Mr. Dunderbak's

Ah, lunch, one of my favorite parts of the day. Living five minutes from a Mr. Dunderbak's certainly has its perks. I called a friend this afternoon and had her meet me for some excellent German food. Besides, I had been craving German foods since going to our local Oktoberfest a couple of weekends ago. I think a trip to German during their Oktoberfest is in my future...at some point.

Even though the menu is pretty extensive, featuring platters, sandwiches, soups, salads, and a list of sides, I had already perused the menu online and knew exactly what I wanted. As an appetizer, we settled on splitting the deep fried pickles.

These pickles were the perfect mix of breading and spices. I love dill pickles, but tend to detest the actual dill herb. But, having tons of dill in the breading didn't deter me from these lovelies. In fact, it enhanced the flavor of the pickle even more, wasn't overly done at all, and matched perfectly with the ranch dressing for dipping. We ate these without even pausing to let them cool down. You know when you eat something really hot and then you attempt to chew and blow hot steam out of your month, all at the same time? Yeah, that was us.

Next, we ordered our main meal. I decided on the Schnitzel Sandwich (Pork) with a side of Garlic & Herb Pan-Fried Potatoes and my friend Jackie ordered the Schnitzel Salat (Pork). 

The Schnitzel Sandwich is a pork cutlet lightly breaded and topped with lettuce, tomato, and mayo, set on a kaiser roll. The Sandwiches are typically served with potato chips and a pickle spear.

Piled high with pork cutlets, the Schnitzel sandwich is pretty large. For only $7.99, I'd say it's quite the bargain. Just like with the pickles, the breading on the pork is perfect, non-greasy, and pairs well with the other parts of the sandwich. 

Mmm, potatoes. Herbs + garlic = yummy. I really enjoyed these potatoes, especially with a little ketchup. (I later heated up my leftovers at home and topped them with Sriracha sauce, which goes well with anything.) 

The Pork Schnitzel Salat: crisp greens, cucumber, carrots, red cabbage and tomatoes, topped with breaded pork cutlet. I think I'll get this next time!

In addition to their delicious meals, Mr. Dunderbak's is known for their beer. They are the only German-American beer bar in Tampa, and have been for the past 40 years. They have 55 draft beers and over 400 beers in the bottle. 

As you can probably tell, Mr. Dunderbak's has shirts, candy, cookies and their marketplace (pictured) sells cheeses and meats traditionally from Europe. Also for purchase are steins, glassware, and homebrewing kits. 

From Thursday-Saturday, live German and American music from local bands can be enjoyed during dinner. Especially with the nice weather we are having, spend your meal sitting in the handful of tables they have set outside and enjoy! 

Acropolis Greek Taverna

Working in St. Petersburg two days of the week certainly has its perks. I've discovered some new restaurants to frequent during lunch hour and I went with my boss to Acropolis Greek Taverna, a favorite of mine, for lunch the other day. It was one of those days when I was so rushed that I had to skip breakfast so when we finally made our way to eat, I was pretty much ready to devour everything in sight.

With 4 locations in the area (Ybor City, New Tampa, Riverview, and St. Pete), I'm no newbie to this amazing greek restaurant, but I'm always discovering new items to try from the menu. (I'm such a sucker for greek food.)

When we sat down and were greeted by the waiter, he told us about the specials, which included a nice bowl of french onion soup. (I'm a sucker for french onion soup too.) I decided to go with the Patra Sandwich, side Greek Salad, and that bowl of French Onion Soup.

Piled between 2 pieces of the most amazing bread in existence, the Patra comes with thinly sliced smoked turkey breast and topped with red onions, tomatoes, lettuce and your choice of either onion aioli or kalamata olive caviar spread, and it's my favorite thing to eat at Acropolis. The orange sauce you see in the photo is the onion aioli, which soaks into the bread and makes the sandwich THAT much better.

Like I mentioned, at nearly 2pm this was, unfortunately, my first meal of the day. So, I gobbled up my greek salad and french onion soup before the idea of taking a picture even entered my mind. Suffice to say that while I still think it's debatable weather potato salad really belongs on a greek salad, this is my preference and Acropolis doesn't disappoint. In addition to the greek dressing, they also have a light drizzle of olive oil over their salad which just works to enhance the flavor of everything in the dish. Their salad is light and refreshing and honestly, I could probably drink their dressing.

The french onion soup had a unique taste. I couldn't pinpoint an exact herb that made this french onion soup a little different from every other one I've had, but it worked to its favor and combined the perfect amount of cheese, bread, broth, and onions. 

