Whether You Crave Italian Or American Food, Try Frammi!

(Above, l.-r.) Travis Younger, Rachell Reed, Ciara Weiss and Erika, Francesco & Luca Ammirati invite you to check out Frammi, New Tampa’s only restaurant serving both great American and Italian cuisine.(Photos by Charmaine George & Gary Nager)  

If your family can’t always agree about what type of food to eat — you want delicious lasagne but your kids are asking for great cheeseburgers — you can both find plenty of favorites at the all-new Frammi American Grille and Italian Food, located in the space previously occupied by the popular Oakley’s Grille on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. in North Palms Village.

The restaurant has been owned by Luca and Erika Ammirati since August of 2018, but they kept the name as Oakley’s Grille until about a month ago, and they kept the menu virtually the same, with Luca adding some of his authentic Italian specialties a little at a time.

But, considering that Luca is from Napoli (Naples) in southern Italy and Erika is from a small town outside of Milano (Milan) in northern Italy, the two have a vast wealth of Italian dishes that they love sharing with hungry diners in New Tampa, Wesley Chapel and beyond.

When they were formulating the menu for Frammi, Luca says he and Erika wanted to keep as much of the all-American Oakley’s menu while incorporating an equally extensive selection of truly authentic Italian favorites. To that end, the Frammi menu is American on one side, but flip it over, and you’ll find Italian specialties on the other side.

“There are plenty of places in the New Tampa area serving American food and some serving Italian,” Luca says with his charming accent, “but we wanted to be the only restaurant in the area specializing in both.”

Great Grilled Specialties

Yes, Frammi still has those delicious Oakley’s hamburgers (with a dozen different options, including the popular ghost pepper burger and the bacon, egg & cheeseburger below), “Kars Katch” fried tilapia tenders, Philly cheesesteak and chicken Philly sandwiches, beef, chicken and fish fajitas and some of the best fries in the area.

But, Luca and Erika also have added sandwiches with Boar’s Head meats and cheeses, like the pastrami & swiss sandwich on marble rye bread, as well as a great corned beef Reuben. 

And, although it’s not shown on these pages, the fried chicken sandwich also is excellent and is one of a half-dozen chicken sandwich choices, including my favorite, the unique Cajun chicken Cordon Bleu, topped with hot capicola and melted Swiss.

The Ammiratis’ Italian influence also is evident in the  variety of hot pressed sandwiches, including the spicy Italian and Uncle Muzzie’s mufaletta.

Now, That’s Italian!

But, to be honest, I was much more interested in Frammi’s all-new Italian side of the menu, especially the incredible variety of pasta dishes.

  • Prosciutto and Mozzarella
  • Meatballs
  • Lasagna
  • Clam pasta

There are favorites like pomodoro (fresh tomato sauce, Parmesan cheese  and basil), two different ragus (not to be confused with the jarred sauce) — one with black angus beef (aka Bolognese) and an incredible ragu di salsiccia, with fresh Italian sausage. Luca says his favorite is the spicy pasta arrabiata and there’s also a puttanesca (with black and green olives, garlic, anchovies, tomato sauce and capers).

But, my favorites are the truly authentic meat lasagne (above), made with creamy bechamel sauce, instead of the more Americanized ricotta), the perfect pesto (which sticks to the pasta better than at most places) and especially, the vongole (tiny, fresh clams in their shells, made with diced tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, white wine, garlic and red chili pepper flakes. 

Luca originally introduced me to his authentic fried meatballs more than a year ago, as he says in southern Italy, they don’t serve the meatballs in sauce, they’re served with a side of fresh tomato dipping sauce and garlic bread.

Other Italian specialties include a chunky bruschetta appetizer, a an antipasto Italiano with prosciutto, mortadella (also ham), salami, Parmesan cheese and house-baked bread), a “secondo platto” (second dish) of prosciutto e mozzarella (also with house-baked bread), a fried chicken “cotoletta” (served with fries), an eggplant (melanzana) parmigiana so popular it sells out all the time, fried calamari and several others. 

There’s also a variety of freshly made salads and a reasonably priced kids’ menu, with everything from fish sticks to cheeseburger and more — all from $3.49-$6.99.

“Please be patient,” Luca says. “We are not serving fast food here. Everything is made to order — including Erika’s homemade tiramisu (above).” 

And, everything I’ve sampled to date has been outstanding. I can’t wait to try more — and neither should you!

Frammi (17631 BBD Blvd.) is open every day, 11 a.m.-8 p.m., and offers delivery with Doordash, Mobile Meals & Uber Eats.  For more info, call (813) 523-5075.

Debra Model Management & School Teaches Model Behavior

Debra Jacobs has an eye for modeling talent, a keen sense of someone who will just leap off the page or screen or make an advertisement pop.

One would hope so because, as a model and modeling scout herself, plus previously running a modeling agency in Delaware, Jacobs now runs Debra Model Management & Modeling School, just a few miles south of Wesley Chapel in Tampa Palms.

Don’t be mistaken — despite its name, Debra Model Management is not a modeling agency, but a school, one that teaches both potential models and even those genuinely interested in learning all of the ins and outs, dos and don’ts of the modeling industry.

“Everywhere I go, people ask me how do I get (me or my child) into modeling?,” Jacobs says. That’s why I started this. I wanted people to have an affordable, transparent modeling management agency so they can really learn about this industry. That’s why this is a school, not an agency. They can learn modeling, they can learn fashion, and they can learn how to manage their careers. That’s what I’m teaching them here.”

Jacobs, whose first modeling gig was when she was just 15 years old, says she loves discovering new talent. 

She has approached some of her clients to gauge their interest in modeling, including her newest client, Kannon Wengert, a two-year-old boy Jacobs saw at the Tampa Palms Publix and gave his mom, Rachel, her business card.

“We were just at the Publix pharmacy when Debra spotted us,” Rachel says. “I will say, it did seem kind of weird, but she was like, ‘He’s so cute. He should model.’ I had thought about it and did want to get him into some kind of modeling. Whenever I post pictures of him on social media, people are like, ‘He could be a model.’ But, I figured people were just being nice.”

After meeting with Jacobs, and learning about all her experience in the modeling industry, Rachel thought she would be a good fit for Kannon.

Debra Model Management offers a 10-week course that includes teaching runway techniques and other poses for photography sessions. The photos taken go into the student’s professional modeling portfolio. Jacobs also teaches proper nutrition, fashion dos and don’ts and the importance of self image.

“When I did my first ginormous fashion show,” Jacobs recalls, “it was in Washington, D.C., in Constitution Hall, and they just gave me a bunch of clothes and told me to go out there. I didn’t know what to do. In many modeling schools, they don’t tell you those things, like what goes on backstage and knowing where to go and what to do.”

But, it’s certainly not always easy. Jacobs admits that she faced obstacles. She remembers being rejected, and told she was too “short-waisted,” or all legs, she says. She remembers thinking how cruel that was to tell her, and says she has never forgotten it.  

“That is why my company will never reject or give bad feedback to anyone who wants to model,” she says. “People are amazing when they are driven to do something, and won’t take no for an answer. Just because one person rejects you, that doesn’t mean that others won’t accept you.”

Mikayla Alexander, Ashley Lawrence and Kannon Wengert are some of the students at Debra Model Management & Modeling School.

Jacobs went on to model in New York City, and signed with agents in Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and Virginia. She walked runways for high fashion designers, and became a regular fashion model on QVC-TV out of their West Chester, PA, studios.  She won a runway modeling competition and was named Washington D.C.’s Super Model of the Year.  

One of her Debra Model Management clients, 23-year-old Ashley Lawrence, is getting into modeling because of Jacobs.

“I had been told I should model, but didn’t think I could until I met Debra,” Lawrence says. “It was a lot about getting through the right doors, and she has helped show me how to do that. And, just learning how to model the right way, in pictures and everything.” 

