Discover How Three Tampa Spots Serve Flavor, Community, And Value

Hungry for a Tampa Bay food tour that actually helps you choose where to eat next? We pull up a chair at three very different local favorites and dig into what matters—flavor, value, atmosphere, and how each neighborhood shapes the meal.

First stop: Midtown’s True Food Kitchen, where anti-inflammatory cooking, fresh local sourcing, and flexible swaps make “healthy” taste big and bright. We talk hummus, edamame dumplings, crisp salads, and burgers that satisfy without the crash, plus crafted drinks that skip standard sodas. The Midtown setting adds to the appeal with green space, yoga on the lawn, and easy strolling between shops, turning lunch into an easygoing ritual instead of a rushed errand.

Then we head to Tampa Heights for Ulele, perched on the Hillsborough River beside Armature Works. Here, sunsets steal the show and portions deliver real value—think seafood risotto, addictive fried carrot ribbons, and desserts that lean indulgent in the best way. We share the backstory, from the Columbia Restaurant family heritage to the historic pump-station building and a house-brewed beer program exploring the character of the on-site spring. It’s dinner as an experience: history, view, and hospitality in every pour and plate.

Finally, we roll into South Tampa for Reziero's NY Pizza, a true slice-shop mood with Brooklyn roots. Expect a generous 20-inch pie, a two-slice-and-drink lunch special, subs, and a cozy, come-as-you-are energy perfect for post-game hangs. Along the way, we take on the “New York water” debate—why mineral profiles might shape bagel chew and pizza crust snap—and how Tampa’s own bakers and pizzaiolos are building a proud, local identity one bake at a time.

If you’re mapping your next meal—clean and fresh, riverfront and storied, or classic pie and a soda—this tour gives you real options and insider context. Subscribe, share with a foodie friend, and drop your must-try Tampa Bay spot so we can add it to our next tasting run.

If you would like to check out these local spots, you can find links to their websites here: True Food Kitchen, Ulele, Reziero's NY Pizza

Thank you for tuning into "Snapshots Tampa Bay with Candace and Lisa." We're thrilled to share our insights and adventures with you. To keep the conversation going and explore more about Tampa Bay and Central Florida real estate, connect with us on social media and other platforms!

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We look forward to connecting with you and hearing your thoughts. Don’t forget to subscribe, so you never miss an episode. Until next time, keep loving and exploring Tampa Bay!

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Hello everybody and welcome to SmackDown Tampa Bowl with Campus and Lima. We're ready to dive into the exciting and colorful world of the greater Tampa Bay area. Whether you're sorting out a military move, checking out the senior living scene, or just on the hunt for the coolest local spots, let's get started and have some fun.

SPEAKER_03 0:30

Candace here with Lisa and David.

Going Video And Restaurant Plan

True Food Kitchen Overview

SPEAKER_02 0:34

I'm so happy. Look, we are now starting to do video. We are branching out and it's so embrighting. Yeah, we are being super brave, especially once the food comes because it's gonna go. I actually hope that we finish talking before the food comes because I don't know if what a film is eating.

SPEAKER_03 0:53

So Lisa, why don't you tell a little bit about this restaurant? It seems like one of your favorite places. So we're we're all kind of reviewing one of our favorite restaurants in the area. So we're in midtown right now.

SPEAKER_02 1:03

We're in midtown where our office is at. Yeah, small little area here, but I love this restaurant. They have fantastic things. I will tell you what my favorite things are. Um but so this restaurant is based off of anti-inflammatory um foods. So everything that they do is they do a lot of locally sourced things. Um, they make sure that it goes off of um anti-inflammatory. Very fresh, and it's very healthy. True food kitchen. True food kitchen. And look, the general manager here is amazing. She's fara, she's wonderful. She is a spitfire, she is this little ball of energy, and I love her. And they also make gluten-free um um cookies, they make them out of bananas instead of yeah, really.

SPEAKER_01 1:58

Oh, we chow. I don't think I've ever had dessert.

SPEAKER_02 2:02

You just said cookie. One of my favorite things before I stopped with gluten is they have um edamame dumplings. Yes, I've had them. They're very good. They are so wonderful, but they have so many different things. They have pizzas, they have hummus, or hummus is for the thing. The hummus is out of this roll. Salads are fantastic here. So you have we're kind of like in a price range of and we can get the menu, um, but kind of that mid kind of a price range for lunch. But the grape portions, they don't they don't have regular sodas either. Everything is like organic on that side of things, um, and fresh, and they make great drinks. I make great drinks. I just want to do a happy hour here.

SPEAKER_01 2:48

So Lisa, you not this past Christmas, but the Christmas before. You had a Christmas event. You invited a bunch of bunch of clients and a bunch of people um and had true food cater it.

SPEAKER_02 2:59

Yes, amazing caterer.

