Urge to splurge

Each dish from Eddie V's is well-balanced, attractively plated and a joy to eat.

By Jon Palmer Claridge

A way, punctuates the entire meal. They are knowledgeable, friendly and anticipate your every need. Seared Alaskan halibut is meant for an earthy Each dish from Eddie V's is well-balanced, attractively plated and a joy to eat. By Jon Palmer Claridge ccessing the upscale chain restaurants along Tampa's Boy Scout Boulevard can be daunting for the uninitiated. Usually there's free valet or some self-parking available along the parallel one-way service road. However, my good friend, Mr. Google, is being particularly mischievous on this night. I dutifully pull up as directed to Eddie V's Prime Seafood only to realize it's not accessible from the west side; the back entrance to a parking garage is blocked by orange traffific cones. The solution is a circuitous return to Boy Scout to approach from the east.

As I pull my modest wheels under the valet canopy held up by a monogrammed fountain and hop out, it's impossible not to notice two late model Bentleys. One jet black, the other bright white — $400,000 worth of luxury to announce that Eddie V's clients are well-heeled and/or here for a special occasion.

The 16-restaurant franchise, which began in Austin, is now owned by Orlando's Darden Group. The Bay area location is indeed an elegant dining experience. From plush, neutral earth-tone decor to Deco-esqe sconces, fifixtures and chandeliers, it's upscale all the way. The flfloor-to-ceiling glass wine cellar welcomes you as you enter. There's a bar with live jazz to the right, and comfortable booths or crisp white tablecloths to the left.

Soon after you settle at the table, a server arrives Casablanca-style in a white dinner jacket and black bow tie — garb that surprises by its oldfashioned sophistication. A tray arrives with thick slices of warm, open-crumb multigrain bread. Two small, white china containers of soft, creamy butter sprinkled with lines of chives and pink Himalayan salt are also there for your pleasure.

When our appetizers arrive, it's clear that, although the menu is traditional, the quality of ingredients is top-notch, and the kitchen is in complete control. Without exception, each dish is well-balanced, attractively plated and a joy to eat. The beautiful, glistening round of diced tartare of Pacifific ahi tuna sits on ripe, lush, seductive bits of mango. Avocado, mango and grapefruit slices intersect in three small piles with drizzles of curry and sesame oils. Three crisp, large triangular crackers strewn with dark and light sesame seeds prove the perfect vehicle to add crunch after you lift a bite to your lips. Everything goes together so well that you just want to sigh.

A square of chopped steak tartare touches corners with another of tiny chilled Maine lobster bits. There are shallots and avocado, trufflfles and Parmesan, chives and a stack of perfectly thin, buttered and toasted baguette slices. The bread is golden and crisp on the edges, but soft toward the center. Again, worth a sigh. We're three for three with the marvelous lobster bisque. The essence of this famous crustacean is concentrated in a broth heightened by a splash of Cognac and enough cream to give it a texture like velvet. A small crunchy crouton spread with crème fraîche, topped with the tiniest bits of chive, makes for the ideal garnish.

