Provisions Coffee & Kitchen Is The First To Open At The KRATE Container Park!

A couple of weeks before we went to press with our Aug. 31 Wesley Chapel issue, the new location of Provisions Coffee & Kitchen (previously Buttermilk Provisions) became the first repurposed shipping container to open in the KRATE container park (at 5862 Goldview Pkwy., #s 102 & 104) at The Grove in Wesley Chapel.

Provisions Coffee & Kitchen opened with a larger menu for breakfast and lunch, a new coffee supplier (MADE Coffee, which is based in St. Petersburg) and tasty regular donuts to replace the gluten-free ones that were so popular at the old location on Bruce B. Downs Blvd. in Wesley Chapel (although there are still some gluten-free goodies, like pumpkin bread).

Owner Dana Morris said that although it’s taken about two years since she signed the lease to get open at KRATE, “Our customers seem to believe it’s been worth the wait.”

Morris also is getting ready to open another Provisions location in the former Seasons Fresh spot in the Palms Connection plaza on E. Bearss Ave. (just west of BBD) and she says the new location also will feature her much-improved, expanded menu.

Sadly, neither she nor a spokesperson for developer Mark Gold knew when the other KRATE containers were likely to open. — GN

Host Your Next Event At Omari’s Grille At Lexington Oaks GC!

When classically trained chef Anass El-Omari and his wife Susana Herrera purchased Lexington Oaks Golf Club about three years ago, I was excited about the prospect of having another real restaurant in Wesley Chapel.

And, although Anass at first revamped the existing golfer-oriented menu at the golf course’s restaurant, which he re-named Omari’s Grille, he ended up scaling back his everyday offerings of fresh fish, pasta and filet mignon, and has kept the menu smaller and simpler since reopening Omari’s after the Covid-19 pandemic shut it down for a few months in 2020.

But now, while Omari’s regular menu is still mainly comprised of burgers, sandwiches, wings and other fast, simple foods favored by the golfers who frequent his completely renovated golf course, Anass has brought back some of the dishes I loved on his original Omari’s menu as specials on Friday evenings.

Owner/chef Anass El-Omari of Omari’s Grille fires up his sautĂ©e pan to create (below left & above right) delicious Cajun pasta. (Photos by Charmaine George) 

Anass loves both cooking and talking about cooking. So, in conjunction with this article, we recorded our second “Cooking With Anass” segment that was released a few days before this issue arrived in your mailbox, where he made an amazing Cajun pasta (above), with both Andouille sausage and top sirloin steak in a semi-spicy cream sauce that’s as good as anything you’ll find in any fine dining establishment.

“Good food is actually really simple to make,” he said as he set some hot oil on fire before sautĂ©eing the steak and sausage together. “The key is knowing what ingredients and how much of each to use. I love sharing my secrets.”

And, I love tasting his recipes, because Anass is a true culinary artist who serves up some of the best food in our area, even if many locals still don’t know it. So, whether you want to start with authentic Colombian empanadas, crispy calamari or shrimp tempura salad, or enjoy a great grilled chicken caprese or salmon teriyaki entrĂ©e, you can’t go wrong at Omari’s. 

Great Events, Too! 

Now that things have gotten a little more normal in this Covid-crazy world, people are again looking for great places to host events like weddings, quinceañeras, baby showers, anniversary parties and even memorial gatherings and you can’t go wrong if you host your next event for 20-80 people at Lexington Oaks.

Omari’s offers a complete appetizer catering menu — featuring burger sliders, mini-croissants stuffed with chicken and tuna salad and more — as well as a sit-down dinner menu for events, so you can serve London broil with mushroom sauce, orange chicken and a variety of shrimp dishes, plus a dessert bar. Anass and his staff also can custom-design pretty much anything else you’d want to serve.

And, while the indoor space currently is limited to 80 people, Anass says he plans to extend the room out to the existing patio area, so that up to 120 people could fit in the air conditioned, indoor space. And, there is an additional covered outdoor space that can fit another 60 or so people.

“I think Wesley Chapel really needs an event space like this,” Anass says, “and the food will always be good. “Plus, we have the area down by the water (photo above) for weddings (as in the photo above) and the people love it.” 

