Gary’s Picks: Top 10 Favorites By Category

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In case none of your favorites showed up in Gary’s Top 25 favorite restaurants for 2021, here’s a breakdown by category of his favorites places to enjoy dinner, dessert and drinks in Wesley Chapel.

GARY’S FAVORITE RESTAURANTS TO OPEN IN/NEAR WESLEY CHAPEL IN 2021
Considering how the pandemic continued to affect business in our area, a lot of new restaurants still managed to open in (or adjacent to) Wesley Chapel in 2021 and the following were my most welcome newcomers. 
1. Falabella Family Bistro
2. Bluefin Sushi
3. Chick’n Fun
4. 900º NY Pizza (The Grove)
5. Shake-A-Salad
6. Omnivorous
7. Señor Tequila
8. Keke’s Breakfast Café
9. Green Market Café
10. Zaxby’s

GARY’S 10 FAVORITE PIZZA PLACES in WESLEY CHAPEL
Although not all of the places listed below serve the true New York-style pizza I love the most, they are all delicious places to pick up a delicious pie an, in many cases, a slice. For me, NY NY is #1 because its Grandma’s pizza sauce and its sausage and pepperoni slices and pies are a tiny cut above Amici, the two 900º locations and Fratelli’s. The next five are all excellent, too, as I am happy to argue with anyone that Wesley Chapel is a great location for pizza.
1. NY NY
2. Amici
3. 900º Woodfired (Wiregrass)
4. 900º NY (The Grove)
5. Fratelli’s
6. Noble Crust
7. PizzaMania
8. Pasta di Guy
9. Caprese Pizza House
10. Moschella’s

GARY’S 10 FAVORITE ASIAN/MEDITERRANEAN RESTAURANTS in WESLEY CHAPEL
Although both New Tampa and Wesley Chapel still have limited numbers of Mediterranean places, I still think I will go back to not including Mediterranean/Greek/Middle Eastern places in the same category as the much more populous Chinese, Japanese, Korean & Thai options. Not quite making this list, but also very good, are Hot Wok 88, Gonna China, Ho Wok, Medilish Mediterranean Grill, Tokyo Grill & Sushi and others. Zukku-San gets the edge over BlueFin and Umu because of its appetizers, moreso than its sushi.
1. Zukku-San
2. BlueFin
3. The Hungry Greek
4. Umu
5. Arroy Thai
6. Bonsai Sushi
7. Yamato
8. Garden Mediterranean Grill
9. Hibachi Express
10. FJ Express

GARY’S 10 FAVORITE LATIN RESTAURANTS in WESLEY CHAPEL
Most of the places listed below serve either Mexican, Tex-Mex or Southwestern-U.S.-style cuisine, with the exceptions being Rice-n-Beans (Puerto Rican), Arepa Mia (Venezuelan) and Latin Twist (Cuban). I like Vallarta’s best for its sizzling fajitas, although Chuy’s isn’t that far behind, Rice-n-Beans for its chicharrones, Capital Tacos for its bowls and Arepa Mia for its arepas and empanadas. Cantina Laredo would finish higher with me if it was a better value.
1. Vallarta’s
2. Rice-N-Beans
3. Capital Tacos
4. Chuy’s Tex-Mex 
5. Arepa Mia
6. Cantina Laredo
7. Latin Twist Café
8. Señor Tequila
9. Taco Bus
10. Taco Son

GARY’S 10 FAVORITE DESSERT PLACES in WESLEY CHAPEL
This is a tough category for me because 1) I love dessert so much, 2) can’t enjoy it as often as I would like because I’m fat and 3) not all of the places listed below are dessert-only places. Even so, there’s no doubt that Joe Schembri’s Ice Dreammm Shop, with its homemade ice cream and decadent brownies and cookies, is #1. I included and put Falabella second because it does sell its baked goods out of a display case and Culver’s #5 for its frozen custard.
1. Ice Dreammm Shop
2. Falabella Family Bistro
3. Nothing Bundt Cakes
4. Crumbl Cookie
5. Culver’s
6. Twistee Treat
7. Brooklyn Water Bagel
8. Moschella’s
9. Cafe 365
10. Barnes & Noble Café (Wiregrass)

GARY’S 10 FAVORITE BARS in WESLEY CHAPEL
Another super-tough category because each full-liquor bar listed below has different strengths and drawbacks. Treble Makers has piano music and a great crowd. Chuck Lager is our favorite place just to sit at the bar. Joe Whiskey’s has karaoke and the best drink prices. Florida Ave. has the most comfy bar stools. The Brass Tap’s karaoke starts a little late, but it has the best prices at the mall. Glory Days beats Bubba’s because of its superior wi-fi (important for fantasy football). Top Shelf rarely has seats at the bar. O’Brien’s has karaoke and live music, but skews a little country. Rock & Brews dropped when it stopped its live music. Please note that there are no beer-&-wine only bars here because Jannah and I aren’t beer drinkers.
1. Treble Makers
2. Chuck Lager
3. Joe Whiskey’s
4. Florida Ave. Brewing Co.
5. The Brass Tap
6. Glory Days
7. Bubba’s 33
8. Top Shelf Sports Lounge
9. O’Brien’s
10. Rock & Brews