Homes For Our Troops (HFOT) is hosting a kickoff event for the building of a specially adapted home in Wesley Chapel for Marine Sgt. Christopher L.M. Lawrence this Saturday, April 5, at 10 a.m. (with check-in at 9:30 a.m.). The event is being held at Pinecrest Academy (33347 State Rd 54, Wesley Chapel, FL 33543) and the public is welcome to attend.
Sgt Lawrence was injured while serving in Iraq and this Community Kickoff event signifies the start of the build process and will introduce Sgt Lawrence to the community. On August 17, 2007, Sergeant Lawrence was serving as a fire team leader with the 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion, 1st Marine Division, in Al Anbar, Iraq, when he was injured on a foot patrol by an improvised explosive device (IED) blast, resulting in severe damage to his legs and left arm, internal injuries, tinnitus, and traumatic brain injury (TBI).
The home being built for Sgt Lawrence will feature more than 40 major special adaptations such as widened doorways for wheelchair access, a roll-in shower, and kitchen amenities that include pull-down shelving and lowered countertops. The home will also alleviate the mobility and safety issues associated with a traditional home, including navigating a wheelchair through narrow hallways or over thresholds, or reaching for cabinets that are too high.
HFOT has built more than 400 homes since the organization’s inception in 2004. Homes For Our Troops relies on contributions from donors, supporters, and corporate partners for the building of each Veteran’s home. Community members may hold fundraisers or make donations. To find out more on how to get involved or make a donation visit www.hfotusa.org. Learn more about Marine Sgt Christopher L.M. Lawrence at https://www.hfotusa.org/lawrence
If you love a great Broadway musical, there are only four performances left this weekend to see the New Tampa Players (NTP)’s production of the Tony Award-winning Stephen Sondheim musical “Into the Woods.” Starring the outstanding Richard Brown (last seen as Seymour in NTP’s “Little Shop of Horrors”) as The Baker and amazing NTP newcomer Hope Lelekacs as The Baker’s Wife, NTP’s “Into the Woods” also re-introduces you to a whole slew of beloved fairy tale characters, including Cinderella (Genesis Rodriguez) and her stepmother (Kayla Bennett), Jack (Blake Boles), known for his magic beanstalk beans, scene-stealer Lena Wigfall as Little Red Ridinghood, plus NTP veterans Makayla Raines as “Witch,” Dylan Fidler as Rapunzel’s Prince, Kristin Nelson and Alexandra Greenberg as Cinderella’s stepsisters Florinda and Lucinda, respectively, and too many more great performances to include here (sorry).
Photographer Charmaine George, who took these pictures during last weekend’s opening night, says “Into the Woods” is one of NTP’s best shows, with singing, dancing, costumes and sets that are all “spot on!” Don’t miss it!
Tickets are still available to to all four performances of “Into the Woods” this weekend — Friday, April 4, at 8 p.m., Saturday, April 5, at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday, April 6, at 3 p.m. For tickets and more information, visit NewTampaPlayers.org.
Bagels Plus, located at 2706 E. Fletcher Ave. (a little west of Bruce B. Downs Blvd.), has finally reopened after a kitchen fire had closed the long-time favorite local New York bagel place for about five months.
“Everyone already knows we’ve reopened,” the owner Steve told me this morning. “At least it feels like everybody knows. We’ve been packed since we reopened yesterday (Monday)!”
In fact, Bagels Plus was out of Asiago cheese bagels when I arrived a little after 10:30 a.m. today. Thankfully, the store still had plenty of sesame bagels available to scoop out and toast to make my bacon (they do also have sausage), egg and cheese sandwich.
“This is the only place I know locally with bagels that taste like New Yawk,” one customer who said they were from Brooklyn told Steve while I was chatting with him today. “I’m so happy you’re open again!”
That seemed to be a popular sentiment among the seven or eight other customers inside the place, which definitely got a full interior makeover. Bagels Plus also carries tuna, chicken and egg salad, a wide variety of different cream cheeses — from lox and light plain to cranberry-walnut and veggie and more. Other pastries baked in-house include butter croissants, black-&-white cookies and apple and cherry turnovers and more. Pretty great coffee, too.
Bagels Plus is open Monday-Saturday, 6 a.m.-4 p.m., and 7 a.m.-3 p.m. on Sunday. For more information, or to pre-order call (813) 999-1216.
