Dessert for Lunch at Mama Micieli's

UPDATE *********LOCATION CLOSED************************

I have driven past Mama Micieli's on Park Bouelvard hundreds of times and saw the sign "Gelato and Desserts" and I would think to myself that I must stop in sometime for gelati.  Well, fortunately that day finally happened!  Don't let the sign fool you, there is a lot more than cookies and gelato.

When I entered the restaurant, I was delighted to see the array of desserts!

I thought about making it a dessert before lunch kind of day.  But, I waited and ate lunch first!

Although there are tables for outside dining, we chose to eat inside.  The inside of the restaurant (including the bathroom) is very clean.  There is a lot of decorative tilework throughout the building.

The specials of the day were either eggplant parmagiana or stuffed bell pepper. ($7.95 including salad) I was debating between a meatball sub ($5.95), an Italian wrap ($5.95 includes bag of chips and pickle) or one of the specials. I decided to order the eggplant special.  My friends ordered the turkey lunch crepe ($5.95 with bag of chips and pickle) and the stuffed bell pepper.

The owners of the restaurant are very friendly. (Sharon's grandmother is actually Mama Micieli, is 102 and lives in New York.)  They answered all of my questions with a smile and were very gracious. When she asked me if I wanted bleu cheese or feta on my side salad, I almost fell off my chair with delight.  I love bleu cheese!

Our meals were delivered quite timely.

Turkey Crepe:

 Eggplant Parmigiana

 Stuffed bell pepper. (Not sure if you can tell, but this is one huge bell pepper!)

We also shared a piece of the Limoncelli cake.

The selection of gelato flavors is wonderful.

 I will go back in for the gelato, but today I just got some brownies to take home. (Turtle and German)

LocalShops1.com will be having a Dolci, Vino and Amici event on August 23. Click here to register.

Mama Micieli's is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 10am-6pm and Friday and Saturday from 10am-9pm.  They offer a "dinner to go" from 5-6pm where you can pickup dinner and take it home.  Mama Micieli's is located at 4366 Park Boulevard and can be reached at 727-489-6425. They also cater!

Stop in, say hi and tell them Afternoon Delight sent you!  Don't forget to get your License to Cheat from Tampa Bay Natural Health
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Take a Walk on the Wild Side at Wild Cajun Blue Crab and Shrimp

The Central Avenue District is really blossoming with all sorts of local businesses. (I am not really sure if this is the name of this area, though.) I was pleasantly surprised to see them number of shoppes and galleries. You could spend an afternoon meandering around the area.

Right next door to Haslam's Book Store, you will find Wild Cajun Blue Crab and Shrimp. They boast the "best crabs on the planet and now the best shrimp."  The building is on the corner of 20th Street and Central Avenue.

The menu is posted all over the front of the building so that you can decide what you want before going to the window to order your food.  As usual, I had to let someone go in front of me as I can never make up my mind! 

There is a wide variety of things on the menu including Po Boys (shrimp, fish and oyster $5.00), jambalaya ($5.00), boiled shrimp with potato ($5.00), mullet sandwich ($3.50), tilapia sandwich ($4.00) and crab shala ($5.00).  You can also get 12 boiled shrimp with potato for $5.00 or fried shrimp jumbos with fries ($5.00). I decided that I wanted to have crabs, but I still had to decide if I wanted hot crabs [spicy blue crabs - small !1.00 each, medium $1.50 each, large $2.00 each or jumbos $3.00 each], garlic crabs (3 crabs with potato $6.00, 5 crabs with 2 potatoes $9.00, or 7 crabs with 3 potatoes $12.00), fried crabs (3 crabs with corn $7.00, 5 crabs with corn $9, 7 crabs with corn $12) or snow crabs.  I went with the garlic crabs since they are already cleaned!

All orders are packaged to go, but we ate our lunches right there on the picnic table. Several people came and picked up orders while we were eating.   Rob had the fish PoBoy.  As you can see the fries and ketchup are already on it. Be sure to ask for extra napkins if you are dining outside.

I am looking forward to a return trip as I want to try the world famous 99 cent (whiting) fish sandwich and the grouper sandwich ($7.00).  In, fact, I think I will also buy the boiled peanuts ($1.00/bag) and take them into the Rays game with me!

Wild Blue Carb and Shrimp is located at 2005 Central Avenue.  They are open 7 days a week - Monday through Friday 11am-10pm and Sunday noon to 8pm.  Call 727-642-6365 if you have any questions.

Do you love the idea of supporting LOCAL businesses? Join LocalShops1.com and get discounts at some of your favorite places - including No Name Java!  Also, get your License To Cheat from Tampa Bay Natural Health!

Stop by and say hi to the folks at Wild Cajun Blue Crab and Shrimp - and tell them Afternoon Delight sent you!

Have a place that you want me to check out? Let me know!