Foodies Club Give Back Day @ PAO Cafe

Come out the PAO Cafe for the Foodies Club at USF Give Back Day on Friday, March 27th, 2015 from 12PM-8PM! We’ll be fundraising for the Foodies Club and a portion of the proceeds will go back to the Foodies Club for future events.

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We’ll be curating a special menu just for the Foodies Club that will showcase different fusion food from around the world.

In addition, there will be an Open Mic @ PAO Cafe from 4PM-8PM! If you have singing talent then sign up! JAMMA will be performing!

Let us know if your org wants to throw its support behind our event!

Tickets will be on-sale for PhilFest 2015! PhilFest is one of the biggest Filipino festivals in the nation and showcases Filipino culture through food, dance, and cultural traditions. Don’t miss it!

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Florida State Fair 2015 Happening Now – Food Highlights

The 2015 Florida State Fair is in town. Tickets can be purchased online at http://floridastatefair.webconnex.com/2015floridastatefair. Unlimited ride armbands are available on different days. Check out this page for more details: http://www.floridastatefair.com/events/2014/fair-tickets–armbands. Parking is FREE.

Don’t miss! Tuesday, February 10th: Families Helping Families – $2 Tuesday, Bring 2 items of non-perishable food and get in after 5PM for $2 admission/$2 rides. Ride Armband – Valid only after 3pm, $30 advance purchase, $35 purchased at the gate. Weekday Super Saver Armband – Valid only after 5pm, $20 advance purchase, $25 purchased at the gate. All donated food will go to Feeding America Tampa Bay.

Here are some new things on the food menu this year that we are looking forward to:

Burger of the Gods: A beef patty topped with brie, bacon, and an apple, maple compote on a toasted bun.

Deep Fried Oreo Burger: A beef patty fried on the griddle then dredged through an Oreo cookie batter and deep-fried. Add bacon, glaze, and crumbled Oreos. There’s even an extra Oreo included for dessert!

Holiday Express Burger: Thanksgiving on a bun! A beef patty topped with Havarti cheese, bacon, stuffing, sweet potato fries and a cranberry-orange marmalade sauce on a toasted bun.

Jalapeno Crusted Burger: A twice-fried burger patty coated with a corn chip/jalapeno mix until its crispy. Then topped with shredded Mexican-style cheese (melted with a kitchen torch), guacamole, salsa, and sour cream.

Parmesan Crusted Burger: A twice-fried burger patty coated with a potato chip/parmesan-romano cheese mixture until crispy. Topped with bacon, a mayonnaise-parmesan sauce and torched until melted. Finish with your favorite condiments.

Some other notable food highlights include:

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Cronut™: The bakery sensation that’s been sweeping the country arrives at the Florida State Fair. A light and fluffy hybrid of a doughnut and croissant, which has created lines around New York City and other metros.

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Funnel Cake Cheeseburger: A juicy cheeseburger nestled in between two, crunchy, glazed funnel cakes, topped with bacon, lettuce, tomato, and a pickle.

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Ramen Pizza made with ramen noodles as the crust.

We can’t wait to visit this upcoming week! The Foodies Club will visit the fair this upcoming Friday, but there is no reason to wait. Tuesday you can help support Feeding America Tampa Bay and enjoy some of these foods at the same time.

 

Recap: Burrito Eating Competition + Social with Qdoba Mexican Grill

The Foodies Club at USF hosted their first burrito eating competition and social at Qdoba Mexican Grill located at 5001 East Fowler Avenue Tampa, FL 33617 from 5:00PM-8:00PM on Tuesday, January 27th, 2015. We would like to thank the people who came out to make this event a success!

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Six teams of four students competed to be eligible to win free burritos for a year*. Free samples of Qdoba’s menu including chips and salsa and quesadillas as well as Qdoba sunglasses were given to spectators at the event who cheered on participants.

The competition was held in relay format and the team with the lowest overall time score won the contest. All contest participants received a free entrée for their next visit to Qdoba Mexican Grill regardless of their placement.

The team times are as follows:

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1st place: Team Jamaican Hopscotch Mafia (Winners of free burritos for a year) 12 minutes 15 seconds 05 milliseconds

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2nd place: Team We Hungry 12 minutes 20 seconds 18 milliseconds

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3rd place: Team Uptown Funk 13 minutes 07 seconds 50 milliseconds

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4th place: Team Diversity from USF International Student Association (ISA) 14 minutes 10 seconds 39 milliseconds

5th place: FARM Squad 5 from USF FARM (Food Activists Revolutionizing Meals) 14 minutes 31 seconds 76 milliseconds

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Team Clean Eating: Timed out

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Team Jamaican Hopscotch claimed the winning prize of free burritos for a year with team members Jowel Antiquino, Matt Newman, Jason Russ, and Corey Atkins. The Foodies Club at USF would like to congratulate these students on their achievement.

