SENIOR MENU Hillsborough County Aging Services serves daily midday meals to senior participants throughout the county. Participants may attend an agency dining center or receive home delivery when eligible. For information, call (813) 272-5250. Most centers serve low-fat milk. Here is the menu for Dec. 29-31. ...more

December 24, 2008

Alex Cook loves to imagine 800 children pedaling Christmas morning on bicycles his customers, family and friends helped buy. ...more

December 21, 2008

Alex Cook loves to imagine 800 children pedaling Christmas morning on bicycles his customers, family and friends helped buy. ...more

December 20, 2008

Overseas consumers spent more at McDonald's Corp. in August than Wall Street expected, leading the nation's No. 1 hamburger chain to surprise investors Tuesday by posting a big rise in global same-store sales. ...more

September 10, 2008

"The Sweet Potato Queens' Guide to Raising Children for Fun & Profit," by Jill Conner Browne (Simon & Schuster, $22.95) ...more

February 17, 2008

Donations were down this year, but Alex Cooks didn't want to disappoint the hundreds of schoolchildren who would find new bicycles under the Christmas tree. ...more

December 22, 2007

Cracker Barrel is a fixture along interstates in Florida and other states. ...more

December 18, 2007

BARBECUE ALEX'S SOUTHERN STYLE BAR-B-Q, 5362 W. Village Drive, Tampa; (813) 269-0050. Available from the pit are ribs, pork, beef, chicken and sausage, which Alex's serves alone, in combinations, by the pound and in family portions. Alex's Big Boy Platter, a sampler plate with more than enough meat for two, had at least a half-pound of tender, moist, shredded pork, along with chicken, ribs and sausage. The sausage was the tastiest of the meats and came in crumbly chunks coated with a sweet sauce. The mound of pork was flavorful, especially mixed with Alex's own barbecue sauce, which offers a good balance of tart and sweet. The sauce comes on everything, so tell 'em if you want it on the side. ($) ...more

November 23, 2007

There was no talking, not much eye-to-eye contact and little smiling. ...more

November 21, 2007

There was no talking, not much eye-to-eye contact and little smiling. ...more

November 21, 2007