Ready For Something Truly Unique? Try New Tampa’s El Pescador Restaurant!

I wish I had a dollar for every time a New Tampa or Wesley Chapel resident has told me, “I wish something other than another chain restaurant would open here.”

I, of course, have been among the loudest of those voices, always lamenting that every time we get a new place — even if it isn’t a chain — it’s still too similar to too many other eateries we already have here.

Well, one thing I can assure you is that the casual, new El Pescador Mexican Restaurant Taqueria & Seafood in the Publix-anchored New Tampa Center plaza isn’t like any other Mexican place we already have, nor is it like any other fresh seafood place I’ve sampled anywhere. Seriously.

Although it is owned and operated by the same family that owns some of the local Vallarta’s Mexican Restaurants, El Pescador truly specializes in fresh seafood.

The main issue I have with that is that I can’t eat most of the incredible variety of seafood dishes available at El Pescador because of my accursed shellfish allergy. In fact, other than the fresh fish dishes on the menu (and yes, there are a few; see below), the only shellfish dishes I can safely eat are the “Patas de Cangrejo,” or crab leg platter, the “Almejas al Ajo” (clams in garlic sauce) and the grilled octopus and sea scallops, even though I’ve never been a big octopus or scallop lover.

If you’re not allergic to shrimp, lobster, oysters, mussels, crawfish, etc., and you like to sample them in a variety of different sauces, your taste buds may have found a new home.

Let’s Start With Starters…

Before you order anything, El Pescador’s happy servers bring you the most incredibly crispy, oversized tortilla chips, with a Vallarta’s-like fresh, purĂ©ed salsa and a spicier salsa, plus a plate with a dollop of a unique tuna salad and fresh cucumbers and tomatoes.

If you enjoy fresh ceviche to start a meal, there are tuna, shrimp and tilapia varieties and the lime juice, onions and peppers combine to make a tasty appetizer. There also “Vuelve ala Vida,”a mix of shrimp, octopus, oyster and tilapia ceviche, as well as peel-and-eat shrimp and crawfish, shrimp and shrimp and octopus cocktails and “Caldo 7 Mares” and other soups.

Oyster fans can enjoy small or large plates on the half shell, fried or served “Rockefeller” style, baked with octopus, crab, shrimp and cheese. There’s also shrimp empanadas, fried calamari, cheese dip and made-to-order guacamole.

As for the fish dinners I can eat, the “Huachinango Zarandeado,” which is one of the priciest items on the menu, is a marinated whole red snapper, fileted and cooked over an open fire that truly seals in the flavor and juices. If you prefer a whole fried snapper that isn’t fileted for you, the “Huachinango al Gusto” is the whole fish with garlic, spicy diablo red sauce or creamy ranchera sauce — for about half of the cost of the Zarandeado.

Fish lovers also can enjoy fried or grilled swai (a freshwater catfish). grilled salmon or whole fried tilapia.

The most expensive item on the menu is the whole, stuffed lobster, which is heavily stuffed with shrimp, crab, scallops and octopus. Shrimp alone are available grilled, fried, spicy sautéed, with pico de gallo or sautéed in garlic sauce.

Jannah and I did sample the “small” snow crab leg dinner ($19.95), which comes with fries and rice (although you can substitute veggies), as do all of El Pescador’s House Specialties. The crab legs are yummy, but extremely messy, as the legs themselves are covered in a creamy “Chef’s secret sauce” of garlic, butter and (I’m guessing) paprika. Also available are a variety of platters, including the Vallarta Grilled Combo (shrimp, tilapia and octopus with grilled onions) and El Pescador Seafood Combo (garlic, shrimp, tilapia and scallops with rice, salad and garlic bread).

For You Landlubbers…

Whether you’re allergic or you just prefer more traditional Mexican fare, El Pescador does also have a tasty carne asada steak, very good fajitas (including the steak, shrimp and chicken Fajitas El Pescador combo pictured on the next page), chicken (including the tasty “Pollo Crema”), two kinds of pork,  marinated beef, chorizo sausage, shrimp and fish, all available in mini-tacos, tacos, burritos, or quesadilla, or create your own combo. More adventurous types can try tongue or tripe.

Lunch is a good deal at El Pescador, with steak or chicken fajitas for just $8.50 or create a lunch-size combo of two for just $9.50. Most other lunch items are just $7.95-$9.95.

