Vue Sushi & Martini Bar

Vue Sushi is located on the ground floor at 200 Central Avenue in St. Pete. Venture upstairs to the hottest new nightclub in St. Pete, or stay down for the best sushi in the city.

The best time to go to Vue is after 10pm Sunday-Thursday or after 11pm Friday-Saturday. All specialty rolls are half off after those times!  Thursday is also Ladies Night Out - a complimentary glass of champagne for ladies (my favorite) and half off martinis. I may be biased because so far I have only been during the half price time...

The sushi service at Vue is definitely not quick. If you want fast sushi, go elsewhere. All the rolls at Vue are handmade with love, and it shows in the taste. On my last visit, the group behind me complained about how long their order was taking. They had 8 people and a whole lot of sushi - you can't expect it to be served as quickly as late night fast food. Menu items with longer prep times are marked so on the menu.

Vue surrounds you with its sparkling smooth red decor. Upstairs in the nightclub you will find a similar style with white and light blue. Classy and upscale but not uptight! Vue is also more spacious that other local sushi venues which feel cramped and crowded.

My favorite find at Vue so far is the "Surf N Turf" roll: lump crab meat, scallions, asparagus, with a torched filet mignon on top. Made even more amazing with the addition of eel sauce, scallions, and roe. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.  This normally goes for $14.50 or $7.25 when half price specials. It is worth every hard earned penny! I also like the Vue 19 roll: spicy tuna, asparagus, covered with avocado, ell, ell sauce, and tempura chips ($12 or $6 when half price).

Did I mention that they make it look pretty too?

Maybe I will make it to Vue during "normal business hours" someday. For now, I will continue going there after a fun night out or after a long day of work and treat myself to delicious sushi. I don't need all the bells and whistles when the food is this good.

A meal done well

Can't beat the price! 

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Dunkin' Donuts - Sparkling Beverages and Bakery Sandwiches

When I think about Dunkin' Donuts, I think a quick morning stop before work to grab an iced coffee and bagel. Today I had a chance to learn why American Runs on Dunkin' - for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and anytime in between!

I had a chance to attend a Social Sparkle Happy Hour hosted by a local Dunkin' Donuts. I was introduced to some great new products they are rolling out. Who knew Dunkin' Donuts had so many great products besides donuts and coffee?

The new Sparkling Beverages at Dunkin' Donuts are made to order. The next time you want more than water but less than a soda - keep these babies in mind! The recipe is simple: sparkling water naturally sweetened and topped with real fruit. No artificial sweeteners here! I tried the Mixed Berry and Tropical Fruit flavors. While both were refreshing, I prefer the Tropical Fruit - topped with diced pineapple. The Mixed Berry has diced strawberries - a sweet treat waiting for you at the bottom of the cup when you finish your drink. These are now available throughout the Tampa Bay area for $1.99 (16 ounces). Dunkin' also offers a sparkling water sweetened with raspberry for $1.69 (16 ounces).

(L) Tropical Fruit, (R) Mixed Berry - What are you drinkin'?

My choice

Diced strawberries on top. See the sparkles?

Did you know that Dunkin' Donuts bakes all of their products fresh, on site, daily?  My new favorite is their French bakery roll! I am a bread fanatic, and this won me over. Crunchy in all the right places, while soft and tender inside. I sampled 2 of the new bakery sandwiches - ham and cheese, and turkey with chipotle sauce (both on the French roll). We also sampled the angus, steak, and egg sandwich on an onion bagel. All of these products are available all day, every day! So the next time you feel like breakfast for lunch or dinner, your local Dunkin' Donuts has exactly what you want!

Ham and white cheddar on a French roll

Angus, egg, and cheese on an onion bagel

Last but not least, lets talk donuts! I learned that each DD store has a unique donut creation. This location featured a chocolate chip pancake donut! It did not sound appetizing, but I was hooked as soon as I smelled it. A classic donut topped with a sweet maple frosting and mini chocolate chips. Just the right amount of maple sweetness in every bite. I will definitely be going back to this location for another.

How can we not try donuts?

Dunkin' Donuts has been serving Americans since 1950. Today there are over 10,000 locations in 32 countries around the world. I love to see a company evolve to keep up with changing times and tastes. Dunkin' is investing in more than just donuts - to keep us running throughout the day.

Other fun facts I learned about Dunkin' Donuts today:

• The 2 locations on 4th Street in St. Petersburg are the first two fully "green" locations in the organization. 
• There are no preservatives in the donuts.
• No microwaves are present in any Dunkin' Donuts location.
• The sweet tea in the Southeast US is a special recipe - developed just for our extra sweet taste.
• The corporate location in Canton, Massachusetts has a full service Dunkin' Donuts for employees. How would you like to work there??

Thank you Dunkin' Donuts for this excellent treat! 

