Raeven
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 15, 2015
Vitality Bowls
Before we went to Tampa we stopped at Vitality Bowls for some breakfast. I decided to get a Dessert Bowl (which doesn't really sound breakfast-y but mostly is).
(Just imagine that says breakfast ).
Base Blend
Organic Açaí, Coconut Milk, Bananas, Strawberries, Dark Chocolate
Toppings
Bananas, Strawberries, Coconut Shavings, Chocolate Chips
This was a pretty typical acai bowl, but it was good and I enjoyed it.
Bartaco
For our first meal in Tampa, I chose Bartaco. I'd heard a lot of good things about Bartaco. There's one in Orlando too. And I'd been meaning to try it so I thought it'd be easier to just go to the one in Tampa since I didn't have a long list of restaurants I wanted to try there and I do in Orlando. (We were there on Mother's Day so most reservations were booked, and the next day we were in Tampa was a Monday which a lot of restaurants seemed to be closed for. We were also seeing comedy shows both nights that left us with kind of weird times to get dinner).
Shortly after we got to Tampa I decided to join a wait list for the restaurant. (The wait was like 45+ mins). We got there during our time window, but I guess the wait list was just to get on the actual wait list so the wait was another 40 mins.
I didn't really understand this model and thought they should probably just offer reservations. We didn't want to cut it too close to the comedy show, but also knew nothing else would be available besides fast food. Finally we got in, (and luckily we did make it right on time).
The restaurant was a little different than I expected. Basically, once you're seated you order food on a tablet. (I'm not sure if this was always the case or if this is a newer safety measure). And the food comes out asap.
I decided to order an app to split since I wasn't sure how big the portion sizes were.
guac
hand-mashed avocado, lime juice, serrano chiles, onions, cilantro
This was okay. Not bad, but nothing special. I also did kind of expect it to come with chips that would've been easier for dipping and there weren’t many of these.
I got three tacos the:
falafel
herbed chickpea fritter w/ traditional greek-style tzatziki + sriracha
spiced chicken verde
chile + herb marinade w/ aguacate salsa
portobello w/ queso fresco
roasted w/ poblano peppers + garlic
The falafel was good but a little spicy, the chicken was the best one and I kind of wished I'd ordered three of those, and the poblano one was the most disappointing. It was really chewy and had a heavy cilantro taste (I don't mind cilantro but it was basically the only flavor).
Josh got the:
roasted half chicken
garlic-herb half chicken w/ peruvian-style green chile sauce
He thought this was okay, but it was a much smaller portion then he expected. He did really enjoy his lemonade though.
I also got some:
churros
w/ chocolate sauce
These were probably the best part of the meal, but not the best churros I've ever had.
After eating here I have no idea why there was such a wait to get in. The pictures on the website seem a little deceptive to me as the portions look larger, and the food looks a lot fresher. A fast food restaurant was not the vibe I got from seeing pictures and reviews of the restaurant. (Both in Tampa and Orlando).
You don't really have a waiter at Bartaco so I can't comment on the service, but for a fast food-esque meal this was on the pricy side ($39) while still not being too filling. I also didn't think any of the items here were really above fast food quality, so I'm not sure this restaurant gets so much hype. I think this may be the first restaurant from this trip that I do not recommend.
Part 2 of our Tampa food is coming tomorrow! Then I'll be back to updating the trip report.
Before we went to Tampa we stopped at Vitality Bowls for some breakfast. I decided to get a Dessert Bowl (which doesn't really sound breakfast-y but mostly is).
(Just imagine that says breakfast ).
Base Blend
Organic Açaí, Coconut Milk, Bananas, Strawberries, Dark Chocolate
Toppings
Bananas, Strawberries, Coconut Shavings, Chocolate Chips
This was a pretty typical acai bowl, but it was good and I enjoyed it.
Bartaco
For our first meal in Tampa, I chose Bartaco. I'd heard a lot of good things about Bartaco. There's one in Orlando too. And I'd been meaning to try it so I thought it'd be easier to just go to the one in Tampa since I didn't have a long list of restaurants I wanted to try there and I do in Orlando. (We were there on Mother's Day so most reservations were booked, and the next day we were in Tampa was a Monday which a lot of restaurants seemed to be closed for. We were also seeing comedy shows both nights that left us with kind of weird times to get dinner).
Shortly after we got to Tampa I decided to join a wait list for the restaurant. (The wait was like 45+ mins). We got there during our time window, but I guess the wait list was just to get on the actual wait list so the wait was another 40 mins.
I didn't really understand this model and thought they should probably just offer reservations. We didn't want to cut it too close to the comedy show, but also knew nothing else would be available besides fast food. Finally we got in, (and luckily we did make it right on time).
The restaurant was a little different than I expected. Basically, once you're seated you order food on a tablet. (I'm not sure if this was always the case or if this is a newer safety measure). And the food comes out asap.
I decided to order an app to split since I wasn't sure how big the portion sizes were.
guac
hand-mashed avocado, lime juice, serrano chiles, onions, cilantro
This was okay. Not bad, but nothing special. I also did kind of expect it to come with chips that would've been easier for dipping and there weren’t many of these.
I got three tacos the:
falafel
herbed chickpea fritter w/ traditional greek-style tzatziki + sriracha
spiced chicken verde
chile + herb marinade w/ aguacate salsa
portobello w/ queso fresco
roasted w/ poblano peppers + garlic
The falafel was good but a little spicy, the chicken was the best one and I kind of wished I'd ordered three of those, and the poblano one was the most disappointing. It was really chewy and had a heavy cilantro taste (I don't mind cilantro but it was basically the only flavor).
Josh got the:
roasted half chicken
garlic-herb half chicken w/ peruvian-style green chile sauce
He thought this was okay, but it was a much smaller portion then he expected. He did really enjoy his lemonade though.
I also got some:
churros
w/ chocolate sauce
These were probably the best part of the meal, but not the best churros I've ever had.
After eating here I have no idea why there was such a wait to get in. The pictures on the website seem a little deceptive to me as the portions look larger, and the food looks a lot fresher. A fast food restaurant was not the vibe I got from seeing pictures and reviews of the restaurant. (Both in Tampa and Orlando).
You don't really have a waiter at Bartaco so I can't comment on the service, but for a fast food-esque meal this was on the pricy side ($39) while still not being too filling. I also didn't think any of the items here were really above fast food quality, so I'm not sure this restaurant gets so much hype. I think this may be the first restaurant from this trip that I do not recommend.
Part 2 of our Tampa food is coming tomorrow! Then I'll be back to updating the trip report.
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