GRAPEFRUIT BASEBALL, HERE I COME

It’s below zero here in Chicago, but tomorrow I’ll be on my way to the Sunshine State to watch preseason baseball. My yearly pilgrimage will be as always to the Tahitian Resort in Holiday, Florida. The Tahitian is at best a fixer upper with the traditional painting of pink & turquoise cementing its exterior somewhere in the 60s. Just down the road from the Tahitian is the best Greek food to be found in Tarpon Springs. Tarpon Springs got on the map when sponge divers came over from the Greek Islands in search of sponges. Although the sponge divers still do their thing today, Tarpon Springs is better known for its tourist shops and delicious Greek cuisine, my personal favorite is Costa’s Restaurant. As you travel further down Highway 19 you’ll come upon Clearwater, where the Phillies train. It’s strange to see the Phillie faithful in a sunshine backdrop. New Jerseyese is widely spoken with alot of deese, does, & dem. Somehow the sunshine even brings out optimism out of the people from the City of Brotherly Love. A couple of years ago I watched as Jim Thome launched a couple of bombs over the fence and out onto the highway. I’ll have to check out new hope Ryan Howard and also checkin on Jimmy JRoll Rollins as he prepares to go after the most sacred record in baseball Joe DiMaggio’s 56 game hitting streak. The only game I’ll be able to see before heading back to the frigid north of the Windy City will be on March 2nd when the Tampa Bay Devil Rays take on the Toronto Blue Jays in Dunedin, FL. Dunedin is a Scottish town with the quantist shops you’ll ever see, but the highlight of Dunedin has to be Casa Del Tina’s. Tina’s has the freshest & tastiest Mexican food you’re ever gonna experience, and the Margaritas! I’m eager to see young Rays Delmon Young & BJ Upton. Other teams that train in the area are the Devil Rays who train in St. Pete and the Yankees who own Tampa. My talk of my trip to Florida wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t mention the German Restaurant. I’m German and this place makes my mouth water just thinking about eating there. Germans are usually stoic and serious, but nothing could be further from the truth when dining there as owners Uwe & Dagmar Kasper always make me feel at home when I come to visit. Hey, was this an article about baseball or food?