Month: May 2022

Frammi Italian & American Cuisine Adding More Italian Fare!

For everyone who hasn’t yet tried Frammi American Grille & Italian Food, located on Bruce B. Downs Blvd. just north of I-75 in New Tampa, I only have one question — Why not???

For those who loved the burgers at the old Oakley’s Grille, which Luca and his wife Erika took over nearly four years ago, Frammi does still serve those award-winning burgers, crispy fries and other American favorites, but Luca and Erika have brought, as he says, “the genuine cuisine that you find in the homes of Italians, in the everyday kitchens of Sunday family lunches.”

Luca, who is from southern Italy, and Erika, who is from the north of the boot-shaped country, have each contributed their favorite recipes of their respective regions to Frammi, which was changed from Oakley’s during the pandemic — and folks from New Tampa and beyond have been rightfully thrilled with the results.

“We import many ingredients in our dishes from Italia to maintain authenticity,” Luca says, “and all Italian and American dishes are prepared from scratch, so please realize that cooking fresh food from scratch takes time.”

And, speaking of fresh, Luca adds, “We apologize if we don’t always have your favorite dishes, but we don’t freeze anything and our quantities are limited.”

So, What’s New?

Luca has definitely committed to expanding both the Italian and American sides of his two-sided menu. Our favorite new American dish is the fried chicken sandwich, which is a full breast filet, lightly battered and flash-fried to golden crisp on the outside, but still incredibly juicy on the inside. When you add in those perfect fries (which are included), you really can’t go wrong.

But, as much as we love Frammi’s American food (the chicken fajitas, which really are more like fajita meat soft tacos, are pretty great, too), it’s the always-amazing Italian fare that keeps bringing us back. And, Luca says the Italian menu items are definitely from both the north and south of his native country.

My favorite from Luca’s southern region is probably still the linguine alla vongole (with clams, diced tomatoes, parsley, extra virgin olive oil, red hot crushed peppers, white wine and garlic) and Jannah’s favorite is the parmigiana di melanzana (eggplant parm), but the new, lightly spicy pasta Amatriciana (rigatoni with fresh tomato sauce, pancetta, diced tomatoes, pecorino Romano cheese, red hot peppers and parsley) is an amazing addition.

Our favorite dish from Erika’s northern region is the ragu di salsiccia (penne with Italian sausage ragu (onions, celery, carrots, tomato sauce, Italian sausage and red wine), although the Black Angus beef ragu also is outstanding, and the lasagna (made with bechamel sauce, instead of ricotta) is both authentic and a best-seller.

And, although they aren’t new to the menu, on our most recent visit we also loved two of the other pasta entrées we hadn’t tried before — the fettuccine carbonara (with crisp pancetta, parmesan and pecorino Romano cheeses, eggs and black pepper) and the fusilli alla pesto (made with basil and pine nut-rich pesto sauce imported from Genova). All of Frammi’s pasta dishes are served al denté (firm) without having to ask for them that way and are so authentic, they’ll have you singing “O Sole Mio” in no time.

One of the other dishes from the Italian side of the menu that we tried recently but hadn’t gotten to sample before is the vegetable soup (with carrots, onion, celery, potatoes, extra virgin olive oil, parmesan cheese and rosemary), which Luca says is like real Italian minestrone, but not like the red broth-based minestrone you may have had at other places.

We also enjoy the bruschetta (diced tomatoes, garlic and extra virgin olive oil on crisp Italian ciabatta bread) and the meatball sandwich, which are Luca’s famous authentic fried Black Angus meatballs topped with mozzarella cheese, but with a side of tomato sauce for dipping, instead of served on the sandwich itself. The mixed Italian salad is a huge portion of romaine and iceberg lettuce, diced tomatoes, carrots, hard-boiled eggs and fresh imported mozzarella cheese served with Italian dressing. The hot pressed Cuban, spicy Italian and mufaletta sandwiches proudly include Boar’s Head meats, and include a free soda if you order one of them on Saturday.

Other daily specials are served Tuesday-Saturday — Burger Tuesday, Chicken Wednesday (both specials include a free soda), Philly Thursday (get $1 off the ribeye or chicken cheesesteak and fries) and Healthy Friday (all salads are $1.50 off).

And, while we rarely leave room for dessert, the tiramisu and Nutella crepes are great options and Frammi also offers beer, wine and soft drinks.

