuff. This well publicized sale has brought customers to this store in record amounts. The idling of my engine cuts through the conversations of happy patrons leaving with newly prized possessions. 

It’s just after sunset. I’d normally be home drinking beer at this hour - a well ingrained habit since the economy fell apart like a two dollar watch.  Habits are hard to change as you get older. 
I turn the radio down as a motorist asks if I can move up a bit. In over fifteen years of coming to this store I’ve never seen it this busy. I guess I’m not the only one that read the newspaper article about the store closing.

Then it hits me - Why does Tampa (whose economy is supposedly tied to tourism) have so many people that read books. We are not supposed to be Boston? 

I think back over the last decade or so. I have spent a lot of time in Borders. Coffee, reading, chess, browsing, music, liberal lap toppers, this place had it all, a great way to kill a Sunday afternoon and relax. You could have a bit of a repose from the ‘real world’ as books took you to other places and experiences that you one day planed to get around too, one of these days. 

The Seattle’s Best Café. Yes, that was the first thing you saw as you walked in the door. Get your espresso and stare at twenty thousand square feet of wonder, knowledge and entertainment. In the next couple of hours, you would walk out smarter and more at peace with yourself then when you walked in. All of this augmented by a fresh cup of Joe (I take my mine black). 

Coffee in a book store is Popcorn at the movies. Would in not be a shame if one day all things are by Amazon or Kindle? To me it would be like going to a prostitute for love or eating steak with a balloon on your tongue. You would still get the same knowledge and nutrition - so what’s your problem? 

I do think it is a problem.

In the future they say you will just take a pill for everything you need or pick you kids out of a test tube (I prefer the old fashion way).

I once met Jack Harris at a book signing here. I once saw happy kids at Harry Potter night with expressions on their faces not seen since the family trip to Disney World. Do we really want all this to just go away?  It is just all about the discount? What ever happened to smelling the roses? 

Anyway, my fare comes back to the taxi and tells me there were at least eighty people in line with all the cash registers ringing. You hear that Borders….You finally figured out how to get Amazons money.  Perhaps there is hope for Western Civilization. 

A Strong Cup Of Coffee

Sometimes you just need a strong cup of black coffee. Taxi drivers keep the hours of pimps and we need the extra pick me up that only diner coffee seems to provide.  

This was at POT BELLIES in south Tampa just as they opened.  You can tell I am tired and have been working a lot of hours. 

Get the skillet with eggs over medium.  Add tobasco sauce and its a winner. 

The girls are great, with nice service.  They actually smile and seem to like their jobs. 

Knights Of The Road

Two of the more interesting guys I have picked up in my cab in some time were hitch-hiking thru America.  They were two young guys from California and spend most of their nights out 'under the stars.'  On occasion, they take a cab to get away from a major metropolitan area.  Today, I got their call and they went up to State Rd 52 and I75 at the truck stop.  They had the $52 for the fare.  Not bad for two guys that ate a squirrel cooked over an open fire last night!

You can see them as they walk away on the on ramp to sr52 in Pasco County.  They are as free as the breeze.

FAST FOOD DEALS

One of the things cab drivers look for are deals on food.  We are on the road and eat most of our meals out.  Fortunately, most of the fast food places are lowering their prices in this bad economy to lure more customers.  McDonald's, Taco Bell, Arby's, and Subway with their $5 foot-longs are a deal.  I recommend that everyone take advantage of these restaurants that are offering these deals.  I will not go to Einstein Bagels because they have RAISED the price of the their coffee in this economy.  At a time when Starbucks is closing stores, they think they can raise prices.  Screw them.  They will never get another dime of my money.

The "I DON'T CARE" Bar In South Tampa

It may not be CHEERS but it is damn close. In south Tampa there is a bar where everyone knows your name...and that's a lot of everyone. The I Don't Care Bar has great food and cold beer and that is what has made this "hole in the wall" a real hit. Many people form their social life around it. The Taxi Man even has one of the high scores on the realistic bowling machine!

