Month: September 2022

The Lucky Dill Deli — A True NY Deli, But So Much More!

When Alex Mitow, the son of Kim Mitow, who first opened The Lucky Dill Deli in Palm Harbor way back in 1991, emailed to ask for advertising rates in the New Tampa & Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News, I’ll admit I was a little confused.

Why would a deli restaurant located in Palm Harbor (that I personally had visited many times over the past 31 years because it is a true New York-style deli) want to advertise itself to two communities located at least 45 minutes away?

During my most recent visit, Lucky Dill general manager Ron Garcia explained it this way to me:

“We know that pretty much everyone in Palm Harbor, Tarpon Springs and even New Port Richey and Clearwater pretty much already knows who and where we are and what we serve,” Ron said. “But, our goal is to bring in and introduce a whole new group of customers to our ‘destination restaurant’ because we know that if they give us a try, they’ll keep coming back — and tell their friends about us.”

Ron, who has more than 30 years of experience in the hospitality business himself, has been the GM at The Lucky Dill since 2020. He told me that it was important to him to maintain the family feel Kim and her family created with delicious, top-quality food and outstanding service.

Kim and her children Jason, Tanya, and Alex, worked hard to bring the New York way of life, along with its commitment to top-notch food and great value, to Lucky Dill Palm Harbor. Over the years (according to its website), “Lucky Dill has been heralded as not only one of the best restaurants in Palms Harbor (it’s nominated again for that honor by Creative Loafing), but one of the top NYC delis in Florida. A loyal following of New York transplants…have grown to call Lucky Dill their home away from home.”

And, for good reason. It had been a couple of years since I had visited The Lucky Dill, but I was excited to give it another try, because it offers a few of my favorite New York deli items you really can’t find anywhere else near here, including real matzo ball soup and savory Jewish-style brisket of beef (not to be confused with BBQ brisket) with real au jus for dipping.

“We use real steamer trays and collect the brisket drippings to make the au jus,” Brian, the head bartender at Lucky Dill’s full liquor bar (with great craft cocktails) told me. We don’t use any of that canned or powdered crap other places use for their au jus.”

The menu at The Lucky Dill is huge, but the variety of deli sandwiches — with favorites like corned beef, pastrami, roast beef, turkey and even chopped liver — is definitely the star of the show. Those who like their sandwiches as big as their heads definitely should try one of the “skyscraper” options, like the Empire State Stacker (shown above, a nearly 9-inch-tall combo of corned beef, pastrami, turkey and roast beef with Swiss and provolone cheeses on marble rye). Lucky Dill even offers “old school” NY Deli Delights like tongue, silky smoked whitefish salad and “Nibbles & Noshes” like Gabila’s Coney Island knishes, Lower East latkes (potato pancakes) with sour cream and chunky applesauce and Hebrew National hot dogs.

But, in addition to those deli classics, The Lucky Dill also offers “A Taste Of Little Italy,” with favorites like clams casino pasta, chicken Alfredo and Vinny’s mozzarella stack.

Breakfast, Bakery & More!

Breakfast at The Lucky Dill includes The Bagel Noshery, with classics like The New Yorker with Nova Scotia salmon, the BEC (Bacon, Egg & Cheese) deluxe, with thick-cut bacon, cheddar cheese, scrambled eggs and chipotle apple aioli.

There’s also a variety of bowls and toasts, like Awesome Avo + Egg toast and an Aussie Brekkie Bowl with poached egg, farro grains, fresh veggies, avocado, grilled halloumi cheese and pickled onions, as well as a variety of traditional egg and omelette dishes and “Bennies,” including the Brighton Beach Benny with smoked Nova Scotia salmon, wilted spinach, poached eggs and Hollandaise sauce on an English muffin with a side of home fries. I’ve had the Bananas Foster French toast, which is literally to die for.

The Lucky Dill’s Brooklyn Bakery has a huge variety of cakes, pies (the peanut butter pie is decadent), cookies (including the best black & white cookies I’ve had outside of NYC) and a cannoli bar, where you can custom-design your cannolis with a variety of fillings and toppings. The Bakery counter also serves as The Lucky Dill’s to-go area.

The Lucky Dill also features The Ditch Plains Surf Bar, the first-of-its-kind in the Tampa Bay area. Serving up a slice of Hamptons sophistication in Palm Harbor, this new bar celebrates laid-back beach life with its own beachy menu and refined takes on fresh summery cocktails, quenching frosés and craft beers from New York breweries.