Certainly, Jacobs has the experience and knowledge to impart to her students and clients. She has modeled for 40 years and counting, including what she considers to be her greatest accomplishment — modeling for the 1993-94 Ebony Fashion Fair, an event put on by Jet and Ebony magazines, in which they only pick 18 models to go on to tour 189 U.S. cities, the Bahamas and the Virgin Islands. 

“I also was known as the model with the most changes,” Jacobs says with pride. “Eighteen changes each show.”

But, Jacobs is well educated in not only modeling, but also fashion. She holds a degree in Fashion Merchandising from Wesley College in Dover, DE, which is part of the coursework taught at Debra Model Management.

Helping Children A Passion

Jacobs says she is very passionate about not only helping children who have aspirations to model, act or perform, but also to give back by working with various charities that help more unfortunate children. Her plan is to get back into charity and community work, just as she did when she worked with abused and impoverished children in the court systems.

It’s easy to see what an immediate impact Jacobs has with kids and one has to look no further than 9-year-old Mikayla Alexander. “I love that she teaches me to be a great model and be a great actress,” Mikayla said. “I’ve learned how to eat better, like more fruits and vegetables, and I’ve also learned about positive self-image. I know all of that is very important now.”

“Isn’t she just so poised for her age?” Jacobs adds, beaming with obvious pride.

Jacobs also is proud to start the first — and currently, the only — modeling business in the New Tampa/Wesley Chapel area. She says she will always go above and beyond for her clients.

Since Debra Model Management is a both school and a management company, Jacobs is focused on helping each of her models realize their full potential, because once that happens, and they have what someone is looking for, they will be found, she says. Just like she was.

“When I tell people about all of my experience and accomplishments, I realize some may not believe me,” Jacobs says. “Because I’ve done a lot. But, I truly love modeling and the fashion industry. My business is geared towards those individuals who are excited about it, like I am. When you walk into my studio, I want you to feel like you’re in a modeling wonderland.”

Debra Model Management is located 5331 Primrose Lake Cir., Suite 245, in Tampa Palms. For more information, visit DebraModelManagement.com or email debramodelmanagement@gmail.com.

Ramma-Lamma-Lamma! Singalong With ‘Grease’ On Mar. 13!

Gary gets ready to sing “Beauty School Dropout.” (Photo by Charmaine George)

When the musical “Grease” hit Broadway back in 1972, my best friend’s Doug’s dad, an investment banker, purchased 10% of the show and basically has been getting paid every time any of the songs from the smash hit show (and yes, even the 1979 movie with the same name, starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John) are performed.

The good news, for a certain young wannabe performer, was that Doug’s family took me to see that show at least six, seven or ten times before the summer camp I attended in upstate New York put on “Grease” as our summer production in 1974. 

And, even though I didn’t get to star as Danny Zuko — the role created on Broadway by Barry Bostwick (later, the silver-haired mayor on the Michael J. Fox TV sitcom “Spin City) and reprised by Travolta in the film — despite being the only kid in camp who had memorized every word of every song, I did get to play both Teen Angel (played by Frankie Avalon in the movie) and Johnny Casino, with two solo songs (“Beauty School Dropout” and “Born to Hand Jive”).

Therefore, when I heard that the Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel (the club Jannah and I belong to, which meets for lunch at noon every Wednesday at Omari’s Grille in the Lexington Oaks Golf Club) was going to put on a free, socially distanced “Grease is the Word” Singalong event (on Saturday, March 13, 4:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m., at Land O’Lakes Heritage Park, 5401 Land O’Lakes Blvd.) — starring deputies from the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office against firefighters from the Pasco Fire Rescue department — I knew I had to get involved.

To kick off that involvement, I re-created my role as the Teen Angel (in full costume; photo) at a recent Wesley Chapel Rotary meeting, which was enough to get me an invitation to sing the song again at the “Grease” singalong” event.

I’m obviously pretty excited about the opportunity to be on hand as a part of my childhood is revisited once again, and I hope that at least some of you reading this also will attend — even though my Rotary Club is located in Wesley Chapel and the deputies and firefighters competing (for three prizes; I’m pretty sure I’m not eligible) are from Pasco County, because not only is “Grease” the word — it’s also a heckuva lot of fun!

