Tampa Bay

In The Tasting Room: Key West Amber Ale from Florida Beer Company

Friday's here, so it's time for beer. Every Friday, so long as the creek don't rise, this beer enthusiast will take a look at a Florida beer that, hopefully, should be readily available in a local shop or on tap at your favorite bar. Memorial Day is coming up this Monday, so we thought it best to ... More >>

Ceviche Tapas Bar & Restaurant's Gary Burke on Gin, Hemingway's Drinking Habits

Delray Beach is known for its burgeoning--or, well-established but still growing--culinary arts scene. So it should come as no surprise that South Florida's 'foodie city' comes stocked with a pretty decent cocktail culture too. Ceviche Tapas Bar & Restaurant may be one of the newer spots to the nei ... More >>

Finishing Off Craft Beer Week At Coffee District's Cigar City Takeover Saturday

American Craft Beer Week is finally over, and this past weekend had no shortage of events to draw you into the spirit of craft beer. On Saturday night, to celebrate one of the biggest names in Florida beer, Cigar City, the Coffee District in Delray Beach offered up its taps to the Tampa based brew ... More >>

Try Experimental Local Beers on Cask Days at Tequesta Brewing

The bar is filled with the aroma of fresh hops. The brew team is hard at work and in full force, making additions to one of the massive fermenters that dominates the rear of the space. Locals already line the bar at 3 p.m. in the afternoon; part of me wonders if they ever left from the previous days ... More >>

South Florida Food & Drink Events This Week: Bags of Wine, New Times Happy Hour, and More

Here it is: another start to a fabulous workweek. Whether you're actually excited about it or just going through the motions, there are plenty of things happening in South Florida to occupy your time. Fine wines, cheap burgers, and New Times Happy Hour should keep your week moving along. See Also: ... More >>

Florida Beer Fridays: 'Are Wheat There Yet?' From Tampa Bay Brew Bus

Friday's here, so it's time for beer. As a native Floridian, there's nothing quite like taking a lazy afternoon after work and either hanging out on the patio with a cold beer in hand or heading down to the pub to talk about the weeks' events. In the past, we've had to make due with imports and mac ... More >>

Manatees Dying Off Both Florida Coasts; Scientists Trying to Figure Out Why

Scientists have been working diligently to figure why manatees have started to die at an alarming rate lately. While Red Tide -- which is basically blooms of poisonous algae called Karenia brevis that is deadly to fish and other sea life -- off the coast of southwest Florida has killed roughly 180 ... More >>

First Look: Over 100 Small Plates at Ceviche in Delray Beach

When you think of ceviche, think of Ceviche in Delray Beach. The restaurant recently opened its doors with a quiet grand opening last October, and we at Clean Plate Charlie think it's a crying shame we didn't know about them sooner. The family of Florida establishments has branded itself as an upsc ... More >>

Hulk Hogan Opens Hogan's Beach Restaurant in Tampa (For Real)

No, really. We're completely serious here. The Hulkster is opening a restaurant in Tampa and if you've got no New Year's eve plans you could start driving now and be able to celebrate at the New Year's Eve grand opening tonight (which is selling out quickly).The 20,000 square-foot Hogan's Beach, loc ... More >>

Bullet Found on Florida School Bus; Schools In Area Under Modified Lockdown

As if things are tense and angst-ridden enough, comes a report from Tampa of a bullet being found on a school bus. Tampa area schools Turner Elementary, Liberty Middle, and Wharton High are under a "modified lockdown" after officials confirmed there was a bullet found on one of their buses. Stude ... More >>

Topless Dancing and Big Severance: Citizens Insurance Complaints About the Media Are Pathetic

The board of Citizen Property Insurance met yesterday to consider important ways of trying to make its basically insolvent company financially sound. But instead of coming up with a financial plan, the wise men of the state-run windstorm insurer blamed the media -- mostly the Tampa Bay Times an ... More >>

Connie Mack Closing Gap With Bill Nelson, According to Poll

According to a new Tampa Bay Times/Bay News 9 poll conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, it seems that Cornelius Harvey McGillicuddy The Fourth is gaining on Sen. Bill Nelson. What once seemed like an insurmountable lead has shrunk with Connie Mack now down by only three points, 47 perce ... More >>

Synthetic Pot's Alleged Side Effects: Punching Cops, Eating Dogs and Slashing Throats

See also "Fake-Pot Industry Comes Down From A Three-Year High"The effects of synthetic cannabinoids on the human brain are not well understood. Yet people routinely smoke this stuff, sometimes called "synthetic pot."This week's cover story on the subject describes the phenomenon, but a recently publ ... More >>

