More reasons for me personally to give thanks: Scarcely more than a mile from my house in New Tampa, Toast has opened up at 14921 Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, (813) 632-3105 in the site formerly occupied by Wine & Cigar Stop and Wine Warehouse. Still wine, but now it's a cool tasting bar with super friendly owners. I stopped in in a panic Wednesday evening to grab a couple of no-malolactic, unoaked chardonnays. Got just what I wanted. You can sip by the glass, buy a bottle, or head to the back room to smoke a cigar.

In other exciting news, James Ellis is relocating his Mr. Dunderbaks from the University Mall Tampa. As of Feb. 1, that location will close and he will open up that next week right next door to Toast (above) on Bruce B. Downs in New Tampa. The venerable Dunderbaks has been around for 35 years, Ellis at the helm for the past 10. At this new location, Ellis vows to run the beer properly, bringing in the requisite CO2 and nitrogen, with 50 or so beers on draft and another 400 in bottle. There will be a little gazebo in the center of the restaurant and tables coming from the original Hofbrau House in Germany (get this: he got the historic tables for free), and a menu that he describes as German-inspired American fare. I'm looking forward to trying the venison sausage cooked in German black beer.