For me, this was one of the toughest of all categories, as virtually every place on the list has multiple dishes among my favorites. But, Limaâs ceviche and tallarin saltado de pollo (photo) keep it ahead of the merluza at Las Palmas, the ceviche at Pisco, the chicharrons at Rice N Beans and the cachapas at Chamo Bites.Â
Members of the Wesley Chapel Bills Mafia, the local support group for fans of the Buffalo Bills, were sent home heartbroken (again) from TrebleMakers Dueling Piano Bar & Restaurant at The Grove on Sunday, when their beloved Bills lost 27-24 to the defending Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs to end their Cinderella season.
A little less than 200 Bills fans, most of them wearing the teamâs signature royal blue jerseys, attended Sundayâs WC Bills Mafia Watch Party, which was sponsored by Rapid Access Wellness, LLC, and which featured some outstanding raffle prizes, as well as a sumptuous buffet provided by TrebleMakers.
The restaurantâs co-owner Jamie Hess, who is from the Buffalo area, has hosted many of these watch parties, but hopes were higher than ever this year that his beloved Bills would win the franchiseâs first-ever Super Bowl as the team was getting to host (for the first time) Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and the rest of the Chiefs in an AFC Divisional Playoff Game. The team had to win its final five games of the regular season and a Wild Card Playoff Game over the Pittsburgh Steeler just to advance to face the Chiefs in the rematch of a 20-17 Buffalo win on Dec. 10.
But, it wasnât meant to be. Despite holding the lead four times, QB Josh Allen and his Bills fell behind to stay when Chiefsâ RB Isiah Pacheco scored with 14:20 left in the 4th quarter.
âWhat are they doing?,â shouted one fan sitting next to me as the Bills were unsuccessful on a second half fake punt in their own territory, which ended up not costing the Bills any additional points because Kansas City fumbled the ball into and out of the Buffalo end zone a few plays after the failed fake punt, resulting in a touchback and the Bills getting the ball back. âHow about just going for it on 4th and 3 instead?
The Watch Party also included some great raffle prizes â a jersey and a football signed by current star Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs, a mini-helmet and jersey signed by Hall of Fame former Buffalo running back Thurman Thomas and a 50-50 drawing for half of nearly $700 in cash.
âIt was a great turnout and a great event,â Hess said after the Bills faithful left with broken heartsâŠagain. âBut, if the Bills could have pulled it out and kept winning, we could have had even bigger crowds for the AFC Championship and Super Bowl games. Oh well, maybe next year.â
Miss Petite Wesley Chapel 2024 Aline Giampietro Trifonov will compete for the title of Miss Petite Florida in March. (Photos provided by: Georgi Trifonov Photography)Â
Local music instructor Aline Giampietro Trifonov didnât have to win a pageant to be named Miss Petite Wesley Chapel 2024, but she did have to apply to the Miss Petite Florida pageant with professional pictures. She says that candidates for the title are selected based on their contributions to their community.
âThrough my performing, teaching and work in the performing arts, I was able to demonstrate a significant contribution to Wesley Chapel,â Aline says, âand I had to show the pageant how my work has {done} exactly that for our community. In addition to being a performer and music teacher, Iâm also an entrepreneur and I work as a freelance petite model, and I want to represent other petite women.â
Aline says the Petite USA Pageant is the #1 pageant in the U.S. for petite women 5â6â tall and under. If youâve ever watched a Miss America or Miss Universe pageant, itâs obvious that the contestants are tall and willowy.
âSo, the Miss Petite is a great opportunity for me to represent and inspire other women who wish to pursue modeling, regardless of their height,â Aline says.Â
Aline is not only a music instructor, but also an aerialist who performed at the Whinge Festival in Ybor City in December.
The 5â-2â classical pianist, performing arts advocate and founder and executive director of the Piano Performance Arts Academy, LLC, in Wesley Chapel, who is originally from Brazil, was selected as a semi-finalist for the 2024 Florida Petite pageant, which is the official state preliminary pageant for the National Petite USA Pageant. The State Division will be held the weekend of March 8-9 at the Embassy Suites hotel on the USF Tampa Campus and, if Aline wins the Florida title, she will advance to the national Miss Petite USA 2024 pageant, which will be held in July 31- Aug. 3 in Chicago.
Petite USAâą was founded in 2009 to be a platform for petite women who are 5â6 or less. According to PetiteUSA. com, it is the nationâs largest pageant system for petite women and is proud of its history and past queens. The pageant offers titles for five different divisions: Teen, Miss, Ms. Mrs., and Elite Ms., in more than 50 different states and regions across the U.S. The Petite USA pageant is the official preliminary to the Universal Petite pageant, where petite women from all over the world compete for the coveted Teen, Miss, Ms., Mrs. and Elite Ms. Universal Petite titles.