SPEAKER_01 3:01

I I had no idea how you created that spread, or if you just kind of let them curate it and figure out.

SPEAKER_02 3:09

She's just amazing.

SPEAKER_01 3:10

Out of this world, all the food was phenomenal.

Midtown Vibe And Amenities

Ordering Favorites And Diet Flexibility

SPEAKER_02 3:12

Fantastic. So fantastic. So if you're having a big party, they can cater it. If you're having a little party and you want to come in here, so we came in during the day when it's not busy. We made sure that we weren't taking up a table, we made sure that it was not busy. So it's three o'clock in the afternoon. So they're in in between their lunchtime and their dinner time, which is fantastic for us because we don't have a lot of the talk. We do have music, but we don't have a lot of the talk going on. But great inside area. Another thing that's wonderful is they have a great outside area because here in Midtown, they have like a little grassy area, they do yoga in the park, there's a number of shops, there's a lot of food places over here. Whole foods is here, right? You have a REI, REI, you have a hotel, you have a number of different things here. Casper, you know, the bedding store is wonderful. If anybody has ever seen me at the ice skating rink with my jacket that is made of a down blanket, I got that at Casper. It's amazing. That's why everybody comments on it, but let's talk about food. So this place is just one of my go-tos. I will bring clients here because everybody can find something. Yep. Everyone can find something. It really is. So we've already placed our order, which I'm excited about.

SPEAKER_03 4:28

Um I'm trying something new today.

SPEAKER_02 4:30

Oh, you are? Yeah. So what is your normal thing that you get here?

SPEAKER_03 4:32

I like the hummus because I think you're getting that. I also like the edamame dumplings. Um, there I think burgers here that are bad. Their burgers are very good. Those are probably the three things, but I'm trying something different. I'm trying the roasted Brussels sprout. They're fantastic. I love Brussels sprouts.

SPEAKER_02 4:51

So and the good thing is too, is they will kind of, if you are a vegetarian, if you are a vegan, if you have these different restrictions, they are so willing to accommodate.

SPEAKER_03 5:02

Because you're a hummus, they're giving you instead of the pita bread, or in addition to it, and so you can't eat fat, they're giving you some vegetables.

SPEAKER_02 5:08

Correct. Correct. And I don't have allergies like most people. I just know that my body feels better when I don't eat certain things. And so that's why I order it. Now, when I'm on vacation, or if I'm ever at a Michelin star restaurant, I'm ordering whatever, and you'll just deal with it. The next week, just don't talk to me.

SPEAKER_01 5:28

One of the things I like about this too is that midtown is a really cool uh area because there's no cars, no cars are allowed to put their gears walking, it makes it much more kind of quiet. It it feels a little bit less chaotic than a place that's right on the sidewalk, cars up and down.

SPEAKER_02 5:44

Yep, you know, they do have like markets as well, so they'll bring in artists to do markets. They have car shows here at times. So there's a number of things going on. It's a great little spot. It really is. I love Go Bolt Slag coming up over there. Always. They are very supportive of the Volts.

SPEAKER_03 6:03

They do some showing things here sometimes with the Volts, don't they? Like they do like events.

SPEAKER_02 6:07

Yeah, but it's not normally Voltz players, it's the people who work in the marketing department.

SPEAKER_03 6:12

So yeah, that's what I mean though.

Ulele On The River

SPEAKER_02 6:14

But it's like they do it, they do bring people. They do, they definitely do. There's a lot of things going on here. Yeah, it's a guy's name. Ballard Designs, too, which is something my wife's probably her favorite. Oh, yes. Yes, it's a cool yeah, great, great little places here.

SPEAKER_03 6:32

There really are. So well, not far from here, 10 minutes up the highway, is one of my favorite restaurants. And full disclosure, Tony worked there for many years. Yes. Um, it is called Ulely, and it is owned by the same people that own the Columbia restaurant and Kathy Santos, both in Igor City. So it's the same family, fourth and fifth generation running the business. And this is Uleley, which is on the Hillsborough River, right, right next to Armature Works in the Tampa Heights neighborhood. Yep.

SPEAKER_02 7:04

So another place that has a great outside seating area, as well as inside. They have two stories of seating over there, but lovely outside.

SPEAKER_03 7:12

We're talking lunch, but I prefer dinner because the sunsets from there on the river are just the river. Yeah, waste is that way.

SPEAKER_01 7:23

Okay, Lily same buy business, or would you say it's a class up?

SPEAKER_03 7:26

It's a it's a little bit classed up, but I will tell you that the owners are really big about value. So the price point is higher, but the portions are very large. Like if I get their teafo risotto, which is one of my favorite things, I can get three meals out of that because it's so large. I have had like they're kind of known for their seafood risotto. My favorite thing, though, is an appetizer because I got hard hooked on these. Oh my god. And like this, the carrot ribbons.