Frammi (17631 BBD) is closed on Mon. but is open Tues.-Sat, 11 a.m.-8 p.m., and noon-8 p.m. on Sun. Call (813) 523-5075, or visit Frammi.com. Delivery is available through DoorDash, Mobile Meals and Uber Eats.

Frammi

Nibbles & Bites: More Food Openings On The Way, And A Little Virtual Reality, Too!

Tessa’s Sweet Kafé To Replace Gu Wei!

We always love it when readers let us know when they see new businesses opening or getting ready to open, even if it’s before we’re able to get the information ourselves.

We’ve previously told you that the Gu Wei Noodle House, which didn’t stay open for very long in the former location of Sukhothai on Bruce B. Downs Blvd. at Galbraith Rd. (across from the AMC 20 movie theater), was closed permanently, but we didn’t yet have any idea of what was planned to move into that space until Josephine Quah Browne sent us the picture (far right) on one of our Facebook posts announcing that the new restaurant will be called Tessa’s Sweet Kafé, which (according to the sign and a couple of other posts on the “Tampa Bay Asian Foodies” Facebook page) will feature Korean Street Food, Binsgu (although some spell it Bingsoo, see near right photo) and other Korean desserts.

Unfortunately, we weren’t able to find out too much additional information about what the new restaurant will serve (although boba teas and Korean fried chicken were among the items mentioned) or when Tessa’s Sweet Kafé is expected to open, but of course, we plan to keep you posted! — GN

VR Galaxy Lounge Entertainment Venue Opens In Tampa Palms!

Talk about an idea whose time has come — the VR Galaxy Lounge has opened to rave online reviews (next to A Special Rose Florist) at 15355 Amberly Dr., in the Shoppes at Amberly plaza in Tampa Palms.

VR Galaxy Lounge is the brainchild of three long-time “gamers” who recognized that although virtual reality gaming is readily available on peoples’ home entertainment systems, there hasn’t been a place where those gamers could go out to enjoy the ever-growing selection of VR games.

According to VRGalaxyLounge.com, three guys named Joe, Larry and Tony grew up as gamers as far back as the original 1977 Atari 2600, and have all watched the industry evolve to where Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality experiences are becoming more and more mainstream.

“The VR industry is here and has unlimited potential. This is what drives the three of us…It is about becoming fully immersed in an experience whether that is traveling to Italy to see the Coliseum, swimming with sharks, traveling to space, meeting with co-workers or just hanging out with friends in a social environment…Our goal is to pass this experience on to all of you and bring you into the amazing and limitless world of VR.”

And, with its location in the same plaza with younger-skewing businesses like Peabody’s Billiards & Games, Crunch! Fitness and a variety of restaurants, Joe, Larry and Tony would seem to have a virtual hit on their hands.

For more information, call (813) 374-4797. — GN

Hungry Crab Juicy Seafood To Open!

Although we still do not have confirmation as to exactly when it will open — the last we heard was late April, but we had no further updates at our press time — there’s no doubt that a lot of progress has been made at the Hungry Crab Juicy Seafood & Bar (photo above) which is getting close to moving into the former location of Kobé Japanese Steakhouse in the Pebble Creek Collection.

Keep checking back on our “Neighborhood News” Facebook page for the latest updates, but it looks like New Tampa will soon have a place featuring giant Alaskan king crab legs and other seafood favorites! — GN

Nibbles & Bites Nibbles & Bytes

The Pampered Peach Wax Bar Offers A Unique Spa Experience

When my husband — Neighborhood News editor Gary Nager — asked me if I would be willing to write a Business Feature story about The Pampered Peach Wax Bar, located next to Dickey’s BBQ on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., I agreed, even though I’ve rarely had my eyebrows and lips waxed and never had my underarms or private area waxed.

I was even happier to take on the assignment when I found out that even though The Pampered Peach specializes in waxing for virtually every area of the body (more on that below), it also offers other services, like amazing facials, all of which use only the finest organic products from Farmhouse Fresh for all of its services.

“We chose Farmhouse Fresh because the products are amazing,” says manager and licensed cosmetologist Amanda Gonzalez. “They’ve been recommended by Oprah (as well as actresses like Lisa Kudrow, Marlee Matlin and country music star Reba McEntire) and The Pampered Peach founder Jessica Kustron is now using Farmhouse Fresh products at both her corporate-owned and franchise locations.”