Seamless service by the elegant staff, by the way, punctuates the entire meal. They are knowledgeable, friendly and anticipate your every need. Seared Alaskan halibut is meant for an earthy Each dish from Eddie V's is well-balanced, attractively plated and a joy to eat. By Jon Palmer Claridge ccessing the upscale chain restaurants along Tampa's Boy Scout Boulevard can be daunting for the uninitiated. Usually there's free valet or some self-parking available along the parallel one-way service road. However, my good friend, Mr. Google, is being particularly mischievous on this night. I dutifully pull up as directed to Eddie V's Prime Seafood only to realize it's not accessible from the west side; the back entrance to a parking garage is blocked by orange traffific cones. The solution is a circuitous return to Boy Scout to approach from the east. As I pull my modest wheels under the valet canopy held up by a monogrammed fountain and hop out, it's impossible not to notice two late model Bentleys. One jet black, the other bright white — $400,000 worth of luxury to announce that Eddie V's clients are well-heeled and/or here for a special occasion. The 16-restaurant franchise, which began in Austin, is now owned by Orlando's Darden Group. The Bay area location is indeed an elegant dining experience. From plush, neutral earth-tone decor to Deco-esqe sconces, fifixtures and chandeliers, it's upscale all the way. The flfloor-to-ceiling glass wine cellar welcomes you as you enter. There's a bar with live jazz to the right, and comfortable booths or crisp white tablecloths to the left. Soon after you settle at the table, a server arrives Casablanca-style in a white dinner jacket and black bow tie — garb that surprises by its oldfashioned sophistication. A tray arrives with thick slices of warm, open-crumb multigrain bread. Two small, white china containers of soft, creamy butter sprinkled with lines of chives and pink Himalayan salt are also there for your pleasure. When our appetizers arrive, it's clear that, although the menu is traditional, the quality of ingredients is top-notch, and the kitchen is in complete control. Without exception, each dish is well-balanced, attractively plated and a joy to eat. The beautiful, glistening round of diced tartare of Pacifific ahi tuna sits on ripe, lush, seductive bits of mango. Avocado, mango and grapefruit slices intersect in three small piles with drizzles of curry and sesame oils. Three crisp, large triangular crackers strewn with dark and light sesame seeds prove the perfect vehicle to add crunch after you lift a bite to your lips. Everything goes together so well that you just want to sigh. A square of chopped steak tartare touches corners with another of tiny chilled Maine lobster bits. There are shallots and avocado, trufflfles and Parmesan, chives and a stack of perfectly thin, buttered and toasted baguette slices. The bread is golden and crisp on the edges, but soft toward the center. Again, worth a sigh. We're three for three with the marvelous lobster bisque. The essence of this famous crustacean is concentrated in a broth heightened by a splash of Cognac and enough cream to give it a texture like velvet. A small crunchy crouton spread with crème fraîche, topped with the tiniest bits of chive, makes for the ideal garnish. Seamless service by the elegant staff, by the miso broth flfloating with crisp, sweet sugar snap peas and shiitake mushrooms. Thin slices of hot red pepper dot the bowl, and may surprise diners not expecting a fifiery zing. Grilled tail-on jumbo shrimp are stuffed "oreganata-style" with lump crab meat lightly mixed with fresh bread crumbs, garlic, butter and herbs to delicious effect. Every element is in sync, and the flflavors meld into shellfifish heaven. Our last over-the-top entree is a perfect, thickcut, dry-aged 8-ounce fifilet mignon and a huge, broiled cold-water lobster tail inverted for display on top of its shell. Drawn butter and a wrapped lemon accompany to tweak the lobster to taste. Oh, and, of course, there's a textbook béarnaise (an extra $4) tinged with tarragon. At $84 in the current market, it's a splurge to be sure, but a sublime version of quintessential surf and turf.

The meal fifinishes with a burst of fifire — literally. A scrumptious bananas Foster butter cake is doused with flflaming rum before our eyes. The blue flflame pours from a silver sauce boat, engulfing the entire cake. While the alcohol burns, the flflame turns yellow and fifinally dies. Our forks dig into the delicious combo, and we pick up bits of whipped cream and small-batch butter pecan ice cream, which flflank the cake. Don't miss this one.

We also enjoy another one of Eddie's desserts: s'mores with a big square layer of dense dark chocolate sitting on a graham-cracker base with crushed toffee, topped with super-thick, creamy vanilla-bean marshmallow that's torched by the kitchen to campfifire goodness.

As we exit, the Bentleys' owners haven't left. But I drive home in my humble chariot with a smile, knowing that my dinner was just as lavish as theirs — unless they splurged four fifigures on a profound wine from the award-wining cellar, that is.

FOOD + DRINK

I'm so sleepy

Apparently gluten withdrawal is a thing.

By Cathy Salustri

I can fifind no actual scientifific research to support what I'm about to tell you. But that doesn't make it less real. Back when I wrote my fifirst #BecauseGluten, the guys from the Celiac Project reached out to talk to me for their podcast. I subscribed, and over the months I've learned a lot. The biggest gamechanger for me was the episode where I learned about the Find Me Gluten Free app, which allows me to fifind gluten-free restaurants while traveling. 

Well, the biggest until now. Last month, the podcast guest was a woman of bed. Where I once woke up without an alarm shortly after 4 a.m., I started sleeping till 8 a.m. And it turns out, going GF may have caused all #BECAUSEGLUTEN who suffered from gluten withdrawal fatigue, something I'd never heard of before. Two years ago I would've dismissed this as bullshit (remember, I was the world's biggest asshole about celiac and GF diets, and my diagnosis is the universe's idea of karma). Now, I turned up the radio and listened closely.

See, after I gave up gluten, people kept asking me if I felt better. I didn't. Aside from the anger of never having decent French bread again, aside from being an asymptomatic or silent celiac who never had the symptoms most celiac sufferers do, I felt like shit. I was tired all the time, had no energy and — oh, yes — gained 30 pounds in less than six months. Everything seemed like an effort. Shopping for groceries. Making a salad. Walking the dog.