The Lucky Dill Deli (33180 US Hwy. 19, Palm Harbor) is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day, 8 a.m.-9 p.m. For more info, call (727) 789-5574, visit LuckyDillDeli.com and join the email list and receive a $15 gift card emailed to you on your birthday.

Lucky Dill

Nibbles & Bites: Authentic Vietnamese heading to New Tampa, and more

Ha Long Bay Vietnamese To Open On BBD

Congratulations to my new friends Nhan Nguyen and her husband Hai Chu and their family, the owners of the new Ha Long Bay restaurant, which is expected to open (hopefully) by the end of this month in the space previously occupied by Aroi Thai-Tsuyu at 20685 Bruce B. Downs Blvd.

Several months ago, we announced in these pages that the restaurant would be a new location of Hana Sushi, but when that deal fell through, Nhan, Hai and their family jumped at the opportunity to open the fourth location of Ha Long Bay (the others are in St. Petersburg, Dunedin and Largo). Nhan and Hai also previously owned Ocean Blue Sushi Bar in Carrollwood.

The new Ha Long Bay will feature a variety of Vietnamese and Asian fusion favorites, including pho, banh mi sandwiches, Chinese-style stir-fry dishes, poké bowls, rice combination plates and a large variety of boba teas. Check our Facebook page for updates about Ha Long Bay’s opening. — GN

Even More New Eateries Are Now Open At The KRATE Container Park!

Almost all of the restaurants at the KRATE Container Park at The Grove at Wesley Chapel have now opened — and the word is definitely getting out that KRATE is a great destination for a wide variety of cuisine types from all around the world.

The newest KRATE to open is Boba Mac’s Tea & Eat, which combines the seemingly unlikely pairing of a variety of teas with boba pearls (made of tapioca starch from cassava root, not gelatin; photo below left) and a number of varieties of macaroni and cheese, as well as some Filipino dishes. I sampled the frozen banana tea with bobas and it was both super-tasty and filling like a smoothie.

“We’re still trying to add some employees,” said owner Rich Bussey the day we went to press with this issue, “so we’re just opening with the boba teas for now, but we will add our full planned menu when we really get rolling.” — GN

Carrabba’s Opens On The North Side Of S.R. 56!

Speaking of Italian, Jannah and I were fortunate enough to be invited to the pre-opening of the new Carrabba’s Italian Grill, located at 25298 Sierra Center Blvd. (between Bonefish Grill and Aussie Grill, on the north side of S.R. 56). The restaurant officially opened to the public on Sept. 13, and there’s no doubt it’s going to be a local favorite.

The newest location of the chain, which serves 130-year-old recipes created by the family of founders Johnny Carrabba and Damian Mandola, is one of more than 200 in nearly 30 U.S. states, with about 70 of those being located in Florida.

And, while I’ve never been the biggest fan of most chain eateries, the new Carrabba’s is beautiful, has a great bar area and I already like many of the made-from-scratch dishes I’ve sampled, including the lasagne pictured above, the Tuscan-grilled pork chops and steaks, the mezzaluna ravioli and more.

For more info, call (813) 261-2691 or visit Carrabbas.com. — GN

Old Courts To Be Turned Into Fields For Public Use

Townhalls and other community meetings may sound boring to many, but sometimes, they produce action that otherwise wouldn’t happen.

Alexandra Gilmore, a Tampa Palms resident since 2007, attended one hosted by Tampa City Council member Luis Viera and other city planners back in 2020 and when she took the mic, she wanted to know why there weren’t more — or any, actually — public basketball courts in New Tampa.

Her boys, Caleb and Bryce, had searched for places to play, but were always booted off the courts.

“You have to live in a community that has them, or a certain neighborhood, or have a membership somewhere,” Alexandra remembers telling city officials. She told Viera and the others there were courts and space behind Liberty Middle School that could be used but were fenced off to keep kids out.

“Why can’t those be public?,” she asked.

It was a great question, and one that finally got answered on Aug. 25, when the Tampa City Council voted 5-0 to pitch in with the Hillsborough County School District to spend $1 million to upgrade the aged tennis courts behind Liberty.

Gilmore had no idea her suggestion had even become a reality until the Neighborhood News called her.

“Oh my goodness,” she said. “You’re kidding me! This is absolutely amazing!”

