Happy Independence Day, foodies! Celebrate with us over mimosas, Datz-A-Mary Bloody Marys, burgers, and Waffles N’ Tweet.
DATZ RIGHT. We’ll be serving up brunch on Monday, July 4 from 8:30 to 3 p.m. Join us for the brunch (or dinner that night) and we’ll celebrate together.
You can check out our brunch menu here. Text ahead! You just text Datz to 626-414-3210 and BOOM–it puts you on the list. See you soon!
Did You Catch Us on Good Morning America Today?!
‘Cuz that definitely happened. Good Morning America’s Host and University of Florida Alumni, Jesse Palmer came to see us in March about The Cheesy Todd and all things bacon and cheese. Palmer cooked with our Executive Chef Keith Williamson back in March and we’ve been waiting patiently until the debut of GMA’s new series, “Eat Like Jesse” that features Datz!
Check out the final cut of our Good Morning America “Eat Like Jesse” video here and thank you for all of your foodie support that has helped to get Datz and Tampa in the national spotlight!
Wanna learn how to make The Cheesy Todd? Of course you do! Good Morning America can show you how. Check out this awesome, aerial video of the step by step process of making what GMA Host, Jesse Palmer called “The Mother of all burgers” here.
All this excitement about The Cheesy Todd being on Good Morning America making you hungry? Yeah. We totally understand. Make a reservation to come and see us here.
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Are you following @officialfoodgroup on Instagram??? If not, you’d better start! Let us introduce you to Jerry Cionci, one of the 7 masterminds that run this account that’s sure to make you triple your foodie bucket list for local and national restaurants, including us! Hear about Jerry’s favorites and follow him on Insta here: @jercionci6.
Tell us what do you do and what are 3 words you’d use to describe yourself.
I am a professional marketer for Champs Sports and run the company’s social media for North America. But on the side, my 7 friends, including my brother @mcionci, run Official Food Group!
Three words: fun, knowledgable, energetic.
What made you start Official Food Group? Have you made a lot of foodie friends?
After my roommates from college and I graduated, we kept in touch through a group text. Most of the pics happened to be food. Over a year, we added my brother and couple other close friends to the group text, who also liked to take food pics. The rest is history. Our goal was to inspire our followers to eat elite when traveling. Since we have 8 people spread all over the country, we could diversity our food content and scale the page. We each have a market and are responsible for building that market by eating all over the city, building relationships and tagging restaurants. All pics are our own, and we pride ourselves on that.
Some of our favorite groups we made friends with are: @gothamburgersocialclub @boozeandburgers @cy_eats @tampabayeatsout @phillyfoodgirl
What’s the best food you’ve discovered from Official Food Group?
Tough. But my personal favorite was when I was in Lockhart, TX and went to Kreuz Market (100 + year old BBQ joint in the capital of Texax BBQ). I got a private tour and was eating brisket and prime rib fed to me by the pit master off his knife. The meat is so juicy and succulent, that they don’t allow BBQ sauce! That experience was one I would never forget.
How about the best cocktail?
In Austin, TX I had an frozen avocado margarita at this Tex-Mex joint called Curra’s Grill. So smooth, so refreshing.
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What’s your favorite food on the Datz menu?
The Eggs Barbacoa was the best thing I’ve had at Datz!
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What’s your favorite food and why is it your favorite?
Mexican. Spicy food has the key to my heart.
Share a food with us that you’ve seen on the internet and would love to try.
Well, my buddy in our food group @jaymell7, got to eat at Franklin Barbecue in Austin, TX. This place has a 4 hour wait daily and even The President goes there. It’s suppose to be the best BBQ in the world… THE item to try is the brisket!
What do you think about Tampa Bay’s food scene?
It’s on the come up. People from all over the country are moving here and bringing new ideas to the scene. Now it’s our job to try all these new spots and promote Tampa Bay on our page!
What’s another city’s food scene would you like to try?
