Tampa Bay Says Grazie To Italy!

Since Yelp is now in Italy as we go global for everything local, Tampa Bay figured there was no better time to honor our friends from the Mediterranean's finest foothold (get it, because it's a boot… ha!) in Tampa Bay with Yelp Saluto Italia! Our host was Cru Cellars, a South Tampa wine shop and bar that sticks to what it knows best; bringing the finest grapes to the Bay area. It's a place that's all about the wine, and some of our best yelpers from both sides of the Bay were figuratively transported to the land of the Colosseum… with some special surprises for the trip!

Local legendary Italian restaurant and bakery Pane Rustica brought some of their standard incredibleness to the proceedings, even bring extra bread from their ovens for guests to take home. The herb-crusted shrimp was delightful and delicious, and paired perfectly with the wines provided by Cru. Eliter Jim B bragged about the bodacious spread "the munchies from Pane Rustica as delicious as always… will be hard pressed to top this one!"

But no one can Saluto Italia without yelling "Salute!" And that's where the spectacular reds and whites of Cru Cellars came up bello. Many different types of vino were tasted and tested, with multiple attendees picking up bottles to take home as well. Cru is also home to classes for folks that want to learn more about what makes grapes go from fermentation to fabulous. Mike Z made his observations public saying "Cru Cellars has a unique selection… and the staff are all friendly and knowledgeable. The food spread was a terrific quality and paired wonderfully with the wine."

All that wine and food can be a bit overwhelming, and thus stressful. Thank goodness for Ashley from Soleil Organic Bodyworks inside Stasia's Organic Element Salon was available to give chair massages for guests. There was also a raffle for tickets to multiple upcoming super-chic events in the area. But the entertainment for the evening truly took everyone by surprise! Opera singer Phoenix Gayles wowed the crowd with not only some classical Italian operatic standbys, but threw in a rather ribauld version of one of her favorites to bring the house down. We'll save that for another video, but you can see her brilliant stylings here.

Super Elite Elizabeth D summed up her wonderful afternoon trasportato in Italia thusly: "The wine was fab, the food was fab, my mini massage was fab, the opera singer was fab, I won the Howl-o-Scream tix, AND I got my Elite watch!" For all those lucky enough to get in touch with Columbus' motherland at Cru, you can chat about it here in Talk, or give your own wrap up on the Event Page. 

Collin S.

Tampa Bay Community Manager