As we’ve seen, Tampa took it on the civic chops recently with the publication of George Packer’s “The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America.” Packer, a New Yorker writer, used the Tampa area as Exhibit A for the housing crash and foreclosure hell.
So, nice timing for an upbeat shout-out in New York Magazine’s travel piece: “Skip the Beach in Tampa.” The lead is sure to induce a Bob Buckhorn smile of validation. “After decades of suburban sprawl, this Gulf Coast city has brought new life to its neglected center by fixing up the riverfront, repurposing abandoned spaces and embracing its Cuban-American history.”
Its lengthy list of highlights includes: the Tampa Riverwalk, Tampa Bay History Center, Tampa Theatre, Cigar City Brewery, the Don Vicente de Ybor Historic Inn, the Floridan Palace, the Oxford Exchange, the (45) casitas at the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay, The Refinery, edison: food + drink lab and Ciro’s Speakeasy & Supper Club. The section on Ybor goes well beyond the Columbia Restaurant. It also advises sampling La Tropicana Cafe and La Segunda Bakery, visiting the Ybor City Museum State Park, riding the TECO Line Streetcar and, yes, grabbing a copy of La Gaceta.