Vallarta’s Tampa Palms Is Gearing Up For Another Fun Cinco De Mayo!

EVEN THOUGH I’ll never try to convince you that Vallarta’s Mexican Restaurant, located in the City Plaza at Tampa Palms shopping center, is the best Mexican food you’ll ever eat, I do enjoy the food (especially at Vallarta’s reasonable prices), the service and the atmosphere at this local chain of family-owned eateries.

Because I’m the adventurous type, I always try to sample something new whenever I visit Vallarta’s, skipping only the shrimp dishes that I’m allergic to, and I keep finding new favorites to go with my old ones.

On my most recent visits, I first tried the semi-spicy steak a la Mexicana and although the thin rib eye steak is a fatty cut, the blend of onions, tomatoes and sliced jalapeños definitely make it a flavorful choice for me. There also are seven other non-fajita steak dishes on the menu, all under $15, unless you get a steak and shrimp combo. I can recommend the batter-dipped steak milanesa and the Vallarta’s special steak, topped with grilled tomatoes, onions and peppers.

Next, I tried the pork chunks with onions, or carnitas, and found what truly is now my new favorite dish at Vallarta’s.

The pork is obviously marinated and the chunks literally melt in your mouth. Pedro, the general manager, says that the chunks are made from pork leg or butt. All I can say is that I’ll be sampling this one again. For the same price ($13), you can add salsa roja (red) or verde (green), but these beauties don’t really need any sauce. The carnitas are totally tasty as is.

Shrimp Avocado Rice

Vallarta’s no longer serves its fajitas sizzling on a metal dish, but they’re still pretty tasty and I prefer the chicken to the steak fajitas.

Starters at Vallarta’s include the cheese (queso) dip, guacamole Vallarta, a mushroom quesadilla and five varieties of nachos,  so whether you like them just with cheese ($6) or the nachos Vallarta (with grilled steak, avocado, onions and cheese, $11), you’re sure to find one that suits your fancy — just bring plenty of friends, as the nacho orders are huge!

And although I can’t eat the Cocktel de Camarones (shrimp cocktail, $14) due to my shellfish allergy, I saw someone enjoying it the other day. The large shrimp are served “swimming” in a tasty hot sauce, in a gigantic margarita glass. I also enjoy the Mexican chicken soup, which was perfect for those cold days we had in March.

Jannah also recently found a new favorite, as she really enjoyed the chicken fajita salad, which also is available with beef or shrimp and served in a monstrous tortilla shell that is overstuffed with fajita chicken, plus grilled peppers and onions, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, pico de gallo, guac and cheese. It’s not served with dressing, but it honestly doesn’t need additional toppings, as Jannah ended up not needing to use her side of ranch dressing.

There also are plain grilled chicken dinners (pollo a la Parilla, $11) and a fried chicken breast (pollo Empanisado, $13).

And of course, Vallarta’s also has lunch and dinner-sized combinations of all of your Mexican favorites. So, whether you like hard or soft tacos, enchiladas, chalupas, burritos, tamales, tostadas, taquitos, flautas, chimichangas or tostaguac (I honestly don’t know what that last one is), you’re sure to find your favorites on this huge menu, with most lunch combos from $6-$9 and most dinner combos at around $10.

I’m not the biggest quesadilla fan, but they also are available for $8-$11 and the one I definitely will try in the future is the chicken, bacon and cheese variety.

Oh, and of course, even though I’m usually a chunky salsa kind of guy, Vallarta’s purĂ©ed salsa, served in wine carafes (you pour the salsa into a bowl for dipping), is highly addictive, especially with the restaurant’s fresh, hot, super-crisp tortilla chips.

Don’t Forget Cinco!

Another great thing about Vallarta’s is that it offers a full liquor bar with a variety of Mexican and domestic beers, a selection of top-shelf tequilas, as well as lots of margarita varieties that, according to the Vallarta’s menu, are “truly bigger than your head,” all at much lower prices than you’ll find at most sit-down Mexican eateries.

So, if you’re looking for a place to spend Saturday, May 5 — aka Cinco de Mayo — look no further. Vallarta’s will have music, food and drink specials and a big crowd for Cinco, although the place is crowded for dinner almost every day all year-round (and even many days at lunch time) and continues to receive lots of votes every year in our annual Reader Dining Survey & Contest. In other words, when you serve good food at very fair prices, people will keep coming back for more.