Omari’s Grill at Lexington Oaks Golf Club (16333 Lexington Oaks Blvd.) is open Wednesday & Thursday, 11 a.m.-7:30 p.m., 11 a.m.-7:30 p.m. on Friday, 11 a.m., and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday & Sunday. For additional information, call (813) 929-4217, visit LexingtonOaksGolf.com, or call the golf course’s main number — (813) 907-7270 — to talk to a catering specialist about scheduling, and designing a menu for, your event. 

Nibbles & Bites Pick of the Week: Poke Island Plus!

PICK OF THE WEEK: Poke Island Plus!

So, if you thought that the new PokĂ© Island Plus, which opened shortly before we went to press with this issue in the same Village at Hunter’s Lake plaza that also is home to Fresh Kitchen, First Watch, Via Italia and Touch Nail Spa, was “just another pokĂ© bowl place,” guess again.

Great sushi, Vietnamese food and boba teas are the “Plusses” at PokĂ© Island Plus. So, whether you like California, Mexican or spicy tuna rolls or hand rolls, or Vietnamese bun noodle bowls (like the top photo, with marinated, grilled pork), pho noodle soup, rice plates or fried rice, PokĂ© Island Plus also has you covered. Oh, and there’s also delicious appetizers, like the pork, cabbage and onion gyoza dumplings shown below, as well as Vietnamese fresh rolls with shrimp, pork, vermicelli rice noodles and lettuce wrapped in rice paper, mini vegetable egg rolls, chicken skewers, edamame, tempura shrimp and steamed bao buns. There’s even fried donuts for dessert.

But, the pokĂ© bowls, whether you custom-design your own — with 1-3 scoops of tuna, salmon, spicy tuna or salmon, krab mix, fried chicken, steamed shrimp, fried tofu or tamago as your protein(s) of choice — or choose one of the Signature PokĂ© Bowls or Burritos (from Krispy Krab to Philly to Land Meets Sea to Protein Junkie (with salmon, tuna, spicy salmon and spicy tuna), everything at PokĂ© Island Plus that we’ve sampled in the short time it’s been open has been fresh and delicious.

In fact, managing editor John Cotey, whose wife is Vietnamese, says his entire family loved the pho noddle soup and other Vietnamese specialties, so you know it’s good.   

Photographer/videographer Charmaine George also said that her taro boba milk tea with mango popping bobas was delicious, too.

PokĂ© Island Plus (8636 Hunter’s Village Rd.) is open 11 a.m.-9 p.m. every day. To place an order, call (813) 866-POKE (7653) or check them out on Facebook, Doordash or Uber Eats. If you do stop in, please tell them you read about them in the Neighborhood News! — GN

New Tampa’s Favorite Florist Relocates To Tampa Palms!

Rose O’Berry has moved her A Special Rose Florist to the Shoppes at Amberly in Tampa Palms, where she offers fresh-cut flowers from all over the world for any occasion. (Photos: Charmaine George)

If you live in New Tampa or Wesley Chapel, there’s a pretty good chance you’ve visited my long-time friend Rose O’Berry at her A Special Rose Florist & Event Specialist on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., just south of Tampa Palms.

Well, after 18 years, New Tampa’s favorite flower shop has a new location — at the eastern end of the Shoppes at Amberly plaza in Tampa Palms, next to You Do The Dishes.

Rose says, “I’ve been working with flowers since I was 16 and it was always a dream of mine to open my own shop, so in 2003, I opened A Special Rose on Bruce B. Downs.” 

But, because Rose did so well in that location south of our New Tampa distribution area, she started talking to me several years ago about expanding her business to the north, and jumped at the chance to be able to be in a busier plaza to generate more walk-in traffic. 

“We bring in flowers from Ecuador, Holland and all over the world fresh every day,” she says, “so we can provide whatever types of flowers you want, from a nice variety of roses, hydrangeas and lilies to tulips and even seasonal flowers.”

A Special Rose also can put together custom-designed gourmet baskets, with hand-dipped chocolates, fresh fruit and other delicacies, plus flowers, plants, plush toys, balloons and other unique items.