Charlie Crist Formally Endorses Obama, Blasts GOP

With the RNC kicking off tomorrow -- instead of today (thanks to that freedom hating storm, Isaac!) -- rumors began to swirl that Charlie Crist was going to formally announce his change to the Democratic party in an op-ed piece for the Tampa Bay Times. Crist didn't technically announce his party c ... More >>

Fear and Loathing in Tampa: Your Gonzo Guide to the Republican National Convention

Charlie Crist Will Switch to Democrat, According To Rumors

See also: Dear Dems, Please Do Not Run Charlie Crist for GovernorIn probably what is the least-shocking news ever, former Governor Charlie Crist might be switching over to Democrat this week. Saint Petersblog's Peter Schorsch tweeted out that a rumor is going around the Republican National ... More >>

Huffington Post Now Doing Public Relations for Rick Scott

A weird story out of Tampa Bay -- according to WTVT, "Governor Rick Scott has agreed to write blogs for the Huffington Post." Yes, it appears HuffPo will just be publishing the governor's press releases verbatim:As Romney is turning up the heat on President Obama by stressing Florida's problems, pro ... More >>

Florida to Be First State With 1 Million Concealed Weapon Licenses

We told you yesterday about how a review of Florida "stand your ground" cases revealed many of the people getting away with homicide had (several) previous arrests, and we told you before that about the Tampa Bay Times study that found the law, which allowed Floridians to kill people they are scared ... More >>

Most Floridians Who Use "Stand Your Ground" Are Alleged Criminals, Report Finds

Some people took issue with the way the Tampa Bay Times analyzed the application of "Stand Your Ground" cases in Florida last month. They've come out with another case study, however, and this one's way less ambiguous: They looked at more than 100 cases in which people got out of homicide charges by ... More >>

State Rep. Peter Nehr Is Fighting Diabetes, Takes Off Clothes to Prove It

The bad news is that there are now pictures floating around the internet of a 60-year-old Florida rep without a shirt on. The good news is that he isn't trying to get laid.You might be inclined to freak out over Palm Harbor Republican Peter Nehr showing off his bod online, as first reported in the T ... More >>

Connie Mack Pitches Fit When Tampa Bay Times Endorses Dave Weldon for Republican Senate Primary

On Sunday, the Tampa Bay Times editorial board members explained to readers why they thought Republican Dave Weldon was a better choice than Rep. Connie Mack to face Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson in the fall. They were not kind:Rep. Connie Mack IV of Fort Myers has the famous name, the endorsements, t ... More >>

RNC Chair Reince Priebus, on Rick Scott Speaking at Convention: "Er, Uh, You Know, Hmmm"

Well, this is awkward. Gov. Rick Scott's state is playing host to the Republican National Convention in Tampa next month, and nobody can say whether they're going to let the guy speak at it.When RNC Chair Reince Priebus was asked about Scott and Sen. Marco Rubio's roles in the convention, he respond ... More >>

Pinellas County Teen Thorin Montgomery Plays Russian Roulette, Dies

A 17-year-old boy from Largo died yesterday after shooting himself in the head during a game of Russian roulette. That's pretty much the whole dumb story.He was the first player to spin the chamber on his back porch Friday night, according to the Tampa Bay Times, when he held a .38-caliber revolver ... More >>

Las Vegas Gazillionaire Sheldon Adelson Tossing Pocket Change at Florida Races

UPDATE: George LeMieux announced this morning that he's dropping out of the race.A Las Vegas billionaire who has said he could dump as much as $100 million into the 2012 elections has donated $1 million of that chump change to a super PAC backing Republican Rep. Connie Mack in his race for U.S. Sena ... More >>

NRA Offering Stand-Your-Ground Insurance, Exposed by Angry Editorial Cartoonist

Are you sick and tired of paying to defend yourself in court after you kill someone? Are you concerned that one day you might have to stop killing people? Well don't put down that gun yet, friend, because the National Rifle Association has a deal for you.For the bargain-basement price of just $165, ... More >>

Tampa Bay Times Finds "Stand Your Ground" Law to Be Totally Wacko

It looks to be a coincidence that the Tampa Bay Times published an analysis of Florida stand-your-ground cases on the same day George "Fib About PayPal" Zimmerman got tossed back in the clink, but it would have been a good read either way.A poll last week showed that only 35 percent of Floridians ar ... More >>

Could Connie Mack's Mass-Mail "Accident" Be an Illegal Contribution Worth $18 Grand?