This pub has changed hands a few times in the last few years, but it retains a loyal following. One if those that is made up of fine women for some reason. You can walk in anytime of the day or night and feel like you are part of the "click" if there is one.

The food is awesome. I ordered the nachos and had to use a doggy bag to take home all that was left and I am a big eater.

As a cab driver, we really don't get a lot of fares out of here, I guess that is because people don't get to crazy and see their own way home.

I decided to do a little publicity photo shoot for the pub today. I shot it my a little marina with some privacy. Oh, If you need The address or the phone number you can get that off of Tia's T shirt. It was the first time I ever worked with this model. I had met her on the internet and invited her to my shoot. It really worked out well.

Stop by and say hi to the friendly bartenders and "Paul" you will find him on the corner position at the bar..."Third Base"....It does get crowded at night, so get there early!

This is an experiment with video adding.. I shot a very short video of Tia to see if I could imbed it in my blog without having to use YouTube.com...It seems to be working. Note the green screen.

FIVE GUYS Burgers And Fries...Delicious

For the absolute best burger in the Tampa Bay area please go to FIVE GUYS BURGERS AND FRIES Located at the corner of Kennedy and Clark just west of Dale Mabry. I have never eaten a better burger. You will not go away hungry.

I picked up the owner/manager at his residence and took him to Five Guys so that he could open it up at 11 AM. I am not really a fan of these eclectic, overpriced, poor service kind of joints (That is why today I have never eaten at Pinero's. Face it, the food is overpriced, small and the service sucks). I did notice that when we pulled into the parking lot. THERE WAS A LINE! What? A line at aburger joint to get in. The manager paid me the fair and went in. It was 10:58 AM and they were about to open. So I parked in went in.

The first thing I noticed was the large space with lots of room and the high energy of the people who worked there. This was totally different then the "ghetto" atmosphere at most fast food joints. I got served fast by a courteous worker, ordered my burger all the way with fries. What I got amazed me. 

The burger was to big to even put in your mouth. You had to kind of work at it from the side. It was warm and delicious. There were,also, about 3 lbs of fries to go with the order. I thought it was a joke. I asked the manager and he said all orders come with that many fries. I am a huge eater and I could not finish this. Wow! I highly recommend Five Guys Burgers and Fries. People are lining up to get inside.

A Kingdom For A "Beef And 'Weck"

Our daytime dispatcher John is from Buffalo New York. He has been dispatching for years and often talks about the culture and lifestyle that he enjoyed up there, mostly involving the Pubs and the signature food of Western NY.

There is a sandwich that he said he would give anything for; it is called a "Beef and 'Weck." It is a simple sandwich which uses a hard roll heavily crusted with coarse grains of salt and infused with caraway seeds (a.k.a. kummelweck; hence the sandwich's name). Thinly sliced sirloin with homemade horseradish and Au Jou sauce made from the meat, with pickle and fries. Sounds good doesn't it?

Have you ever tried to find real New York pizza and was disappointed with it? Or a Chicago dog? It is hard to duplicate regional food way down here. It seems that there is, however, a place in Pinellas Park called the Nichol City Bar And Grill. I found out about it on the TBT website. THEY HAVE AUTHENTIC BEEF AND 'WECK SANDWICHES. How cool is that.

Nichol City Bar And Grill

7658 Park Blvd.
Pinellas Park, FL
(727) 545-9325
Cuisine: Local Flavor
Price: Under $25

I told John that I had actually found were he could get a Beef and 'weck and he was on cloud 9. I went over after work and got two of them and brought it back to United Cab. John came out and was almost in tears when he opened the container and saw what was within. He told me how to pour the sauce on the bun and how to spread the horseradish in a special way to really enjoy the sandwich.

Now can someone please let me know where you can get real New York City style pizza in the Tampa Bay area.