The Beginning: Oxford Exchange

Hello!  Welcome aboard the CaptivEATing experience!  I will be your host, Emily Wencelblat, and I hope you enjoy the different locations and styles of food that will be brought into these posts.

Recently I went on a business trip to Tampa, Florida with my long time best friend.  The drive there was beautiful.  It was a sunny, warm morning… The clouds were contrasting the sky perfectly… And there wasn’t even that much traffic.  What every road traveler asks for!
As we were reaching our destination, my friend and I were curious about where we would end up eating lunch.  See, we like LOVE food and atmosphere, so we had to try somewhere that was known for its deliciousness.  What popped up on our smart phones? Oxford Exchange.
            Well ladies and gentlemen, this place deserved an A in my book.  We walked in and immediately what you saw was the organized layout of the tables and the lovely patio seating area.  All of their food is organic and locally grown, making each dish fresh, clean, and healthy.  They offer breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, and even weekend brunch.  Amazing!  If you’re a coffee or tea drinker, this is the place to go for you as well.  Great quality coffee, great quality and combinations of teas.  No one can lose here.  There is even a decently sized store filled with all kinds of goodies you can imagine.  From art history books to jewelry to trinkets, the store held its own essence of captivation.  It was hard to walk out of that place!

So, what did I order for lunch?  I decided to try what was called a, “Roasted Chopped Salad”(12$) and a flavored iced tea.  When I read the ingredients and how they were compiled to make this fresh salad, I thought just that, “This is going to be a tasty and fresh salad..!”  Well, I was correct.  The vegetables they used such as the snap peas, the mushrooms, the chickpeas and the zucchini all came together with the light vinaigrette it was served with.  The elimination of lettuce as an ingredient for this salad allowed the flavor of each roasted vegetable and seed to stay prominent in each bite.  I was completely satisfied with the vegetables to say the least, but there was, however, one thing about the salad I did not love.  It came with grilled chicken, which assumingly was hot.  One bite of the chicken, and BOOM, it was cold grilled chicken.  Now personally, I prefer warm chicken with a salad.  I can understand if it is not your own personal preference, but the lesson learned here was: Don’t ever ASSUME!
Regardless of the cold chicken, the salad was simple, wholesome, and quite frankly it captivated me!  After this experience its safe to say I would highly recommend trying out Oxford Exchange if you are in the area and are looking for a great meal or a coffee/tea break.

Thanks for joining me on this first adventure! Looking forward to the next one!