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St. Pete Food Truck Rally - 3/10/12

Saturday I had the pleasure of visiting a food truck rally in St. Pete. So many delicious food trucks, so little time!

Fire Monkey Food Truck
I was so impressed by my first visit to the Fire Monkey. The "Monkey Chow" menu was filled with original items. I had to try the Gorilla Balls: Risotto balls stuffed with beef, bacon and bleu cheese. Panko breaded, fried, and served with a side of kickin' apple cranberry sauce." They were perfectly fried and sinfully delicious. I can't wait to run across the Fire Monkey again so I can try their other creations.

Two Asians & A Grill
This food truck had some of the longest lines. Fresh sushi and classic hibachi items - including the famous "goodie goodie" sauce. I ordered chicken fried rice ($7.00) which was an extremely generous portion. Next time I will try sushi and egg rolls. No fancy knife tricks or sitting next to strangers - just good food, fast.

Cuppin Cake
By the time I came around, there were only 2 flavors of cupcakes left: "Choc O Nutter" and "Orange Creamsicle". I grabbed a Choc O Nutter ($2.50) for the road and snacked on it that night. Smooth peanut butter frosting and a moist chocolate cupcake. My only regret is that I didn't get to try a Red Velvet or Chocolate with Cream Cheese icing.

Other highlights:

Gone Bananas: healthy frozen banana treats

Natural ice pops - perfect for a Florida afternoon

Sinful Pleasure Dessert Co: Delicious cookies! 

Tasty Stacy

AmericanWeiner

So true.

The future of food trucks is up for debate in St. Pete. Tell your city council what you think!

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Cupcake ATM

Cupcakes available 24/7 from an ATM? You are not dreaming! The future is here and it is bringing cupcakes with it!

Sprinkles Cupcakes in Beverly Hills recently unveiled 2012's best invention. 600 boxed cupcakes (and other Sprinkles products) await purchase behind a touch screen ATM-like device. An early morning, late night, or celebratory cupcake craving will cost you only $4.00.

Sprinkles will soon be bringing their automated cupcake dispenser to other locations around the country. Unfortunately we don't have a Sprinkles in Tampa Bay... yet.

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Getting bigger and better!

Sweet! Tampa Bay is now on Twitter!

Follow @SweetTampaBay

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My First Friday

Another First Friday has come and gone in beautiful downtown St. Petersburg! Here is the play by play of my night:

Wood Fired Pizza 
344 1st Avenue South
Our server must have been new to the serving profession. She wasn't familiar with the menu (drink or pizza) and didn't have the best attitude. The pizza was ok, but not as spectacular as I was expecting. I am a cheese lover when it comes to pizza and was disappointed with the amount of mozzarella on our "Michelangelo." The pizza is described as "san marzano tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, caramelized mushrooms and onions, pepperoni, organic herbs, pecorino romano." We got the larger size which had 8 slices. The biggest disappointment of all? Canned mushrooms! ugh. If I am paying for a premium pizza, I want fresh mushrooms! More than likely, I will not be returning to Wood Fired Pizza.

MacDintons
242 1st Avenue North
We missed the open bar from 6-8 for just $10. The place was extremely crowded before 8 (obviously) but died down after open bar. The bathroom lines were long, and the bathrooms were not pretty. They played 3 Bruno Mars songs within 30 minutes. Not very Irish if you ask me. The view to the stage at Jannus Live was pretty good. Plenty of security was on hand to make sure that the path from MacDintons to Jannus was only used by those paying to use it.

Ale and The Witch
111 2nd Avenue NE
32 American craft brews on tap. The courtyard is a mature alternative to the crowds on Central Avenue. The mature audience enjoys their craft beers and wine from neighboring Wine Madonna. Live music, plenty of seating, and lots of 4 legged friends around.

Vue 19 Nightclub
200 Central Avenue - 19th floor
The secret is out. Crowds form in the bottom of the Bank of America building, waiting for their chance to get in the elevator that will send them to the hottest new spot in St. Pete. The dimly lit space is elegantly decorated, accompanied by a huge bar and 2 outdoor rooftop decks. No drinks allowed outside. The bar staff could use some additional work. They were out of champagne, and the bartender gave me a STRAW to sign my receipt! The bathroom lines were long, but kept clean. The outdoor decks are worth a trip up, but not nearly as big as the rooftop deck at Push.

Vue 19 Sushi
200 Central Avenue - ground floor
My favorite part of the night was the half price sushi at Vue. The "Surf & Turf" roll was amazing! This is described on the menu as "real lump crab meat, scallions, asparagus, covered with filet mignon, then torched." I couldn't tell you the other 2 rolls we ordered because of all the wine consumed at the previously mentioned locations. I can tell you it was all delicious, and I can't wait to go back!

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