Items from the kids menu cost just $6.95 each and include your choice of a cheese quesadilla, steak burrito, chicken fingers, a cheeseburger, grilled chicken burger or even grilled chicken. Kids entrées are served with rice and beans or fries.

And, El Pescador Mexican and domestic beers (try the Carta Blanca), as well as merlot, chardonnay and homemade sangria, as well as flan, churros and other tasty desserts.

El Pescador (19062 BBD Blvd.) opens at 11 a.m. and stays opens until 9 p.m. on Sun., 9:30 p.m. Mon.-Thur., and 10 p.m. on Fri.-Sat. For more info, including great coupon specials, call (813) 615-9595 or search “El Pescador Mexican Restaurant” on Facebook. Note-Some photos shown here are from Yelp.

WCCC Again Fetes Excellence In Business!

Kent and Cindy Ross of RP&G Printing, winners of the top Small Business.

Oh, what a night! Congratulations go out to the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC), which held its annual “Celebrating Excellence in Business” awards gala on Nov. 9 at the Hilton Garden Inn off S.R. 54 near the Suncoast Pkwy.

The event had an even bigger buzz than usual and the well-dressed crowd of 180 people certainly enjoyed the food, beverages and festivities for the evening.

Bob Thompson of Thompson Brand Images was again the emcee for the evening, which again included awards for Small & Large Business of the Year, Business Leader of the Year and Volunteer of the Year.

New awards this year included the New Business of the Year, the Dorothy Mitchell Lifetime Achievement award and a Community Hero award.

The Volunteer of the Year was Chamber Ambassador Cindy Ross of RP&G Printing and Cindy and her husband, Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel Noon president Kent Ross, also won the Small Business honors.

The New Business winner was James Serrano of Pinot’s Palette.

Denyse Bales-Chubb, left

This year’s Business Leader award winner was Denyse Bales-Chubb, the CEO of FHWC. (Note: We incorrectly reported this in the most recent issues of the Neighborhood News. Our apologies.).

The Large Business of the Year was Morton Plant North Bay Hospital in New Port Richey.

Long-time West Pasco volunteer Bob Memoli won the award named for the late former 20-year Pasco County School Board member Dorothy Mitchell, whose family’s ranch land would become the Trinity area of New Port Richey.

Both the Large Business and Mitchell award winners were nods to the WCCC’s 2017 merger with/asset acquisition of the Greater Pasco Chamber of Commerce, which has been serving West Pasco.

The community hero award went to Pasco County District 2 Commissioner and Wesley Chapel resident Mike Moore for his herculean efforts to help local residents following Hurricane Irma. 

Again, it was a truly amazing night. Can’t wait until next year! — GN; photos by Stephen John Photography (see ad on pg. 46)

Nibbles and Bytes: Woof!

Pet Paradise Is A Great Reason To Get A Dog!

I’m currently between dogs in my life, but after attending both the VIP pre-opening and the Grand Opening and Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC) ribbon cutting of the new Pet Paradise Wesley Chapel, located off S.R. 56 behind the Gate gas station, I’m almost tempted to go out and get me a new puppy, just so I can watch him or her play at the coolest pet resort ever.

For those who wonder if their dog or cat will be comfortable at a “resort” with indoor-outdoor “condos,” a dog bone-shaped pool, 24-7 video monitoring and lots of other dogs (and yes, cats, too), all I can tell you is that, while I’ve never owned a cat, I’ve yet to see a dog unhappy, sitting off by itself or not engaging in the seemingly-all-day, all-out play sessions with other dogs of all breeds and sizes at this amazing new boarding and doggie daycare facility. I mean, I haven’t seen even one snarl or “warning snap,” even from multiple “alpha” dogs.

When I’ve had dogs, boarding them did sometimes make me a little anxious, but Pet Paradise WC manager Zandra Straple, who has a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Animal Science from the University of Florida in Gainesville, and her awesome staff definitely have a winner on their hands here in “The Chap.”

And more great news, my friends at Seven Oaks Pet Hospital, located less than a half-mile from Pet Paradise on 56, provide on-call veterinarian services for the resort.

Don’t forget to mention to Zandra and assistant manager Brianna Bermudez that you read about Pet Paradise in the Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News! Pet Paradise is located at 2270 Cypress Ridge Blvd.