So, even though I didn’t end up having any waxing services performed, I do feel that I got a wonderful, full spa experience at The Pampered Peach when my aesthetician Nikki gave me the most relaxing deep-cleansing facial (called the “Glow Your Age” mini- or full facial) I’ve ever received.

First of all, The Pampered Peach of Wesley Chapel, which currently is one of only six locations (five in Florida and one in Long Island, NY; the Wesley Chapel location is owned by C&S Waxing LLC, a partnership between Jonathan Smith, Anthony Cintron and Michael Grande), has more of a salon feel than most sterile-feeling med-spas — even though it is immaculately clean — with soft peach walls accented in green, black and white, and with fun music playing in the lobby area, and more soothing spa music playing in the facial treatment room, all of which provides a perfectly inviting atmosphere for whatever service you choose.

“We fell in love with the name, the branding and the organic experience,” Jonathan says, adding that they’ve been so happy about how the business has been going that they’ve committed to opening four more locations in the area this year. “And, with Amanda’s five years of experience in the waxing business and her ‘angel hands,’ we knew she could bring a high level of expertise to an already-great business model.”

*Nikki and Amanda offer outstanding waxing and facial services at The Pampered Peach Wax Bar on BBD Blvd. in Wesley Chapel.* ***(Photos by Charmaine George)***

For example, Amanda adds, “I have learned how to do — and teach — proper self-care after a waxing procedure, which eliminates the razor burn and ingrown hairs associated with shaving. Plus, it lasts for weeks, instead of just a day or two.”

Amanda also says that the core values at the Wesley Chapel location are to deliver effective and painless wax services in a cozy, fun environment. “Our wax techniques using the best all-natural, organic and vegan products to give our guests an amazing, smooth result.”

There definitely are differences between The Pampered Peach and other companies in the industry. “We offer three types of patented waxes — hard, soft and sugar — while most others only offer hard and soft waxes,” Amanda says.

Not For Women Only

All of the pricing for the huge variety of waxing services available at The Pampered Peach is on display on the wall when you walk in. Services include ingrown hair treatments, pre-wax numbing, v-steam “vajafacials,” full-body wax, services for specific areas of the body (everything from bikini to stomach), as well as facial wax services for everything from brow laminations and cheeks to nose and sideburns.

Amanda says that even though women still make up the majority of their clients, more and more men are utliizing waxing services for their chest, back, shoulders and even full body. There’s even a “Manzilian” wax service offered.

I have to admit that even though I was apprehensive, even nervous, about starting a waxing regime, after enjoying my facial so much and being educated by Amanda and Nikki about how their waxing services work and how much healthier they are for my skin, I’m actually considering giving it a try.

And, I’m not alone in raving about The Pampered Peach of Wesley Chapel. At our press time, even though the location has only been open three+ months, all 31 Google reviews are five stars and a client named Stefanie who happened to visit the same day I did said she usually goes to the South Tampa location but that both locations are better than anyplace else. She was so happy with her painless bikini wax that she decided to also get her eyebrows done.

The Pampered Peach’s menu of services also gives you pricing for one-time services for guests and “drop-ins,” VIP Monthly Memberships and VIP Annual Memberships. Among the current specials are a first-time Brazilian for only $19, 20% off all first-time facial clients, and unlimited Brazilian waxing for just $49 per month.

The Pampered Peach Wax Bar’s Wesley Chapel location (2653 BBD Blvd., Suite 102) is open Tues.-Fri., 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on Sat. and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. on Sun. It is closed Monday. For more info, call (727) FL-PEACH (357-3224) or visit PamperedPeachWC.com.

Pampered Peach

It’s Official: Vanzant Will Replace Tonelli

Shawn Vanzant is coming home.

It took a little cajoling, but the former Wharton star and 2007 graduate has officially been named as the Wildcats next boys basketball coach.

“I’m very excited,” Vanzant told the Neighborhood News. “I can’t wait to get to Wharton and get a full head of steam going. I’m excited to get back home.“

Vanzant, 33, who has coached the boys team at Bloomingdale the past four seasons, will replace Tommy Tonelli, who announced that he was retiring from coaching after Wharton advanced to the Class 6A final four this past season for just the second time in school history.

Tonelli has always praised Vanzant’s coaching acumen, long predicting that his former player would someday become one of the top high school coaches in the area if a college job didn’t come along first.

“I couldn’t be more excited and proud that he will be the basketball coach at Wharton,” said Tonelli, who will continue in his role as a guidance counselor at the school.

