Dalia Colon

The Straz Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Tampa is the largest performing arts venue in the southeastern U.S. With five theaters and a school for budding talent, the Straz is a hub for Broadway shows, concerts, dance performances and more.

That means lots of hungry ticket holders—not to mention catering for on-site weddings, meetings and other events.

Holiday traditions take shape in many forms, and this week on Florida Matters, we take a look at some of our WUSF staff's favorite family holiday traditions.  

You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen. But how about the reindeer with pretzel antlers and a red M&M for its nose? This season, WUSF reporters are sharing their holiday food traditions. Today, Dalia Colón introduces us to her family and their custom of baking reindeer cookies.

Before Instant Pots, Amazon wish lists and catered holiday dinners, there were community hog killings.

“They used every part except the squeal of a hog,” says Cindy Horton, director of museum operations at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa.

This program originally aired August 6, 2019

Many people may not realize that wine making in Florida is a billion-dollar industry. There are dozens of wineries across the state employing nearly 100,000 people, and university research departments dedicated to viticulture.

The Salvador Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg contains more than 2,400 works by the artist. And the museum’s restaurant, Café Gala, pays homage to Dalí’s native Spain with menu items like serrano ham salad, Spanish omelet and sangria.

When Natalia Lima went vegan eight years ago, she assumed she was destined for a lifetime of dull desserts. But soon, the St. Petersburg baker learned to whip up her favorite confections—minus the animal products. She now sells them at her Curious Cat Bakery. Natalia is even veganizing recipes featured on The Great British Baking Show and posting the delicious results on Instagram.

For the next several weeks, WUSF News and The Zest podcast are collaborating on a special reporting project on honey bees. 

In a special collaboration between WUSF News and The Zest podcast, we're taking a closer look at honey bees.

Let's talk meats and sweets: August is nearly over, but there’s still time to plan one last end-of-summer blowout bash. This week on The Zest podcast, get grilling guidance from Ray Lampe, a.k.a. Dr. BBQ. And what’s for dessert? Our contributor Janet Keeler offers ideas from the cookbook Genius Desserts. 

This week on WUSF's food podcast, The Zest, we’re talking to some of Tampa Bay’s favorite food personalities.

WUSF's food podcast, The Zest, celebrates cuisine and community in the Sunshine State. Here's what's on the menu for this week's episode...

Spiny lobster season in Florida lasts from Aug. 6 to March 31, and the state's wildlife commission has rules in place to ensure that it's not a free-for-all. WUSF's food podcast, The Zest, spoke with Tampa blogger Danielle Rose about the "do's and don'ts" of lobster fishing.

How can a simple sandwich ignite such controversy? Well, when it's the Cuban sandwich, and we're in Florida, there is a bitter battle for the title of who had it first and who makes it the best.

Bourbon is having a moment. Not only does the spirit pair well with summer barbecue, but a bottle of the good stuff makes a great gift idea. 

Whether you’re interested in politics, music, crime, technology or just about anything, there is likely a podcast for you. But while millions of people enjoy listening to podcasts every day, others still don’t understand this relatively new form of media.

This week on Florida Matters: Podcasting 101.

What was once a vacant lot is now an urban oasis. WUSF's food podcast, The Zest, takes you behind the fence of the St. Petersburg EcoVillage. It's a community garden whose mission is to reconnect people with nature.

Before Armature Works and Sparkman Wharf, there was The Hall on Franklin. Its 2017 opening in Tampa Heights brought the food hall concept to Tampa, with items ranging from poké bowls, to fried chicken and waffles, to something called the Sleazy Sundae. 

When Dan Bavaro packed up his wife and kids to move from New Jersey to Florida, he didn’t have his sights set on opening a New York-style pizzeria. Instead, Bavaro’s Pizza Napoletana and Pastaria serves up Neapolitan-style pies, bringing a taste of Italy to its four Tampa Bay locations.

We’re entering Florida’s sweltering season, and if you can’t stand the heat, you’d better be ready with some hot-weather recipes. WUSF's new food podcast, The Zest, is up to the challenge.

Food writer Laura Reiley spent years closely observing Tampa Bay’s food and dining scene. 

She says there’s a reason that the area is exploding onto the national consciousness—affordable real estate.

The Columbia Restaurant has been a fixture in Tampa’s Ybor City neighborhood since 1905, making it Florida’s oldest family-owned eatery.Now with locations throughout the state, the restaurant is known for its storied past, live flamenco shows and of course its menu of Spanish and Cuban favorites.

Brewing has a long history in Tampa: cigar maker Vicente Ybor made Tampa the site of Florida's first commercial beer brewery, the Florida Brewing Company, founded in 1897 at the site of an ancient spring.

And the Tampa Bay area wasn’t the least bit interested in Prohibition.

You may expect a lecture at cannabis college to sound like a scene from the stoner movie Half Baked.

Instead, it sounds like a lot of talk about light bulb wattage and ducting systems.

Major buzz kill.

The Winter Olympics get underway today in Sochi, Russia, and more than a few Olympians trained in Florida. But how do Disney World and the beach help athletes prepare for ice and snow?

Strange as it sounds, there actually is a connection.