SPEAKER_02 7:55

Carrot ribbons there, and that's two dye four.

SPEAKER_03 8:00

So that sounds like it's healthy. No, it's fried carrot ribbons. And then they reddit dry, and it's their sauce that they use. Um, it's a mixture of, I think it's mayo and their ulally sauce, which is big. You can actually buy these.

SPEAKER_01 8:15

I did there a few years ago, but I don't remember those.

SPEAKER_03 8:18

I can eat a whole wrap of those ice.

Water, Bagels, And New York Myths

SPEAKER_02 8:20

I really want to have that. They are amazing. It's so good. What was the dessert that we had there too?

SPEAKER_03 8:26

Was it the maple?

SPEAKER_02 8:28

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 8:28

So it's a maple ice cream with cornflakes on the outside, and then you it pours like a caramel sauce over it. That was when I was eating ice cream. Yeah, it's so good.

SPEAKER_02 8:37

So good. God, what am I doing to myself?

SPEAKER_03 8:41

I don't know, but my our niece loves their flourless uh chocolate tart. Okay. She gets that every time you take it there. Okay. Yeah. So it's like I said, full disclosure, Tony needs to work there. That's not why I love it. Yeah. I will still go eat there, even though he doesn't work there anymore. And the people there, like the general manager Mike, is fantastic. You met him, super, super nice. Is that the guy who had the funny times? Yes, uh-huh. Yes, and then they've got their own brew master in there, so they brew their own gear. Um, and they're working on being able to brew directly from the Ulelee Spring, which is on their property. So this the building that they're in used to be like the pump, the water pump station for the city for all of Ybor City, and yeah, so they have their own spring there, and they're working on all the permeate and whatever it takes so they can start pumping the water for it to for their beers. So which is really cool.

SPEAKER_02 9:35

I don't know if you know this, but a lot of people who come from New York are like, I want a New York bagel, I want a New York bagel, but it doesn't taste the same. And now the water, so Brooklyn Water Bagel Company actually brings in their water from Brooklyn to make the bagels taste like pizza places have been known to be.

SPEAKER_03 9:54

Yeah, yeah, that's the thing that people don't realize. Our water is not the same, so they're definitely not in New York, it doesn't come out of mountains.

SPEAKER_01 10:00

The baked goods in New York, whether it be cookies or bread, pizza, pizza, of course, big part of why it is the way it is. It's amazing.

unknown 10:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 10:13

Yeah, okay. Let me ask you this because it's been a long time since I had a bagel. And it's been a long time since I had a bagel in New York. Are they still the size of my head?

SPEAKER_01 10:21

Uh yeah, and then you can get places that still you can get a big bagel. Okay. That's that's what I've done.

SPEAKER_03 10:29

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 10:30

And and Tampa, I will say Tampa's getting a few bagel shops again. Um we're not talking about breakfast, but there are a few options now uh over the last couple of years. Yeah. That's probably one of the bagel identity. But there's a couple of other places that are okay. They're probably bringing in their water.

SPEAKER_02 10:54

That'd be interesting to find out.

SPEAKER_01 10:55

I actually think one of the places they'd bring in New York water.

SPEAKER_02 10:58

I know Brooklyn Water Bagel up in Wesley Chaplain. Which would certainly have to be expense.

SPEAKER_03 11:03

Of course, yes.

SPEAKER_01 11:05

Transportation costs.

SPEAKER_03 11:06

But if you're if you want that, I mean. So since we're talking New York, your place, you're going to be.

South Tampa’s Roseros Pizza

SPEAKER_01 11:13

So yeah, so we'll go the other direction, right? So U Laley's a little bit north and east, we're here in Midtown. We go a little bit further south down uh Bayshore and into South Tampa, right at where it's funny, where the sidewalk ends on South Bay Shore. There's a book that's called where the sidewalk ends. Where the sidewalk ends, if you continue where the long, beautiful sidewalk on Bayshore Boulevard ends, and you continue on Bayshore, right where the fork to Inner Bay and Bayshore are.

SPEAKER_02 11:41

If you go down to the um, there's equestrian stuff down there.

SPEAKER_01 11:47

Yeah, uh, you continue on Bayshore. So if you're going southbound on Bay Shore Boulevard, you pair to the right, and right around the corner where those two roads split up is a little close. Um definitely a hole in the wall kind of place for Razeros. Roseros. Roseros. Razeros, okay. Uh pizzas, subs, Italian dessert, uh very, very um pot kind of place. Uh really, really good pizza. Come as you are kind of place. Uh they do takeout, uh, you can do delivery, uh, you can eat it in a small little place to eat in. Um the owner is from New York. I, of course, grew up in New York before I moved forward in French High School. And so having a good slice of New York pizza is super important. Uh, really, really good place. Uh, the owners, um, daughter goes to my son's school. Nice. So definitely uh locally owned, locally operated, really, really awesome place. Um, they have an awesome lunch. Yeah. And two slices and a fountain drink for eight bucks. Can't really drink that. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:51

Okay, so my mother found there yet. My mother has been searching, searching, searching for New York pizza. She's been searching because my mom's from New York, even though, like, being transparent, she's been in Florida since 1978. Excuse me, still still have that cop. But she always says to me, I need to find a place that has real pizza. I need to find a place that's real pizza. So I'm gonna bring her there.

SPEAKER_03 13:19

We found one in St. Pete that's closer to me than here. And there's one in St. Pete called Jerry Brooklyn's.

SPEAKER_02 13:26

What is it? Joey? Brooklyn's Brooklyn's. Okay, so we can tag them too because you talk about that.

SPEAKER_03 13:31

So in New York style, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:34

Yeah, so hole in the wall.

SPEAKER_03 13:35

There's not really a place you can sit. There's picnic tables outside, but it's not a this this place is great.

SPEAKER_01 13:41

One of the times that we went in there, my my uh son had a hockey game. We invited two other families, their their sons came. So we sat in there, and there was about I think there was about eight of us. We went in and got a couple pizzas, sat there after hockey. The kids were were sweating for the hockey, and we got in there. Nobody wants a sweaty kid in hockey, and then the hockey game was on the TV. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, great. But he does subs, he does some salads, mostly pizza.

SPEAKER_03 14:11

Does he do a meatball sub?

SPEAKER_01 14:13

He does a fantastic meatball process.

SPEAKER_03 14:15

Oh my gosh. My husband's from Pittsburgh, so he likes my daughter.

SPEAKER_01 14:20

Its prices are good. Um just instituted a really awesome new AI ordering system, if you call. You actually talk to a guy with a British accent, and it's AI when you order.

SPEAKER_02 14:30

Oh my god, it should be a New York accent.

SPEAKER_01 14:32

I know that's what I told him. I said, hey, I talked to the British guy on the phone, and uh and he laughed. And I said, I said, we should be a New Yorker on there, though. But regardless, uh really, really good place. Uh the owner is awesome. Yeah. So what's the name of it again? Roseros. Roseros. Roseros. R-E-Z-I-E-R-O-Y. If you're familiar with South Camp and you've been here a long time, the previous place that that place the building is a place called Chubby's. Chubby's is now gone. It's now Rosero's been Roseros for a couple of days.

SPEAKER_02 15:04

But if you go to Rosero's every single day.

Support Local And Wrap-Up

SPEAKER_01 15:08

Yeah, I mean I can't go eat pizza every single day. No, no, no. I don't know. Rosero's on the top. But it's families from Brooklyn. Uh really good pizza. So I encourage everybody to shop. Give them a try.

SPEAKER_02 15:26

And that's also like we I think we did price points. We have one price point, a middle price point, a lower price point. So, and I mean the thing is, we all have said it. We love food.

SPEAKER_03 15:38

We're we're big. I know the term is like very cliche, but we're very much foodies here. Definitely. So if you guys know of a place that we need to check out, oh yeah, definitely. Please let us know. We'll see if they'll let us sit in there and check it out.

SPEAKER_01 15:52

One awesome thing about Roseros is they have a 20-inch pizza. 20 inch pizza.

SPEAKER_03 15:57

I think our next episode might be.

SPEAKER_02 16:00

I have a feeling I might have to go there this evening, pick up something for my daughter.

SPEAKER_03 16:06

Because seriously. Very nice, very nice. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 16:12

Well, good. I I was hoping our food would come. They might be holding over there and going, I think they're recording. But you know, check out all these places. We'll put the links so many good.

SPEAKER_03 16:23

We'll tag them in the social post as well, but we'll put all the links in the in the description that everyone can find.

SPEAKER_02 16:29

And check them out.

SPEAKER_03 16:30

I mean, local businesses, local spots.

SPEAKER_02 16:33

Yeah, we need to support local, we need to support our people. And guess what? Here comes the food. Perfect timing. Yes. Oh, nice. Press.

SPEAKER_03 16:44

There's so many times.

SPEAKER_02 16:46

Wonderful. You're amazing.

SPEAKER_03 16:47

Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 16:48

Okay. I think it's time to go.

SPEAKER_03 16:50

It's time to go.

SPEAKER_02 16:51

Sorry. Yes. No one's eating it. You don't want to see it. You don't want to hear it either because I don't want to hear it either.

SPEAKER_03 16:57

All right. Well, let us know if there's any place that we should check out.

SPEAKER_00 17:01

Bye. Bye. Thanks so much for joining Snapchat's Tampa Bay. Hit subscribe to catch our latest episodes and let us know in the comments what you want us to explore next. Keep loving the Tampa Bay bottles. See y'all soon.