*thanks to the relationship with the Tampa Bay Bloggers and TAPS @ International Plaza I did receive the opportunity to taste their yummy dishes in exchange for a blog post & social media love. All opinions are my own.
International Plaza is almost my second home. Thanks to two ahhmazing ambassadorships at lululemon & Fit2Run, I visit IP at least once or twice a week. It has become tradition to meet my Fit2Run crew for dinner after my PiYo class every Wednesday night — some nights its the food court, we like Wine Wednesday at The Pub, and Bar Louie is great for a quick bite. Not only is Bay Street & IP great for a weeknight, but it’s fun for the weekend night as well! The area becomes even more alive during the weekends and it makes a perfect spot for date night. Bay Street continues to evolve and some delicious restaurants are popping up to make IP their new home.
I was excited to try out TAPS; I already knew they had a menu full of options for food & drinks — but I was ready to try them out for myself! Cue a new spot for Wednesday Night Runner Dinner!
Their signature cocktail list is impressive. We first tried their Garden Gimlet, a light & refreshing blend of sage, cucumber, & citrus. Perfect for girl’s night out.
In case a guy’s night is more your style, TAPS does have 20+ beers on tap and 300+ by bottle. TAPS definitely has something for everyone’s taste in the adult beverage category.
It only took one beverage before we were started with their delicious & enticing dishes with Chef Jason Dame; you could just sense his passion for creating food masterpieces. Chef Jason was great at giving us the details for each dish we tasted.
Wasting no more time for chit chat, we dove right in. The Char-Grilled Octopus was superb. #keepingitreal, I do have a texture thing and was slightly hesitant… but it was cooked to perfection. Plus, the basil pesto & added puree was quite the accompaniment for the seafood.
“Excuse me, Chef Jason, could I pretty please get a full plate of these Short Rib Nachos?” These were absolutely ahhmazing. Thick & delicious steak fries topped with mouth watering short rib; don’t forget the Beer queso and jalepaneo for a little zest. Helllllo cheat meal side dish!
Honey Badger don’t care. I met him once, he told me he really didn’t care… But this beverage, a soothing mix of maple, honey & lemon made you want to cuddle up on a chilly night next to a campfire. I think Honey Badger would appreciate that — with his thick coat of fur, I am sure he enjoys the cooler weather.
Everything is better with bacon. It’s a fact. Crazy enough, in college I could not get my fill of Cream Cheese Jalapeño Poppers — if they were on the menu, they were being ordered! Fast forward about eight years and my tastes have not changed! The jalepenos were just juicy enough, filled with cream cheese and wrapped with love, I mean bacon. Absolutely delicious; not too spicy-hot, these would be a great starter dish to share.
Thanks to previous events I have been able to attend with the Tampa Bay Bloggers, I have already been acquainted with the spiced rum known as Sailor Jerry. Ah hoy matey’s! Since the treasured Tampa tradition of partying it up with Jose Gasparilla is upon us, this will be the perfect drink to kick it off! A zesty combo of my favorites: ginger (yum!), ginger beer (double yum!), apple butter & lemon.
Does this picture need an explanation? I mean, really. Breakfast favorites meet dessert —> match made in heaven. Plus the mix of fresh berries, you just cannot go wrong with this choice!
A special thanks to TAPS, again, for their generosity in treating the Tampa Bay Bloggers to their delicious beverages & dishes — perfect for date night, a family night out, or even drinks for girl’s night out!
Alexandria @ Al2getherfit
Those nachos and jalapenos look like something I need for dinner tonight! 🙂
Caitlyn
They were soooo good!
Stacey
Great to see you the other night at the event. You captured the fun and food in your post!