Chicago. With traditional items like deep dish pizza and hot dogs [becoming more popular] to the new spots opening up, I would be in a food coma for days.
What’s the most adventurous thing you’ve ever eaten?
Sautéed Grasshopper tacos at @thelurestpete! Awesome by the way… And nutritious too.
What’s your best advice on how to adult?
Eat, drink and laugh.
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Hey, foodies! Meet Geno Knight of WQYK and Geno Ate Tampa. He’s got some great local recommendations, including Italian and Mexican. Let us know if you try any of Geno’s favorites with the hashtags #GenoAteTampa and #datz4foodies and have a great weekend.
What are 3 words you’d use to describe yourself.
Hungry, fed, full.
What made you start Geno Ate Tampa?
I liked the name because it conveys how much I eat. I’m a big boy… 6’4 and about 270. So Geno Ate Tampa seemed both funny and on point. It was just a hashtag I started using a few months back because my food pics seemed to get the most reaction out of my listeners. Instead of free concert tickets or song requests, my cell phone shots of my food finds were what people reacted to the most. So I bought GenoAteTampa.com, started a secondary Twitter account @GenoAteTampa and started using the hashtag on Twitter and Instagram to isolate my foodie posts from the radio stuff. Geno Ate Tampa just seemed to perfectly convey the size of my appetite.
What’s the best food you’ve discovered from Geno Ate Tampa?
After complaining about the lack of good Mexican food in Tampa Bay, listeners pointed me to Miguel’s on Kennedy. It’s been my go to ever since. The Alambres is all I ever order. After working for a radio station in California for 6 years, I was spoiled. But Miguel’s has made Tampa my new home.
How about the best cocktail?
I’m more of a beer guy. Before a Rays game last week, I dropped in to try out Brooklyn South. $3 microbrews? You won’t find that in The Trop. The Orange Wheat by St. Pete Brewing was fantastic. It’s a great beer for Florida summer, which is 9 months long. On the Tampa side, I love the dive bars in Ybor.
Best dessert?
Unfortunately my favorite dessert is only available for about 10 days every year. It’s the funnel bacon on a stick at the Florida Strawberry Festival. I’ve been ranting and raving about it on QYK ever since it was created for the 2015 festival. The vendor that made it, “The Best Around Inc,” usually does a new item every year for Plant City. But I raised such a fuss about it, they brought it back for a second year this year. “Mama Jane” takes a stick of bacon, dips it in funnel cake batter, fries it for about a minute or two, sprinkles powdered sugar over it and finishes it off with a maple butter glaze drizzle. It’s life changing. It just kills me it’s something you can only get one week a year. But if I had it available to me all the time, that would probably kill me too.
What’s your favorite food on the Datz menu?
The doughnut case is my favorite 4 square feet in all of Tampa Bay. The Butterfinger is probably the favorite. Although I think your burgers are often overlooked and underrated too.
What’s your favorite food and why is it your favorite?
Find me a good spot for chicken parmesan and you’re a friend for life. My family has a big Italian foods business back in Maine. So I grew up with those smells… oregano, olives, cheese, wine. Bernini’s in Ybor is good, but my favorite is a hole in the wall in a strip mall in St Pete called Italia Mia. The old Italian woman who always waits on my table is my favorite person in Tampa Bay.
Share a food with us that you’ve seen on the internet and would love to try.
You accommodated that request. When the doughnut ice cream cone went viral a few months ago, Datz was my first thought. You’re the doughnut king. I tweeted you guys the challenge. You made it happen.
What do you think about Tampa’s food scene?
This is my 5th year here and I’m still discovering it. Before moving here, I’d heard all about Bern’s. But I love to find the atypical spots… places that cater to transplants like me. I love Cappy’s deep dish Chicago pizza, a bottle of a hard to find German soda called Mezzo Mix in Brandon at Euro Cafe, or if I want a real local experience, the grouper sandwich at I.C. Sharks always works.
What’s another city’s food scene would you like to try?