For more info, visit PetParadiseResort.com or call (813) 778-0337.

The Drs. Ambay Open Their Transformations Center!

Congratulations to Dr. Aparna Ambay of 360 Dermatology and her husband, Dr. Raj Ambay of Ambay Plastic Surgery, on the opening on Oct. 19 of their amazing, new Transformation Aesthetics & Surgery Center (located a 1/4-mile north on Cypress Ridge Blvd. in Wesley Chapel from Pet Paradise).

The state-of-the-art, free-standing building offers not only the dermatology and skin care services of 360 Dermatology, but also the cosmetic plastic surgery of Ambay Plastic Surgery. Best of all, Dr. Raj can perform his plastic surgery magic and Dr. Aparna (both have been named among “America’s Top Doctors” by Castle Connolly Medical Ltd.) can do skin cancer surgeries in the Transformations Aesthetics Center’s on-site surgery center.

The opening and WCCC ribbon cutting on Oct. 19 attracted hundreds of locals, including several other local health care professionals, as well as WCCC members and many of the current and former patients of these Top Docs.

Dr. Raj, who has served as a Lt. Colonel in the U.S. Army and Special Operations (Green Beret) in both Afghanistan and Iraq, also is trained in trauma surgery, oral surgery and dentistry. During the Grand Opening event, you could see the joy on his face and hear it in his voice as he called the ribbon-cutting at this unique medical and aesthetic facility, “the fulfillment of a long-time dream.”

For info about the Transformations Center (2441 Oak Myrtle Ln.), visit TampaBayTransformations.com, call (813) 563-1144 or see the ad on pg. 15.

True Inspiration!

A $2.8-million dollar women’s health center, called “Inspiration Place,” opened in the Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel Wellness Plaza on Oct. 23, offering comprehensive care for women at every stage of life.

The next day, FHWC hosted a VIP event attended by hundreds of locals at Inspiration Place. The hospital’s president & CEO Denyse Bales-Chubb (photo below) was excited to unveil this unique, 12,000-sq.-ft. center created, she said, “To do something truly special for the women of Wesley Chapel.”

Services available for women at the beautiful new Inspiration Place include gynecology, obstetrics and prenatal care, along with primary medical care and wellness services and more.

Inspiration Place also includes a spa, for services such as massages and skin care treatments. There’s even a coffee bar.

All I can tell you is that I heard lots of “oohs” and “aahs” during the VIP event tours of Inspiration Place, and quite a few women who were booking appointments.

Appointments can be booked now at FHInspirationPlace.org. — GN

Taste of New Tampa Sets Date For 2018!

Even though the 2017 Taste of New Tampa at Florida Hospital Center Ice earlier this year didn’t raise the most money ever for a Taste, it was a hugely successful event that attracted around 2,000 people to Florida Hospital Center Ice (FHCI).

The way I see it, the 2017 Taste, sponsored by the Rotary Club of New Tampa (which meets Fridays at 7 a.m. at Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club) was an amazing event that fell short of its nonprofit-organization-benefiting fund-raising goals because of two main reasons — 1) not enough sponsorships and 2) people’s concerns about the event being held indoors, especially in a venue that we all assumed would feel a whole lot colder than it did on that fun Saturday in March (photo).

Well, considering that I have attended and/or been part of the committee putting on 20 of the first 21 Tastes, I can tell you that FHCI is by far the best venue we’ve ever had for the event — a fact that I believe most of this year’s attendees would agree with — even though there are quite a few things we learned we could do better next time.

The first organizational meeting for the 2018 Taste will be held later this month and New Tampa Rotary president and Taste event chair Karen Frashier says that once the Taste 2018 committee chairs have met, we will be looking for additional volunteers. We’re not interested in people hoping to pad their “community resumes,” but folks who are willing to roll up their sleeves and actually work to help make the 2018 Taste — which will be held on Sunday, March 25, noon-5 p.m., at FHCI — even bigger and better than this year’s event.

“(FHCI’s) Gordie Zimmerman and George Mitchell have been amazing to work with,” Frashier says. “And, they were really happy with the quality of the sponsors, the food and beverage providers and the people who attended. We’re all looking forward to next year!”

