Ulele: Native-Inspired Cuisine on Tampa's Riverwalk

 

Located on Tampa's Riverwalk and overlooking the beautiful Hillsborough River, Ulele is a native-inspired restaurant and brewery offering a vibrant menu filled with fresh fare from local farms and waters, once home to the indigenous people of Florida, including the young princess Ulele. Originally a steam-powered pump house built in 1903, renovations to the historic building were extensive, and has resulted in a warm and welcoming space filled with art from Richard and Melanie Gonzmart’s private collection, owners of Columbia restaurants that has served Spanish-Cuban cuisine in Florida since 1917. While Ulele's menu changes seasonally, examples include Soft Shell Crab, Fire-Roasted Corn-on-the-Cob, Blackened Redfish, Yellowfin Tuna crusted with pumpkin seeds, Alligator Hush Puppies, and Gulf Coast oysters which have been a local staple since the Tocobaga harvested them from these waters over a thousand years ago. Ulele also as an on-site brewery called Ulele Spring Brewery and provide their own craft beers, and also feature wines from family owned U.S. wineries, as well as several private-label selections from family vintners in Spain, a nod to early Spanish explorers who came ashore in Tampa’s waters.

Tropical outdoor setting for the Ulele's Beer Garden that features 

their own craft beers brewed on-site 

Ulele was originally a steam-powered pump house built in 1903

and served as the water source for Tampa until the 1930s

The interior design recalls the history of the building 

using industrial lighting and natural materials to create a wam and welcoming space

The cutlery with Casula dish cloth-style napkin and retro cutlery

The menu features native inspired cuisine

The open seafood kitchen busy shucking oysters 

Ulele's popular charbroiled oysters are simply made with a little butter, 

a little Parmesan and Romano cheese

1789 stained glass panels over the kitchen doors were purchased 

by Cesar and Adela Gonzsmart at auction in 1972

All the art was purchased for Ulele and also on loan from 

Richard and Melanie Gonzmart’s private collection

Spanish Albariño

Oregon Pinot Noir from Williamette Valley

Chili-marinated fresh Florida alligator tail, dusted in seasoned flour, flash-fried 

and served with their signature spicy remoulade

Ulele Burger made with grilled short rib, brisket and chuck blend, house-made steak sauce, 

Wisconsin sharp cheddar, portobello mushrooms, fire-roasted red peppers, fried leeks, 

and served on a brioche bun with French fries

Chesapeake Bay soft shell whole crab dusted in seasoned flour and flash fried, berbere seasoning, 

apple cider slaw, honey datil aioli served on a brioche bun

The bill arrives with a miniature clothes peg attached to a Ulele postcard

Sculpture of Princess Ulele in the garden of the restaurant, 

was a Native American princess believed to have lived in Florida in the 1500’s

Humpty Dumpty was saved and lovingly restored from Tampa's Fairyland Amusement Park at Lowry Park Zoo which was built in 1957, by philanthropist Richard Gonzmart

The Height' Public Market along Tampa's Riverwalk

The industrial-style interior of the market

Cobblestone walkway around the market stamped with Baltimore manufacturer  mark 

ulele.com

Southern Fried Catfish

Serves 4

Recipe courtesy of chef Patrick Quakenbush, Ulele

Catfish:

1 lb catfish, cut into 4 portions

4 oz buttermilk

8 oz seasoned cornmeal

24 oz root vegetable succotash

4 oz whipped butter

1 1/2 cups vegetables

1 1/2 cups Ulele remoulade

1/4 oz parsley, freshly chopped

Root Vegetable Succotash:

1 oz blended oil

6 oz corn salsa

1 oz cranberry beans

1 oz celery root

1 oz sweet potatoes

1 oz parsnips

1 tsp garlic, chopped

1/4 cup vegetable stock

1 oz salted butter

Ulele Remoulade: makes a big batch

1 gallon mayonnaise

2 cups Dijon mustard

1 cup lemon juice

1 cup freshly parsley, chopped

1 cup of Crystal hot sauce

3/4 cup whole grain mustard

1 cup garlic, chopped

3/4 cup capers, chopped

1/3 cup of Worcestershire sauce

1/3 cup Spanish paprika

2 cups green onions, finely chopped

4 tsp kosher salt

2 tsp cayenne pepper

Place catfish in buttermilk for a minimum of 20 minutes. Drain well and place in seasoned cornmeal making sure to cover all sides. Shake to remove excess, and place in a 350°F fryer for four minutes, until crisp and cooked throughout. 

For the succotash, place oil in sauté pan over medium high heat. Once hot, add the salsa, cranberry beans, garlic, sweet potatoes, parsnips and celery root. Sauté for one minute, and add vegetable stock to deglaze. Lower heat and add butter. Cook until butter is incorporated. For the Remoulade, place all ingredients in mixing bowl and whisk thoroughly.

Serve the fried catfish with the Root Vegetable Succotash and small bowl of rémoulade and serve with green beans and southern-style biscuit.

Marie Selby Botanical Gardens: Art & Nature

 

In the mid-1950s, Yayoi Kusama was a young artist living in Japan, where her future was very uncertain. Seeking advice from a more established female artist, Kusama wrote to Georgia O’Keeffe, whose work she greatly admired but whom she had never met. To Kusama’s surprise, O’Keeffe responded, thus establishing a correspondence that gave the young Japanese artist the courage to move to America and pursue her career in New York City, which was then the centre of the art world. Kusama’s decision, with O’Keeffe’s encouragement, forever changed the course of modern art history. The exhibition explores the mentoring relationship between Kusama and O'Keeffe.

