Jeff Houck

The Tampa Tribune’s food writer since 2005, Jeff Houck covers the way people live through their food. He also hosts the Table Conversations food podcast and believes that everything crunchy is good.

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Come Along On Tampa Lunchtime Expeditions

Posted Oct 5, 2007 by Jeff Houck

Updated Feb 20, 2008 at 03:28 PM

I have a great job. I see a restaurant, I go eat. Simple as that. Invariably there’s a great story behind it.

Such was the case on Thursday.

My friend Domenick called earlier in the week and wanted to go to lunch. I invited my friends, fellow food lovers David and Rich, to tag along. (My frequent lunch companion Rommie couldn’t attend.)

Domenick suggested Grandma Flossie’s on Broadway, just east of 60th Street. I had heard good things about Flossie’s from a few friends, so we saddled up and rode east.

What we found was a great old drive-in that has been in business selling pork, sausage, beef and chicken since 1994 at that location. Owner and manager Fellis Lopez said the name for the restaurant came from his paternal grandmother.

Actually, you can hear the story for yourself:

Simply put: We ate the hell out of Lopez’s food.

The country sausage was outstanding. The greens were fresh. Even the dirty rice was fantastic.

The place isn’t much to look at. It’s as bare-bones as it gets. But you don’t eat the scenery, do you?

Our sign that this was a great place to eat: A dump truck parked outside. Guys who drive for a living know all the great spots for lunch.

You can see a Flickr photo gallery from our visit by clicking here.

There are two other videos I shot. You can see them here and here. You won’t want to miss the homemade sweet potato pie.

Want to visit? Here’s a map:

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