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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Load Up Before Seeing The Bucs [Places To Eat Before Tonight’s Practice At Raymond James]

Posted Aug 7, 2010 by Jeff Houck

Updated Aug 7, 2010 at 06:54 AM

Every summer for the past eight years, my family and I have gone to see the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at their training camp. There’s something about getting that close to their practices that gets us revved up for the season. You felt like you got to see the players be a little more unguarded. We got to see Mike Alstott being a dad. We got to meet safety Jermaine Phillips in his rookie season. We watched Jon Gruden‘s kids play a pickup game of football.

This was the first year we skipped. Why? Because it was just too darn hot.

Training camp in Orlando, back when the Bucs practiced at Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex, was hot enough. When the team moved their camp to their Tampa headquarters, the field was enclosed with tents and the training facility. There was no breeze. It was stifling. There was no way we were going during this broiling summer.

Which brings us to tonight, the last practice of training camp.

Tonight at 7, the team will have their annual night practice at Raymond James Stadium. The free event includes a fireworks show and performances by the Bucs cheerleaders. (Gates open at 5:30 p.m.)

If your idea of dinner isn’t a $1 hot dog, (Why can’t they sell them for that during the season? I digress.) here are a few ideas of places you can go for dinner near the stadium before heading to the (relatively) cooler evening practice:

1. Arco Iris Restaurant
3328 W. Columbus Dr., Tampa; (813) 879-1357

Cuba meets China at Arco Iris, (Yes, it makes sense. Chinese settled on the island in the mid-1800s when they migrated to work in the sugarcan fields). Sure, you can get a traditional palomilla steak and Cuban sandwiches…

... but you can also chow down on fried rice and plantains. I’ll take that over tailgate grub anyday.

2. Pupuseria & Cafeteria CentroAmericana
2504 W. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Tampa; (813) 874-1248

Central American fare is the feature of this understated restaurant along busy MLK Boulevard. There’s not much parking, but it’s worth the hassle.

If you’ve never had a pupusa, think off it as a sort of Hot Pocket filled with various meats and cheeses. A fresh pupusa is a joy forever.

A plate like this with a sample of several different types is incredibly filling - and very inexpensive.

If pupusas aren’t your thing, try a balleada, a Honduran street food made with a thick wheat tortilla that is folded in half and filled with mashed fried beans, meat and sour cream. Incredibly satisfying.

3. Antojitos Latin Cravings
2302 W Columbus Dr. Tampa; (813) 251-9688

It’s easy to miss Antojitos if you’re driving north on Armenia Avenue. Locals know this as a great spot. The parking lot at lunch invariably is packed with cars.

This cafeteria and bakery specializes in the cuisine of Colombia, including bandeja paisa, arepas, sancocho, tamales and more. They’re open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and portions are huge.

The chorizo (above) is outstanding. The yucas rellenos are mouthwatering delicious. The Empanadas de Cambray (baked empanadas with quava and soft, white cheese) make a great dessert. LOVE this place.



4. Happy Fish Peruvian Fusion Co
4046 North Armenia Avenue, Tampa; (813) 871-6953

Tucked into a corner of a shopping center at the busy corner of Tampa Bay Boulevard and Armenia Avenue, this quaint little seafood restaurant is worth the search.

I mentioned a few weeks to someone I went to eat Peruvian food.

“That’s a real thing?” she said.

You betcha.

As Wikipedia explains:

Peruvian cuisine stems mainly from the combination of Spanish cuisine with traditional native Peruvian ingredients, with later influences from the cuisines of China, Italy, West Africa and Japan, due to the arrival of immigrants from those locations. The three traditional staples of Peruvian cuisine are corn, potatoes and beans. These ingredients have been combined with a number of staples brought by the Spanish, such as rice, wheat and meat (such as beef, pork and chicken). Many traditional foods, such as quinoa, kiwicha, chili peppers and several roots and tubers which had previously been tossed aside for European products, have seen a resurgence in popularity in recent decades with a revival of interest in native Peruvian food crops.

If you can’t be happy after eating a delicious plate of seafood lo mein? You really should just eat bologna sandwiches the rest of your life.

Oh, and one more thing…

Be sure to have an Inca Cola. It’s the golden kola, you know.