In our most competitive category in our 2020 Survey, where the top five vote getters were separated by just a handful of votes, Treble Makers, one of the first new restaurants to open in The Village at The Grove shopping center, sneaked into the top spot as your favorite American eatery in either of our markets.
While that may seem a little surprising when you consider how many restaurants are now located in Wesley Chapel alone, itās no surprise at all to anyone whoās eaten there ā especially if youāve enjoyed a delicious dinner and stayed for the dueling piano shows on the weekends or for the live music on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Chef Kevin Maggardās menu will likely continue to grow and evolve over time, but he already has a lot of favorites from which to choose, including the unique coconut curry grouper and some of the tenderest, best-seasoned steaks in either of our distribution areas.Ā
I also regularly rave about Treble Makersā calamari, ahi tuna and diver scallops appetizers. ā GN
The chicken wings at Bubba’s 33 are some of the best around.
2 — BUBBA’S 33 The surprise here isnāt that Bubbaās 33 finished #2 in this āFavorite Americanā category, it was more that Bubbaās only finished as your 17th favorite restaurant in WC despite its great menu and drink and food prices.
3 — BONEFISH GRILL Bonefish Grill is obviously one of the consistent favorites among our readers again this year, as it finished as both your third favorite restaurant in Wesley Chapel and third favorite American restaurant in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel.
4 — BAHAMA BREEZE Bahama Breeze Even though a good portion of its menu isnāt necessarily āAmericanā food, Bahama Breeze also was pretty consistent, finishing as your fifth favorite restaurant in WC and fourth favorite American restaurant in both of our markets.
5 — FAT RABBIT Fat Rabbit in Tampa Palms is a classic American joint. The bar serves ice cold beer, including its own craft brew, the burgers and wings are terrific and the super-crispy tater tots shouldnāt be as good as they are.Ā
The Next 10, in order of votes: Oakleyās, GrillSmith, Ciccio Cali, BJās Brewhouse, Stonewood, Mr. Dunderbakās, Glory Days, Walk-Onās, Cheddars, Fordās Garage.
With the possible exception of the hotel/tourism industry, thereās little doubt that the restaurant business was among the most Covid-affected industry sectors in Florida in 2020.
And, although many of the new eateries that opened in Wesley Chapel in 2020 were delayed by the pandemic, the past year was still one of the busiest for new restaurant openings in Wesley Chapel.
Among the new eateries that opened in 2020 in (and adjacent to) Wesley Chapel were the following:
Main Event ā Yes, we realize that the bowling and entertainment center is more than ājustā a restaurant, Main Event did host one of the first North Tampa Bay Chamber ribbon-cutting events following Gov. Ron DeSantisā pandemic-caused shutdown of just about everything here in the Sunshine State.
Double Branch Artisanal Ales ā Again, Double Branch, located in The Village at The Grove of Wesley Chapel (above), doesnāt yet qualify as a ārestaurantā ā at least not until its kitchen opens ā but it has offered pizzas from a food truck outside the craft beer brewery and should open a kitchen inside in 2021. Even so, enough of Wesley Chapelās craft beer-crazed residents voted for it as their Favorite Bar in New Tampa & Wesley Chapel for it to finish in this yearās top-5 in that category.
Treble Makersā Another entertainment venue that opened in The Grove at Wesley Chapel during the early stages of Floridaās restaurant re-openings, Treble Makers was one of the few newcomers to register more than a blip with our readers, finishing as the 4th Favorite restaurant in Wesley Chapel (see list, right) and Favorite American Restaurant in both of our distribution areas. if you havenāt tasted the coconut curry grouper, fried calamari or grilled filet mignon, you owe it to yourself to check out Treble Makers for a dueling piano show on Friday or Saturday night ā or anytime!
Rock & Brews ā Considering how packed the place has been (even with social distancing) inside and out since the moment it opened, we were a little surprised that the first Tampa Bay link in this small chain (on S.R. 56) ā inspired and owned in part by Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons of the rock group KISS ā didnāt get any votes at all from our readers, until we realized that it didnāt open until a week before we shut down the voting. With great live music on the weekends and everything from unique bruschetta to sweet heat fried chicken on the menu, Rock & Brews will likely make our 2021 top-10 ā and look for it to finish at least that high when I reveal my 2020 favorites in our next issue.
