AMERICANWAY

BRIEF: GO FROM LEFT: ROBERT LA FOLLETTE; COURTESY TACO BUS; COURTESY THE COLUMBIA A WEEKEND IN: Tampa, Fla. When it comes to CRAFT BEER AND GOOD FOOD, Tampa is pints and tacos above the rest. Make your way to the Sunshine State to savor these flavors firsthand. FEEDING FRENZY: Cigar City Brewing; Taco Bus' cochinita pibil torta on a fresh-baked telera roll; Columbia Restaurant Group President Richard Gonzmart in The Columbia's wine cellar L ONG THE OVERLOOKED stepsister of the tourist mecca that is Orlando, Fla., Tampa is establishing itself as a destination for foodies and craft-beer enthusiasts who crave a little culture with their sunshine. Here, everything from the city's brews to its signature sandwich tells the story of Tampa's history. Grab your koozie, loosen your belt and get ready for a gastronomic weekend in the Big Guava. DRINK: The highlight for beer enthusiasts is a trip to Cigar City Brewing, voted one of the best brewers in the world by www.ratebeer.com, a website popular with ale aficionados. Since 2009, CCB, as it's called, has been on a mission to tell Tampa's story with beers that honor the area's history and culture. The Tocobaga Red Ale takes its name from the Native American tribe that lived in Tampa before the arrival of the Spanish. If you taste a little cedar in your beer, that's a nod to the city's status as the Cigar Capital of the World in the early 1900s and the stacks of cedar cigar boxes that lined factory walls. A few miles away in the Ybor City neighborhood, pop into Tampa Bay Brewing Company, the first licensed brewpub in Florida. After sipping brews with names like Iron Rat Stout and Moosekiller, amble over to New World Brewery, a beer garden with more than 130 varieties of craft beers. The venue regularly hosts indie bands on its outdoor stage. EAT: You'll need something to line your belly be- fore a night of exploring Tampa's beer scene. Grab dinner at The Columbia, Florida's oldest restaurant. In 1905, The Columbia was a 60-seat corner shop serving Cuban coffee to the city's cigar workers. Today, The Columbia stretches an entire city block and serves a mean version of the Cuban sandwich. You can also grab some late-night Mexican food at Tampa's Taco Bus, as seen on The Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and on Travel Channel's Man v. Food. The Taco Bus' vegetarian faux steak strips are top-notch, though carnivores may pre- fer the cochinita pibil: shredded pork based on a 5,000-year-old Mayan recipe. The next morning, head on over to Datz, where the eggs Benedict is served over chicken and waffles and the bloody mary includes a big slice of bacon. STAY: Forget the ribbon cutting. When the Epi- curean Hotel opened late last year, the occasion was marked by a steak-cutting ceremony — an appropriate salute considering the hotel is man- aged in part by the owners of nearby Bern's Steak House, recognized throughout the years by the likes of Wine Spectator and Rachael Ray as one of the best restaurants in the country. The Epicurean Hotel stays true to its roots with a heavy emphasis on fine dining and culinary education. In fact, you can learn various culinary arts through classes and seminars held at the hotel's Epicurean Theatre culinary classroom. The hotel's restaurant, Élevage, is led by executive chef Chad Johnson, a 2012 James Beard Best Chef South Region semifinalist. AMERICAN AIRLINES off ers 15 daily fl ights to Tampa (TPA) from Chicago (ORD), Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), Los Angeles (LAX) and Miami (MIA), and 24 daily fl ights operated by US AIRWAYS from Charlotte (CLT), Miami (MIA), Philadelphia (PHL), Phoenix (PHX) and Washington, D.C. (DCA). By Helen A n n e Tr av is Find contact information for all of the places mentioned in this story on aa.com/americanway; search keyword Tampa. To learn more about Tampa, visit www.tampagov.net * TPA * 4 0 O C TO B E R 2 01 4 A A .CO M/A M E R I C A NWAY

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