Author: Gary Nager

Falabella Family Bistro Unveils Its Delicious New Menu!

Wesley Chapel’s Favorite Restaurateur Upgrades His Bistro With A New Chef & New Menu Items!

*(Above, l.-r.) Steve, Giulia and Micaela Falabella. Missing from the pic is Steve and Micaela’s other daughter, Mavi.*

Earlier this year, as owner Steve Falabella was getting ready to open his Falabella Family Bistro in The Grove, and started telling me about some of the menu items he was planning, I was already excited about it.

After all, Steve already had one of the best pizza places in Wesley Chapel (which is saying a lot because I think The Chap has a lot of really good pizza) — his 900º Woodfired Pizza in the Shops at Wiregrass — and as a true Italian raised in New York, I knew he could create a great bistro experience.

But, when Falabella Family Bistro did open in early June, the only thing I told Steve he could use was a little more diverse menu and maybe to add some fresh veggies.

Just a few short months later, as Steve was reunited with his new Executive Chef Chance Drake (who started with Steve as a dishwasher at 900º Woodfired ten years ago but who honed his chef skills at Noble Crust and Lake Jovita Country Club), he promised me that a revamped menu was on the way — and boy has Wesley Chapel’s favorite restaurateur delivered again, in a big way!

Although Chance will continue to offer a weekly special Friday-Sunday only (like the amazing rigatoni with broccoli rabe and sausage), only the most popular of Chance’s specials and other often-requested dishes have been added to the actual new menu at the Bistro.

My favorite new pasta dishes and entrées so far are the chicken piccata, the beef short rib ragu and the crispy fried zucchini, which is unlike any I’ve ever sampled, as the zucchini is cut into thin slices, rather than in traditional “sticks,” and the Roma tomato aioli dipping sauce also is a change from the always-popular marinara.

Other new “piattini” (small plates or starters) on the menu are the garlic baguette (garlic bread with a pomodoro dip and fresh basil), the broccoli and ricotta toast (with roasted broccoli, whipped ricotta, hot honey and fresh basil) and a ravioli flight I can’t sample because it includes lobster in the flight (along with sasuage, broccoli and five-cheese ravioli, all of which I can try).

I haven’t yet tried all of the new pastas and entrées, but look forward to sampling the Bistro’s new veal Marsala (I’ve had the chicken Marsala, which is yummy). I also can’t eat the garlic shrimp Alfredo (I hate allergies!), but Steve says it’s been extremely popular already.

And of course, among my already-on-the-menu favorites are the Vongole (spaghetti with clams), the classic spaghetti with meatballs, the chicken parmesan, the lasagna (with bechamel, instead of ricotta) the gnocchi Genovese (with house-made pesto sauce) and starters like the bruschetta, burrata caprese, the Caesar and Mediterranean salads and the crispy calamari.

Although I know a lot of Steve’s regular customers go crazy for the antipasto boards shaped like Italy and I do enjoy some of the panini sandwiches (my favorite is the pesto chicken), I honestly haven’t sampled many of either because I have so many favorites on the rest of the menu. I’m sure it’s my loss though.

Don’t Skip Dessert!

While Jannah and I are usually trying not to eat dessert, it’s hard to skip the decadent desserts available at Falabella Family Bistro, especially knowing that they are supplied by Evelyn Barreno of Seven Layers Bakery. I’m particularly partial to the chocolate mousse cheesecake, the equally creamy tiramisu, the cannolis and the turtle and triple chocolate cheesecake options. I’ve yet to sample the affogato (vanilla ice cream “drowned” with hot espresso) or Macedonia (fresh fruit salad topped with whipped cream) desserts.

I have sampled the Bistro’s outstanding cappuccino and Peroni beer on tap, and Jannah is partial to glasses of pinot grigio and prosecco. And, though his red wine list isn’t extensive, it’s also not too expensive, as the Casa Migliaccio Barolo is only $49.95 per bottle and there are two Nero d’Avolas for only $29.95 per bottle. Bottled beers, hard seltzers and wine cocktails and a reasonably priced kids menu are available.

