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Tampa Bay’s First MASSIVE Mid-Autumn Moon Festival

Tampa Bay’s First MASSIVE Mid-Autumn Moon Festival

Bydenalovesfood September 22, 2023October 18, 2023

Hi Friends!

I am Dena and I am a HUGE foodie! I love to explore, eat and cook. Come with me on my foodie adventures!

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Follow me on my foodie adventures!

When curiosity wins. We kept driving by Jalapeños

When curiosity wins. We kept driving by Jalapeños Tacos and decided one day to stop (1 min before the turn) to give them a try! They are located almost across from Busch Gardens in a motel’s parking lot. If that doesn’t scream shady idk what does. They looked clean and people kept stopping by to pick up food.

📍 Jalapeños Tacos
2901 E Busch Blvd, Tampa, FL 33612

@jalapenostacostampa

Decently priced for a cheap bite. It’s not the best ever but I do not expect it to be.

• Tacos - 7/10 I liked the crispy tortilla and the meats were decent. They crisp up the meat so it has a nice edge but some pieces can be tougher than others. The flavor was nice and at $3 a taco it was not bad at all.
• Shrimp Tostada - 5/10 the tacos outshined the tostadas, it was very beany but I love crunchy tostadas 😂

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#streettacos #mexicanfood #tampafoodie #foodie #tampabayeats #buschgardens #tampa #foodblogger #roadsidefood #foodtruck #foodcontent #foodinstagram #tostadas #tacos #smallbusiness #eatlocal #randomfood

I constantly think of Buttermilk Bakery and it has

I constantly think of Buttermilk Bakery and it has to be one of my favorite place. It’s small and I like it like that because the quality matters! They have sweet and savory pastries, both are really yummy! I love how flakey and buttery their croissants are. They constantly switch up their pastries so you get to try so many diff flavors and types!

📍Buttermilk Bakery
Winter Park, FL

@ilovebuttermilk

I obviously have been there a few times and can never “just order 1” I will get a whole box and drive it all the way back home 😂 Order your goodies early because they do run out!

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#bakery #smallbakery #croissant #pastries #savorypastry #donuts #orlando #orlandofoodie #orlandoeats #smallbusiness #foodie #centralflorida #buttermilk #foodcontent #foodinstagram #boxofpastries #smallbatch #cruffin #sweets #foodblogger #tampafoodie #breakfast #orlandoflorida #supportlocal #eatlocal

Food so good you need a nap? This is it! We random

Food so good you need a nap? This is it! We randomly picked a new spot that we could take the dogs out with us for lunch and it happened to The Boozy Pig. It’s a butchery & kitchen with a vending machine out front.

📍 The Boozy Pig
Tampa, FL

@theboozypig

• I will absolutely come back for that cornbread. It was soft, warm and had crispy edges. The honey butter and truffle butter was really thoughtful because we can have a sweet and savory combo.
• The mac n cheese was really nice too, I loved how the pasta was not mushy. The tallow fries were addicting!
• Knuckle Sangwich is meat on meat. The braises beef was pretty tender and not dry and it was cool that they put in their house made beef bacon (not pork). This was too heavy for me and I wish it came with a side of pickled onions or something.
• Island Boy is their Wednesday special and it was really tasty. It was savory, tangy and sweet which was nice to cut all the heavy flavors.
• Boozy’s Bourbon Bread Pudding was really good. I am not a bread pudding person but my husband loves it. I really enjoyed the flavor and appreciated that they deep fried it so you can get all the crispy edges! You can also add vanilla ice cream to this!

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#meatshop #butcher #kitchen #sandwiches #friedfood #meat #tampa #tampafoodie #tampabayeats #foodcontent #foodinstagram #tampabay #meatmarket #cornbread #braisedbeef #breadpudding #dogfriendly #doggydate #smallbusiness

One of my personal favorite OG place for Bánh mì

One of my personal favorite OG place for Bánh mì on this side of Tampa Bay would be Bánh Mì Sài Gòn. The baguette is crispy and soft and the pâté is so yummy.