And, speaking of fun, here are some fun trivia questions about one of my all-time favorite musicals:

1) How many Tony Awards did “Grease” win in 1972?

2) Who played Rizzo in the original Broadway cast and what TV show did she begin starring in 1972?

3) What hit song sung by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John in the “Grease” movie was not in the original Broadway show?

Answers:

1) Zero. The original show, which held the record for longest-running Broadway hit (later broken by “A Chorus Line,” was nominated for seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical, but did not take home any hardware.

2) Adrienne Barbeau, who played Maude’s daughter Carol on “Maude.”

3) “You’re the One That I Want.”

Zukku-San Is Taking Its Place Among Wesley Chapel’s Best!

If you somehow haven’t seen it as you crawl to or from I-75 on S.R. 56, or you haven’t seen the ads (or my previous shorter writeups) in these pages, a favorite from Tampa’s Armature Works has opened in our area.

Zukku-San Sushi Bar & Grill opened towards the end of 2020, next to Crumbl Cookie, and has brought that great Tampa vibe along with it.  

But, while the Zukku Sushi location in the Tampa Heights Market at Armature Works is set up (like most restaurants in that space) as a faster-food mix of “curated” sushi, poké bowls and sushi burritos, co-owner Ferdian Jap and his possible future brother-in-law and co-owner/Executive Chef Gia Tran (Ferdian’s girlfriend is Gia’s wife’s sister) have brought the same “works of art” feel to the coolly elegant Zukku-San, which is much more of a sit-down, fine dining restaurant, featuring a super-premium, full liquor bar.

Zukku co-owner Gia Tran

Gia, who spent several years at Sushi Alive in the Westshore Business District, followed by five years at Ocean Prime outside of the International Plaza, says that Zukku-San allows him to get even more into his unique combination of knowledge and love of the freshest sushi and the ability to create more upscale works of art that he learned at Ocean Prime.

In fact, “Zukku” is a canvas commonly used by artists to create their masterpieces and “San” is a title of respect added to a name in Japanese. Amazing food is the art form and the chefs are the artists who use the finest ingredients to create these culinary masterpieces. In fact, there even are large and small sushi and sashimi palettes served on a custom artist’s palette. These folks are not playing around when it comes to food.

If you spend a few minutes with Ferdian and Chef Gia, you can tell just how excited they are about their latest venture together (they also have a Zukku Sushi location in Charlotte, NC) — and they’re not the only ones. 

Although fans of Zukku-San pack the place (but please note that there are few eateries better set up for social distancing) for dinner virtually every night, Gia and Ferdian only recently unveiled a new lunch menu, so the lunch crowd is just now building.

But, while you can get the full dinner menu if you go at lunch time, there also are lunch-only items, like excellent tuna and other poké bowls and tender short rib and other bento boxes, all of which include salad, rice, two fried gyoza, or pork dumplings, and Zukku-San’s amazingly fresh and delicious sautéed veggies. The bottom line is that whether you go for lunch, dinner or drinks and appetizers, you really can’t beat the quality — or the artistry — of Chef Gia’s food at Zukku-San.

For Starters…

Jannah and I haven’t always gotten a full meal when we visit Zukku-San because the starters are just so delicious.

But, every dine-in visitor to Zukku-San also receives a towel that puffs up when your server pours hot water on it. But, neither photographer Charmaine George nor I got a picture that really does this magical process justice, so you’ll just have to check it out for yourself, OK? 

And, even though Jannah and I aren’t as big on sushi as some Zukku-San diners, the fish is always fresh and excellent, as is the seared ahi tuna tataki. Also outstanding are the fried vegetable spring rolls (served with a unique orange chili sauce), the skewers of beef tenderloin and chicken yakitori (shrimp and scallop yakitori also are on the menu; all are skewered with fresh sautéed onions, peppers zucchini and even broccoli) and the fried pork gyoza. 

