It's my first time.

So, here goes.  The first official post of the blog I've been slacking on for........ever.  This won't be a perfectly written blog nor will it be clean and pretty.  What it will hopefully be is appetizing and entertaining.

Anyone who knows me is well aware of my passion for the culinary world.  I love to cook, the kitchen is my happy place, restaurant menus turn me on (yes, I meant it that way) and I try and be as adventurous as possible when dining out.  I'll taste anything once.  I'll taste things more than once, such as mayonnaise, just to be sure. I've always loathed it and it seems I always will. Don't try and reason with me, "Oh, it's just eggs and oil".  Suck it.  I've given it a go numerous times and the love affair between mayo and me ain't gonna happen. But for the handful of items I detest, there really isn't much I won't eat.  What do I adore, you ask?  The pig, of course.  Oh, the pig is indeed a magical and delicious creature. Its belly being my favorite protein.  Pig belly in my belly makes me a happy girl.  I also get down on some cheeks.  Nearly any cheek cooked right is damn delicious.  I myself have a healthy set of cheeks so if we're ever in a "you must eat your neighbor to survive" or "I've been waiting too long for a table" situation, you may feast upon on my cheeks and rejoice (preferably after I've died from starvation or frostbite).

To give you a little history, I had a super dysfunctional youth but meals were always what brought my family and I together.  I may not have had the most nurturing family but I was definitely surrounded by excellent cooks and started cooking at a young age.  I was then spoiled by having an extremely talented chef for an older brother who expanded my culinary knowledge and interest.  I had my first bite of foie gras at age 20 (practically an old lady) at what used to be The Gaucho Room in Miami Beach, where my brother was sous chef.  I had no clue what it was but I'm comfortable declaring it as my first foodie adventure.  And while he had the honor of cooking a dinner at The James Beard House, I kicked his ass in the Great Lasagna Cookoff of 2001. I also was engaged to the most passionate chef I've ever met.  He so loved what he did and we had many culinary journeys together, from Las Vegas to Puerto Rico and countless other tasty spots.  He is unfairly no longer with us but I will carry on and continue to cook, eat and travel in his memory.

I am currently based in the Tampa area where there is an awesome food scene growing, seemingly unbeknownst to the rest of the culinary world.  There is such a diverse culture here living in a city bordered by farms and the Gulf that it totally makes sense.  Right now is Tampa's time. We've got talented and passionate chefs, a food truck explosion, Cigar City Brewing is blowing minds and expanding with their tasting room and soon to be open gastropub (conveniently located three minutes from my work) and my favorite restaurant, Wimauma, now into their second year, is killing it.  I've yet to leave sober, hungry or at a reasonable time.  Check out Chef Gary Moran's Twitter.  Seriously.  Lastly, I have to give a huge shout out / thank you to the folks at Tasting Tampa who have been keeping me culinarily sane since my move from South Florida to Tampa.  With all their adventures and 13th Step dinners they are shining a big fat spotlight upon the Tampa food scene.  They also gave me my first writing opportunity which can be found on their site.  Learn about them, stalk them, they're fabulous. Just don't take up one of my spots at their events.  I will cut you.

So, to wrap this shit up because your attention span is surely waning, I love food.  I love many things but I seriously love me some food.  This blog will be mostly for writing about my adventures dining out as well as in the kitchen. I'm also getting into photography so I'll be posting shots that will hopefully make you want to lick your screen. In addition, I have a concert addiction, I love to travel, I'm an entertainment junkie (quality stuff, of course) and a lack of common sense in the world pisses me off so I may sometimes rant randomly about non-food related stuffs.  Don't like it?  Don't read it.  Constructive criticism is always welcome and seeing as this is the internet I'm sure you nuts won't hold back.  I do not work in the world of grub.  My career is completely unrelated so keep that in mind when reading my posts.  I'm no expert, just an avid fan. But you can always feel free to tell me to shut the hell up.  Like right meow.