📍 Bánh Mì Sài Gòn
8730 49th St. N, Pinellas Park, FL 33782

Does anyone remember when this was cash only? I would always be so sad I couldn’t get a bành mì because I didn’t have cash on me! It was also half the price back then 😭 but it’s $6 now which is still pretty good compared to other places!

I’m not sure when it changed but I’ve noticed that there’s the traditional baguette and the longer, thinner ones. I like both to be honest but this is the place for some good traditional ones that reminds me of my childhood.

It’s also a really good sign and entering and leaving you have a crowd of Vietnamese men smoking and drinking their coffee outside.

Tip - if you’re not eating it immediately or you’re buying and saving for later. You can always ask for the veggies on the side so it doesn’t get soggy! You can honestly ask for everything separately if you wanted to.

Our family would always buy bags full because they are amazing for road trips or to eat late. It’s a mess tho because the crumbs are not forgiving.

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#banhmi #sandwiches #vietnamesefood #asianfood #asianeats #banhmisaigon #foodie #tampafoodie #tampabayeats #tampabay #foodcontent #foodinstagram #foodblogger #vietnamesecoffee #caphesuada #baguette #lunch #smallbusiness #vietnamese #sandwichshop #vietnam #leavenocrumbs #favorite #dacbiet

I love this spicy garlicky butter sauce! It isn’

I love this spicy garlicky butter sauce! It isn’t my recipe but after many years making Viet Cajun seafood I’ve adjusted it from watching diff videos to how I like it.

(In this vid I made 15-20lbs of seafood)

Seasoning mixture

1tbs each
Old bay
Cajun seasoning
Lemon Pepper
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Cayenne powder

1/2 tbs each
Paprika powder
Ginger powder
Sugar

(This should leave you extra to save)

I personally use Amish butter because it was a higher dairy fat content and it taste better, but you can use any butter you want. You could also use half butter and oil. But that is now your recipe 😆

Melt butter on medium-low (2 sticks)
Add chopped garlic (1/2 cup or however much your heart desires but sometimes too much is not a good thing)
Cook it for 3-5 mins
Make sure your heat is on low when you add spices so it does not burn.
Start with a couple tbs at a time and cook jt for 2-3 mins. (If it turns out to be too salty add more butter)
Add Crystal hot sauce or any other hot sauce to make it spicy (optional)
Add 1/2 cup Coco Rico (if you are not using any, change the 1/2 tbs sugar to 1 tbs)

Taste and adjust but be careful it will be hot. I will put a little bit of the cooked garlic butter sauce to the side and let it cool down before I taste it.

Whenever I season the water to cook seafood I use fresh oranges instead of orange juice.

The water is a free for all for me. I just throw it all in.
Onion, garlic, old bay, Cajun powder, crab boil seasoning packs, oranges, lemons.

Once the seasoned water comes to a boil, add your crawfish and let it come back to a boil. Turn off the heat and add your frozen shrimp/crab legs etc. If you not adding any, dump in ice. Cover it and let the seafood soak for 20 plus mins. It’s always turned out perfect for me.

- I also roast and grill the potatoes and sausages instead of boiling it because I like the crisp. I also cook my corn separately because I like them plump!

Hopefully this wasn’t too difficult to read. Good luck and enjoy!

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#crawfish #crawfishboil #seafoodboil #vietcajun #bluecrabs #tampafoodie #tampabayeats #foodie #foodcontent #cooking #livecrawfish #foodinstagram #asianfood

I always throw a big yearly seafood boil and this

I always throw a big yearly seafood boil and this year I decided to do a “DIY” Seafood Boil Bar. It was a blast and everyone could customize their bag!

I made a Vietnamese Cajun Garlic butter sauce with Coco Rico, Lemon Pepper Garlic butter and Jeow Som.

Check out those adorable Soot Sprite cupcakes!!
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#seafood #seafoodboil #seafoodparty #party #crawfish #crab #tampafoodie #foodie #tampabayeats #cajun #garlicbutter #bluecrab #shrimp #messyfood #tampa #foodcontent #foodinstagram #eating #seafoodboilbag #seafoodbag #foodblogger #partyplanning #event

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