Chicago. I’ve been on connecting flights a million times but have never had a chance to explore the city. Flights from Tampa are super cheap. But I’ll wait ’til the cold is gone. I moved to Florida for a reason.
What’s the most adventurous thing you’ve ever eaten?
I’m a wimp when it comes to exotic food.
What’s your best advice on how to adult?
Never lose the mindset you had as a kid when anything was possible and you didn’t care about carbs.
$5 Margaritas and Micheladas on Cinco de Mayo!
Foodies know our tacos are the bomb, but we’re shaking things up on May 5 with $5 Margaritas and Micheladas! Enjoy a classic margarita on our patio with some Fish, Chicken, or Pork Belly Tacos or go for a Michelada, a beer cocktail with our famous Datz-A-Mary bloody mary mix. See you tomorrow, foodies.
Olé!
TONIGHT, we have a tap takeover with Rogue Ales! Come and see us between 6 and 8 p.m. to enjoy:
Happy Friday, foodies (You’ve earned it). Let’s kick off the weekend with some super delicious food, all of which you’ll have to add to your hit list for this weekend. Ryan Rodriguez of @EatTampa on Instagram is gonna tell us about his favorite local stops.
Tell us about yourself! What do you do and what are 3 words you’d use to describe yourself.
Born and raised in sunny Tampa, FL. I am a husband, father and aspirising restaurant owner. 3 words to describe me are Loyal, Adventurous and Driven!
What made you start Eat Tampa? Have you made a lot of foodie friends?
I’ve always had a love for food and my hometown. I wanted to spread the word on new and great restaurants in Tampa. @EatTampa was inevitable. I started following other foodies in the area like @CarlosEats @TampaBayEatsOut and @OfficialFoodGroup which motivated me to create a feed of my own.
What’s the best food you’ve discovered from Eat Tampa?
That is the hardest question. With award winning chefs like @greg__baker (The Refinery / Fodder & Shine) and @chefmichaelmina (Locale Market / Farmtable Kitchen) it’s hard to say what’s the best. I say, get out there and enjoy finding out for yourself!
How about the best cocktail?
Not much of a cocktail drinker but the best one I’ve had recently was the mule at @DocBsKitchen. However, it may have been the side of candied bacon that set it off!
Best dessert?
The best dessert is for sure the fruity pebbles cheesecake @datz4foodies’ Dough!
What’s your favorite food on the Datz menu?
My favorite food item on the Datz menu is The Cheesy Todd. As a burger and a mac~n~cheese lover, they go together harmoniously!
What’s your favorite food and why is it your favorite?
After much thought, my favorite food is a good ol’ burger. There are so many ways to create a burger, from the blend of meats to the type of bun and endless options for toppings. I will also never turn down a taco, a slice of pizza or @portilloshotdogs Italian beef!
Share a food with us that you’ve seen on the internet and would love to try.
I am dying to try @Slapfish by Chef @andrewgruel for the “Clobster”, a crab and lobster grilled cheese, with a side of chowder fries and a lobster roll to go.?
What do you think about Tampa’s food scene?
The Tampa food scene is diverse and ever-growing. We have bold chefs/owners who step outside the box to produce quality food and conquer trends like the doughnut ice cream cone @datz4foodies.
What’s another city’s food scene you would like to try?
I really want to check out the Los Angeles food scene.
What’s the most adventurous thing you’ve ever eaten?
I once ate a scorpion from the bottom of a tequila bottle. It was crunchy and besides the tequila, it was tasteless. I’d do it again if I had too 😉
What’s your best advice on how to adult?
Do what makes you happy. If you don’t know what makes you happy, try something new until you find it.
One of our favorite topics at Datz is CHEAT FOODS! And one of our favorite people to talk cheat foods with is Caitlyn Connolly of Live.Sweat.Sleep.Repeat. and the popular hashtag, #TampaLove. Caitlyn is a Tampa native with a love for fitness, discovering Tampa, a good cup of coffee and being a kid at Disney. Recently, Caitlyn asked foodies what their favorite cheat foods were here are some of their tastiest answers. Enjoy!