*12 entrees per team member

MOSI presents Einstein on Food & Wine 2015

Einstein on Food & Wine 2015 is a celebration of the senses that showcases the delicious and diverse cuisine of Tampa Bay alongside the palate pleasers of winemakers from around the country. The event will occur on Saturday, January 17th, 2015 starting at 8PM (GA).

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This year’s event will feature a tremendous variety of wine, a beer garden, celebration of the senses throughout the science center, samplings from top local restaurants, restaurant competition, live entertainment, and a charity auction all for a significant cause, the education programs at MOSI. MOSI being right across the street from USF, we at the Foodies Club want to offer our support!

ABC Fine Wine & Spirits, the host sponsor, will feature more than 120 vintners with a variety of wines, including reds, whites, champagnes, domestic and imported. Delicious food and desserts from more than 30 different local restaurants will be featured including Texas de Brazil, Benedetto’s, Timpano, and BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse along with a variety of food trucks.

This event is strictly for those ages 21+. If you’re interested in volunteering and of age contact Libby Hopkins, their Volunteer Program Manager at Libby.Hopkins@mosi.org.

USF Foodies Club members can receive a discount of $60 (normally $85) for the event by calling 813-987-6000 and mentioning you are part of the USF Foodies Group.

Einstein on Food & Wine is sponsored in part by Bay Area Medical Resources, Inc., Service Systems Associates, Macy’s, the Florida Education Fund, and Molly Demeulenaere.

RSVP: Foodies Club at USF Social with ISA @ Naga Tea

Hey Foodies!

Don’t forget to RSVP to our game night/boba social at Naga Tea for this upcoming Wednesday, January 14th, 2015 from 5:30PM-8:30PM. We will enjoy a game night with the International Student Association (ISA) at USF and sample products from Naga Tea. Naga Tea is a new bubble tea shop located at 10950 N. 56th St. Temple Terrace, FL 33617 that serves fresh, herbal, milk, and fruit teas.

Use #NagaTea for a chance to win a giftcard at our event on Wednesday! Must be present to collect!

Shoot us an e-mail at USFFoodiesClub[at]gmail[dot]com to secure your spot at the event.

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Foodies Club FIRST Social @ Graffiti Junktion USF

Graffiti Junktion is a new burger bar that recently opened just minutes from USF on 56th Street. When we first checked it out during their soft opening, we just knew we had to have an event there…our first event for the Foodies Club at USF! The inside of Graffiti Junktion is awesome with designs covering all the walls. Sports fans can also enjoy watching the game on the various TVs spread around the restaurant and bar.

Specializing in burgers with names such as Iron City (Canadian bacon, egg, fries, American cheese, and onions) and Brotherly Love (peppers, onions, mushrooms, and provolone), most burgers are $10-$12 and served with french fries and are made fresh, never frozen. Wraps are also available for meat-conscious diners. Specials are held everyday of the week with Trivia Night Tuesdays and 1/2 off Appetizers Fridays from 4PM-7PM being two things that particularly caught our eyes.

Graffiti Junktion provided our members with complimentary samples of their Brotherly Love and Lone Star burgers, Graffiti wings, Turkey Graffito Wrap, Macho Nachos, and Zucchini Fries. Members were also able to order additional items at a 20% discount during our social. Some of the things members tried included the Buffalo Chicken Tots, Chili Cheese Fries, and Chocolate Cake.

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Our event was held in a private back room that can be rented for private parties or catering functions. Two dart rooms were available for play in the private room and the main stage setup is not too far from it as well. Music can also be played in the room or turned off depending on whether you are having a meeting or social function.

The management and staff were very friendly towards our group and we especially loved our waitress who handled our party that was moving around the room very well and who consistently made sure that we were having a positive experience.

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Our members used the hashtag #BullsLoveGraffiti to promote the event on Twitter and Instagram and to share their photos and feedback. On Twitter our tweets reached 7,167 people and 99,026 Twitter Timelines. See a full Twitter report on Hashtracking. See another report on Keyhole.

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We had a blast Graffiti Junktion USF and our members really enjoyed the food. The proximity of Graffiti to USF makes it a great contender for specials events and the assorted specials make it friendly towards college students. College students can also take comfort in the fact that Graffiti Junktion is open late from Monday-Sunday until 2AM.