It was a recent dinner with Tonelli, and a phone call with a former college teammate, that eventually persuaded Vanzant to take the job after he had declined previous overtures.

“Anybody who knows me knows I don’t like anything being given to me,” Vanzant says. “I felt like I’ve been building something great here at Bloomingdale, and Wharton was really what coach Tonelli had built. I wanted to do that same thing at Bloomingdale.”

But Matt Howard, a teammate at Butler where the duo helped lead the Bulldogs to consecutive NCAA championship games in 2010 and 2011, helped Vanzant look at it differently.

“He said, ‘I get what you are saying, but at the same time sustaining something that great is a big challenge,’” Vanzant said. “He helped me see the other side of it. Wharton’s never had a losing season. I’ve been a part of building that, and I know I can keep that going.”

Vanzant, who has known Tonelli since he was nine-years-old and would show up on weeknights and weekends at Wharton for pick-up games, coached Bloomingdale to a 3-21 record his first season as a head coach in 2018-19, but the team has averaged 14 wins over the last three seasons and went 17-12 — and won a District championship for the first time since 2016 — this past season.

Having played for two ultra-successful coaches in Tonelli and Butler’s Brad Stevens, Vanzant, who is married with two young daughters, says he has incorporated both men’s styles into his own.

“My coaching style is very similar,” he says. “Offense is easy, you compete and win on defense, and I expect you to compete at a very very high level. And you play for one another. It’s we over me, that’s something we always said at Butler.”

Vanzant acknowledges he has big shoes to fill.

Although no official records are kept, Tonelli is leaving the coaching ranks as the all-time wins leader for Hillsborough County public schools. Since building the program from scratch when Wharton opened in 1997, Tonelli never had a losing season and finished with 528 victories and just 137 losses in 23 seasons — for a sparkling .794 career winning percentage.

Tonelli picked up his 500th win on Dec. 7 against Chamberlain. On Jan. 28, he won his 517th game against Vanzant’s Bloomingdale team, passing former Chamberlain legend Doug Aplin to take the “unofficial” No. 1 spot.

William Bethel, who coached at Middleton in the segregation era, was 551-88 in the Florida Interscholastic Athletic Association (at the time, the FHSAA of all-black schools). The Tampa Bay Basketball Coaches Association annually awards the William Bethel Award to the county coach who has gotten the most out of his team, an award Tonelli has won more than once.

Tonelli, 57, says the demands of coaching have made balancing two jobs too cumbersome and overwhelming. He had been contemplating retirement since last season, worn down by the demands and difficulties during the pandemic, but wanted to let the dust settle before deciding to actually retire.

“I didn’t want the frustration caused by Covid to be something that chased me out of coaching,” Tonelli said.

As it turns out, it wasn’t Covid.

It was just time.

When the dust did settle, it revealed one of Tonelli’s most successful seasons ever. The Wildcats were 28-3 and won the school’s 12th District title, its second Regional title and advanced to the Florida High School Athletic Association Class 6A finals, where it lost to eventual champion Stuart Martin County.

In typical Wharton fashion, the Wildcats overachieved this year and rode an opportunistic offense and gritty defense to a better finish than most expected. Tonelli called it a “dream season.”

In perhaps Tonelli’s most impressive accomplishment, it marked the 17th straight season that the Wildcats won at least 20 games, a testament to his practice regimen and game preparation.

“Coach always had us prepared,” says forward Trevor Dyson. “We worked harder than almost everybody. We were always ready. Coach always made sure of that.”

Tonelli, a former Chicago high school star and University of South Florida point guard, says he still feels he has something to give as a coach, and said he would “never say never” to a return to the sidelines one day, if the right situation comes along.

“But right now, I’m done,” he says.

Shawn Vanzant tommy tonelli Wharton

Happy Birthday, New Tampa Regional Library!

Lisette May was so excited about a library being built near her Hunter’s Green home that she was the first one there the day the New Tampa Regional Library opened in May of 1997.

The library staff handed her a bouquet of flowers for being the library’s first-ever patron. She was accompanied by her then-5-year-old daughter Lindsey (6-year-old Lauren was in school that day), and Lisette remembers marveling at the modern design and layout, the view of the lake out back and the stuffed animals and bean bag chairs in the children’s area.

“There was a lot of anticipation,” says Lisette, who checked out a half dozen books, a movie on videotape and signed her daughters up for the summer reading programs while she was there. “It was very exciting for everyone. I remember thinking, wow, they did a really good job with this.”