Gilmore stayed in touch with Viera via email while the councilman did the pushing behind the scenes to initiate the project. The Tampa City Council agreed to enter into an interlocal agreement with the School District to improve some of the athletic facilities that adjoin Liberty and Freedom High.

The current facilities — six hard court tennis courts — between the two schools will receive a new design and a court cover to shield those playing from the elements.

The “all-fields facility,” as it is called, will feature three resurfaced and outfitted courts for basketball, tennis, pickleball or volleyball, depending on the needs. The other three existing tennis courts will be replaced by an artificial multi-purpose turf field and will be covered. Restrooms also will be a part of the new facility.

The School District will control access to the fields and their usage — most likely for recess and other school-related activities — during daytime hours when Liberty and Freedom are in session. The city will control public access in the evening hours and on weekends.

“Utilizing unused school space for recreation activities for the larger communities, including basketball…is going to be a great thing,” said Viera, who represents the New Tampa area in District 7.

The cost of upgrading the courts is expected to be roughly $1 million, and the City Council voted that the city would pay up to 50 percent, or $500,000, of those costs, using Capital Improvement Plan funds.

During the public comments portion of the City Council meeting, only one person, South Tampa’s Stephanie Poynter, commented and she was in favor of making the courts open to the public.

“If the City of Tampa is paying half for the basketball courts at Liberty and Freedom schools, those courts should be accessible 24 hours a day if the schools are not in session,” she said. “This is the only place I have ever lived where every single school has a fence between it and the kids who live around it. I’ll never understand that.”

Before the vote took place, the motion was pulled for discussion by District 3 Council member Lynn Hurtak. She favored the interlocal agreement, and asked that the city’s Parks & Recreation Department explore more opportunities like this.

“How when many of us when we were kids, that at our neighborhood school, after school, we could go play on the playground, in the field, on the basketball courts, do it on the weekends, do it all summer?,” Hurtak asked. “Now, with the advent of school shootings, many of those open spaces have been fenced off for student security, and they don’t allow the public to utilize those facilities, which is a bigger strain on our parks system. So, when I saw this interlocal agreement, I was really excited about it. “

Viera made a point of crediting Gilmore during the meeting.

“This is going to be a wonderful thing,” Viera told the Council.

Gilmore agrees.

“I remember a couple of people reached out to me after that meeting in 2020 to thank me,” said Gilmore, who was running for the Hillsborough County School Board at the time. “This will be great for kids in the local neighborhoods to have a place to play.”

freedom high Liberty Middle School New Tampa Recreation Center

Is Proposed Recreation Center At Cross Creek Park A Slam Dunk?

Is the proposed recreation center at Cross Creek Park a slam dunk (preferably on an indoor basket in a potential air-conditioned facility!), as District 2 Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan hopes?

You would think so, considering the $8-million price tag and number of proposed amenities for what would be the first county-owned public indoor recreation center in New Tampa.

At the very least, it’s a three-point swish, according to online polling.

As the county proceeds on the new upgrades at Cross Creek Park, which is located next to Pride Elementary (at 19025 Bassett Creek Dr.), it continues to gauge support for the endeavor.

The project would potentially include things like an indoor facility for basketball, volleyball and pickleball (as well as senior and adult programming), bathrooms and after-school and summer programs for children, a new shaded playground and upgraded outdoor basketball court, a splash pad, a walking trail and more.

Of the 179 responses filled out online, 84% of respondents said they were in favor of the upgrades at the park, 10% were opposed and 7% percent said they were undecided.

When it came to what amenities respondents were most interested in, 66% wanted an upgraded playground, 64% favored a recreation center with programming, 59% wanted a walking trail, 55% wanted a splash pad and 35% chose some of the other amenities.

One of the respondents wrote that they would like to see more of the wide-open field — which gets a lot of use by people playing soccer, cricket, flag football and flying kites — preserved, despite early renderings showing that much of it would be eliminated and replaced by a retention pond under the county’s plan.

A lot of commentors agreed and suggested that the pond could be moved across the street to replace two overgrown baseball fields that are almost never used.

Others loved the idea of upgrades, and chimed in with their own suggestions, most of them advocating for a skate park, dog park or tennis courts.

However, when the county held a public input meeting on Aug. 15 in the lunchroom at Pride Elementary, only five residents, including two couples, attended. Most of the questions at that meeting centered around preserving the park’s green space.