Make sure to call ahead to make sure the kitchen is still open if you want to order food as the closing hours in the kitchen vary.

We are truly wishing Graffiti Junktion the best of luck at USF and hope everyone goes out to try them and give them a shot! We will be back soon!

Graffiti Junktion on Urbanspoon

Restaurant Name: Graffiti Junktion USF

Cuisine: American, Burgers

Address: 11401 56th Street Tampa, FL 33617

Phone Number: (813) 983-9000

Website: http://www.graffitijunktion.com/

Facebook: http://on.fb.me/1ue8XW4

3rd Annual Tampa Bay International Curry Festival

The 3rd Annual Tampa Bay International Curry Festival is coming up this weekend and tickets are on-sale now! Enjoy 2 food-filled events with a pre-festival VIP event on Friday, October 3rd, 2014 starting at 7PM at Marriott Westshore Tampa​ (1001 N WestShore Blvd. Tampa, FL). Dr. Kiran and Dr. Pallavi from Patel Foundation for Global Understanding and Georgetown Wesleyan University, USA (GWUA) will host Friday’s event.

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Tampa Bay’s best Professional and Amateur Curry Festival Food Competition will take place on Saturday, October 4th, 2014 at the Vinoy Park (701 Bayshore Drive NE
St.Petersburg, FL 33701) from 12PM-8PM. Enjoy live music and local entertainment, curry cuisine from around the world, dozens of vendor booths, children’s activities (including bounce houses), and an evening concert.

Chefs participating in the event include Chef Rosni Gurnani (FOX TV’s Hell’s Kitchen, winner of Food Network’s Chopped), Chef Sam Kumar, Chef Gaston, Chef Suman Roy, Chef Andrew Ashmeade, Kash D. Ramnarain, Chef Massimo, Chef Syed Asif Rasheed, Chef Vicky Ratnani, and Chef Jason Peru. Read more information on the chefs: http://www.tbicf.com/site/entertainment-schedule/chefs

The Patel Center for Global Solution and Dr. Kiran Patel are presenting sponsors for the event. Charity Partners include You Inspire, Derek Brooks Charities, Golfers vs. Brain Cancer, Helen Ellis Memorial Foundation, Georgetown Wesleyan University of the Americas (GWUA), and Save Abee, The Children of Tomorrow.

Win FREE tickets to the Tampa Bay International Curry Festival by entering our giveaway: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/c9f54ff31/

Event name: Tampa Bay International Curry Festival

Date: October 4th & October 5th, 2014

Buy tickets: http://www.ticketfly.com/search/?q=curry+festival

Website: http://www.tbicf.com/site/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/InternationalCurryFestival

Free Coffee for National Coffee Day! #NationalCoffeeDay

College and coffee are a match made in heaven. Coffee gets us through some of the roughest mornings and also some crazy exams. Today is National Coffee Day.

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Photo via Datz Dough

Here is where you can grab a free cup of coffee today in celebration of this foodie holiday.

Buddy Brew Coffee: Tampa’s local craft masters are offering a FREE Cup-O-Brew today in celebration of National Coffee Day.

Datz Dough: Known for their excellent coffee including their bacon and nutella lattes. Datz Dough is one of the coolest coffee shops in town. Today they are offering a cup of their drip coffee to customers for FREE. One per customer. No purchase required.

Dunkin Donuts: grab a FREE medium cup of DD’s new Rainforest Alliance Certified Dark Roast Coffee, limit one per guest.

Krispy Kreme: FREE 12oz cup of Krispy Kreme House, Decaf or Dark Roast coffee today. Guests can also receive a 12oz Mocha, Latte or iced coffee for $1 at participating Krispy Kreme US locations.

Wawa: FREE 16 ounce Wawa coffee when you sign up for their e-mail list: bit.ly/WawaCoffeeDay

Do you know any other places giving away freebies for National Coffee Day or celebrating? Leave a comment!

Graffiti Junktion Burger Bar Social – 9/29

Join us on Monday, September 29th, 2014 from 6:00PM-8:00PM for the Foodies Club FIRST Social of the semester at Graffiti Junktion Burger Bar USF (11401 56th Street Tampa Fl. 33617).  The USF location is the first location Graffiti Junktion has rolled out in the Tampa Bay area with more planned in areas such as South Tampa and 6 locations in Orlando. Food at Graffiti Junktion is prepared fresh and never-frozen.

If you would like to join us please RSVP via Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/events/518993788234185/. Members who RSVP will receive free samples during our event and also receive 20% off any additional purchases at Graffiti Junktion.

We hope you will come out and join us!

-USF Foodies Club

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