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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• Join The Plate Licker’s Club; Leave No Morsel Behind
• Greg And Michelle Baker To Follow The Refinery In Seminole Heights With Fodder & Shine
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• Mouth Safari: The Stein & Vine Brings Great Eats, Outstanding Drinks To Valrico
• Weekend Eats: ‏Pork Tonkotsu Ramen, Spicy Chicken And Waffles, Oysters With Crispy Shallots
• The Underbelly Tour Devours Central Avenue Restaurants In St. Petersburg
• Hot Rod’s BBQ In Lutz Serves Up It’s Last Plate Of Barbecue Fruit Bat. Or Whatever It Was.
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Pumpkin, Pumpkin, Pumpkin, Pumpkin And Pumpkin. Also, Pumpkin.[Your 2012 Tampa Bay Pumpkin Tracker]

Posted Sep 9, 2012 by Jeff Houck

Updated Sep 9, 2012 at 11:52 AM

So, it’s time for pumpkins.

It must be. It’s after Labor Day.

Put away the white slacks. Break out the cardigans.

Like the swallows returning to Capistrano, the flavor of fall is reappearing once again on store shelves and in restaurants, coffee shops and bakeries across the fruited bay.

The first sighting of anything remotely pumpkin usually inspires a temporary mental illness in my family. A phone tree connects rumors into reality, shouting such declarations as, “I JUST SAW PUMPKIN SPICE COFFEE!” or “I JUST SAW PUMPKIN BREAD!” or “I JUST SAW THE WORD PUMPKIN USED IN A SENTENCE.”

Something about the hint of Halloween and Thanksgiving is unlike that seeing early signs of Christmas. Finding Christmas ornaments sold in July is depressing and stressful. Discovering pumpkin stuff is a sign that good things are ahead.

At least that’s what I’m telling myself.

Then again, how could you not get excited when a place like Datz in south Tampa puts these goodies on their menu:

Screaming Pumpkin martinis.

Pumpkin pancakes in a root beer glaze.

Harvest ravioli stuffed with pumpkin and adorned with sage brown butter cream sauce. And served with scallops.

SEE WHAT I MEAN?

To enable fellow pumpkin fans, I’ve created a Google map of places offering pumpkin items on the menu.

View Tampa Bay Pumpkin Tracker 2012 in a larger map

I’ll agree it’s a little heavy on the Dunkin’, Starbucks and Bonefish names.

I don’t care.

This is all about availability and proximity.

And, as the season progresses, I’ll keep adding to the list. So bookmark it and keep checking back.



* Many thanks to Heather Stalker at Datz for providing the droolworthy photos above.