Pride principal Paulette English attended the meeting that night, and voiced her support.

“I think it’s a very positive thing for the community and school as well,” English said. “It opens some after-school programs for kids that they don’t otherwise have access to, and having staff there will keep it a safer place for kids to be.”

English said that her school gets a lot of requests for after-school programs and club-type activities. The school offered a drama and tennis club this year “and it filled up just like that,” she said.

Pride has waiting lists of roughly 30 students for each of those clubs.

While Hagan said the online support for the rec center has been great, K-Bar Ranch resident Beth Bodai was one of the residents at an Aug. 22 community meeting in K-Bar Ranch attended by Hagan (story on pg. 4) who questioned whether the county would be able to handle a new park. Cross Creek Park has a dirt parking lot, overgrown baseball fields and no bathrooms, along with other issues.

“It sounds fantastic, but who will maintain it, because you haven’t maintained what you have now,” Bodai said.

Bodai also said that the park is often called the “Forgotten Park” by residents. She cited the dirt parking lot and lack of lighting at night, leading to a number of cars parking in the unpatrolled lot after dark, the porta-potties being turned over numerous times every weekend, and the playground equipment being too hot, due to a lack of shade, so that it can’t be used. “And the (baseball) fields are a disgrace,” she said.

Hagan explained that the county would maintain the upgraded park, at a cost of roughly $100,000 a year, and would employ full-time attendants.

He even said he would look into having the parking lot lights installed now.

However, another resident in attendance at the K-Bar Ranch meeting expressed concern the park would end up being a burden to taxpayers. And Bodai, who said she hopes the park is everything Hagan says it will be, is still a skeptic.

Hagan promised it would be a facility that K-Bar Ranch (a City of Tampa development) and the rest of New Tampa would be proud of. “I can tell you, If NT doesn’t want this facility, I promise you there are a million other communities that will,” he said.

Regardless of whether Cross Creek Park gets upgraded, the traffic and road study that comes with the planning could result in the kind of positive change that those who drive in the area have been seeking. Many of those who participated in the online forum (see next pg.) said the area’s already tangled transportation woes prevented them from fully supporting the new park.

If Hagan wants his slam dunk, that will have to be an issue that gets resolved in conjunction with a new rec center.

“And we understand that,” he says. “We’re taking a close look at everything.”

LOCALS CHIME IN
Here are some of the online comments submitted for local (presumably) residents on what they think of the new upgrades proposed for Cross Creek Park, and what other things they would like to see at the park.

It would be great for the gym to have pickleball courts. Adding lights to the basketball courts would also be a plus, as a lot of kids play basketball there in the evenings. For being a little park it gets a lot of use. (Would) love to see these improvements going in.

New Tampa desperately needs public tennis courts and public soccer fields (doesn’t have to be regulation size). Benito soccer fields are under lock and key by the Chargers program and not available for public use.

There are no public tennis courts in this area. Need one in this park.

Please add a skate park!!

I think this is a brilliant plan! This is a major community that needs these improvements. The splash pad intrigues me the most. Considering we live in the Sunshine State, there aren’t many places to cool down for kids. I also agree with everyone on an updated playground with shade!

Park definitely needs an update. Splash pad would be great for those hot summers. None nearby.

Love this idea! The current playground is run down, it needs an upgrade as it’s used daily (by) neighborhood kids. An adjacent splash pad seems like a great idea, too, as those are popular in many other communities across Tampa. The area is in desperate need of lighting also.

I would like to see a dog park, and obviously more covered picnic tables with bathroom facilities

Many people use the extensive field space currently for field sports such as ultimate frisbee, football, soccer, cricket, baseball, kickball, and others. It appears that the proposed plan will cut down on field space to the point that field sports will not have enough space to be played. As a hub for local kids playing sports, this field space is particularly important as it is the only park with this space in the area.

Shaded play area is needed

Paved parking lot and shaded areas.

Why would we need additional basket ball courts while we have two existing courts?

Tennis court and a leveled kickball field

The parking lot needs to be paved and there needs to be restrooms. Shaded play area. Litter pick up not just trash can pickup because people can’t put trash in trash cans.

Please add more trees

The roadway is already too crowded by the park. Consideration would need to be taken if any changes are to be made, to deal with additional traffic.

The traffic by this area is already too much. This will cause too much congestion and people who live in Basset Creek will (have) too much traffic traveling in and out of their home area.

