In its almost three short years of existence, Datz seems to have taken the Tampa Bay area by storm. Conversations, Facebook posts, critical reviews; the praise is near-unanimous for this South Tampa eatery and their wide array of consciously playful, culinary comfort foods. Serving up breakfast, lunch, and dinner, Datz is, or should be, a mecca for any Bay area foodie.
In addition to working as a restaurant, Datz also boats a mini market of sorts right on premise filled with high-end, artisan foods including cheeses, oils, spices, deli meats, chocolates, and more. Oh, yeah there'a full service gelato counter as well.
When it comes to casting a wide, culinary net in Tampa, I think it's pretty safe to say Datz takes the cake.
Visiting for dinner affords you an ample selection of appetizers, sandwiches, entrees, salads, and soups. Overall, the Datz dinner menu's has a tendency for taking a carefully crafted, subtly atypical approach to traditional dishes; amarillo ribeye with rosemary bacon potato wedges, mac n' cheese bites with bacon, jalapeno, and chipotle ketchup, and ceasar salad with grilled Chipotle- honey beef tips, for instance.
Their classic margarita flatbread with fresh mozzarella, basil, tomato, and pizza sauce worked as a nice meal starter. Just crispy enough to straddle the line between pizza cracker and limp mess, the margarita flatbread was fresh, unassuming, and pretty tasty at that.
The Waffles and Tweet entree is a Datz favorite; fried chicken tenderloins served with a cheddar Belgian-sized waffle, jalapeno-spiked maple syrup with sauteed spinach on the side.
I'm no chicken and waffles expert by any means, but my god, this thing was near-perfect. Fried chicken tenderloins came juicy and nicely breaded in crispy, golden batter lit up by just the right amount of spicy seasoning. The waffles were super dense and pretty rich, but nicely accented by the cheddar. I'm more of light, airy waffle type, but these still worked as a nice backdrop to the mild spice of the jalapeno maple syrup and the accompanying chicken.
If you're looking for something outside the norm that still keeps a simple man or woman's sensibility in mind when it comes to taste, Datz, at least from my experience, will definitely do you solid. Check 'em out and let us know what you think on the Datz 813area.com business listing.