At the time, I chalked it up to low iron, because my iron-defificiency anemia was so severe my hematologist told me he'd never in his life seen iron so low. That led me to get another iron infusion and also receive B-12 shots. Except none of them kicked in like they had before I gave up gluten. I tried to start yoga, but ultimately couldn't get my ass out

of bed. Where I once woke up without an alarm shortly after 4 a.m., I started sleeping till 8 a.m. And it turns out, going GF may have caused all of it.Not that I shouldn't have given up gluten. I have celiac, and gluten was literally killing me, so it was absolutely the right thing to do. Anecdotal evidence suggests the fatigue I felt is common

 when people give up gluten and go through withdrawal. It makes sense: Gluten is found in carbs, simple (white bread) and complex (wheat bread), which your body coverts to sugar, which gives you energy. It stands to reason that if your diet doesn't contain a lot of processed or naturally occurring sugars, except for those found in food that contain gluten, you will experience a drop in energy. Additionally, my body might be healing (slowly — four decades of gluten takes a while to undo), and that, too, takes energy. Factor in plain old depression at having an incurable disease and, yeah, it could explain why people get incredibly tired when they go gluten-free.

I'm using my paltry knowledge to make these deductions; I could be wrong. While I'd love to point you toward research that supports — or decries — this, the medical community doesn't seem to want to talk about it. The only articles I can fifind are far from medically supported. They make sense, but lack research. After eight months, what I've described has started to go away. I began exercising again last week and went back to yoga this week. I bought ingredients instead of frozen meals. I woke up before 5 a.m. today. Whether or not I can fifind valid research on this no longer matters. It happened — and I'm getting past it. A little warning would've been nice, though.

Low-carb in Largo

Tasty Spoon offers a wallet-friendly menu of food favorites turned low-carb.

By Ainhoa Palacios

I n a pinch for breakfast, lunch or dinner? Another speedy prepared-eats purveyor, which opened its doors in Largo on Aug. 4, has you covered. Located at 3387 East Bay Drive, the grab-and-go store, known as Tasty Spoon, specializes in low-carb meals. "Everything is freshly made and prepared for someone to come in, check out the fridges and take a look at what they want," said Shalin Lele, Tasty Spoon's helping hand (more on that in a sec). "They can grab their meal, check out, and go."

I n a pinch for breakfast, lunch or dinner? Another speedy prepared-eats purveyor, which opened its doors in Largo on Aug. 4, has you covered. Located at 3387 East Bay Drive, the grab-and-go store, known as Tasty Spoon, specializes in low-carb meals. "Everything is freshly made and prepared for someone to come in, check out the fridges and take a look at what they want," said Shalin Lele, Tasty Spoon's helping hand (more on that in a sec). "They can grab their meal, check out, and go." Tasty Spoon was eggplant lasagna and a variety of flflatbreads, plus dishes that feature cuisines from around the world — think nachos-style carnitas and butter chicken. For breakfast, there's a lineup of sweet and savory items, including lemon pancakes and bacon and onion frittatas, and a fun mixand-match ice cream sandwich bar is even in the works. A dedicated kitchen staff cooks up the  cltampa.com inspired by Shalin's husband, Bhushan, who made a commitment to healthier food choices despite a busy schedule. After Bhushan shared the idea of an affordable, health-conscious grab-and-go place with his aunt, Jenny Abhyankar, Tasty Spoon was born. Abhyankar and Bhushan are co-owners, while Shalin is their right hand who's helped every step of the way. "Low-carb is more than a diet. By replacing refifined sugars and carbohydrates with healthy fats and proteins, it helps [your body] maintain sustainable energy. You don't experience a 3 o'clock craving," Shalin said. This low-carb theme, of course, drives Tasty Spoon's menu of "restaurant favorites minus the carbs." But that doesn't mean gluten-free and vegetarian options aren't offered. Customers can look forward to fridges stocked with classics like chicken Parmesan, new store's selection of meals daily inside its bright, 900-squarefoot space, where takeout truly is the focus (really, there are no seats). Each dish is made from scratch and replaces hard-topronounce ingredients with wholesome ones. And about that affordability thing: The goal is to provide wallet-friendly offerings that don't exceed $10. "We really want the community to eat healthier, feel good and have the energy they need to do what they do in their lives," Shalin said. "Be with their family, do their work, be with their friends. We want to be that good food source for them. We want them to have that blind trust that the ingredients are good and there is care put in, because we really pride ourselves in that." Tasty Spoon is open from 7:15 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday and Sunday; and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday.