TPO & WC Nissan’s Rosario Win Awards; Cofini, Brandon Legal, Shred 360 & The Porter Family Also Honored

abidnessawards5Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC) CEO Hope Allen called it, “the top event of my 15-year Chamber career” and I don’t believe that anyone who attended the WCCC’s “Celebrating Excellence in Business” awards (held, for the first time, at Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club, and sponsored by the Parks Auto Group) would even try to could argue with her.

Congrats to all of the evening’s award winners (clockwise from top left) — Stacey Nance of the Tampa Premium Outlets, which won Large Business of the Year honors; Business Leader of the Year Jay Rosario of Wesley Chapel Nissan; Small Business of the Year Brandon Legal Group; Volunteer of the Year Jennifer Cofini of the Parks Auto Group, Quinn Miller (left) of the Porter Family, which took home the Chamber’s 2016 Legacy Award (shown with WCCC Board chair Tracy Clouser of Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel); and Cam Caudle of Shred 360, which won the first “New Business of the Year.” award.

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Nibbles & Bytes: Union 72 BBQ Opens In Shops At Wiregrass

union-72-1If you prefer some good, down-home, yet surprisingly upscale barbecue, I definitely suggest a visit to the new Union 72 Barbecue in the Shops at Wiregrass mall.

Union 72 is a chef-inspired barbecue restaurant with a modern and innovative take on sauces, rubs & pairings. According to Union72.com, local restaurateurs Jeff Martin and Bharat Chhabria have at least two things in common. They love barbecue and they’re both impressed by the increasing use of global spices and flavors in American culinary scene. Their idea became a reality when Geoff Zukosky, whose cooking technique and vision resonated with their own. Union 72 was born, with Geoff as the Pitmaster.

I’m not the biggest BBQ guy myself, but like so many have posted on the Wesley Chapel Community website, I really enjoyed the BBQ brisket, collared greens and mac-and-cheese (left) I tried on my first visit and I like the fact that all of Union 72’s smoked meats come without sauce on them.

For more info about Union 72 (28211 Paseo Dr., next to The Brass Tap) or visit Union72.com.

Nibbles & Bytes: Fushia

fushiaNibbles & Bytes: Fushia Adds Chinese Hot Pot Buffet

If you’re looking for a healthier and more fun way to enjoy an authentic Chinese meal, Fushia Asian Bistro has recreated a portion of its space in the Shoppes at Amberly plaza in Tampa Palms as our area’s first-ever Chinese Hot Pot Buffet.

Although it isn’t cheap (it costs $25.99 per person), Fushia co-owner Sharon Wang says the hot pot buffet can be addicting (in a good way, of course). Sharon says to think of it as a kind of a “melting pot” for Asian cuisine. Each diner chooses one of 8 broths as the “base” for their own hot pot, which simmers on burners at each table. Then, choose from more than 30 different kinds of meat, chicken, shellfish, fish and veggies. Throw it all in your hot pot, let it simmer and then you scoop out all of the goodies and drop them in your plate and enjoy them with more than 20 different sauces — from sweet and mild to multiple kinds of hot & spicy. Your meal comes with soft drinks and dessert.

I wouldn’t try the hot pot buffet with the kiddies. Go on a date night, bring the coupon in the ad below and try the sensation that’s sweeping large cities across the nation! And, Fushia does still have delicious New York-style Chinese fare next door, too.

For more info about Fushia’s Hot Pot Buffet (15315 Amberly Dr.), call 903-6705 or see the ad below.

Little Italy’s Restaurant & Catering Adds An Amazing New Lunch Menu!

1103161241aALLOW ME to start this review by saying that although Little Italy’s Family Restaurant & Catering isn’t actually physically located “in” New Tampa or Wesley Chapel (it is located on S.R. 54 in Lutz, two miles west of the Tampa Premium Outlets), it is the only place we have in our area serving authentic, delicious sit-down Italian food in a casual eatery that’s more than just another pizza place that also happens to serve Italian specialties.

The husband-and-wife team of Carl and Chef Jessica Meyers takes pride in being not only my favorite Italian place located close enough to our distribution areas for me to include it in our annual Reader Dining Survey & Contest, but also one of the favorite places of so many of our readers.

But, the big news is that Jessica and Carl have added a new lunch menu with smaller-sized (for them, anyway) lunch portions of so many of our favorite dishes that we felt that these new lunch options warranted their own full-length feature article in these pages. And yes, all of the food pics shown here are the actual portions you’ll receive for only $6-$9 apiece, with the seafood selections shown here  selling for just a few dollars more. And, lunch is served at Little Italy’s Tuesday.-Friday, noon-3 p.m., although the full dinner menu is available anytime the place is open.

So Simple…So Yummy

Although the shellfish dishes pictured on the facing page don’t actually appear on the new lunch menu, Jessica usually includes both the shrimp fra diavolo and mussels marinara sho1104161204ewn here on her daily specials board, along with the only shellfish option I can still eat without an allergic reaction — the linguine with white clam butter sauce. I will say that the people whose shrimp over linguine Gavin photographed for this article were getting a little impatient waiting for him to finish.

My favorite item off Little Italy’s new lunch menu is definitely the still-huge lunch portion of meaty baked lasagne, which comes with a side salad. Umm, actually, I think it’s the tender chicken parmigiana over spaghetti (also served with a side salad). Meanwhile, Gavin said the hand-crafted individual pizza (we preferred the meat lovers, but the veggie ‘za photographed better) was his favorite.

Although I didn’t include a picture of it on these pages, my favorite item also could be the mini meatball (it’s also available in chicken or eggplant parm) “grinda,” featuring the meatballs (photo) my entire staff has deemed the best they’ve had, at least in the Tampa Bay area, to date. The mini-sub roll comes out properly crispy  and Jessica’s red sauce — what her family back in Brooklyn still calls “tomato gravy” — is second to none in our area. One of those perfect meatballs also is served as a lunch menu item over spaghetti with a side salad.1104161150b

Another lunch option not pictured here is the personal-sized traditional cheese calzone, which, at just $8, is definitely a lot smaller than the regular size calzone that sells for $13 on the full menu, but it’s still big enough for two to share, especially if you add Buffalo chicken or any kind of meat (pepperoni, sausage, etc.) to it for just $1 per item.

I also would be remiss if I didn’t mention the amazing daily ravioli special, including the one shown here — spinach and cheese raviolis over Alfredo sauce with sautéed spinach in the sauce. I was surprised at how much I loved it because I’m not usually a cream sauce fan, but the spinach was the perfect complement for it and Jessica’s homemade raviolis are to die for…literally.

Help For The Holidays!

1104161153bIf you’re getting ready to host a holiday party for 2-to-200 people (up to 40 if you host it at the restaurant), you owe it to yourself to let Little Italy’s cater it for you. Jessica says she can do anything from a huge antipasto salad to big servings of bruschetta to eggplant rollatini, chicken Francese and even a roast beef carving station. Just don’t forget to order a few dozen meatballs. Oh, and maybe also get a dozen hand-piped cannolis filled with Jessica’s house-made cannoli cream for dessert.

For more info about Little Italy’s Family Restaurant & Catering (24436 S.R. 54, Lutz), visit LittleItalyFamilyRestaurant.com or call 909-2122. And, be sure to mention this article when you visit for a special offer.

LongHorn Opens; Ford’s Garage Goes Vertical

For those of us who want more restaurants in our area, the area on S.R. 56 near the Tampa Premium Outlets (TPO) mall continues to give us new options.

Since last month’s opening of BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse, another chain has opened and two others have gone vertical.

The newest restaurant to open (on Nov. 14) is LongHorn Steakhouse. The steakhouse chain definitely has the best steak of the three sit-down restaurants located in front of TPO (Cheddars Scratch Kitchen and BJ’s are the others), and the service and food are always dependable.

fordsBuilding up quickly, between LongHorn and BJ’s, is a new McDonald’s. But, perhaps the most eagerly awaited eatery to go vertical recently was the latest incarnation of Ford’s Garage, which has locations in Brandon, Cape Coral, Ft. Myers and Estero. The Wesley Chapel location will be the first building to open on the north side of S.R. 56 in the Cypress Creek Town Center Development of Regional Impact.

Try Little Italy’s New Lunch!

Although I’m OK with the chains that are opening in our area, there’s no doubt I’m still much more into local mom-and-pop restaurants like Little’s Italy’s Family Restaurant & Catering, located a couple of miles west of TPO at 24436 S.R. 54 in Lutz.

1103161241aOwners Jessica and Carl Meyers have a great new lunch menu, where most items are just $6-$9, like the amazing mini-meatball “grinda”, which is served with excellent homemade potato chips. Other new lunch options include smaller-sized servings of chicken parmigiana, ravioli, lasagna, personal hand-tossed pizzas and even seafood pasta options like shrimp and mussels marinara (for a little more).

Stop in Tues.-Sat. for lunch or dinner, call 909-2122 or visit LittleItalyFamilyRestaurant.com.

Takara Sushi Closes

Although we still have quite a few very good Japanese restaurants in our area, we were still saddened to learn that Takara Sushi & Sake, located in the Oak Ramble Plaza (the same plaza as Acropolis Greek Taverna; see story on pg. 42) on BBD south of Tampa Palms, had closed.

We didn’t have any word at our press time as to why it closed or what might move into the space, but Takara was doing very well again in this year’s annual Reader Dining Survey. Those results are coming soon!

Parks Lincoln Unveils New Model

I also was excited to be on hand for the unveiling of not only a new model from Lincoln Motor Cars, but also for the Grand Re-Opening of the beautiful Parks Lincoln of Tampa dealership at 10505 N. Florida Ave., south of Fowler Ave, in Tampa.

lincoln2-revOwner Ron Parks, who also owns the Parks Ford, Fiat & Alfa Romeo dealerships on S.R. 54 in Wesley Chapel, cut the ribbon at the revamped dealership and unveiled the new 2017 Lincoln Continental (left) during a VIP event on Oct. 13.

With live entertainment and upscale food provided by Puff n’ Stuff Catering (like amazing beef short ribs, seared scallops and homemade ravioli), Parks kicked off the new dealership and model reveal in style.

The event was organized by Parks’ Jennifer Cofini, who was recently honored as Volunteer of the Year by the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce.

lincolnAllthough I didn’t get to test drive the new Continental, I was treated to what Parks calls a “Date Night,” where I got to test drive a new Lincoln MKZ for 24 hours and receive a $100 Visa gift card to enjoy a great dinner. It’s been years since I drove an American car, but Lincoln definitely has affordable luxury down to a science.

To schedule a “Date Night” test drive, call (800) 398-7989 or visit Lincoln ofTampa.com & tell ‘em I sent you! — GN