Falabella Family Bistro (6027 Wesley Grove Blvd.) is open for lunch (at 11 a.m.) & dinner (until 9 p.m. Sun.-Thur., 10 p.m. Fri.-Sat.) every day. For more information, visit FalabellaBistro.com or call (813) 428-6957.

Pick Of The Week: The Liquor Shoppe!

Congratulations to my new friends Dev Swaly and his wife Shejal Parmar, who just opened The Liquor Shoppe in one of the spaces at 10020 Cross Creek Blvd. in the Cross Creek Center Plaza (at Kinnan St.) that previously was occupied by Café Olé restaurant, next to Thai Lanna (photos, right).

I’ve made a couple of purchases at The Liquor Shoppe, including a limited edition “Be The Thunder” Tampa Bay Lightning promotional bottle of New Amsterdam Vodka. “Our supply is definitely limited,” Dev says. “So come get them now!”

The Liquor Shoppe will continue to add to its already impressive selection of imported and domestic beer, wine and spirits at very fair prices, and is hosting a great upcoming event to introduce the store to the New Tampa community.

On Friday, November 19, 5 p.m.-8 p.m., The Liquor Shoppe is hosting both a Premium Wine Tasting with Advanced Sommelier Gregory Mayer, as well as a Neff Vodka Tasting. For more info, call (813) 388-2164. — GN

The Liquor Shoppe

Why I Will Always Honor Our Military Veterans, Even Though I Never Served

Veterans Day is today and although I never served our country myself, I have always tried — both personally and professionally — to support those who serve and have served in our nation’s armed forces.

Gary Nager Editorial

I know I’ve mentioned it before in these pages, but I was 14 years old when the draft ended, but had I been 18, my birthdate was number three on that last draft list.

But, had I been called, I probably would have done everything I could not to serve. My father, who served in the U.S. Army shortly after the Korean War ended, and seriously considered a career in the military, called me a coward. I told him that I had been reading a lot about the Vietnam War, which the U.S. exited the same year the draft ended, and that I couldn’t understand why 3 million U.S. men and women were deployed to Southeast Asia to fight an almost-20-year war that didn’t seem to threaten our country in any way.

I definitely was influenced by the anti-war music, movies and media of the day. Like many young people, I had problems with our government forcing people who didn’t want to be in rice paddies and foxholes having to risk making the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

The people I never had a problem with, however, were those who actually served. I saw the news reports of U.S. military members who were spit at when they returned home, even though so many of them were forced into their service. But, even if they chose to wear the uniform, it wasn’t their fault that their job was to kill the enemy and sometimes napalm villages, as they had to deal with not only Vietnamese soldiers but also the guerilla tactics of the Viet Cong.

Even though I may have been in the minority of young people during that era, I believed that every person who served deserved to be thanked and honored for their service, not spit on, attacked or simply forgotten. As I grew from sometimes angry teenager to adulthood, I met many wonderful military vets, not only from the Vietnam Era, but also those who served in World War II, Korea and, like my dad, during peace time.

And yes, I always shook their hands and thanked them for their service, not just to our country, but to me personally. Just because I didn’t want to carry a gun myself didn’t mean that I didn’t appreciate what these folks did — whether it was their choice or not — to keep the country I loved (and still do) safe and strong.

Once I had purchased the Neighborhood News, I knew that I would do just about anything I could to help the local people who served and the organizations that support them. I have given free ads (see pg. 11 of our latest issue), written stories and attended dozens of events honoring our nation’s heroes and I still pledge to always do so.

One of the things I’ve tried to do is come up with a way to ensure that no U.S. Military Veteran should ever have to be homeless. I heard that in Hillsborough County alone, there were between 2,000-3,000 homeless vets, which actually made me sick to my stomach.