And, speaking of more, there also are Vallarta’s locations in the Wesley Chapel Village Market, one near the Suncoast Pkwy. off S.R. 54, one at Collier Pkwy. at 54, one on S.R. 54 in Trinity/Odessa, plus Temple Terrace and Carrollwood. The family that started Vallarta’s also opened a more upscale San JosĂ© Mexican Restaurant on Land O’Lakes Blvd. (U.S. Hwy. 41 in Lutz), as well as the new El Pescador Mexican seafood restaurant in the New Tampa Center plaza on BBD Blvd. We plan to feature El Pescador in our next issue.

Vallarta’s of Tampa Palms is located at 16023 Tampa Palms Blvd. W. It is open every day for lunch and dinner. For more information, including some great regular coupon specials, visit VallartasRestaurants.com or call (813) 978-3761. The Wesley Chapel Vallarta’s is located at 5335 Village Market. For more info, call (813) 907-5161.

Family Of Christ Christian School Offers A Great Education & Life Lessons, Too

If you want to see smiles like these on your children’s faces, arrange a tour today to check out Family of Christ Christian School off BBD Blvd. in Tampa Palms, no matter what denomination or religion or your family may be.

“And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.”

Those words from Luke 2:52 (New Testament, New International Version) delivered in the First Century AD come alive today in the Family of Christ (FoC) Christian School mission statement, which commits the faculty and staff to growing the knowledge and abilities of their students “in a manner that brings honor and glory to God.”

Putting those words into action is the job of the school’s faculty and administrators, including Jennifer Snow, who has been the principal at FoC since 2005.

“The priority of the staff is to work as a team to help our students develop their hearts, minds and souls,” Snow says, adding that the joy of learning is part of the educational experience at FoC.

“If you walk through the classrooms, you see how happy they are while learning.”

But of course, plenty of learning goes on beyond the classrooms of the tree-shaded campus nestled between Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. and Tampa Palms Blvd. W. in Tampa Palms.

Recent class field trips have taken students to places like the Florida Keys to explore marine science and Washington, D.C., to see firsthand and up close how the American political machine operates and the history of our government. Snow, who has a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Education from the University of South Florida, says the students’ enthusiasm for learning makes it easy to give them a little more freedom in their pursuit of knowledge.

“We have such well-behaved students that you can kind of go out of the normal classroom realm a little bit and just have fun,” she says.

Snow adds that, in addition to a focus on core academic subjects such as science, language and math, FoC also provides instruction in art, music, computers and physical education and is an active participant in the National Junior Honor Society (NJHS).The school measures student progress by administering the Stanford Achievement Test each year for grades 1-8.

The genesis of FoC was almost two decades ago, at the end of 1999, when Family of Christ Lutheran Church embarked on its mission of bringing high-quality educational opportunities based on Christian values and beliefs to the New Tampa area with (at that time) Pre-K and Kindergarten instruction. The school took a gradual approach to growth, adding one grade at a time until it achieved its current K-8 status , now with 180 enrolled students.

The classrooms at FoC features staffers like Lindy Evans, a language arts teacher for middle school (grades 6-8), who says the emphasis in her class is on learning to live by high standards, as well as learning with high achievement. 

“We aren’t primarily focused on test scores,” Evans says. “We are more concerned with producing academically strong students, with a solid Christian foundation, who will be positive members of our community.”

And when FoC alumni transition to high schools, middle school science teacher Melissa Gembarowski expresses confidence that the graduating Family of Christ 8th graders will be well prepared for all of the challenges awaiting them.

“Our students are successful, whether at private or public high schools, due in part to the confidence and Christian foundation that is instilled in them during their years at Family of Christ,” Gembarowski says.

Graduating eighth-graders also can get a headstart on their high school educations by earning credits in advanced science, algebra and Spanish language courses at FoC that can be applied to a high school diploma.

Living Up To Its ‘Family’ Name

It’s an educational formula that FoC parent Yamira Soto says has benefited her children.

“We have been a part of the Family of Christ Christian School family for the past 8 years,” Soto wrote in her email. “Our school has the perfect combination of a superior curriculum, the best educators and a faith-based, nurturing environment.”