Yayoi Kusama: A Letter to Georgia O’Keeffe examines the work of these two major artists through the lens of their connection to nature. The exhibition, which is on view until June 2024, explores the unexpected yet profoundly impactful mentoring relationship that developed between the iconic artists Kusama and O’Keeffe, and explores the ways in which the work of both artists is rooted in nature, befitting an art and horticultural experience set in a botanical garden.

The new Marie Selby Welcome Centre launched this year

'Dot Matrix' features golden barrel cacti suspended upside down at the Marie Selby Welcome Centre,

as part of the current exhibition 'Yayoi Kusama: A Letter to Georgia O’Keeffe'

Entrance to the current 'Yayoi Kusama: A Letter to Georgia O’Keeffe' exhibition

'Moments of Levity' installation inspired by Yayoi Kusama, features small grey pebble flowers 

depicted as a polka dot garden

'Shear Repetion' features a footpath of circular stepping stones leading to a quiet bench amid 

a garden of spherical topiaries

Meandering boardwalk through the mangroves

'Emmeshed in Nature' features red bromeliads

The maze of red bromeliads 'emmeshed in nature'

'Tillandsia Tunnel' features hundreds of tillandsias in nets suspended from Ficus trees

The exquisite outdoor Schimmel Wedding Pavilion

Pink Trumpet from Argentina

Staghorn Fern which branch out to look like antlers

Ball Cactus in the Desert Garden

Desert 'Triple Star' Rose

Giant Ficus tree wth great undulating root structure

The Ann Goldstein Children’s Rainforest Garden and Educational Treehouse

Cascading Waterfall

The serene Koi pond

Buddhist statue overlooks the Koi Pond

Zamia Floridana flower from Florida and the West Indies

Beautiful wild flower 

The Pitcher Plant is a carnivorous plant that have modified leaves known as pitfall traps, 

a prey-trapping mechanism featuring a deep cavity filled with digestive liquid

Beautiful pink and orange orchid

Glass balls appearing to float on water surrounded by Koi, carry on Yayoi Kusama's signature use of polka dots in the Tropical Conservatory

selby.org

The Green Orchid at Selby Botanical Gardens

 

When it came time to rethink the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens campus in downtown Sarasota, president Jennifer Rominiecki gave her design team a simple request — 'make the project as green as possible'. About seven years, a new three-building complex, and 55,000 square feet of solar panels later, the team exceeded her wildest expectations. The reimagined space is now the first net-positive-energy botanical garden complex in the world, generating more energy than it consumes. The Green Orchid by Michael’s on East, which pays homage to the 'green' components of the building as well as to Marie Selby Botanical Gardens’ researchers who have been studying orchids – including the very rare green orchid, since Selby Gardens’ founding in 1973. 

Featuring an innovative rooftop garden that grows much of the fresh produce for its garden-to-plate menu, the globally inspired cuisine focuses on sustainably sourced options for produce, seafood, poultry and other meats, with a major focus on local ingredients. This means the garden is essential for supplying a substantial portion of the daily offerings, drawing inspiration from around the world, including Asian, European, Spanish and Korean cuisines. For instance, during the upcoming art show, "Yayoi Kusama: A Letter to Georgia O’Keeffe," which runs from February to June 2024, the restaurant reflects the artist’s home country with Japanese-inspired dishes, in addition to cuisine inspired from the coastal regions of the northeast with their preparation of lobster, a pair of dishes from Cape Malay in South Africa and a Korean-inspired dish featuring kimchi.

Offering elevated casual dining featuring a globally inspired menu with a focus on local, regional, and sustainably sourced produce, seafood, meats, and poultry options, the menu changes seasonally, highlighting the freshest ingredients from local farms and the restaurant’s rooftop garden, drawing inspiration from around the world, including Asian, European, Spanish and Korean cuisines. During the current art show, “Yayoi Kusama: A Letter to Georgia O’Keeffe,” the restaurant reflects the artist’s home country with Japanese-inspired dishes, including cuisine inspired by the coastal regions of the northeast, dishes from Cape Malay in South Africa and a Korean-inspired dish featuring kimchi. The Green Orchid's stylish bar program featuring botanical-inspired cocktails with finishing touches straight from the rooftop garden. The Green Orchid also features a wine list with international selections that use organic, biodynamic or sustainable practices, and most of the wineries powered by solar renewable energy.

The Green Orchid by Michael’s on East is the world’s first net-positive energy restaurant, 

which operates entirely on solar power

Terrace dining at the Green Orchid

The Green Orchid by Michael’s on East features an innovative rooftop garden 

that grows much of the fresh produce 

Lovely cold Stella Artois

The Selby Reuben Sandwich with brown sugar and mustard-glazed corned beef,

black navel pastrami, sauerkraut, Gruyere cheese and house made dressing on marble rye with frites

Green Orchid Salad with hearts of romaine, avocado, English cucumber, celery, 

toasted pistachios, fresh mint and housemate Green Goddess dressing

Ahi Tuna Poke Bowl with brown rice, edamame, avocado, kimchi, cucumber,

beets, seaweed salad, sweet soy vinaigrette and Green Goddess dressing

bestfood.com/restaurant/the-green-orchid