Please preserve the open field space at Cross Creek Park. Numerous individuals and organized groups regularly use the space for games and training. Move the retention pond, parking lot, and building across the street.

This “improvement” is a terrible idea. The park is already amazing and I use it all the time with my friends. We love the large field that we can play any sport on, as well as exercise. Sprint workouts, football, frisbee, kickball, baseball and many other sports are only possible because of these fields. You cannot play on a small field, rec center, or retention pond.

Paint the basketball courts so it’s smoother and not the basic concrete.

This is a great plan to upgrade the park. It does look very old.

Traffic is high speed through there, and there’s already school traffic. Plus additional traffic from current development in KBar 3 and 4. People currently can take their dogs there to exercise, and it would limit the park to children’s use primarily. There’s already a city park being developed in KBar and Mistflower (?) for kids.

Cross Creek Park

Two Friends Give Their Viewpoints On The Passing Of Queen Elizabeth II

Although I only know what I’ve read about Queen Elizabeth II, who of course, passed away at the age of 96 the week we went to press with this issue, I decided to discuss the loss of England’s longest-serving monarch (70 years) with two of my friends.

One of those friends is Tammy Campbell, a British national who has lived here in the States since moving with her husband — former English Premier League and Tampa Bay Rowdies soccer player and coach Stuart Campbell (who is now the director of soccer at the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County) — more than a decade ago.

The other is my childhood best friend Doug Getter, who moved “across the Pond” for work not too long after I moved to Florida 30 years ago. I have only one blood sibling (my sister Bonnie), but since we met in the first grade at Woodmere Elementary on Long Island, Doug was the closest thing I ever had to a brother, especially because everyone said we looked and acted like brothers. And, even when Doug visited me for a day a few months ago, Jannah and my family said they could see why.

When I spoke with Tammy a couple of days after the Queen’s passing, you could hear it in her voice that she was still broken up over it.

“She was 96, so it wasn’t like everyone didn’t know it was going to happen at some point,” Tammy said, “but the reality of her actually passing hit me harder than I even thought it would, especially since she just swore in our new Prime Minister two days before that.”

Tammy said that although she never actually met Queen Elizabeth, “I did get to see her in person twice before I moved here.” The first time, she said, she was only seven years old when the Queen visited the northern town of Colby, England, where Tammy was living at the time. “All of the school children in the town lined the streets waving Union Jacks (the British flag) as her motorcade went by,” Tammy said, “She smiled and waved and seemed to make eye contact with each of us. She had such presence, such dignity.”

More than 25 years later, Tammy made eye contact with the Queen again, when suddenly, the streets were cleared for her motorcade. Tammy said she felt the same sense of pride and excitement she did as a child. “She was like everyone’s favorite grandmother,” Tammy said. “She knew how to make everyone feel important.”

Meanwhile, Doug said that the news of the Queen’s passing definitely hit people hard in England, too. Doug, a partner with the international law firm Dechert LLP, who lives not far from Buckingham Palace, said, “Some of my English colleagues were very affected. I think it’s quite personal, but as a generalization, it’s quite meaningful to the population here. There were big crowds out at Buckingham Palace who came to pay their respects. I think a lot of people are genuinely in mourning.”

Doug also said that although he doesn’t have a lot of British clients, “I was actually on a call today with a fellow who met and received an award from the Queen. But, I think for Brits it is a tough time and we have allowed our staff that normally comes in to the office to work from home, and attend counseling, memorials, etc., as they feel is best for them. So, this is being taken very seriously, as so many people are affected — some harder than others. I know that on the day of her funeral (announced as Sept. 19 at our press time), it will not be possible for anyone to get things done here. A good percentage of our people will take the day off to reflect and mourn — and most everyone will be glued to their TV sets for the funeral, which will be a State event. We will be closed on the day of the funeral, for sure.”

As for the impressions of how the new King Charles III will be, Doug says, “He certainly has the training, but he also has a hard act to follow and a wife that many Brits have mixed views about. Unfortunately for Charles, I think people are looking forward to William and Kate taking the reins in the future. It’s odd here for people to think in terms of a king after 70 years of a queen. Her longevity is staggering.”

As to why Premier League soccer games were cancelled the weekend the Queen passed, “It’s just such a somber time,” Doug said. “No one wanted to be seen as doing something frivolous during this mourning period. I’m no Royalist, but this is truly a sad event for the British people.”

Queen Elizabeth II