When you walk into A Special Rose, Rose, floral designer Erica Daniell or another employee will ask you if you want the flowers you choose wrapped or in a vase, “and we work with them to determine if they have a favorite flower or flowers, and if they want a certain color scheme.”

In addition to weddings, Rose says A Special Rose also does flowers for a lot of corporate events, Christmas parties, memorial services, sweet 16s, quincañeras, Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, and will deliver what you need when you need it, “all over Tampa Bay. We also can do nationwide delivery, where we work with other (flower) shops in other states.”

As for what sets A Special Rose apart from other florists (don’t even talk to her about flowers from the local grocery stores), Rose says it’s, “Our experience. I have been working with flowers since I was 16 and have trained Erica since she was 16, so you always get your choice of the freshest flowers arranged the way you want them. We also bring in fresh flowers every day, whereas some shops only get theirs once a week.”

And, A Special Rose always has great specials on flowers, so please call the store or visit ASpecialRoseFlorist.com for this month’s specials.

A Special Rose Florist & Event Specialist is now located at 15353 Amberly Dr. in Tampa Palms. For more information, call (813) 979-9453 or check out our “Lo & Ro On The Go” video on our “Neighborhood News” Facebook page.

Saying Goodbye to Bobby Bowden

Bobby Bowden (Photo: Seminoles.com)

Even though I graduated from the University of Florida and the late, great Bobby Bowden coached our in-state rivals, the Florida State Seminoles, I definitely felt a sense of loss when I heard he had passed away at the age of 91.

Gary Nager Editorial

I transferred to UF from the Division III State University of New York at Albany before the start of the fall semester in 1979. That year, the Gators finished the season with a record of 0-10-1, including the final 27-16 loss at home to FSU, which was undefeated and ranked fifth in the country at the time. It was Bowden’s fourth season as the coach of the ‘Noles, after six mostly succesful years as the head coach of the West Virginia Mountaineers. 

My roommates and I were among the 58,000 in attendance at that 1979 game, and we were encouraged to only be trailing 10-0 at halftime. Then, we were downright giddy when the Gators tied the game at 10-10 before the end of the 3rd quarter. But, Bowden completely outcoached rookie Gators’ coach Charley Pell the rest of the way to complete our winless season, still the worst in Florida’s history. We were happy that Bowden’s unbeaten team was dominated by #5 Oklahoma 24-7 at the 1980 Orange Bowl.

The Gators were better the following year, finishing the season with an 8-4 record, including a 35-20 win over the Maryland Terrapins in the Tangerine Bowl, and as the 19th-ranked team in the country, in Pell’s second season.

But, the last of those four losses came at the hands — and brilliant football mind — of Bowden and his ‘Noles, a game my roommate “Squiggy” and I drove to Tallahassee to see. 

And, even though we sat in what seemed like a sea of garnet & gold, Squig and I were enjoying the game well into the third quarter, as Pell’s Gators somehow led #3 FSU 13-3. But, the defense of the coach later known as the “Riverboat Gambler” for his amazing trick plays, dominated us after halftime, when we seemingly had negative yards rushing (we averaged less than 2.5 yards per carry for the game). And, 53 of our 160 total yards passing came on one first-quarter TD pass from QB Wayne Peace to WR Tyrone Young, as the Gators ended up losing 17-13.

Squig and I knew that win sent the 10-1 ‘Noles back to the Orange Bowl for a rematch with #4 Oklahoma and also-legendary coach Barry Switzer. The Sooners were favored by less than a touchdown and rallied to win the game 18-17 in the fourth quarter on an 11-yard TD pass from QB J.C. Watts to WR Steve Rhodes and a two-point conversion pass to TE Forrest Valora with only 1:33 remaining. Even so, Bowden’s team gave it the ol’ college try, but the comeback (and PK Bill Capece’s 62-yard FG attempt) fell short.

But, even though I celebrated that FSU loss and virtually anything bad that happened to the ‘Noles after that, I still have a profound respect for this amazing coach. RIP, Mr. Bowden.