When I mentioned to friends that I was headed to Ybor City, a historic area of Tampa, Florida, I got some puzzled looks in return. That’s because for most people, Ybor (pronounced EE-bore, but more fun than it sounds) is known as a nightclub district where college kids go to party. Not that there’s anything wrong with that – Ybor packs plenty of clubs into a compact, picturesque strip – but it turns out there’s far more in Ybor than clubbing. If you’re past your hard-partying college days, you’ll still find plenty to do in the area.
Once known as the Cigar Capital of the World, Ybor originated as a Cuban settlement in the 1880s and was home to the world’s largest cigar factory. Cigar lore is still a key part of the culture, and you’ll see plenty of people puffing on stogies while parked on tidy benches along La Setima, Ybor’s main drag. (The word is a corruption of “septima” – 7th Avenue.) If cigars don’t appeal, however, there are plenty of other ways to take in the flavor of Ybor, from Cuban coffee to hundred-year-old houses.
Our home base for exploring Ybor was the InterContinental Tampa, just a few miles from Ybor. The recently renovated hotel set the stage for our grownup version of an Ybor weekend with a rooftop pool overlooking Tampa Bay and a chic urban setting. In our sunny room and throughout the hotel, we noticed that the color scheme echoed the sand, sea and sun of our tropical surroundings, with abstract shell sculptures on the walls and bright touches of orange and yellow setting off the blue walls. We stopped to admire the view of the city from our room before we headed off to explore Ybor.
The first item on our agenda after the short hop to Ybor was lunch, and only difficult thing about dining in Ybor is choosing just one restaurant for each meal. You’ll find plenty of authentic Cuban food, but Ybor’s ethnic background is actually more complex: In the heyday of the cigar factories, not just Cubans but Italian, German, Spanish and Jewish immigrant came to Ybor. Stroll along La Setima and its side streets, and you’ll find cuisine ranging from Greek to French and beyond.
Our next stop was the Ybor City Museum, with a museum, gardens and several restored cigar workers’ homes from the early 1900s. Insider tip: The homes are typically locked, so go into the museum office and ask the ranger for a tour. From the 1920s furnishings to the special shoes women wore to navigate the sandy streets, it’s a fascinating look at a unique slice of American history. Don’t miss a peek into one of the huge ovens inside the museum, where bakers once turned out the signature Ybor loaves in the late 1890s.
Next up was shopping: Ybor’s shops run the gamut from cigars to art galleries, but one stop you won’t want to miss is La France, a high-end vintage store stocked to the rafters with impeccably curated men’s and and women’s clothing, shoes and accessories from days gone by.
Before we headed back to the InterContinental for dinner, we decided to buy some cigars to sample later in the evening. Then we popped into La Naviera, a can’t-miss coffee shop on the eastern end of La Setima. When you step into La Naviera, prepare yourself for sticker shock of the best kind: A latte is just $1.75. The smell of coffee beans roasting on the premises was heavenly, so I had to shake myself out of my reverie to order. I ordered an espresso Ybor style, with a dollop of sweetened condensed milk. Perfection.
Although it was hard to leave the culinary offerings of 7th Avenue behind at dinnertime, we were headed to another iconic spot: Shula’s Steak House, right in our hotel. We began with a cocktail at the No Name Lounge just outside the restaurant (for a local specialty, try the Tampa Sunset), then settled in at Shula’s, which is themed around the Miami Dolphins’ perfect season under legendary coach Don Shula in 1972. While it’s known as a steakhouse, we had heard that Shula’s also served some of the freshest seafood around, so we ordered accordingly, and weren’t disappointed. The visit from the cart loaded with filet mignon, New York strip steaks and prime rib was impressive, but we stuck to our guns, sampling the mahi and the Florida red snapper – both excellent. Even more impressive: The couple seated next to us was from our hometown, two hours away. When you drive four hours round trip for dinner, that’s an endorsement. After sharing a decadent molten lava chocolate cake, we roused ourselves to head back to Ybor. We might be past our prime clubbing years, but we were still going to sample the nightlife – and those cigars.
Fast forward to the following day. OK, maybe the cigar was a bad idea. But cottonmouth or not, we had an appointment at Cigar City Brewery, and we weren’t going to miss it. Our first surprise was that Cigar City was not in Ybor. Our GPS figured that out right away, but when we pulled up at the brewery, we saw that the sign outside read, “Cigar City Brewery: Not in Ybor since 2009.” The truth is, it never has been in Ybor, but – like a lot of other people, apparently – I had assumed from the name that it was. No matter. We had arrived in time for our backstage tour of the microbrewery, which, for $5, also includes a pint of beer and a pint glass to take home. What a steal! The only bad part about the tour was that I had missed the notification to wear closed-toed shoes, so I had to wear disposable plastic booties over my sandals, so I looked like a mega-dork. The best part? Well, the tour was amazing, but I would have to say the highlight was the sample of Cigar City’s delightful brew. If you’re in the vicinity and like craft beer, do not miss this tour.
Thanks to the InterContinental Tampa for hosting us.