| Hello, good people! It is warming up, but still oh-so-pleasant out. There's been a lot going on this week. Tampa's oldest bakery relocated. We found that, in the most unlikely of places, you can find an amazing burger. And while gas prices are punishing us right now, you can eat for good and cheap at the gas station.
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| [MARTHA ASENCIO-RHINE | Times]
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| Tampa's oldest bakery levels up
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| Over the past six months in Tampa Bay, I have been fortunate enough to report on multiple stories of generational legacy in the food scene. Most recently: Alessi Bakery’s relocation down the street from its old home of over 50 years.
Tampa Bay fosters some extraordinary legacies: iconic places like Alessi; Cacciatore & Sons, which has been serving Tampa for over 100 years; Florida’s oldest restaurant The Columbia, in the heart of Ybor City; and La Segunda Bakery, also based in Ybor and just a few years younger than Alessi.
After speaking with Phil Alessi Jr. and seeing what he and his team built at the new location, it dawned on me that Tampa Bay exists in a unique space: aggressively pushing and striving for the new, but still charmed by and reverential of the more established and battle-tested.
These places aren’t relics either: They are woven into the fabric of Tampeño society, feeding generations, active members of the food community and shapers of its landscape.
Alessi’s baked goods can be found at Publix, and its unique pizza-like scachatta on home tables yearround, especially on major holidays and during festive gatherings.
When you walk into the new space, it’s a veritable Alessi family history lesson, but it's a lesson in Tampa’s history, too. Muhammad Ali and George Steinbrenner make appearances in photos and of course the man that founded it all near the turn of the 20th century, Nicolo Alessi, features prominently in the blown-up family photographs. Phil Alessi Jr. has placed his family’s 100 plus-year-old dining table in the market to be used for wedding cake tastings, too.
Alessi has also added wood-fired pizzas, roasted chicken and other rotisserie proteins to the menu with a bevy of sides, and a full-bar is available with hours fitting for a neighborhood watering hole.
In an area with an intense amount of flux, it is reassuring to see a stalwart level up, and do it with humble style.
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| Here's the tea on what else is going on in food and dining news.
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