Florida has a rich history that many visitors do not realize. Back at the turn of the 20th century, Ybor City was thriving with Cuban cigar factories. With all those factories, there was a need for restaurants to feed all those workers. The Columbia Restaurant was one of those places. It is officially known as the oldest restaurant in Florida, founded in 1905.
They have a few locations around Florida now, but I was thrilled to be getting to go to the original location in Ybor City.
The restaurant takes up an entire block (if not more). They also have a shop where you can buy everything from sauces to Spanish painted plates. You can take a little piece of Columbia home.
The restaurant inside was beautiful. It was extremely crowded but luckily I did not have to wait too long for a table.
While I was waiting I walked around and noticed they were decorating one of the main dining rooms for what looked like a wedding.
A meal at Columbia had to start off with a pitcher of homemade sangria that they make right at the table.
I took a few videos of them making the sangria, I posted those videos on my Twitter page (@GatorGirl_swamp).
Their sangrias are delicious. Theirs was the first sangria I ever tried years ago and it made me fall in love with them. I ordered the Sangria de Cava. It is their sparkling sangria.
They use Jaume Serra Cristalino Spanish Cava, brandy, and orange liquor. Plus they squeeze fresh juices in and top it with maraschino cherries.
This sangria is slightly sweet and extremely refreshing.
To accompany my sangria I ordered the Queso Fundido. It was Tetilla cheese from Galicia, Spain. It is baked in Rioja tomato sauce. In the cheese and sauce mixture were olives and capers. I was not expecting those. They were a nice salty surprise. To eat this dip they included toasted Cuban bread.
This is not your typical queso. The flavor was amazing. It was salty and creamy. It reminded me of an Italian type sauce that you could eat with pasta. The salty taste helped balance the sweetness of the sangria.
There is another item that is a must order when visiting Columbia. It is their 1905 salad. The legendary, award winning salad is made tableside just like the sangria. You can check out my videos of the salad being made on Twitter (@GatorGirl_swamp).
This salad has chopped up iceberg lettuce mixed with thinly sliced ham, turkey, and Swiss cheese, olives, tomatoes, and tons of Romano cheese. Then it is tossed with their famous dressing that includes Worcestershire sauce and fresh lemon juice.
This salad definitely needs to be shared. However, even sharing it, I still got a giant plateful. It is a filling salad. The dressing adds a sour taste but that is mellowed because of all the cheese. I love the fact that every element in this salad is chopped up. It makes it so much easier to eat.
Once you have tried this salad you will find yourself starting to crave it. I tried my best but the salad kicked my butt. I was not able to finish it. I felt so disappointed in myself.
There is one more part to a meal at Columbia that is a must try, their fresh Cuban bread. They make this fresh and it come to the table warm and wrapped up. Each person gets one. It has a crispy crust and a soft, sweet inside. Put butter in the bread as soon as it comes to the table. This way it has a chance to melt. Then take a bite – it’s heavenly.
Now if you tend to avoid carbs, let me just suggest that you use this visit to Columbia as your cheat day because you MUST try this bread.
I am hoping I made you hungry reading about Columbia Restaurant. They are a must visit when you are in the Tampa area. Check out their website to find all of their different locations http://www.columbiarestaurant.com/
And if you cannot make it to one of those locations, they do have a restaurant at the Tampa airport so you can get some food to go.
Enjoy!
T