Florida Ave. Brewing Co. ā Another hotly-anticipated entry that opened too late to receive reader votes this year, the former location of Sports & Field on S.R. 56 has a unique menu, with items like bibimbap bowls, Chinese sticky ribs and smoked gouda lobster mac & cheese, to go with more typical sports bar fare, an amazing craft beer selection, full liquor bar and private tasting rooms.
Zukku-San Sushi Bar & Grill ā Again, Zukku-San opened too late to get any reader votes this year, but it is a beautiful new restaurant with a full liquor bar, great sushi and Japanese specialties (including the best tempura and chicken teriyaki weāve had in years) and a true South Tampa vibe. Look for Zukku-San to register with our readers in 2021 and to finish very high in my list of faves this year.
Chuck Lager Americaās Tavern ā After years of failed attempts to improve the former PrimeBar location in the Shops at Wiregrass, the third location of Chuck Lagerās in the U.S. (and only one in Florida) brought in great food from the mind and kitchen of celebrity TV chef Fabio Viviani and a beautiful-looking new place for lunch and dinner that also opened too late to register with our readers (above) this year but will still make my list of Wesley Chapel favorites and will surely do just as well with our readers next year.
Brooklyn Water Bagel Co. ā As a transplanted native New Yorker, I appreciate the ālegitā kettle-boiled-then-baked bagels and āBrooklynizedā water used for the bagels and coffee at this new favorite on S.R. 54 in Wesley Chapel, which could contend for āFavorite Breakfastā in our distribution areas with our readers next year.
Crumbl Cookie ā Although it also opened too late to make a splash in this yearās Reader Survey, not since Nothing Bundt Cakes opened in the Shops at Wiregrass has any new dessert-only place created such a stir in our community. The decadent churro and sāmores cookies are our favorites of Crumbl Cookieās rotating flavors so far.
Moschellaās Italian Eatery & Market ā See story here.
As for the favorites in our Reader Survey:
GrillSmith’s offering of fresh fish dishes helped make it Wesley Chapel’s favorite.
1 — GrillSmith has been among the favorite restaurants in Wesley Chapel with our readers since the day it opened in the Shops at Wiregrass, but it was a little surprising for it to regain its top spot as the #1 in Wesley Chapel from 2018 (after finishing second to Bahama Breeze last year) with all the new places that opened.
Even so, itās hard to argue with our readers on this one, as GrillSmith does have a great menu with a lot of variety that has been added over the years ā including an increased choice of steaks, flatbreads, pastas and more.
I also believe that the fact that GrillSmith has added truly fresh āshort tripā Florida fish and is one of the few local places that can surprise you with cobia, corvina or even amberjack, in addition to the more common grouper, snapper and mahi-mahi.
Plus, throw in its bottomless bubbles for weekend brunch, its expanded lunch menu and socially distanced bar area and prime location in the Shops and youāll understand why GrillSmithās return to the top spot isnāt that surprising at all. Ā
2 — 900Āŗ Woodfired Pizza is more than just a āregular old pizza place,ā although few do pizza any better. But its delicious tortellini della casa, pesto di Genovese and other pasta dishes make it so much more.Ā
3 — Bonefish Grill is one of the few other choices for truly fresh fish in our area and thereās no doubt its now-open new location on S.R. 56 (with plenty of parking!) will help make it even more popular with our readers in 2021.Ā
4 — Treble Makers was one of the first new restaurants to open in āThe Chapā early enough in 2020 to register with our readers and its outstanding steaks, fresh fish and tuna (above) and dueling pianos entertainment will likely keep it high on this list for years to come.
5 — Bahama Breeze dropped a few slots this year when compared with last, but this island-themed eateryās popular Jamaican, Cajun and American specialties, live music and indoor/outdoor bar areas featuring tropical drinks (above) are appreciated by our readers.Ā
If youāve been craving freshly made Italian food and havenāt yet tried Oronzo Honest Italian, located in the outparcel building to The Walk at Highwoods Preserve plaza on Bruce B. Downs Blvd., I suggest you go now because itās a one-of-a-kind fast-casual dining experience thatās sort of an Italian take on nearby Chipotle.
Owner Dan Bavaro, who started his career in the food service business at the age of 16 in New Jersey, when he worked for a food truck/caterer who provided food for movie sets. Two years later, he started a high-end limousine company and made enough money when he sold the business to open his own restaurant.
