October 2014 First Friday Recap

Recaps of First Friday are always a favorite of blog readers, time to check out the photos, see who was there and how the night went. First Friday guests painted Albany Square “pink” hop­ping between Clayton Gray Home and Buddy Brew Coffee with the careful assis­tance of the Tampa Police Department. We are grateful to all of those who fought the One Direc­tion (cue the screams) traffic and made it to the square to help us cel­e­brate breast cancer fighters and sur­vivors via the Amer­ican Cancer Center. 20% of the sales for the night are going to ben­efit the Amer­ican Cancer Society Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk on October 18th.

Some dif­ferent twists on the night, dif­ferent from our reg­ular First Friday, we had a guest bar­tender and an exciting raffle. Con­grat­u­la­tions to Chris­tine Acosta, the winner of our “Save the Rack” raffle, a fab­u­lous basket filled with goodies from Clayton Gray Home, Buddy Brew and the Amer­ican Cancer Society, a $200 value! While our usual celeb bar­tender, Nick Peterson, was off cel­e­brating his 30th birthday (Happy Birthday, Nick!) we had a spe­cial guest bar­tender filling in from the Tampa Fire Dept. Josh Clayton (the name seemed fit­ting!) clad in his pink TFD Breast Cancer Aware­ness shirt served up our sig­na­ture Pink Halo drink for the evening.

Back in the house, serving up AMAZING food was Clemen­tine Chef. Chef Brian WOWED us with deli­cious shrimp and grits (in the most adorable bite sized por­tions!) and a scrump­tious beef ten­der­loin served on cros­tini with bernaise sauce. For dessert there was peach/​jalapeno sorbet and an amazing dark choco­late sorbet, both free of processed sugars and equally amazing. If you haven’t heard of Clemen­tine or have but wonder, “what do they offer?!” , well allow me to explain. Clemen­tine is a bou­tique chef ser­vice, here to fill a par­tic­ular niche in Tampa. There are sev­eral options in which you can enjoy your Clemen­tine. Weekly meal delivery of fab­u­lous paleo inspired meals with gluten free options is one way to enjoy Clemen­tine. Focused on organic, locally grown food options, the menu changes weekly. You can order enough for one, two or for a family to enjoy. Meals will be deliv­ered to your doorstep by the Clemen­tine elves, so all you have to do is reheat and enjoy!

The hol­i­days are upon us, instead of slaving away in the kitchen and missing your own party, allow Clemen­tine to help. They can cater or even cook in your home! That’s right, per­sonal chef ser­vice and catering avail­able. Want to learn how to wow? Clemen­tine can offer cooking lessons! Host a cooking party in your home for a fun and dif­ferent get together with friends. Clemen­tine on the fly? Look out for their food trucks which will be hit­ting the road soon! Con­tact the fab­u­lous duo of Brian and Misty for more info at Clemen​tinechef​.com .

As always, a very spe­cial thank you to Michael Trefry of michaelJohn Pho­tog­raphy for cap­turing the moments of the night. With the hol­i­days quickly approaching, Michael is avail­able for family por­traits and Christmas card photos.

Save the date for November 7th First Friday

An excel­lent way to check out the changing face of Kennedy Blvd and the shops of Albany Square!

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