Vertoris Pizza House: That's Amore!

This is a little ditty I put together about my recent visit to Vertoris Pizza House in Bradenton, FL.

When one of my best friends (who happens to be gluten-intolerant) told me she was coming to town recently, I'll admit, I panicked a bit and it was ugly. I had no idea of any restaurants in the area that offered a gluten-free menu. A Google search produced some limited menus featured by the major chains in the area, but I really wanted to take her somewhere local (obviously!).

Zante's in Gulf Gate: "Gyro" Gonna Love It!

Anatomy of a Gyro

First things first, I am aware that there is a major controversy about something related to this topic, so I did some heavy-duty research (aka. I looked on Wikipedia) and can confirm with certainty…that the correct pronunciation is “yeer-o”. Or, kind of like “euro”, if you’re more comfortable relating to European currency. :) With that said, take another look at the title of this post, and tell me that didn’t make you laugh a little. I am seriously my own endless source of amusement.

Moving on! When it comes down to it, there are really only two food items that I am super particular about to the point where I will actively seek out the restaurants that serve the best ones in any city. Number one is “The Gyro”. I was introduced to this delicious Greek gem in an airport (of all places) many years ago. I had no idea what a gyro was (and yes, I pronounced it “jy-roh” the first time), but I knew I didn’t want the same old airport food. So I went out on a limb…and it was love at first bite.

A Sarasota Oasis: Red Bug Slough

How many times have you driven by something - a store, park, restaurant, anything - and said, "Oh yeah, I need to check that place out!"

For me, that place was Red Bug Slough Preserve, and I drove by it twice a day for roughly three months. After that, I drove by it four times a week for a year. Finally last week, with this blog as my catalyst, I got in the car, drove the whopping 3.8 miles and found a great park that I couldn't believe I'd been missing out on!

A Brave New World...of Blogging

Hello! Bonjour! Ciao! Здравствуйте! ¡Hola! Xin chào!

Welcome to my foray into blogging! Up until this moment, I have been 100% anti-blogging...mostly because I really didn't want to subject other people to my incessant ramblings about this or that (I have a terrible habit of telling "you had to be there" stories), but also because I thought "Really? Who cares?"

Well, it turns out that I have actually stumbled upon a topic that I think people really do care about! I'll give you a little background; then if you decide you want to stick around and see what else I have to say, please be my guest. There's even a handy little button I managed to add to this page so my chatter can be delivered straight to your email (and of course, if you're super tech savvy  you can add this blog to your Google Reader and read every post the second I publish!).

So back to the topic at hand, here's the story of my blog...