āI knew I didnāt want a āslice jointā or a fine dining Italian place,ā Dan says, so after moving to Tampa in 2007, āI ended up becoming one of the first three places in the country to serve wood-fired true Neapolitan-style pizza (that has since become all the rage) when I opened the original Bavaroās Pizza Napoletana on Franklin St. downtown in 2009.ā
Dan Bavaro (far left) with his family.
Never one to rest on his laurels, Dan says that when he first opened Bavaroās, his whole menu was maybe ten items ā including two pizzas, two appetizers, two salads.
By his third year in business, however, Bavaroās had added pastas and sauces, all made in house and started selling the sauces in the restaurant.
āWhen we started, I got up to making 250 pizzas a day. Once we added other items, only 60% of the business was still pizza.ā By 2015, Bavaro started franchising his place, with new locations popping up at Tampa International Airport and in downtown St. Pete and downtown Sarasota.
In 2016, he began talking with Bob Johnson, the owner of the uber-successful The Melting Pot franchises in our area and the two decided to start working on a fast, casual Italian concept together that four years later became Oronzo, which was named for Danās grandfather when it opened earlier this year. Oronzo and Angela Bavaro emigrated from Italy to Brooklyn, NY, where he owned and operated a trucking company, delivering fresh ingredients to local markets and restaurants.
What About The Food?
Dan is proud that even though Oronzo is a fast, casual concept, the restaurant is a true scratch kitchen, where the pastas, sauces, bread for the piadina sandwiches (aka Italian burritos) and crispy, Roman-style flatbreads (Dan warns that they are not pizzas, although theyāre yummy, whatever you call them) are all made in-house. Even the salad dressings and amazing tomato basil zuppa (soup; Jannahās favorite, which is served with crisp, toasted rosemary focaccia bread) are all house-made.
Start with an Italian-inspired salad (the Italian chopped, classic Caesar and āIconic Capreseā are all delicious (we added grilled chicken to the Italian chopped salad on this page). Our favorite dressing is the Caesar, but the roasted pepper vinaigrette gets Danās vote.
Jannah and I love the spaghetti with meatballs (and I love adding the fresh Italian sausage to it) and the fresh-cut zucchini noodles with antico pomodoro (fresh tomato sauce). You can choose from Oronzoās pomodoro, spicy arrabbiata, crema, pesto, butter or extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) sauces.
Iām also a big fan of the chicken pesto pasta. The only pasta on the menu I havenāt tried is the primavera, which you can get with spaghetti or zucchini noodles.
Also outstanding is the Caprese forza bowl, made with farro, an ancient grain from Sicily that has become popular here, too. The Caprese bowl features farro, crispy baked chicken, heirloom tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, pesto and a balsamic drizzle. So savory!
Senior video producer/photographer Charmaine George, who took most of these pics, also raved about the Caprese piadina (above) and Dan says his favorite is the chicken parm piadina.
My favorite flatbread so far is the Carne (with San Marzano tomato sauce, spicy Italian sausage, prosciutto cotto and spicy soppressata, fresh mozzarella and EVOO).
For dessert, Oronzo has three unique options. The only one Iāve had so far are the cannoli crisps, which are house-made cannoli cream, served with almost cookie-like cannoli crisps for dipping (above). Thereās also a warm Nutella piatto flatbread and Italian wedding cookies. Thereās even a great kids menu (labeled āBambinoā).
Oronzo also features an easy-to-use ordering kiosk which quickly walks you through all of the available menu items and Dan says his online ordering system is state-of-the-art, too.āYou can go on there and order for a week from now at a certain time and the system will remind us to make your food fresh a few minutes before youāre set to pick it up,ā he says. āTechnology is a key part of what we do and itās been made better by listening to our customers.ā
And now, Oronzo also offers beer and wine. The new additions include a Montepulciano DāAbruzzo red, a Pinot Grigio white and a sparkling prosecco, plus Peroni beer on draft and an Oronziata non-alcoholic beverage made from scratch with blood oranges, plus delicious espresso and Americano coffees.
Oronzo Honest Italian is located at 18027 Highwoods Preserve Pkwy. And is open every day, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. For more information, call (813) 730-0100 or visit Oronzo.com.
Whenever a new place opens in our area, most of us check it out and decide if thereās something there worth coming back for again and again.
Well, I honestly think that anyone who checks out the new Moschellaās Italian Eatery & Market, which opened the day before we went to press with this issue in the brand new plaza on Post Oak Blvd. (off Wesley Chapel Blvd./S.R. 54 and Old Pasco Rd.) should be able to find a dozen or more items that will fast become some of their all-time favorites.