I even pitched my idea to State Sen. Danny Burgess, who was the executive director of Florida’s Dept. of Veterans Affairs at the time. Danny, who still serves in the U.S. Army Reserve, liked my idea and promised to help me get this unique program off the ground, especially since it also will provide jobs for these heroes.

The fact that we haven’t gotten started on my idea yet isn’t anyone’s fault and it will always be one of my goals to make it happen, but I hope that everyone reading this will at least join me in honoring all of those who serve or have served.

*The Bohannon Family mourns the passing of Dale (2nd from left)*

In Memory Of Dale Bohannon

Even though I only personally met him a few times, I have known local Realtor Dale Bohannon’s parents, Doug and Annette Bohannon, for more than 20 years and I was appreciative that Dale’s sister Laura let me know about Dale’s sudden passing from a massive heart attack at the too-young age of 56. Dale is a lifelong Tampa native who is survived by his wife Melody and three children, ages 12-22. Rest in Peace, Dale.

Veterans Day

Las Palmas Latin Grill Closes After Fire

One of the saddest pieces of business news we heard recently was that a 20-minute kitchen fire had closed Las Palmas Latin Grill, located in the same plaza as Five Guys Burgers & Fries and LA Fitness at County Line Rd. and Bruce B. Downs Blvd.

Owner/chef Ramses Garcia says that although there is no definitive time line for Las Palmas to reopen, he estimates at least 5-7 months. At our press time, Ramses said that the cause of the Oct. 11 fire was not yet known and that he’s thankful that no one was injured.

In the meantime, there is some good news, as Ramses announced on his Facebook page he will soon be serving his popular Cuban sandwiches (and other dishes) from a food truck.

“I have some good news…I have purchased a food truck to hold us until the insurance company decides when are they going to release funds for the cleanup and rebuild,” Ramses wrote. “The plaza landlord has given me permission to place the truck in the parking lot of the restaurant for the time being.”

Ramses doesn’t have an exact date for the debut of the food truck, but said it is already registered with the DBPR (Department of Business and Professional Regulation) and the Division of Hotel and Restaurants.

“I’ll keep you posted of updates as we get close to open,” Ramses wrote. “I’m really trying hard to have this done as quick as I can. I probably look at 15-20 trucks before I picked these one. The truck is in “the bag” and soon ready to serve those awesome Cubans we make for the best customers in my world… my Tampa peeps!”

One of his customers, Cynthia Havard, started a GoFundMe page to help Ramses rebuild, and if you want to help out, CLICK HERE.

Also at our press time, Las Palmas was either leading or in second place among our readers’ Favorite Latin Restaurant and in the top-10 for Favorite Restaurant of any kind in New Tampa, so obviously, a lot of people are unhappy that it has had to close, even if it’s just temporarily. — GN

Las Palmas

Florida Ave. Brewing Co. Opens Wesley Chapel Brewery!

With its restaurant open for a year already, Florida Ave. finally opens what may be the state’s largest craft brewery!

I honestly don’t know if Florida Ave. Brewing Co., located in the former location of Sports + Field on S.R. 56, is now the largest craft brewery in the state, but it’s not for lack of trying to find out on my part.

The long-awaited Grand Opening and North Tampa Bay Chamber ribbon cutting of Florida Ave.’s brewery at its 34,000-sq.-ft. S.R. 56 location was held on Oct. 8, where CEO Anthony Derby and his family (and partners, including company president Joe Redner) unveiled their huge (for a microbrewery) brewing warehouse, complete with gigantic, stainless steel beer kettles — big enough, Derby says, to produce up to 50,000 barrels per year of Florida Ave.’s huge variety of beers.

Pasco County District 2 Commissioner Mike Moore called it the largest family-owned brewery on the west coast of Florida. But, when I tried to do some research of my own into the largest craft breweries in the entire state of Florida, the largest I could find was the unrelated Florida Beer Co., which is based in Cape Canaveral and reportedly produced nearly 33,000 barrels of its variety of beers in 2018. I couldn’t find similar numbers for 2019 or 2020, but while Florida Ave. likely won’t get close to producing its 50,000-barrel capacity this year or next, it certainly could challenge Florida Beer Co. for the largest craft brewery in the state sooner than later.