A new fast-casual restaurant is opening tomorrow — Saturday, March 29, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. — in the Pebble Creek Collection plaza at 19651 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., behind Hungry Juicy Crab. Sushi Bowls by Kazoku Sushi, which features not only fresh tuna, salmon and snow crab poké bowls, but also amazing appetizers like chicken gyoza dumplings, crispy vegetable spring rolls, crab Rangoon and deliciously unique “Sushi Fries” (you have to taste them to really “get it!”). The husband-and-wife team of Sergio and Cristina Chanquin, who also own Sushi House in Ybor City, are proud to bring their skills to New Tampa and our first visit definitely exceeded all of our expectations. Find out more about Sushi Bowls in our April 15 Wesley Chapel and April 29 New Tampa print editions, call (813) 406-4111 or click on the followinglink: Facebook.com/events/s/grand-opening-of-sushi-bowls-b/1296410661425913
When Julio and his wife Ximena Rodriguez first opened the original Don Julio’s Mexican Restaurant in the Palms Connection plaza on E. Bearss Ave. seven years ago, the restaurant was an homage to Julio’s mother Esther Rodriguez (or Doña Esther). Esther began putting her cooking talents to good use in the late 1980s and early ‘90s by selling her authentic Mexican cuisine out of her garage in West Tampa after her husband, the original Don Julio, passed away when her three children were still young. She did well enough to put all three kids through college.
As we reported last year, since then, Julio and Ximena opened a much larger restaurant, with a full-liquor bar, in the City Plaza at Tampa Palms shopping center, which has really helped increase the Rodriguez family’s exposure in the community “and brought in a lot of new customers,” Julio says.
But, just a few days before we went to press with this issue, Julio and Ximena had moved the original Don Julio’s two spaces down in the same plaza — to the much larger space previously occupied by Bearss Tavern & Tap. “It just got too packed on the weekends at the old space, Julio says.
I promised Julio that Jannah, photographer Charmaine George (who took all of these pictures), her boyfriend Brendan and I would visit the “new” location to not only check out the much larger space but also to sample some of Doña Esther’s “autentica” recipes we hadn’t tried before.
And, it just so happens that Doña Esther (center in above photo, with Ximena and Julio) was helping out in the kitchen on the day we visited — and yes, we definitely sampled! We started by sharing the huge Don Julio’s Sampler (photo right) from the “Antojitos/Cravings” menu. The sampler includes crisp taquitos (we had them filled with chicken), a tamale (corn dough stuffed with pork, wrapped in a corn husk and steamed), a sope (handmade thick corn tortilla topped with refried beans, lettuce, onions, cheese and sour cream; we added ground beef to it), a tostada (similar to a sope, but flatter; we added carne asada steak to it), nachos (we added pastor and ground beef) and our new favorite, the perfectly cheesy quesadillas to which we added shredded chicken.
We each also ordered a main course. Jannah got her usual fave (although it was her first time having it at Don Julio’s) — the ground beef enchiladas (with refried beans and a red guajillo chile sauce). Charmaine really enjoyed her taco salad (bottom right photo) with tender carne asada steak. Brendan also raved about his chimichanga al pastor (marinated pork cooked on a vertical spit; left photo), which also was stuffed with plenty of cheese and topped with melted cheese).
I also tried the Bistec Ranchero (below), which is round steak cooked (and covered) in an amazing combination of tomatoes, onions and serrano peppers. The steak itself was not quite as tender as the carne asada, but the flavor was truly fantastic.
The new restaurant itself is beautiful. Julio says, “It took us six months to build this out, but we’re very pleased with the result,” including the authentic Mexican Talavera tile behind the bar (bottom left photo). We’d have to agree.
And, speaking of the bar, the newest Don Julio’s still features an incredible selection of tequilas and mezcals, some very upscale and rare, but all at very reasonable prices. Brendan, previously a long-time bartender, said his strawberry margarita was “spot on,” Charmaine savored her tequila sunrise and Jannah raved about the white sangria. I, of course, also had no complaints about my Woodford Reserve bourbon.
Ready For Cinco?
Julio promises that both locations of Don Julio’s will be throwing “the best Cinco de Mayo party in town” the weekend of May 3-4, “and the big final blowout on Monday, the 5th.”
“We’ll have DJ music, drink specials and, at the Bearss location, we’ll be serving quick and easy tacos from our food truck outside,” he says. “Plus the new location has this huge outdoor patio, so come check us out!”
Both award-winning Don Julio’s locations (2802 E. Bearss Ave. and 16023 Tampa Palms Blvd.) are open Sunday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m., and 10 a.m.-10 p.m. on Friday & Saturday. For more information, visit DonJuliosMexican.com or find them on Facebook or Instagram. For reservations (not required but suggested, especially on the weekends), call (813) 898-2860 (Bearss Ave.) or (813) 644-7899 (Tampa Palms).