Owners Bill Moschella and Anthony Spadafora and their families (above photo) invite you to check out what can best be described as gourmet shop on steroids, with so many different departments that itās hard to leave the place without buying at least something ā and for folks like me, many things.
But First, The Story…
Bill and Anthony are long-time friends from the Italian north end of Boston. Anthony and his wife Gina still live in Boston, but Bill and his wife Devanie and their family moved to just outside of Wesley Chapel. Bill was in the concession business for around 35 years.
Anthonys family owned catering restaurants and Billās family owned a pizza and pastry shop in Boston. Since moving here, Bill and Devanie kept wondering why they had to drive to St. Pete in order to visit a real Italian market. They drew up the plans for Moschellaās on their kitchen counter.
āEven though Devanie and I are running the place,ā Bill says, āAnthony and his family have contributed just as much to getting it open and for helping make sure it has everything we need.ā
And Now, The Food!
Super-thick tomahawk veal chop grilled to perfection.
Although I found the Italian and other imported and gourmet domestic cheeses (there’s also a separate grab & go cheese display), the fully stocked butcher shop (check out the photo above of my super-thick tomahawk veal chop I grilled to perfection; it was the best veal chop Iāve had since I moved to Florida in 1993), the incredible deli sandwich selection (with both a complete Boarās Head case and a second case with just imported Italian meats and cheeses for slicing) and huge variety of fresh pastas you can make at home, it is Moschellaās displays of fresh, prepared hot and cold foods that really caught my eye.
Bill credits Chef Megan, who has worked in both catering and local restaurants, with refining every menu item idea the families had for these displays.
The hot foods display includes chicken, veal and even shrimp parmesan, plus beef, veggie and sausage lasagne, as well as prepared (but not sauced) chicken, veal and eggplant cutlets, as well as delicious braised lamb shanks and so much more than I have room to describe here.
There also are plenty of unique cold prepared salads, from house-made bruschetta, amazing broccoli rabe with sundried tomatoes, three bean salad, marinated roasted peppers, artichoke stems and tuna salad with shells, to name a few.
And, although Moschellaās hasnāt yet started selling its gourmet pizzas or arancini (rice balls), Devanie says to give it another week or two and theyāll be available.
There also are huge display cases of āGrab & Goā prepared food items, including both refrigerated and frozen sections.
In other words, if you need a whole tray of lasagne to bring to Christmas dinner, you can buy it today (while supplies last) and bake it to perfection yourself. I didnāt show pics of the Grab & Go displays here because I didnāt have room and theyāre as photogenic as the other photos.
Dessert, Too?
Do you really need to ask? Moschellaās has an amazing display case of everything from rainbow, chocolate sandwich (see photo on next page) and lace cookies to sfogliatella (think of a super-crisp croissant loaded with a thick, cannoli-like cream) and yes, cannolis hand-piped, also with that homemade cannoli cream. And, best of all, all of these luscious, decadent desserts are made in-house.
And of course, Moschellaās has all of the pre-packaged imported items Italian families and great cooks crave — from cookies and cakes to virtually every brand of imported tomato sauces (top right photo on next page), pastas, olive oils and balsamic vinegars (including oils and vinegars bearing a Moschellaās label) and so much more.
Like my new friend Liz from Staten Island said as she walked through Moschella’s — “I feel like I’m home!”
And Yes, Fine Wines, Too!
Mario, the guy usually behind the cheese counter, is from Sardinia, where learned all he could about Italian wine, cheese and cuisine, and speaks fluent Italian. He also helped pick Moschellaās amazing assortment of truly fine wines, the largest percentage of which are from Italy. If you love Italian reds like I do, you have to check out Moschellaās selection of Brunellos (photo, right), Barolos, Amarones, Barberas, Chiantis and Sangioveses ā itās the best variety Iāve seen since I left New York City almost 30 years ago.
Yes, these are a little pricy, but oh so worth it. There also are other more popularly priced Italian and domestic red, white and sparkling wines, and many more.
So, do yourself a favor and get to Moschellaās and start shopping now. This issue will hit mailboxes on Dec 21 or Dec 22, but Devanie says they are taking orders until they close at 4 p.m. on Christmas Eve, when they open early (at 7 a.m.).
