Hey, everybody. Kyle Sasser with “Great Things Tampa Bay.” And today I’m gonna be talking to you about Indian food. So, usually, my rule is that I do not give a review of a restaurant until I’ve eaten there twice. In this case, I got to admit I have never…I’m 39 years old currently, and I have never eaten a whole lot of Indian food. I’ve heard it here and there on occasion, but never…it’s not anything that’s really registered on the palate of my taste buds. My lovely wife and I…I actually had a real estate listing out in that area, Bay Pines near War Veterans Memorial Park. And there’s a little Indian restaurant there called “Gateway to India.” So, we all might know this place. It has won tons of awards. So, we stopped by there. My wife, she loves Indian food and like I said, I was pretty ambivalent. So, I was like “Hey, let’s give it a try.” I’ve never eaten too much Indian food before.

We’ve made some Tikka masala out of some packets and stuff like that at the house, but it’s never really been my thing. So, we stopped there and ate and I can tell you it was amazing. But, like I said, I don’t comment on something until I eat there twice. And, in this case, like I said, I don’t know Indian food. I don’t know if this place is just run of the mill or if it was something special. So, over the next few weeks, we went and tried three or four other local Indian restaurants who will not be named mainly because they were all very subpar. Well, one was actually pretty bad. They had burned the nun and the actual Tikka masala was pretty bland. Yeah. Overall, not good. The other one was okay, but nothing special. So, all that to say. I actually had to go familiarize myself with this cuisine at other locations around the Tampa Bay area.

Some of that were recommended by some Tampa Bay Times culinary offers. And that was the one that was bad. Sorry. That was one with the burnt bread. Don’t tell anybody. Yeah. So, eight of these other places was very underwhelmed and then went back to Gateway to India because like I said, I got to go try places twice at least. So, we went there and we both ordered the same identical thing just because it was so delicious the previous time and it held up maybe even more so. So, there’s a lot of times when you have the ethnic foods that are kind of known for spice. A lot of times they lay the spice on and the underlying herbs and flavors…not like heat spices, but just like flavor spices get overwhelmed because it’s all about the heat.

The brilliant thing about Gateway to India is well, first of all, I’m a 39-year-old white male. I don’t like terribly hot things. I do like things with a little bit of spice, but I don’t like my nose running or my brow sweating. So, yeah. So, the first time I ordered it with no heat at all. Second time, I ordered the Tikka Masala with just the lowest setting which was good, but there were some chunks of pepper in there that would light you up. So, the beautiful thing about Gateway to India though, is that it’s not really about the heat, it’s about the underlying balance of flavors and just the base stock has such tremendous complexity. It’s amazing. I can’t recommend it enough. If you’re like me and someone said, “Eh, I like Indian food.” And you’re like, “Urgh.” Go to Gateway to India, order the Tikka Masala. I promise it’s amazing.

The other thing that we found there was, I forget the name of it, but it’s basically Rosewater ice cream. And you longtime listeners know that I have a little bit of a sweet tooth and it’s pretty good to me. It’s no Vesuvio from Belas, but I love ordering it because my wife goes absolutely bonkers over it. It cracks me up. She acts like me over Vesuvio with this Rosewater ice cream and it’s very good. Again, it’s not overwhelming, it’s not punching in the face with flavor. It’s just this very subtle. It starts off like a shabbord [SP] or something and then it’s just like a rose hips finish. And you’re just like, “Oh, man.” You’re exhaling roses, which is funny but it’s still delicious. Can’t recommend it enough.

Gateway to India is located at 8300, Bay Pines, Boulevard and beautiful St. Petersburg, Florida. But actually, if you pull up the city of St. Pete in map, this is pretty borderline. So, Gateway to India is located a little to the west of the Tyrone, Boulevard and Park intersection which you can notice because the big ass lighthouse that’s there for some reason. See at Gateway to India, it’s a very unassuming restaurant nestled in with the boat dealership style that stuff. Honestly, I would put this…I still got to go with urban barbecue, but this Gateway to India is definitely my top three in the entire Tampa Bay area of any restaurant. That’s how good and how balanced and how delicious that place is. Go check it out, tell them great things, Tampa Bay sent you.

When you go in, it’s an absolutely amazingly beautiful place. They have all the intricate carvings and the wood panels. The very colorful silks and stuff on the ceiling. A little bar there and they also do a buffet if you’re around that area for lunch. And yeah. Can’t say enough good things about the place. Gateway to India, even if you’re in Brandon, you’ll owe it to yourself to drive out there at some point and try this food. It is that good. So, if you disagree keep it to yourself or feel free to send me an email. I always like arguing on the internet.

So, I’d like to thank you for listening to “Great Things Tampa Bay.” My name again is Kyle Sasser and I am a local Tampa Bay Florida native and also a licensed realtor. If you would like to find your own great place in Tampa Bay, I’d love to help you find your house, your dream home. Like dirt on any side of the bay, I’ve lived from Plant City to Brandon, Tampa and I’m in St. Petersburg now. So, I can help you anywhere in the Tampa Bay area you like. We also have a Great Things Tampa Bay app, so you can find that on the mobile store of your choice either Google Play or Apple iOS. And finally, we’re doing some live events out and about.

If you’d like to get out and meet some new folks, some friendly people, if you’d like to see my Brighton’s smiling face, please do come out. We’re gonna be doing some canoe trips. See what else is there. All right. Canoe trips is all I have planned right now. I’m sorry. We’re probably gonna be doing dining experiences out and about at some of the great restaurants I’ve talked about as well. Thought that’d be a nice fun way to interact with you and get to meet you face to face, get to shake your hand and you can tell me all the things that you like or don’t like about the show to my face. So, anyway, Thanks for tuning in. Pointing us out today, we have Cristian Gonzalez, Power.

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[music]

Tie me up and break away my skin.

Have your way with me.

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Here, crumble me or set me free.

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I see this person who gives away their thin skin.

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The masters a person that imposes his will upon them.

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We’ve been giving, we’ve been giving.

Give me the power you hold.

We’ve been giving, we’ve been giving.

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We’ve been giving, we’ve been giving.

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We’ve been giving, we’ve been giving.

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