Republican Senate candidate Connie Mack has had to deal with a bit of drama the past few days. And the check pictured above could mean that the drama isn't over.The trouble started when Mack, who bills himself a fighter of liberal "spending sprees," decided to spend a pile of federal money ($18,000 ... More >>

Connie Mack's Dad Chastises Reporters for Pointing Out His Son Is Way, Way Behind

Republican Rep. Connie Mack IV's Senate campaign has hit a bump in the road -- a bump shaped like an electorate that doesn't want to vote for him. He's come up short in poll after poll, and papers in Florida and elsewhere have pointed it out. Well, one person is not having it -- Mack's dad.Former Fl ... More >>

Double-Header Derby

Doug Darling, Rick Scott Job-Creation Adviser, Quits

The man who oversees much of the state's job-creation effort submitted his resignation late last week for "personal reasons."It's not clear why Department of Economic Opportunity Director Doug Darling, who was hired for the gig last July, is calling it quits, but it probably isn't for a lack of ... More >>

Red Hot Chili Peppers U.S. Tour Postponed While Anthony Kiedis' Foot Mends

​Add a new chapter to the Red Hot Chili Peppers' nearly three-decade history of highs and lows: Anthony Kiedis has a bum foot, and the band's U.S. tour has been postponed. Originally, the dates were set to begin in South Florida at BankAtlantic Center on January 20 -- which is already sold out -- ... More >>

Holocaust Rail Car Restoration is Another Train Project that Rick Scott Won't Fund

A rail car used in the Holocaust​The whole country knows that Governor Rick Scott turned down $2.4 billion in federal stimulus money for a high-speed train between Tampa and Orlando (and many are blaming that move for his current dismal 29 percent approval rating). But another train project, this ... More >>

Goodbye, Miami Caliente

C. StilesThe Caliente made it to the league semifinals in 2010 but lost to the Chicago Bliss.​The Miami Caliente, South Florida's own lingerie football team, is no more. One of the ten inaugural teams in the league formed two years ago, the Caliente made it to the playoffs in 2010 with one of the ... More >>

A Program Every Floridian Should Watch (But Probably Won't)

That's the opening two minutes of an ambitious documentary premiering tonight on public television station, WPBT-2. It's called Imagining a New Florida, a more elegant title than Paradise Gone to Hell, which may be more appropriate.Of course, if the expert who says that Floridians are selfish transp ... More >>

UPDATED: Lake Worth City Manager Susan Stanton Makes "Biggest Stories of the Decade" List

sptimes.comLargo Town Manager Steve Stanton leaving contentious city meeting​Lake Worth City Manager Susan Stanton joins the likes of Sami Al-Arian, Terri Shiavo, and the 2000 Florida Recount as one of Creative Loafing's end-of- the-year winners: "Ten Biggest Stories of the Decade in Tampa Bay."In ... More >>

In Fort Lauderdale Post-Naugle, Hockey Players Encouraged to "Bond" on the Beach

Flickr: Peter EllisTraditionally, the Flyers' "team bonding events" involve pummeling men with different jerseys.​The Philadelphia Flyers just arrived in town to play our Panthers -- on Friday night. That means the team has four days and three nights to kill before they suit up in the BankAtlantic ... More >>

New Restaurant at the Hyatt Regency

The Hyatt Regency Miami, which underwent a $20 million dollar renovation last year, has unveiled its' new Pure Verde restaurant. Executive chef Michael Morris will be in charge of the snazzily-designed venue, which just months ago was a dull, aging sports bar. Morris, who previously helmed Hyatt ... More >>

On the List - XXXChange, VNDLSM, Little Louie Vega and Yo! Majesty

Should we be worrying, ya'll? Economy is going to shit. Let's hope Obama fixes things soon after he gives Bush the boot from the White House next week. Until then, there shall be more drinking and partying to forget we are on the verge of going broke.Here is what you'll want to check out this weeke ... More >>

Rays Gun

The Tim Version

A Majestic Evening

Pick Six (New Kiddie Version!)

Industribreaktripbassfreakhop

Welcome Back

Genitorturers

Slaytanic Verses

Slayer reminds us we're not all God's children

Pain Rock

In the Pink

Power pop kicks ass, takes names

Undercurrents

Forget the Marc Rich pardon. Bob Crawford is the one who really got away with something.

Total ConFusion

In barely two seasons, the management has run the Miami Fusion into the ground. The fans are not pleased.