1610 W Swann Ave. Tampa, FL 33606
$10 – $18 Brunch $11 – $27 Lunch
I’ve been on a brunch kick lately, it’s kind of the best of two worlds – breakfast and lunch. The menu is often unique as it doesn’t just offer one or the other and sometimes if you are lucky food fusion occurs. For my readers that don’t know what food fusion is, it is where you take two different styles of food and put them together in other words fuse them.
We had driven from one side of town to the other in search of something to curb our craving, please our palates, tantalize our tastebuds. We have not visited the Hyde Park area much since the addition of several new restaurants so my husband suggested Timpano for lunch. I had enjoyed cocktails there before but had never actually dined. I almost made a regrettable mistake by hesitating on saying yes, but I agreed and I’m glad I did.
Timpano is an Italian Chophouse. It is located in the Hyde Park district of Tampa, FL. It features five menus including the kids menu and it is currently featuring a sixth with its 2017 summertime menu. If you arrive at just the right time, you can enjoy live music. This takes the atmosphere to an entirely different level. Lucky for me, we arrived at just the right time (1:45) and were given a brunch, lunch and raw bar menus and the music was flowing. I Internally jumped for joy because I was afraid I had missed brunch since it ended at 2:00. When you have so many amazing options to choose from 15 minutes is not enough. So without further ado here is my review of Timpano Tampa.
Appetizer
Choosing an appetizer was difficult to say the least. I spent at least 5 minutes going back and forth between the brunch and lunch menu. I mean the lunch menu had six or seven options alone. The brunch menu was simple as it only had one option – Zeppoles.
Zeppoles
I was skeptical about trying the Zeppoles. The name enough was weird, I had heard of beignets for breakfast but what the heck was a zeppole? Turns out the zeppoles are citrus-vanilla dough that are deep fried and covered with cinnamon sugar and served with creme anglaise. First of all who doesn’t love something deep fried. Secondly, they were fresh and warm so when you dipped them in the anglaise it slightly melted. Third, the anglaise itself was good enough to just dip your finger in and eat (which I may or may not have done). The only downside to my appetizer is that it disappeared so fast lol. If you are visiting Timpano for brunch, these are a must order.
Brunch and Lunch
Three menu’s gives you so many options to choose from. Since I was given the opportunity, I decided to order from both the brunch and lunch menu. I had the Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict and Eggplant-pine nut ragout and spinach cannelloni.
Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict
Words cannot not describe how good this eggs benny was…on second thought they can. Amazing, yummylicious, mouthgasmic, heavenly, the bomb and I could go on and on. I’m sure my fork was doing the same happy dance I was doing. The Salmon Eggs Benedict is not traditional in that it is layered on top of toasted naan bread. Naan bread is a great base because it held up to all of the juices that pour out of that delicious volcano of food. On top of the naan bread was smoked salmon, a poached egg, red pepper, peperonata, béarnaise sauces, arugula and bacon. This Eggs Benedict definitely makes my top 5. It may even be currently standing at number 1 overall, it is definitely number 1 in Tampa right now.
Eggplant-pine nut ragout and Spinach Cannelloni
Creamy and savory are what these cannelloni’s are. The pine nuts provided a good texture contrast and the eggplant was cooked perfectly. Because I had already demolished the Eggs Benedict, I decided to take a few bites and bring the rest home. This dish even reheated well. If you enjoy eggplant and spinach as much as I do, you will like this dish.
Grilled Cheese
My little foodie in training enjoyed the grilled cheese with tomato soup and french fries. The cheese was so gooey that she literally could not stop it. That is the way a grilled cheese should be. I tasted the tomato soup and it was sooo amazing that I dipped a few of her french fries in it. All in all this was a great American classic.
Sinatra Skillet
The best part of going on a brunch or lunch date is that you get to sample someone else’s plate. My husband ordered the Sinatra Skillet and I’m so glad he did. This skillet was (in my husbands words) “life” and I’ve been tasked with trying to recreate this dish. I have a feeling that even if I gave it my best shot, I’d be far off of this awesomeness that was created. The Sinatra skillet is composed of Italian sausage, mushrooms, spinach, roasted potatoes and maple cajun bacon topped with three fried eggs and served with strawberry yogurt and toast. This is a definite must order if you go for brunch.
There are many positive highlights if you are looking to dine at Timpano. The drinks are amazing with unlimited mimosas at brunch who wouldn’t want to return. I’m already looking forward to returning for brunch and lunch to try either the lump crab meat Eggs Benedict or the Prima Colazione. I will be back Timpano….you can bet on that.
Overall FORK rating:
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