Writes of Passage

3830 Sun City Center Blvd
Ruskin, FL 33573

… more pix on Google Maps & Yelp

Will return for beer only.

This German restaurant’s decor is on the busy side. We walked in 10 minutes past their opening, and everyone seems asleep.

As soon as we sat down, power went out in the area… and was restored 10 minutes later.

34oz beer is fresh and yummy, with robust head – not the artificial turf (per Dennis miller when he commented on a NFL’s owner’s hair in 2000). It reminds me of the beer gardens in Germany (female servers hold up 6 or 8 glasses…) and one in New York’s Central Park.

No pork knuckle offered on the menus.

Food is mediocre. My lamb is dry. The part isn’t covered by the gravy looks aged. String beans are mushy and sour. Potato is tasty. The goulash is ok.

Madrid, Spain

My first time dealing with this airline, home hub MAD, 2nd largest in Europe behind CDG, with a fleet size of 92, and 130 destinations.

In 2010, was confirmed that BA would merge with IB, therefore, IB uses avios.

Thinking of going to Madrid for its tennis open, why not taking her airlines?

It’s time consuming.

First, online isn’t working. I’ve to call in. It’s an hour conversation: Chinglish w/ Spanlish. Just repeating my name, it takes five minutes.

Why don’t you look up my IB frequent flyer number, which has all my info?

When it’s finally over, time to pay, “oh, I’ll send you an email, with the pay link.”

You can’t even get my name right, how do I trust you to get my email address correctly?

He did. The email arrived immediatly,

“Thanks with contact with us.
…
To complete de purchase process, access the payment form by clicking here …

Seriously, do they have someone to prove read it?

The link takes me to a payment form. Up till now, I don’t know how much exactly. I tried to fill in the details twice, my credit card doesn’t show. So I knew somewhere failed.

So, the second call.

Beware, their system doesn’t display the reservation / confirmation until 24-72 hours, which misses the 24-hour cancelation window.

This second call cost me 1:23: name corrected. Paying over the phone, they use the phone key pad, which is a relieve. But I’ll have to do it four times. The female agent is polite but I think her absences was due to her asking others how to process payment over the phone (?)

Just so you know, Irene, many airlines fly directly into Madrid too.

… now I can’t wait to fly on it.

2025.4.25 | LIFE & CULTURE | FOOD | Published June 12, 2024

This popular Tampa restaurant is opening a second location in Hyde Park

Modern Chinese restaurant Hales Blackbrick will open a new spot this fall.

Chef Richard Hales and Jenny Hales pose for a portrait at Hales Blackbrick in Tampa on Nov. 22, 2022. A new, second location of the restaurant will open in fall 2024 in Tampa’s Hyde Park. [ IVY CEBALLO | Times ]

By Helen Freund Times staff

TAMPA — Dumplings, anyone?

Fans of chef Richard Hales’ Sichuan- and Cantonese-inspired dishes will be thrilled to hear that roughly a year and a half after opening his modern Chinese restaurant in Drew Park, Hales Blackbrick will expand with a second location later this year.

A new Hales Blackbrick will open at 1809 W. Platt St. in Hyde Park this fall, according to a post on the restaurant’s website and a spokesperson for the company.

The flagship Tampa location opened in November 2022 at 4812 N. Dale Mabry Highway in the former home of the long-running Pop ‘N Sons Diner. There was plenty of hype prior to the spot’s opening, mostly due to Hales’ celebrated Miami restaurant with a similar name and theme.

Blackbrick Chinese, which opened in Miami in 2013, collected accolades from critics and fans alike, including a cameo on Guy Fieri’s show “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives” and a spot on Bon Appetit’s Best New Restaurants list in 2014.

A collection of dumplings is served at Hales Blackbrick in Tampa. [ IVY CEBALLO | Times ] (2022 pic)

Divided into sections of dumplings, appetizers, chef’s specialties and tasting menus, the menu at Hales Blackbrick explores various expressions of Chinese cuisine, from Sichuan-style dan dan noodles made with pork, bucatini noodles, sesame and peanut sauce to Cantonese-style barbecued pork (char siu) and a Hong Kong-style dim sum service on Sundays.