Either way, it’s been a long and difficult, more-than-two-year journey for Anthony, his mom (and company CFO) Toni and the rest of the Derby family just to get the brewery open, even though the adjacent restaurant and its huge outdoor patio and indoor private event spaces have been open and successful for more than a year.

Anthony says the Covid-19 pandemic caused a lot of the delays for the brewery, as many of the important pieces of equipment, especially in the canning line (top left photo on next page), as the machines and parts had to come from Italy, where everything ground to a halt in 2019. Once the equipment finally made its way over here nearly two years later, Florida Ave. had to get it all put together, up and running and inspected by multiple agencies before the brewing process could begin — which wasn’t until May of this year. Derby says it takes at least two weeks to actually make beer, but the equipment all had to be tested again and again in order to re-create the beers that Florida Ave.’s Seminole Heights factory — which produces about 7,000 barrels per year — has been brewing for years and has been providing for the restaurant since it opened last year.

Anthony admitted that there have been a lot of challenges but he is confident it will all end up being worth it — and he thanked both North Tampa Bay Chamber president Hope Allen and Moore for their help in getting the project to this point.

Moore said that when he first heard about the project in 2019, he said, “Do you have a time machine? If not, can you get it open by tomorrow?,” and called Florida Ave. a “beautiful asset to the county.”

Florida Ave. Brewing Co. currently employs more than 120 people at the S.R. 56 location alone, with about 20 other employees out in the field. And yes, now that it is officially open, you will soon be able to tour the state-of-the-art Florida Ave. brewery.

What About The Food & Beer?

Even though I haven’t been able to give you the full story about the brewery, I’m just about officially out of space to tell you about all the great beers, hard seltzers and full liquor bar, the comfy bar stools and the delicious chef-created food at Florida Ave., but some of my favorite dishes appear on this page, including the Korean bibimbap beef bowl, the Chinese-style sticky ribs, the specialty burgers, the crab cakes and sesame-seared ahi tuna appetizers and the perfect Florida Ave. wings.

Other menu items we’ve enjoyed include the house-made cheesesteak egg rolls, the steak Argentine flatbread (although photographer Charmaine George says the mushroom truffle flatbread also is excellent), the BBQ chicken sandwich and the 12-oz. NY strip steak. We even loved the sautéed veggies and the crispy Brussels sprouts, the hand-cut fries and the loaded fingerling potato side dishes. There’s also a great kids menu with everything from burger sliders to mac & cheese to cheese quesadillas and more.

But of course, for most of you, the stars of the show at Florida Ave. Brewing Co. will be the beers. My favorites are the most basic — the lager, Dead Parrot light lager, and the brown ale, but I also enjoy the “You’re My Boy, Blue” fruit beer, the Rollin’ Dirty Irish red ale and Jannah likes the Key lime hard cider, the tangerine splash and other fruit-flavored beers and hard seltzers at Florida Ave.

Based on both the crowds we see there whenever we go for dinner or to watch a Lightning game there, as well as all of the votes it already has received in this year’s Reader Dining Survey for Favorite Restaurant and for Favorite Bar in Wesley Chapel — a lot of you already enjoy the place, too.

So please, do me a favor — please visit Florida Ave. Brewing Co. and tell anyone who works there that you read about them in the New Tampa Neighborhood News!

Florida Ave. Brewing Co. is located at 2029 Arrowgrass Dr. and is open every day at 11 a.m. for lunch and dinner. Happy Hour is Mon.-Fri., 3 p.m.-5:30 p.m.For more information call (813) 452-6333 or visit FloridaAveBrewing.com. Reservations are accepted for parties of eight or more only.

Florida Avenue Brewing Co.