Moschellaās Italian Eatery & Market is open every day, 9 a.m.-6. p.m. (other than their holiday hours) at 5648 Post Oak Blvd. For more information, call (813) 973-7500 or visit Moschellas.com.
Fit 4 Life Personal Training & Physical Therapy owner Travis Monday (left) gives head trainer Eric Christiansen a few pointers on one of the studioās MedX training machines (Photo by Charmaine George).
In the National Football League, you hear a lot about the ācoaching treeā of great head coaches ā when that coachās assistant coaches go on to become head coaches themselves.
Among the top-rated coaching trees of all-time in the NFL were the number of great assistant coaches under former San Francisco 49ers head coach Bill Walsh who also went on to head coaching success.
Not only was Erica Cook a former Fit 4 Life trainer and later a contestant on the āAmerican Ninja Warriorā TV show, she has gone on to open No Limits Personal Training in Gainesville.
Well, while my long-time friend and personal trainer Travis Monday of Fit 4 Life Personal Training & Physical Therapy in Tampa Palms doesnāt have a Mike Holmgren or Sam Wyche in his own unique coaching tree, he has had a number of his personal trainers and physical therapists in his nearly a quarter-century (including 19 years in Tampa) of being in business go on to open either successful training or therapy businesses of their own. And, some have even opened other businesses that arenāt in health-care fields but who learned from Travis how to run a business and how to treat both customers and employees as much as how to teach them the āSuper Slowā method of strength training.
āIām really proud to have been in the New Tampa community for 19 years and to have had Fit 4 Life alumni go on to even bigger and better things,ā Travis says.
A Special Coaching Style
Travis is originally from Wisconsin, and like most people Iāve met from āAmericaās Dairyland,ā heās just a genuinely nice person. He also obviously practices whatever heās been preaching to his troops all these years because Iām sure heās still in single digits of body fat and only his graying hair makes him look any older than he did when he first started training me at his original Tampa Palms location around 2001.
But, those qualities alone arenāt enough to make him a great boss. On the other hand, the fact that he has been able to not only endure, but also thrive, in our area all these years, despite all of the other fitness and therapy places that have come and gone, is a testament to his ability to adapt as needed and keep his people happy.
Whether on MedX machines or in the free weight room, you always get one-on-one attention at Fit 4 Life! (Photo by Charmaine George)
Among the members of Travisā coaching tree is Lisa Michaelangelo, a former Fit 4 Life physical therapist who has opened and operates the Emerald M Therapeutic Riding Center located in Dade City (which weāve featured in these pages before).
Travis also is proud that Erica Cook, a former Fit 4 Life personal trainer who not only has gone on to compete on the āAmerican Ninja Warriorā TV show, she also has opened No Limits Personal Training, a cross-fit studio in Gainesville.
And, Travis also said he feels like he helped Ryan Burroughs go from Fit 4 Life trainer to one day open Auto Paint Guard, Inc., which creates invisible ābrasā for cars. āItās not just about training and therapy,ā Travis says. āI go over everything I do to run the business with the employees and I get great feedback from them about what they learned here.ā
Covid Precautions
In other words, Travis has a lot to be proud of, especially the way Fit 4 Life has been able to stay Covid-free during the pandemic ā and that is no accident.
āOf course, we follow all of the CDC (U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention) guidelines,ā Travis says, āBut we go above and beyond that. For example, I was told one air purifier would cover the entire facility, but instead I bought two. Our trainers and therapists also wipe down every piece of equipment before and after each time itās used with a soap and bleach solution that kills the virus. We have hand sanitizing stations and we take everyoneās temperature when they come in. We havenāt had one case here yet and we all want to keep it that way.ā
Why Fit 4 Life Works!
In his 24 years of teaching the āSuper Slowā method (or āprotocolā)Ā on Fit 4 Lifeās super-low-friction MedX machines, Travis has added a free weight room, massage/therapy tables, and he says that he will continue to offer two free training sessions to any first-time visitor. He also offers payment plans for physical therapy patients who want to continue at the facility after their insurance stops paying for their visits.
And, all I can tell you is that Travis and his wife (and physical therapy assistant) Fiona and their two young daughters are an amazing family who genuinely appreciate the continued support of the New Tampa community.
Fit 4 Life Personal Training and Physical Therapy is located at 17419 Bridge Hill Ct. For more information, call (813) 907-7879 or visit Fit4LifeTampa.com.