On May 4, the New Tampa Regional Library (NTRL) turns 25 years old. Lisette still visits, impressed by all of the library’s new additions and offerings, and happily recollects her years taking her children to story times or just to sit and enjoy a book with them.

“I always felt like going to the library made you feel like you were part of a really great community,” Lisette says. “We would go and see our neighbors there; the kids would see their friends from school there. It was a great place to see your friends and educate your kids.”

The story of how the NTRL came to be is one of Said Iravani’s favorites. The longtime Heritage Isles resident thinks about it almost every time he drives by the library on Cross Creek Blvd. — which, of course, is almost every day.

More than three decades ago, a group of Hunter’s Green and Tampa Palms residents, headed by a retired librarian, put hundreds of hours into a grassroots movement, calling city and county officials and cajoling a local developer to donate the land, with the goal of building a 25,000-sq.-ft. state-of-the-art regional library that is arguably the heart of the New Tampa community and, while perhaps a little underappreciated, may be its greatest resource.

“It’s such a great story,” says Iravani, who has written a few of the pages himself as the former president of the Friends of the New Tampa Regional Library, a group dedicated to raising funds for programs and equipment the county’s budget does not cover.

*Then-Hillsborough County Commissioner Jan Platt (left) and Friends of the New Tampa Library founding president Jeri Zelinski were on hand when the New Tampa Regional Library was dedicated.* ***(Photo provided by Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library)***

The first thing you may notice when you walk into the NTRL lobby is the Jeri Zelinski Community Room, which was dedicated to the library’s patron saint in 2004, two years after her passing.

Zelinski, the retired librarian and founding president of Friends of the Library, which was formed in 1990, is credited as being largely responsible for securing the library for New Tampa.

With help from friends like Lorraine Clewis of the Tampa Palms Ladies Club, the New Tampa Community Council (led by then-president Frank Margarella) and others, Zelinski forged partnerships and soon began attending Tampa-Hillsborough Library Advisory Board and County Commission meetings.

She developed a close alliance with then-County Commissioner Jan Platt, who helped push through a .10-mill property tax to pay for the library.

The Tampa Palms Ladies Club also played a big role in helping circulate petitions, and Zelinski did all she could to find a home for the library. It could have ended up in Tampa Palms, but its developer, Ken Good, only offered 1.6 acres of land, according to The Tampa Tribune, which was not enough for a regional library.

Clewis had to withdraw from the library effort due to family obligations, which could have been a big blow to the Friends. But, Zelinski continued to look for land, expanding her search to the Cross Creek and Pebble Creek areas.

Eventually, however, Zelinski contacted Markborough Florida, the developers of Hunter’s Green, and helped secure 3.6 acres just east of Hunter’s Green Elementary and west of the future Benito Middle School.

“Quite simply, there wouldn’t be a library without Jeri Zelinski,” says Iravani, who has fought against efforts to name the library after anyone other than Zelinski, and was active in efforts to begin an expansion project in 2008.That effort was tabled but is still under consideration.

*The New Tampa Library ribbon cutting.* ***(Photo provided by Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library)***

On May 2, 1997, a black tie- optional gala was held at Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club to celebrate the opening of the library. The grand prize that night: two round-trip plane tickets to Lima, Peru.

Two days later, the New Tampa Regional Library opened its doors at 9 a.m.

Wendy Prasad, administrative librarian and the NTRL branch manager since 2017, says that despite changing reading habits and the effects of technology on libraries in general, the New Tampa Library is still going strong.

Last year, more than 72,000 people visited the library, and it has consistently been one of the most popular libraries in the county’s system.

“There are so many things we provide the community,” she says, including a main reading room, a separate children’s room, Grandma Claire’s Early Learning Hive, robust summer reading programs, meeting and study rooms, free WiFi and computer use and a wealth of online services.

The library continues to be a place that can open up the world to newer and older generations.

When it first opened, this newspaper published stories about the videotapes, audio cassettes and compact discs that were available to check out. How times have changed — you can now check out a 4K video camera the size of a couple of packs of gum.

“We have definitely evolved,” Prasad says. “And I think you’ll see us continue to evolve.”

The NTRL is located at 10001 Cross Creek Blvd. The Friends of the Library are hosting a Giant Book Sale at NTRL May 6-7. For more info, email FriendsofNewTampaLibrary@gmail.com.

New Tampa Regional Library