Similarly, Tom and Lori Lahart have experience as a long-term FoC family, with their two children attending there for nine years.“Mrs. Snow delivered on her promise to provide a safe, nurturing, fun environment while putting a world-class education as their primary focus,” the Laharts wrote in an email. “Our two children have now graduated and are flourishing in high school, thanks to the strong foundation they received at Family of Christ.”

While the school is affiliated with Family of Christ Lutheran Church and is accredited by the National Lutheran Schools Association (NLSA) (and by the district of the Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod), enrollment at FoC is open to anyone, regardless of their religious affiliation.

“There are Christians and non-Christians; there are Catholics, Baptists and non-denominational families here,” says Snow. “We have (children from) a variety of denominations that go to different churches but still come here for school.”

Snow adds that FoC’s “inclusivity” is based on common interests and helps the school achieve its purpose.

“To me, it’s about God’s word and what we can do to work in (and have) a positive effect on the community,” she says.

Some of the community projects the school has undertaken include feeding the homeless through Metropolitan Ministries and donating financial offerings to charities such as the Red Cross.

Further Expansion On The Way?

In the 13 years since Snow joined FoC,  its enrollment has increased from fewer than 80 students to its current level of 180, which is just about the capacity of the current facilities. Snow says she hopes expansion will occur, but that there are no firm plans to do so at this time.

“We don’t have a lot of spaces to give, but we want people to know we are here,” Snow says, adding that the school is tuition- and fee-based, but there are scholarships available to help in some situations.

For families with infants or toddlers through age four, their Christian school relationship can begin at Family of Christ’s Child Development Center, which was part of the original church mission that brought forth the school as a K-8 institution. In addition, Family of Christ Lutheran Church is hosting a Vacation Bible School (VBS) July 16-20, with a theme of “Rolling River Rampage.”

Athletics also are part of the FoC experience, with students in grades four through eight participating in a variety of sports, including flag football, golf, cross country, volleyball and basketball. The FoC Knights compete against other Christian schools throughout the Tampa Bay area.

Snow, who has more than 25 years experience as an educator, including as a teacher at Hunter’s Green Elementary when it first opened, says that she and her colleagues at FoC are committed to doing their best at this special career they have chosen.

“This is the most important job God could have given any of us, and that is to work with kids,” she says. “Our staff at Family of Christ is the school heartbeat and, daily, they go above and beyond their jobs.”

You can learn more about Family of Christ Christian School by calling (813) 558-9343 to arrange a tour of the school and its campus, located at 16190 BBD Blvd. com. For more info, see the ad on pg. 38 of this issue or visit FOC-Knights.com.

Congratulations Go Out To Wharton High’s Top Students Of 2018! 

Wharton High salutatorian Sonile Peck (left) and valedictorian Anthonia Elensi (center, as well as top left on this page), who together founded the school’s Black Student Union earlier this year, with sponsor Rachel Shellman, who also is the school’s media specialist.

Wharton High Class of 2018 valedictorian Anthonia Elensi and salutatorian Sonile Peck have a lot in common.

Both went to Turner Elementary and Bartels Middle School before the schools were combined to become Turner-Bartels K-8 School.

They are both the youngest siblings in families with high achievers who previously graduated from Wharton in the top five percent of their respective classes.

Neither set out to have the highest Grade Point Average (GPA) in their graduating class, but once they realized they were on track, they kept doing what they were doing to stay at the top.

Both are getting ready to attend college and both plan to become doctors.

Anthonia and Sonile are both are widely respected for what may be the jewel in the crown of their high school careers — founding a Black Student Union at Wharton, which has become one of the school’s most popular clubs this year.

“We wanted to create a platform for black students to feel comfortable and have a community to be empowered,” Anthonia says.

They approached school librarian Rachel Shellman last year and asked her to sponsor the club.

Now, Shellman has nothing but praise for the pair. “They are phenomenal,” she says. “They have very strong leadership skills. They are both well spoken and they had a great year.”

She says the pair’s biggest success was planning the school’s first Black History Month celebration. They planned a school-wide event that Shellman says was very well received. “Students and teachers were very complimentary,” Shellman says. “No one knew what to expect for a first-time event, but they got a lot of positive feedback.”

Nearly 90 students joined the club, which Sonile and Anthonia say is a large one for Wharton, especially for one in its first year.