âWhat attracted me to enter this pageant is the opportunity to represent my community, serve others through my leadership and have an opportunity to have a much bigger outreach,â she says. âI love the fact [the pageant] embraces a sisterhood attitude with a healthy competition, and they have their heart in promoting our personal platforms. This is much more than just a beauty competition. It allows women to speak of their leadership, service and how we can use our voices to make a difference. I would love to expand my voice in the performing arts, music education and champion other womenâs beauty as well.âÂ
Aline, who also is the vice president of the Music Teachers National Assn. (MTNA) and an aerialist with the Aerial Dragons group in Ybor City, is seeking sponsorships to support her attempt to reach the national event. In addition to cash sponsorships, she is seeking a seamstress, pedicures, a photographer, help with wardrobe, shoes, hair extensions and more.
âHelp me extend my voice through performing arts, fashion and music!,â Aline says. âTogether, we can do it!â
To help or for more information, call Aline at (813) 528-3638 or email her at PianoPerformanceArts@gmail.com.
Although the Wesley Chapel and New Tampa areas have multiple Rotary Clubs, there has never been an Elks Lodge in our area. The closest Elks Lodge to Wesley Chapel is Lodge #2731 on Wire Rd. in Zephyrhills.
But, a steering committee is trying to determine if there is enough demand for an Elks Lodge to be built right here in the W.C.
On Oct. 4, an initial meeting of the Benevolent & Protective Order of the Elks was held at the Seven Oaks Community Clubhouse and a little more than 20 people attended.
Among those in attendance were two past presidents of the Florida State Elks Association â Rudy Masi (left in photo) and Frank Malatesta (right).
Masi told the Neighborhood News that there needs to be a minimum of 125 people who sign up that theyâre interested in becoming Elks â a national service organization with more than 1,750 chapters, 2,100 lodges and 750,000 total members across the U.S. (90 in Florida) â in order to charter an Elks Club.
âAfter that, we have to find a place to build a lodge,â Malatesta said.Â
Malatesta and Masi said that the Elks primarily focus on service projects to benefit children and veterans and that here in Florida, the State Elks Assn. has two major projects â the Florida Elks Youth Camp, located in Umatilla, and the Florida Elks Therapy Services, a group of about 30 occupational and physical therapists who travel the state providing free rehabilitative services for children.
And, although the camp, which hosts 360 campers per week for seven weeks each summer, isnât free to attend, âNo child who canât afford to attend is ever turned away,â Malatesta said. âItâs an amazing facility.â
In addition, Masi says that the Elksâ motto is âAs long as there are veterans, the Elks will never forget them.â He said that after World War I, the Elks created the first veterans hospitals in the U.S. and today, every Elks Lodge has representatives at every VA hospital. These reps help veterans get the benefits they need and deserve.
The Elks will hold a second membership drive and meeting, also at the Seven Oaks Community Clubhouse (2910 Sports Core Cir.) on Tuesday, January 30, at 7 p.m.
âAfter that meeting, if the people who attend want to move forward, we will hold another membership drive and a picnic to try to get us closer to 125 people,â Masi said. âWe also already have a RealtorÂź looking for locations in and near Wesley Chapel to build a lodge.â For information about the Jan. 30 meeting, see the ad above.Â
Treble Makers Is Again Garyâs Favorite In Wesley Chapel! The Dueling Piano Bar & Restaurant Beats Out Falabella Family Bistro & Zukku-San For The Top Spot!Â
Neighborhood News editor Gary Nager checks out a few of his favorite dishes at TrebleMakers, his favorite restaurant in Wesley Chapel again for 2023. (Photo by Charmaine George)Â
Every year, after our readersâ favorite restaurants in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel are published, I like to provide our readers with my own list of favorites â and there are always many differences between your choices and mine.
I also always have a few haters every year who say that my reviews arenât âreal,â that I only pick my favorites based on which restaurants advertise with me and/or give me free food, that I have no taste whatsoever, etc.
The primary thing these haters donât seem (or want) to understand or believe is that the restaurants I tell you about in my annual âGaryâs Favoritesâ are not just the places I like the most, theyâre also the places where I spend the most of my own money. And yes, when you consider that there are literally dozens of restaurants named on of this issue, Jannah and I do spend a lot of our money dining out (and taking out food) â Iâm betting more than just about anyone else in our distribution areas, especially when you consider our combined annual income.Â
The âtrollsâ also donât seem to âgetâ the other reason I give my opinions on local eateries every year is that I so appreciate the feedback â both positive and negative â I get after âGaryâs Favoritesâ are published each year.
