The Refinery
a while back my mother found out that she was cancer free for the tenth consecutive year in a row, which officially makes her a survivor :) She and I celebrated by trying out a place that had been on our list for a while, The Refinery. Before heading over to meet my mom after work, I stopped into Florist Fire to pick her up a little celebratory bouquet. If you live in Tampa, they have the most beautiful flowers and the sweetest workers that are willing to help you arrange the perfect piece. I found that a bouquet of pink flowers was only fitting and she was surprised and delighted to say the least.
I met up with my mom at the restaurant, where we chose to sit upstairs on the outdoor patio. Just as we sat down it began to rain one of those beautifully, calming summer evening rains that just made the experience that much more enjoyable. We started with a bowl of their tomato soup that was garnished with blueberries, a surprisingly tasty yet unexpected combination. We decided to order a few of the small plates vs. ordering just one entree so that we could try a variety of items. A few of the dishes incorporated zucchini, squash, and several other summer vegetables. One dish was similar to a ratatouille, which I have never tried- we loved it. Our favorite entree though was the grilled cabbage salad; it was vinegary and sweet all at the time same time- I loved it. Finally, we finished off by ordering one of each dessert they were offering that evening. One was a housemaid orange sorbet and the other was a chocolate brownie with a side coffee drink that I believe was infused with lavender and salted caramel. Whatever it was was absolutely amazing and easily my favorite thing that we ordered all evening. I would go back just for the drinks and to order the dessert. If you go in the evenings, make sure you sit outside! It's worth bearing a little bit of summer heat!