Restaurants in University

Diners discover taste buds they didn't know existed when devouring one of the dinner menu's 16 appetizers. Wrapped in duck-bacon scarves, sliders toboggan toward bellies, and herds of buffalo shrimp lumber into mouths on black-pepper biscuits. One Big Ol' crab cake dressed in Cajun rémoulade helps dads celebrate Father's Day or laundry day in style.

The combination of Marrakech’s welcoming atmosphere and a menu of distinctly flavored dishes delivers a realistic Moroccan dining experience. From the hands of chef Youssef Tassi, a Casablanca native, spring a tasty assortment of starters such as the traditional harira soup, brewed with tomatoes, garbanzo beans, lentils, onions, and eggs ($4.99), and the carrots charmola salad, served warm with blanched carrot sticks, green olives, lemon juice, and spices ($6.99). For lunch, those who could eat entire picnic baskets can opt instead for a sala sandwich with Moroccan merguez sausage, tomato sauce, and french fries or salad ($9.99). Dinner diners can sample the braised-beef couscous with garden vegetables and steamed couscous ($18.99) or the menara tagine, slow-simmered lamb shanks with dry prunes, almonds, and hard-boiled eggs, all served in a distinctively decorated tagine pot ($19.99).

Newcomers to Byblos Cafe may think they’ve stumbled into a sultan’s court: belly dancers wind their way past private enclaves replete with plush footstools and gossamer curtains, and heaping trays of charbroiled meats fill the air with the scents of basil and mint. The sultry atmosphere reflects owners Roger and Ziad Estephan’s mission to share their Lebanese heritage, which they do through every minor and major detail.

Beyond the glowing candles scattered throughout the dining areas, chefs draw upon Estephan family recipes to prepare a menu of traditional Mediterranean dishes. They hand roll grape leaves around spiced rice and herbs, and they marinate meats in fragrant blends of olive oil, lemon, and garlic—the base ingredients in Lebanese Febreze. Additionally, Byblos Cafe houses an international market where diners can stock up on Middle Eastern groceries.

During World War I, Greek immigrant Louis Pappas served in the Army as a personal chef to General John Pershing. To give the hungry general some extra nutrition, Louis began adding scoops of potato salad to his traditional greek salads. When Louis returned to the United States, he opened up his own restaurant, Louis Pappas Riverside Café, where he would re-create this signature dish using fresh produce from his own ranch in Tarpon Springs.

Today, Louis Pappas's grandson continues his grandfather's old Florida family tradition at Pappas Ranch. There, he and his kitchen serve up a new menu of fresh seafood, poultry, sandwiches, street tacos, hand-cut steaks, and barbecue dishes whose "family flair" has been lauded by Metromix Tampa Bay. They continue to scoop savory housemade potato salad into their internationally renowned Louis Pappas Famous greek salad, tossing it in massive bowls that serve as many as four diners. Bartenders dole out glasses of locally brewed craft beers and wine or mix cocktails and martinis at the full center bar with flat-screen TVs.

The restaurant's decor channels that of the original Pappas family ranch. In the dining room, spacious booths are surrounded by rustic wooden walls, and outside is a covered outdoor patio.

A samurai uniform stands proudly behind glass, welcoming patrons into Joto Japanese Restaurant. The suit's gleaming black mask reflects a sushi bar with a cerulean awning and seats the deep red of raw bluefin tuna. There, the hands of chefs flutter over such eclectic ingredients as pineapple, baked crab, and smelt, twisting them into rolls with names such as Fly to Hawaii, What Saapp, and Screaming Tuna. The wind tousles the leaves of potted plants on a small outdoor patio, where toasting glasses unleash the soft clinks of a xylophonist’s ghost.