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Tampa Has Air-Breathing Fish That Hunt Frogs On Land

Author Sean Roberts
A pond in Manatee County was infested.

Florida is like an episode of Mutual Of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom, but on meth. We have everything from alligators that hunt little old ladies at dusk to iguanas that drop from trees and injure snow birds as they practice yoga. But now, things are getting even more bizarre. Environmentalists have recently discovered the existence of a species of fish that is soooo Florida.
The freaky fish is the goldline snakehead, and trust me, it’s even more terrifying than its name. It’s migrated to our shores from Asia and it’s looking to party. Much like Asian carp, it is a voracious predator with few known threats to its existence. Here’s where it gets downright…um…Florida. The danged thing can breathe on land. They’ve been known to crawl out of the water, slither onto the beach and hunt down frogs. Did you read that? It’s right out of Tales From The Crypt! Yuu can now add the goldline snakehead to a growing list of Florida wildlife that boggles the mind, such as clawed frogs, menengitis snails and huge poisonous toads that find their way into our back yards. The goldline snakeheads were discovered in a local pond in Manatee County, which means they are probably in other places, too.
But it gets worse. Florida Fish and Wildlife officers removed over 400 of the air-breathing fish, along with SEVEN other species of invasive creepy-crawlies, such as walking catfish and Asian swamp eels. Unlike iguanas, whose advance north has been largely limited due to lower temperatures, goldline snakeheads are capable of surviving extreme weather, allowing them to thrive in just about any situation. In fact, snakeheads can survive out of the water for almost four days! Most of the non-native species have been introduced to the United States by people who have brought them here and released them into the wild. Source: CLTampa.com

The Oldest Pizza In Tampa

Here's Why You Need To Try Alfonso's - The Oldest Pizzeria In Tampa

Our lives were changed when we tried Alfonso’s Pizzeria in Tampa. This mom and pop restaurant has been a staple in the community since 1978. It’s definitely one of the best kept secrets in Tampa Bay. They invited us out the other week to try their menu and see what the hype was about. Now, we’re here to tell you why you need add Alfonso’s to your go-to pizza spots in Tampa.

Nestled between Lake Magdalene and Carrollwood lives Alfonso’s. They’ve been at the same location off Florida Ave since 1978. Fast forward to now and Alfonso’s youngest son, Marco, has taken over the business. Marco and his wife Brittany do everything from making the pizza, to running their social media and everything in between.

One of our favorite parts about Alfonso’s is the homey vibe you get when you’re there. The restaurant is decked out in homemade art and plants hang everywhere! You can tell the staff works really well together and they strive to connect with every customer that comes in. We even noticed that when the phone was going off like crazy, Brittany already knew who she was talking to and what they wanted.

Marco strives to keep everything on the menu made in house with the highest quality ingredients. He keeps the recipes a family kept secret (seriously, he wouldn’t even tell us what goes in their delicious sauce.) You can really tell a lot of love goes into each dish at Alfonso’s. They make sure that the dough has plenty of time to set and rise to puffy clouds, they also make all of their salads and pasta dishes with freshly chopped veggies. Marco didn’t tell us what’s in his sauce and dough that makes it so good, but he DID tell us some menu items that you need to save room for on your visit.

The most popular menu item you’ll get at Alfonso’s is the pizza (obviously), but there’s so much more on the menu to offer! Marco told us that the pepperoni/mushroom combo is their most popular pizza. The garlic knots are a MUST no matter what you’re ordering. They’re huge and loaded with fresh garlic, oil and cheese galore! Marco also told us that their Philly is a very popular menu item! First-timers definitely need to save room for Alfonso’s homemade lasagna (one of our favorite things we tried), and their true Italian cannoli.

See why you need to try Alfonso’s Pizzeria

  • The Garlic Knots...

