Brush with culinary fame, watch the crumbs

My friend in Baltimore just sent this:

"So.....I stumble into this hole-in-the-wall Italian bakery near my new office downtown today, and met the mom-n-pop proprietors of this shop.

It is a tiny bakery called Piedigrotta that has cookies, cakes, bread and--yes--tiramisu everywhere. But, it was lunchtime so I asked for a sandwich (no menus or anything like that). So the lady (Brunna Iannaconne) went into the back and made me an Italian cold cut panini on a fresh, homemade (of course) Italian roll.

I talked to them for a while, and it turns out that they claim to have INVENTED tiramisu!

So when I got back to the office I checked wikipedia, and it mentioned this guy! It had a link to a Washington Post article that you have to read.

BTW, the sandwich was UNBELIEVABLE!"

I love Baltimore (in a shallow and superficial way, but also in a deep and profound way; totally different reasons). What has the Tampa Bay area invented so I can stop being so jealous?

Comments

[Richard Guzinya]

The word on the street is that Tampa Bay, Florida invented the "soccer mom". Don't broadcast this though, sshh. Soccer kids in Tampa evidently approach Olympic trainees. Beware of weird colored socks amongst team members ... this could bode strange in childhood years to come. Didn't they also invent that variation of Churos that uses Habaneros and Belgian waffle mix. Careful with your piercings though, Tampa. Try the closed loop style. I hear Ybor has the real hook-up with piercers. So down home, you'll send a Christmas card! RG (PS I got the Ybor pierce ... works to this day!.)

[The Mouth]

Ah, Richard. You're back with more inane yet amusing non sequiturs. What WILL you think of next? And don't be talking 'bout your Ybor piercings. This is a wholesome, G-rated blog I've got going heere.

[Stir Crazy]

Miami often claims it, but there are plenty of people who believe that the Cuban sandwich is a product of Ybor City.

Oh, yeah, and don't forget the blob of potato salad on the Florida-style Greek salad. The brainchild of Louis Pappas of Tarpon Springs.

[The Mouth]

Stir Crazy, I feel better already. But as per the blob of potato salad, is this really something of which to brag? Somehow the use of the word "brainchild" in this context makes me think of unfortunate-looking CAT scans--"Is it a tumor?" "No, a blob of potato salad."

[Stir Crazy]

I think the story goes he was looking for something more substantial (and apparently cheap) to bulk up the salad for the sponge divers. Apparently, pastitsio wasn't enough.

[Dizzy Miles]

Hey, Laura,
I hear that you use to live in the SF Bay Area. If that's true, I have a restaurant question. I have an important date coming up and I want to know which restaurant you'd recommend - Kuleto's in Burlingame or Taco Bell in Berkeley? Have you ever been to either? Good experiences?
Thanks!

[The Mouth]

As a matter of fact, Dizzy, I've been to both. I highly recommend both for their in-house entertainment.