“Both young ladies are tremendous students – obviously, since they are valedictorian and salutatorian,” says principal Brad Woods. “But the way they were able to create the Black Student Union and grow its membership this year is also tremendous.”

Magda Rodriguez, the school’s college career counselor, who has been there since Wharton opened in 1997, says the pair are the first black, female valedictorian and salutatorian at the school.

“I don’t want my skin color to matter
,” begins Sonile. Anthonia finishes her sentence, “But it does matter.”

Last year’s Honor Court, which includes the Top 10 students in the school academically, had no black students. Anthonia and Sonile say the Black Student Union is a platform to help students do what they want to do, both academically and culturally.

As they graduate from Wharton, they are passing the torch to new leadership. Both hope that eventually, the club will include mentorship opportunities for its members. “If you can do something that can empower people of your skin color, you should,” says Anthonia.

In addition to the Black Student Union, both girls participated in clubs such as the National Honor Society and the Science National Honor Society at Wharton.

Sonile also participated in HOSA, the club for students who intend to be future health professionals that was previously called “Health Occupations Students of America.” Through this program, Sonile says she has prepared to take an exam in May to become a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA). She says she thinks being a CNA will be a great job for her while she is attending college.

Anthonia and Sonile took a combination of high school classes, advanced placement (AP) classes and dual enrollment classes. Anthonia’s weighted GPA of 7.81 just edged out Sonile’s weighted GPA of 7.77. They both expect to have more than 60 college credit hours when they start their college careers this fall.

As for her Wharton experience, Anthonia says she’ll take with her a lot of memorable lessons, such as perseverance.

“At times where I felt like I was doing a lot both academically and with clubs,” she says, “I learned it’s important to finish what you start – and finish strong.”

Sonile was accepted to prestigious Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD, the school of her dreams that she says motivated her to do her best throughout high school.

She is now looking at scholarships, which she says is the “harder part.” She also has been accepted at University of Florida in Gainesville, and will go there if it doesn’t work out for her to go to Johns Hopkins. Sonile hopes to one day be an oncologist.

If she does end up at UF, she’ll be there with Anthonia, who will attend the school to study health sciences, with the goal of becoming a doctor, although she’s not sure what field she wants to go into yet.

Sonile has some advice for younger students.

“Focus on the day to day,” she says. “Senior year is fun and exciting and eventful, but make sure you’re doing what you need to do right now.”

Congratulations to all of our graduating New Tampa high school students, whether at Wharton, Freedom or other public and private high schools. We will feature Freedom High’s Valedictorian Catherine Wang in our May 18 edition of New Tampa Neighborhood News.

2018 Wharton Top 10

1. Anthonia Elensi

2. Sonile Peck

3. Gregory Harvey

4. Stephen Maldonado

5. Yasmine Gillespie

6. Cameron Newborn

7. Alice Cheng

8. Rachel Hineline

9. Ashley Zack

10. Mackenzie Willman

Bartell Foundation Pasta Dinner Is Saturday

Congratulations to my friends Jamie, Paul and their son James Bartell, who will be hosting their fourth annual Pasta Dinner to raise money for the Sean Bartell Memorial Foundation. Sean — Paul and Jamie’s younger son — passed away in 2014 from a rare disease called toxic epidermal necrolysis.

The Sean Bartell Foundation Pasta Dinner will be held on Saturday, April 28, 4:30 p.m.-7 p.m., at Trinity Church of Wesley Chapel (33425 S.R. 54). All of the food — lasagna, meatballs, salad and bread — will again be donated by my (and the Bartells’) friends Carl and Jessica Meyers of Little Italy’s Family Restaurant. There also will be a cake to commemorate what would have been Sean’s 20th birthday.

The tax deductible donation for dinner will be $15 for adults, $8 for children 6-12 and free for those age 5 and under. To-go boxes will be available.

In the past three years, the Foundation has awarded 17 $1,000 Scholarship Grants to local Seniors at Wesley Chapel, Wiregrass Ranch and Zephyrhills high schools and 30 $100 Teacher Grants to teachers at many local schools, for a total of $20,000. “We plan to grant between 3-5 $1,000 grants to local seniors coming up in May, with more Teacher Grants to come in August,” Paul says.