    Here's Why You Need To Try Alfonso's - The Oldest Pizzeria In Tampa

    Photo: Glorioso/BBGI

    We seriously cannot talk about these enough.. We’ve been dreaming about them ever since we made our first visit last week! PRO TIP: Save that garlic oily goodness to dip your pizza crust in later!

  • The Lasagna

    Here's Why You Need To Try Alfonso's - The Oldest Pizzeria In Tampa

    Photo: Glorioso/BBGI

    The sauce? Delicious. The Pasta noodles? Perfectly al dente. The amount of cheese? Perfect!

    We know you’ll probably come for the pizza, but you’ll be staying for the lasagna!

  • The Fresh Salads

    Here's Why You Need To Try Alfonso's - The Oldest Pizzeria In Tampa

    Photo: Glorioso/BBGI

    We understand salad isn’t the first thing on your mind when you go to a pizzeria. But we tried their homemade Greek salad during our first visit and it did not disappoint! 10/10 would definitely order again.

  • Delicious Pizza

    Here's Why You Need To Try Alfonso's - The Oldest Pizzeria In Tampa

    Photo: Glorioso/BBGI

    We went with just a simple pizza for our first time. But hey, that’s how you test a really good pizza, right? Alfonso’s did not disappoint! The crust was perfectly crunchy and the quality of the sauce and cheese made everything melt perfectly in one bite.

    Here's Why You Need To Try Alfonso's - The Oldest Pizzeria In Tampa

    Photo: Glorioso/BBGI

    For veggie lovers, we recommend trying the White Spinach Pizza! The ricotta and spinach combo is *chefs kiss* but feel free to add more veggies! We think tomatoes or mushrooms would’ve been a nice addition!

  • The Calzone's

    Here's Why You Need To Try Alfonso's - The Oldest Pizzeria In Tampa

    Photo: Glorioso/BBGI

    We didn’t get to actually taste this bad boy, but look how HUGE this calzone is! It’s definitely 2-3 meals by itself. It looks delicious, we just didn’t have the room in our stomach for it! Next time we go, it’ll be on our must try list.

  • Homemade Desserts

    Here's Why You Need To Try Alfonso's - The Oldest Pizzeria In Tampa

    Photo: Glorioso/BBGI

    Brownie +cannoli = Brownoli. The combo we all deserve to try. This was a late-night snack created by Marco and he had to keep it on the menu. Everything is homemade, including the sweet cannoli cream.

  • The Vibes

    Here's Why You Need To Try Alfonso's - The Oldest Pizzeria In Tampa

    Photo: Glorioso/BBGI

    This adorable Bobs Burgers themed photo of Marco and Brittany is one of the many home made art pieces they have hanging up!

    Here's Why You Need To Try Alfonso's - The Oldest Pizzeria In Tampa

    Photo: Glorioso/BBGI

    This view hole from the kitchen was made for THE Alfonso, so he could keep an eye out on the restaurant.

    Here's Why You Need To Try Alfonso's - The Oldest Pizzeria In Tampa

    Photo: Glorioso/BBGI

    Marco and Brittany (the cutest couple ever) give the restaurant a homey vibe with all of their plant babies hanging around the place! They make sure you leave their place as family, not just another customer.

  • Follow Alfonso's On Social Media!

Butt Ugly Architecture

Sean Roberts was conceived in the Corvette Assembly Plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky by two passionate, panel aligning, third shifters who had grown bored with the same ole same ole. Upon birth, he was placed in the trunk of a new Stingray and sent off to find his destiny. That destiny included several stints on radio stations across the United States. Some played punk country gospel, while others focused on Croatian death metal played backwards. After many years and many adventures, Sean wound up on The Shark, where he does shots of tequila while playing the most badass tunes ever created by humankind. He remains humble, however, never forgetting about the lean years...the street corners and dark alleys where he played songs on his car stereo for food and sex. He's on top and he's never gonna stop LIVING THE DREAM!

The fish crawl from the water and hunt frogs…

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