But, our favorite starters are probably the wide variety of Tempura a la Carte options. Jannah’s favorite is the zucchini and mine are the broccoli, carrot and amazing whole soft shell crab tempura (right). Also on the tempura menu are shrimp, sweet potato, tofu, whole giant squid, avocado, scallops, hamachi (yellowtail) collar, asparagus, onion rings, red and jalapeño pepper and even whole lobster tail tempura. 

“Most Japanese restaurants give you an order of tempura that may have some vegetables you don’t like,” Ferdian says. “But, we give you four pieces of zucchini or broccoli or whatever vegetables you like, for only $2.95 per order. At Zukku-San, you pick only the tempura items you want.” 

There’s even “Chef’s Features” available, like a tender bluefin tuna appetizer, topped with caviar. Ferdian says that the bluefin appetizer is likely to become a regular menu item in the future, but Gia says other “Chef’s Features” also are coming soon.

There also are soups and salads available as starters, but other than the ginger salad that comes with the entrées, Jannah and I haven’t sampled any of them…yet. 

From The Wok & Grill

Just in case you’re still hungry for more than just appetizers, Zukku-San offers mine and Jannah’s favorite chicken teriyaki (above), which is served with those aforementioned sautéed veggies. Also available are dinner portions of those tender, delicious grilled short ribs, plus items we haven’t tried yet, like soy butter glazed baked salmon, miso garlic scallops or tofu, and wok-fired hibachi and udon noodle dishes, all with your choice of protein, or just with veggies.

But, it’s really hard for us to ever pass up the Japanese-style fried rice, which is jasmine rice with egg, peas, carrots and onions and available with chicken, beef, shrimp or fried tofu protein options, but our favorite is the veggie fried rice, which adds red peppers, broccoli, zucchini and amazing baby bok choy. The rice has a nutty flavor that is hard to match. 

Zukku-San also has a kids menu, but while the items aren’t cheap, the portions seem adult-sized to us. There’s also a variety of desserts, from triple chocolate cake to matcha green tea cheesecake, fried ice cream and more, but we’ve honestly never had room left over for dessert. There’s also a variety of hot and iced teas, as well as boba milk tea, but Jannah usually gets a wine or hot saki and I usually have either an Asahi Dry or Sapporo beer, or a whiskey. 

Zukku-San Sushi Bar & Grill (25916 Sierra Center Blvd., Lutz) opens every day at 11 and is open until 9:30 on weekdays, 10 p.m. on Fri. & Sat. & 9 p.m. on Sun. For more information, visit ZukkuSushi.com, call (813) 419-1351.

Annual Chlorine Disinfection Begins Today

Beginning March 8 and running through March 29, the Tampa Water Department (TWD) is temporarily changing its water disinfection process from chloramine to chlorine to disinfect the water distributed to all TWD customers.

If you get your water from the TWD, you might notice a slight change in what you are tasting and smelling coming out of our faucets the next three weeks. However, chances are you won’t.

Your water is safe to drink and does not need to be boiled, according to the TWD. Customers who are sensitive to chlorine may notice. If so, it is recommended you run the tap for a few minutes before using, fill a pitcher of water and let it sit for a few hours to allow any residual chlorine to evaporate or consider installing a carbon filter on your faucets or replace existing filters with new ones.

The TWD uses chloramine (ammonia added to chlorine) to disinfect the water, but as a sustainable alternative to losing millions of gallons of drinking water by flushing the system, at least twice a year for three-week periods it switches to chlorine disinfection, which is stronger. TWD says the temporary change kills bacteria and ensures the water remains safe to drink as it travels through the water mains and service lines. 

“We work closely with the Florida Department of Health (FDOH) to ensure that we comply with EPA guidelines for using chlorine and chloramine to disinfect Tampa’s drinking water,” it says on the TWD website.

Those who already take special steps to remove chloramine from tap water, such as dialysis centers, medical facilities and aquatic pet owners, should take the same precautions during the temporary switch to chlorine, says TWD.

For more information, contact City of Tampa Utilities at (813) 274-8811, Option 2, or visit tampa.gov/ChlorineDisinfection.