Hales was born in Marrero, Louisiana, but grew up in Tampa. After culinary school, he cut his teeth working in New York restaurants under celebrated chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten and later moved to Miami. He spent years traveling across the globe, where he trained in restaurants all over Asia, including Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Bali, Korea, Hong Kong and Indonesia.

Hales eventually made his way back to Miami, where he first worked at the Mandarin Oriental and later went on to open multiple restaurants, including Sakaya Kitchen, Blackbrick Chinese, Bird & Bone and Society BBQ. The chef, who is half-Filipino, said cooking Asian food has always resonated with him the most.

Miami’s Blackbrick Chinese, which has since closed, will reopen in 2025, said Debbie Hunter, Hales’ assistant.

Hunter said no changes are afoot at the original Tampa location, which will remain open.

No exact opening date for the new restaurant was provided.

^{what a pillow is doing here?}

Palladium Theater

… pix on Reddit

Lucia di Lammermoor is a tragic opera in two acts by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti, premiered in Naple in 1835

Lucia Di Lammermoor by Donizetti; premiered 1835 in Naples.

The music is wonderful, so is the singing. The leading lady is slim in the world of operatic figures. The leading man, oh boy …

• Lucia by Chelsea Lehnea
• Ergardo by Benjamin Werley
• Arturo married Lucia by Chris Romeo
• Enrico Lucia’s bro, by Kyle Oliver

音乐很棒. 故事既美丽又恐怖. 这个制作 一个舞台设计; 两幕. 非常喜欢 都唱的很好. 女一 瘦美丽 男一 五短三粗肥肥脸 但唱的好 …
大妈贪心 即想👂也想👀

Had dinner at Mio’s

119 2nd St N
St. Petersburg, FL 33701
Downtown St. Pete

… more pix on Google Maps, Yelp & TA

Will return.

A cute little Turkish restaurant, 0.4 miles south of the opera house – Palladium.
A young couple is manning the dining room, with efficient service.

We’ve

1. Haydari, Turkish labne, with warm pita bread: wonderfully tasty
2. Falafels: wonderfully delicious
3. Mio’s yogurt kebap: won’t order again. The meat is tender but tastes too processed.

Baklava is wonderful, sweet but not killing your throat sweet. The coffee is served in a pretty cup, bitter sweet. It almost knocked me out – so I can write about it truthfully it probably would taste better without the sugar – but it probably the taste of Turkish

Carmen is a French opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet (1838-75), premiered in 1875 by the Opéra-Comique in Paris. Unfortunately, Bizet died suddenly, only after 33 performances of this opera. A few arias are among the most famous:

• Habanera
• Seguidilla
• Toreador Song

Whenever I heard Habanera (from act 1), I think of Denyce Graves (1964-) and Katarina Witt (1965-, mezzo-soprano): both put out the performances that were unmatched. Graves as the soprano and Witt skated to the Habanera in the 1988 Calgary Olympics (free skate portion), winning her 2nd gold medal.

A few Carmens I’ve seen:

• 2025 St. Pete
• 2024 Sarasota
• 2015 San Francisco
• 1997 Met

2702 Love Field Drive,
Dallas, TX 75235

Southwest Airlines Co. is headquartered in the Love Field neighborhood of Dallas, Texas. It is the fourth-largest airline in North America when measured by passengers carried, as of 2023. Int’l destinations are mostly south of US.

Their bases are

1. Atlanta
2. Baltimore
3. Chicago–Midway
4. Dallas–Love
5. Denver
6. Houston–Hobby
7. Las Vegas
8. Los Angeles
9. Nashville
10. Oakland
11. Orlando
12. Phoenix–Sky Harbor

2025.5.30, from Dallas City Hall

.
Willis Tower, 233 South Wacker Drive,
Chicago, Illinois, 60606

Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois (ORD), it was founded in 1926 as Varney Air Lines, became UA since 1931. MileagePlus is their frequent flyer program, they’re one of the five founding airlines for the Star Alliance.

The eight Hubs:

1. Chicago–O’Hare
2. Denver
3. Guam
4. Houston–Intercontinental
5. Los Angeles
6. Newark
7. San Francisco
8. Washington–Dulles

New York, JFK and LGA are not its hubs,  NJ’s Newark EWR is.