TAMPA TAMPA TAMPA!

Busch Gardens area – 2 Chicas and a Bigga Hotta Dawg

Another Tampa well known eatery is Mel’s Hot Dogs. This place is usually jumping at lunch time and ol’ Mel himself still works the cash register (but it is the slower line because of his frequent one liners).  The place has some really good hot dogs. 

Mel's is either right after you pass Busch Gardens or right before you get to Busch Gardens.  The sign is prominent and so is the hot dog car sitting out front. 

This is no frills dining at it's finest. Nothing fancy here.  Tables, chairs, and a few booths is all you will find. It's a boisterous place with a lot of coming and going. 

The menu is predominately made up of hot dogs, but there are burgers, bratwurst, Chicago Beef, Polish sausage, and a couple of chicken sandwiches. The sides are pretty basic, fries, pickles, beans, onion rings, and the like. 

The Chicago style hot dog tastes so authentic, but make sure to do it up and get it with all the fixings. The hot dog is juicy and the celery salt, relish, and tomatoes were perfect. 

The angus hamburger is really good.  It has a nice grilled flavor and comes with your choice of toppings. Chica 2 had the Italian beef and was shockingly surprised at how excellent it was. 

The French fries are always nice and crispy, as are the onion rings. 

Although 2 Chicas have visited Mel's any number of times, we seem to gravitate back to the same menu items. 

Chica 2 sat staring at the jumbo sausage, salivating and thinking no telling what. She did try it on one visit and said it was tasty, but not as good as the Chicago beef sandwich. 

There's a teeny kids menu, which seemed a little over priced.  Over all, 2 Chicas haven’t had a bad meal here yet. If you're in for a simple pleasure, travel over to Mel's and grab a bigga betta dawg, and please let them know 2 Chicas said that. 

2 Chicas and the West Tampa Chickens

2 Chicas travel all over but one of our more fun encounters involves the chicken. Now one of the unusual things visitors will find in different areas of West Tampa are chickens. 

2 Chicas find this phenomenon to be particularly peculiar given the hectic, high traffic found in the area. There are busy one way streets that take you to and lead you away from the interstate. 

There is Raymond James Stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, University of South Florida Bulls, and concerts, truck pulls, circus acts, and so on. And yes, the area is shared by the infamous, ubiquitous West Tampa chickens!

Now this isn’t just one group of chickens. No, these are resident urban chickens.You may run into one or two at the local park, or on the corner trying to cross the street. This is really why the chicken crossed the road.

How else can they be in a yard down the street from you? Sometimes they hang out on the corner playing cards.Other times they are chilling on a roof watching the cars roll by. Tee hee he 

Any given morning, you may hear the lonesome cry of a rooster. You may come out to your back yard and find the scratchings of a family of chickens looking for delicious bugs.  

You may see a rooster flying over your fence.  But they’re here; they’re real – they're the West Tampa chickens!

2 Chicas wants you to let us know if you have a chicken encounter!