To that end, the Rotary Club already is pre-selling Taste tickets at a 20-percent discount through Feb. 1 at TasteofNewTampa.org!

And of course, look for Taste 2018 updates in just about every issue of New Tampa & Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News, at NTNeighborhoodNews.com, on the “Neighborhood News” page on Facebook and on WCNT-tv’s YouTube channel!

Speaking Of WCNT-tv…

By the time you read this, WCNT-TV (Wesley Chapel & New Tampa Television) will likely have surpassed my first two goals.

I created WCNT-tv with a partner back in June of 2016 and in the 17 months since then, I have produced and “aired” about 100 segments, including more than 30 WCNT-tv “News Desks” with yours truly and Susanna Martinez as the co-hosts, and two dozen Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC) Featured Business segments with host Mollyana Ward, who also has hosted our first four “Today’s Fashion Focus” segments featuring Sarah Rasheid of the Tampa Premium Outlets (TPO).

WCNT-tv also has featured exclusive interview segments, slide videos featuring everything from Pasco County animal shelter dogs to Zammy the Sheepadoodle visiting Tampa’s  Shriners Hospital for Children, and from the Wesley Chapel Jazz Festival to the “Symphony in Lights” at the Shops at Wiregrass.

My initial goal for WCNT-tv was to have the show reach one million people on Facebook and a combined viewership of 500,000 on YouTube and Facebook.

And yes, at our press time for this issue, we have inched ever closer to both of those numbers, as all WCNT-tv segments combined to date have now reached 983,000+ people on Facebook and have been viewed nearly 470,,000 times on YouTube and Facebook (combined), including nearly 340,000 views on Facebook and nearly 130,000 views on YouTube.

I promised to throw another WCNT-tv party — this time for the general public — when we reached those milestones, so look for that announcement very soon.

And, just in time (we hope) for businesses looking to increase their exposure among the residents of New Tampa and Wesley Chapel, our new 2018 Media Kit, which gives you discounts for advertising in the Neighborhood News, on WCNT-tv and on NTNeighborhoodNews.com, is now available on our website, social media and by calling our advertising sales rep, Tom Damico, at (813) 910-2575.

And, Finally…

My page 3 editorial last issue had the desired effect — it’s gotten people talking about what I believe is the much-needed connection of Kinnan St. in New Tampa to Mansfield Blvd. in Wesley Chapel.

Some in Meadow Pointe II have told me I have no right to be voicing my opinion because I don’t live there, but most (including a few Meadow Pointe residents) have told me to keep fighting the good fight on this topic.

I’ll give you three guesses as to which option I’m going to choose.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

Despite Winds, The 2017 WC Fall Festival Was The Biggest Ever!

Anyone who thinks the number 13 is unlucky obviously did not attend the 13th annual Wesley Chapel Fall Festival at The Grove at Wesley Chapel shopping center the weekend of Oct. 28-29.

In its second year since taking the event over from the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCC), Pinellas County-based event organizer Simply Events reports that there were at least 1,000 more cars that visited the Fall Fest this year than last year, when the two-day crowd was estimated at 10,000 people.

“Since there’s no admission fee, the only way to judge the attendance is by the number of cars that showed up, because we have our security people counting those cars,” says Sonya Bradley of Simply Events. “But, Saturday this year was definitely the biggest crowd we’ve seen so far.”

Unfortunately, with the winds gusting to 30-40 miles per hour early Sunday morning, many of the 110 vendors and crafters who were on hand on Sat. shut their booths down on Sun.

“We know our attendees were not happy with Sunday,” Bradley said. “We lost 18 tents & 25 total vendors before we opened on Sunday because of high winds. The Pumpkin Pageant set the right tone for Sunday, but the winds really hurt us.”

The pet costume parade and the Trunk or Treat events kept big crowds on site all day Sat.

“Our Chamber group ran out of 500 pieces of candy in less than an hour,” beamed proud WCCC CEO Hope Allen after the event. “In fact, all of the vehicles that gave out candy for Trunk or Treat pretty much ran out of candy, too. We will definitely partner again next year with Simply Events. What a great job they did!”

For more pics and a recap of the contest winners and sponsors at this year’s Fall Fest — which already is scheduled for the same pre-Halloween weekend (Oct. 26-27) next year — visit SimplyEventsFL.com. — GN