Purchase “Will Call” Tickets at SeanBartell.org by clicking on “PayPal Donate” (please note the # of tickets), by visiting the Foundation’s Facebook page, or email spbfoundation@hotmail.com.

Wharton’s Flag Football Team Faces A Tough Road To Make It To States

Top left: Flag football is not exactly no-contact, as Wharton’s Lauryn Thompson gets face-palmed after coming down with a catch. (Photos by Andy Warrener)

When Tina and Mike Roberts took over the Wharton High flag football team six years ago, they had just 22 girls try out, and very few fans attended their games.

“In years past, no one came to the games, not even the home games,” Mike Roberts says.

Fast forward to the 2018 preseason, and the Wildcats had 50 girls try out for this year’s team. Wharton maintains a 16-girl varsity squad and a 19-player JV team, and while currently unranked has spent most of the season ranked in the Class 2A Top 20 poll, according to FloridaHighSchoolFootball.com.

At last week’s game at Leto, the Wildcats showed off their firepower by throttling the Falcons 46-0. They also brought about two dozen fans along to stock the visitor stands, outnumbering those on the home side.

The victory improved Wharton’s record to 7-3 at the time, with the Class 2A District 7 playoffs looming. But getting out of districts is no easy task, as Plant showed Wharton two days after the Leto win.

Top Right: Wharton’s Parker Onderko leaps and makes the catch in the victory over Leto.

The Panthers, the defending Class 2A State champions, beat Wharton 26-0.

Currently ranked No. 3 in the state, Plant isn’t even ranked as the best team in the district — Alonso is ranked No. 1 in the state.

“If you can get through this district, you have a good chance to go far,” Mike Roberts said.

The Wildcats will need some upsets to get out of districts and into the State playoffs. Last year, they shocked Alonso in the District quarterfinals, before falling the following game to Plant in quadruple overtime.

The Roberts family has grown into coaching the sport of flag football. Tina says she came by it by pure accident. She was assigned the sport from the school administration seven years ago when it began. A year later, her husband Mike came on board. A year after that, their son Travis (23) also joined the coaching staff.

“Tina asked me to come on and help after an assistant left that first year and I fell in love with it,” Mike says.

Flag football runs the same way regular football’s 7-on-7 exercises do. Seven players line up in a passing formation. One defensive player is allowed to rush the quarterback and offenses can either pass or run with the ball. The offensive team must gain 20 yards to earn a first down.

There is no kicking in the game, so after each touchdown, the team has the option of running or passing for a one- or two-point conversion.

Girls flag football has grown from niche sport to one of the most popular offerings for female athletes. It only became an official Florida High School Athletic Association sport in 2003, but has more than doubled its participation numbers to more than 250 teams and 6,000 players competing since then.

“I loved just being a part of the team and having the opportunity to play and have fun,” says quarterback Marinique Reddin, one of the team’s top players.

Starting this school year, middle schools in Hillsborough County — including Benito, Turner-Bartels and Liberty — offer girls flag football. This is expected to help the high school game, which until now has basically had to rely on players competing in flag football for the first time. Tina says for years, most of her players had to be taught the game from scratch, which was a major disadvantage compared to other high school sports.

The Wharton High girls flag football team is 7-4 this season, and hopes to pull off a few upsets at the District tournament in a bid for the state playoffs.

“It’s going to make the sport that much better,” Mike Roberts says. “Next year, we’ll have eighth graders coming in that know the sport and you’ll see the payoffs.”

The Roberts’ dedication to the sport has helped build Wharton into one of the area’s better programs.

Reddin is tall and athletic and has the skill set to either pass the ball or tuck it and run, and scored four touchdowns in the win over Leto. Lauryn Thompson is another tall player with enough speed to score a touchdown any time she touches the football, which she did twice against Leto while adding an interception.

Both players are just juniors who have found their calling in the still relatively new sport.

“I love how competitive the game is and how the team has become so close, like one big family,” says Thompson. “If one of us needs help, we help each other out without downing each other. I look forward to practice every day.”

On defense, Ja’Nessa Ellis, Sade Seraaj and Mecca Bythewood had interceptions against Leto. Bythewood and Seraaj ran theirs back for touchdowns. Junior   Williams rushes the quarterback.

“It’s great to see what these girls can do with the football,” Mike Roberts said. “We put in plays and they execute them.” Look for updates at NTNeighborhoodNews.com.