Our meals were amazing (my lunch partner opted for the Horiatiki Salad- a traditional village salad topped with cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, green peppers, pepperoncini, olives, feta cheese and fresh oregano, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, vinegar, and fresh lemon)! After eating, we had to head back to the office, to-go boxes in hand, to continue working. But, Acropolis really is perfect for lunch dates/meetings and dinner. In fact, I think I'll go again soon. 

Burger 21

It was September 18th and my boyfriend and I had tentative plans to go to The Colombia (a Florida and specifically, Ybor City, staple) for their 1905 day where all menu items revert back to the prices from 1905, when The Colombia first opened their doors. Unfortunately, I was scheduled to work at the last minute and given that lines are usually pretty long and tiresome, we knew we wouldn't make it in time for dinner. 

Instead, I decided to treat him to Burger 21, rated the Best Burger in Tampa Bay by Creative Loafing Magazine. I had been here once before with some friends and remember thinking that I had never tasted a burger quite like the one I had. I knew Mike would enjoy it just as much. 

The first time I visited, I opted for The Shroom, a burger with lettuce, tomato, sauteed crimini mushrooms and onions, and fontina cheese, served on a brioche bun with garlic butter. 

I loved that the burger was overloaded with mushrooms (one of my favorite things to eat). The bun was crispy and had the perfect flavor. I didn't feel like I had to add any condiments to enhance the flavor of my burger either. 

This second time, as much as I wanted to re-order The Shroom, I decided to try something else. I decided on the BBQ Bacon Burger, topped with lettuce, tomato, applewood-smoked bacon, cheddar cheese, crispy onion strings, and sweet hickory barbeque sauce, on a sesame bun.

I don't think it's possible for this burger to get any juicier. Normally, I keep away from BBQ burgers. As much as I love BBQ sauce, I find that a lot of burger places just overload and that ends up being all you can taste. Because I had such confidence in Burger 21 to deliver an amazing burger no matter what the ingredients, I wasn't worried. And, I wasn't disappointed. This burger has the perfect combination of crispy (just adding onion strings increases my pleasure in consuming food items by, oh, about 100%), savory, and sweet. 

Mike ordered the Tex-Mex Haystack, which comes with lettuce, tomato, applewood-smoked bacon, smoked cheddar cheese, guacamole, crispy onion strings and chipotle-jalapeno sauce on a brioche bun. Unfortunately, he devoured it too quickly and I did not have time to take a picture. Suffice it to say that it was beautiful and amazing.

By the way, if you are in love with the idea of condiments, like I normally am, Burger 21 offers a wide array of different sauces (8 in total). With my shoestring fries, I tried everything from Toasted Marshmallow to Chipotle Mayo to Thai Ketchup to Apple Cider. 

Burger 21, aptly named due to their 21 different burgers available, offers beef, chicken, turkey, veggie, shrimp, and tuna burgers. They offer sliders, hotdogs, and salads. They also offer regular and sweet potato fries, which I recommend you visit the Sauce Bar to complement. Finally, they offer hand-dipped floats, malts, shakes and sundaes. 

Burger 21 comes highly recommended by many visitors. Located in Westchase and soon opening in Carrollwood, I can promise that it will become a "must visit" restaurant in the Tampa Bay area.

Basic Salad

I love a good salad. I can go for oil & vinegar, balsamic, ranch, italian, greek, chef, fruit...the possibilities for a great salad are endless. When I'm making a salad at home, I tend to make the same salad over and over again. It's so basic, but it's also so delicious.

For my basic salad, I just throw some romaine lettuce, tomato, croutons, shredded cheese (any kind), and cucumbers into a bowl. I also add some salt, pepper, and oregano. Next, I make my favorite part of the salad.

Sauteed mushrooms and onions make this salad, in my opinion. After they have sauteed for a couple of minutes, I add some balsamic vinegar. I like the mushrooms and onions sit in the vinegar for another couple of minutes. Both mushrooms and onions really tend to absorb spices and whatever they are being cooked in. 

After everything is mixed together, I drizzle olive oil, honey, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, and a little bit of apple cider vinegar (plus, the balsamic vinegar from the mushrooms and onions) over it. I don't measure these items and I suggest you don't either. It's all personal taste and preference. Sometimes, I'll use less vinegar and sometimes, I'll use more. What I can say is that the possibilities to create different tastes for your dressing are endless.

Mmm.

Do you made homemade dressing?