The Cheat Meal Haven by Caitlyn Connolly
The coveted cheat meal. Everyone loves a good cheat meal. Even those crazy fitness people [I say with love], because I’m one of them!
Pushing thoughts of a juicy burger aside, I got to thinking — why do we cheat and, what do we cheat with? Thanks to some lovely peeps that indulged in my survey, let the cheating begin!
Kelsey (@kbahr), this has your name written all over it!
Why do we cheat…and love it?
We crave it. I don’t know about you, but once a craving enters my brain — it will.not.leave! Plus, I have always been a believer of moderation —> not deprivation. You gotta treat yoself!
We tweet it. For reals. Follow any fitness guru/lover/friend on social media and you will find food in their feed!
We put in extra work for it. This is the most honest reason. No joke, when I was marathon training, that post long run meal was exulted! Loved! Cherished! And oh-so-tasty! I would be lying if I told you that I didn’t take an extra class a week, ran an extra mile, or did a few more downward dogs for that succulent meal in my near future.
Post it up on Instgram. Does this need an explanation!? IG was made for pictures. And we love taking pictures of our food, and sharing it, of course!
We dream about it. Shhh, this will be our little secret that I may dream about cheat meals.
We plan for it. Not only do we plan our workouts during the week, we plan the epic cheat meal at weeks end. It is placed lovingly on the calendar, maybe even with a cute little cheeseburger sticker.
As a visitor of Datz for years, it has become thee place for my ultimate cheat; whether it be salty or sweet dishes, to light fare and those indulgences that make us wear our super-stretchy pants, it’s the place. Here’s more reasons why you should follow my lead down MacDill Avenue.
Speaking for myself and others, we cannot seem to make up our mind when it comes to a cheat meal! We want both, dammit! Over half of those surveyed wanted salty AND sweet; the other 30% was evenly split between the two.
My local running friend Nadine (@nkaprice) wouldn’t mind sharing these Datchos with me!
Salty dishes are the way to my heart and I know some of you agree! Shaking more salt on my survey, most of you would dive head first into carbs, followed by a Mexican dish or chips & salsa, then some good ole meat or a juicy burger. Now that my mouth is watering and I’m fully distracted, during my most recent visit to Datz, I indulged in the Marinated Skirt Steak Tacos with an Eberson’s Old Fashioned (topped with bacon, yes please!) — needless to say, I earned the clean plate award.
Alas, some cheats were not mentioned, but Datz has them covered! I cannot believe that I failed to mention Mac & Cheese! Their Mac Bites and The Cheesy Todd are fan favorites (and Jackie’s too (@seejackierunn)) and scream cheat meal.
Enough with the Sodium Chloride, let’s sugar coat errrrrything! Of course chocolate was atop the list, followed by cupcakes, then the vagueness of ‘other’. However, ‘other’ was quickly defined with: kid’s cereal, donuts, & peanut butter.
This covers errrrrything, right??
Just a few steps away sits Dough, a delightful bakery full of coffee, donut, gelato & dessert goodness. You are really missing out if you have not paid them a visit! But please welcome to the stage, the Fruity Pebbles Doughnut, Kit Kat Doughnut & original Chocolate Doughnuts.
I may have witnessed Alexandra, (@realtikitiki) local Mantra instructor, break it down on the megaformer for one of these!
Did we cover your cheat? Did we make you hungry yet? Are you gonna race me to Datz now?
We’ll keep this short & sweet, cuz’ you’re gonna want to make plans IMMEDIATELY after reading this.
Dough’s Doughnut Ice Cream Cones will be served daily (while supplies last) beginning Thursday, March 31 at 12 p.m. at Dough (right next door to us!!!)!
Told ya’ we should keep this short & sweet. 😉
Hop over to Dough’s blog here to read more. Have a great day, foodies.