I canât even tell you how many people come up to me and Jannah when weâre sitting at the bar at The Grill at Morris Bridge, TrebleMakers, Stonewood, Zukku-San, Azteca DâOro or any of our other favorite eateries to tell me what they think of my opinions. The vast majority of them say things like, âI only tried this place because of what you wrote about themâ or âI didnât really love this place the first time I tried it, but I decided to give it another try because of you.â If youâve never felt that kind of love from strangers, I promise you that itâs one of the things that most makes the long hours I still put in 30 years since I first started this job worthwhile.Â
And yes, a few people also come up to me to tell me that they totally disagree with my assessment of one restaurant or another. Others also tell me that they read my reviews âeven though I know they arenât real.â
But, the fact is that whether my haters believe it or not, my dining reviews are 100% real. And, unlike the online trolls who think theyâre dining âcriticsâ because they tell their few followers that they hated something they ate (or the service they received) at a particular place, I still tell every restaurant owner in our area that when I write a review of their eatery, I will tell more than 170,000 of my âclosest friendsâ (thatâs the total possible number of readers we reach in print) everything I like about their place. Anything I donât like I will tell the restaurant owner about â and pretty much all of them appreciate this approach a lot more then online trolls who cause their overall online ratings to drop.
TrebleMakers continues to be my Favorite Restaurant in Wesley Chapel, and all youâd have to do to know this is true is check my bank records to see just how many times Jannah and I have eaten there every month since it opened. We just love sitting at the bar to enjoy a craft cocktail and we often share a Caesar salad and the always-fresh coconut curry grouper or a tender 8-oz. filet mignon.
Whenever weâre not sharing, I will usually get one of the following: the lollipop lamb chops shown here, the 16-oz. prime rib or the diver scallops, and the seared ahi tuna or potato gnocchi appetizer (although co-owner Jamie Hess says the Baked Imperial Crab Dip is the most popular app). Try any of these and let me know what you think!
2. Falabella Family Bistro   Â
6027 Wesley Grove Blvd., The Grove at Wesley Chapel
Any of my top-10 favorites could have made it to this spot, but one of the main reasons, for me, that Falabella Family Bistro nails down the #2 spot is because of its amazing weekend dinner specials, which can be anything from a honey bourbon pork chop to tender veal parmesan or Marsala and so many more.
Anytime I miss a possible new favorite special (like on my deadline weekends), I always check with owner Steve Falabella to see if I can still get the special after the weekend. Of course, when your regular menu includes crispy zucchini chips, Samâs meatballs,short rib ragu and the tender chicken parmesan shown here, plus one of our areaâs best dessert displays â and the recent addition of full liquor to go with the Bistroâs already popular wine and beer options â helped make it even more popular with the Nagers.
Although I love the fresh sushi, thereâs no doubt that the reason Jannah (who really only enjoys California roll) and I always have to come back to visit Zukku-San Sushi Bar & Grill is because of the amazing Starters â like deep-fried pork gyoza, steamed Zukku dumplings, veggie spring rolls, the incredible assortment of veggie tempura options (try the sweet potato and/or zucchini) and the chicken (photo) and tenderloin yakitori. The Japanese fried rice, grilled short ribs, crafted bowls and lychee martinis also are favorites.Â
From our first visit to the new Azteca DâOro, Jannah and I agreed that its Mexican food was significantly better than Cantina Laredo, the restaurant Azteca replaced. We love Aztecaâs huge menu of authentic dishes you wonât find at other local Mexican restaurants, including the borrego (lamb shank) shown above, the taquitos appetizer, the bar area and the placeâs âvibe.âÂ
Although it opened in Wesley Chapel too late in 2023 to earn votes in our Reader Survey, Cooperâs Hawk has been a solid chain restaurant in the Westshore area of Tampa for years, so Jannah and I already had a few favorites, including the pan-roasted mahi (photo), parmesan-crusted filet mignon & others,. But, weâve also found a few new faves since it opened here.Â
As our readersâ Wesley Chapel Favorite the last three years, Noble Crust also appeals to yours truly, but it seems that several of the dishes that have been my favorites get removed from the seasonally-changing menu or it would finish higher with me, because I love the place. The chicken fried chicken parm, ricotta gnocchi and steak frites (photo) are among my current faves. Â
Despite its 20% service charge, the second location of The Living Room has been a welcome addition to the Wesley Chapel dining scene, although Jannah and I differ on our favorite dishes. She loves the beef tenderloin empanadas and pan-seared crab cakes (and the house white cosmo), while Iâm partial to the brown butter scallops (photo), adobo-braised pork ossobuco and âYou Bet…Churrasco.â Â
If Jannah were a fan of Thai food, Iâd eat at (and take out from) Arroy Thai a lot more. Still the only place in Wesley Chapel for crispy duck, soft shell crabs, and Thai-style chicken with garlic and black pepper sauce, as well as Thai-style house fried rice, Arroy Thai is a little hidden gem in the same plaza as Joe Whiskeyâs.Â
Garyâs 2023 Favorite Restaurants In Wesley Chapel #s 11-25Â
