Lima Peruvian Cuisine — Have You Really Still Not Tried This Place?

Lima Rotisserie Chicken & Peruvian Cuisine owner Oscar Escudero is well aware that his restaurant, located in the Publix-anchored New Tampa Center plaza on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. (a mile or so south of the Pasco County line), has been among my favorite restaurants in either of our distribution areas since he first opened in Feb. 2020. 

“Yeah, we opened less than a month before the pandemic hit,” Oscar remembers all too clearly. “And then, only a few months after we opened, the chef I brought over from Peru, Felix Picasso, suffered a stroke here in the restaurant.” 

In other words, no matter how much a certain editor has always loved his place, Oscar has faced several challenges, including having to take over as the main chef in the kitchen — despite previously working in real estate — and even though he had never even cooked in a commercial kitchen before. 

“Felix taught me how to take our recipes, which were mostly my mom’s anyway, and cook them for a large number of people,” Oscar says. “I have put in some 100-hour work weeks trying to keep this place going.” 

But, not only has Oscar kept Lima afloat, in the five+ years since he first opened, his newfound experience in the kitchen has helped him expand his already-delicious Peruvian-Chinese fusion menu with ongoing specials that are a treat for both your eyes and your palette. 

If you’ve been reading my reviews of Lima over the years, I’m sure you know that I’m basically addicted to his all-fish (since I can’t eat shrimp) CevichĂ© de Pescado, which is as good as any I’ve had anywhere in the Tampa Bay area, with its perfect blend of South American lime juice and spices, those delicious, giant Peruvian corn kernels and sliced red onions. I don’t eat the raw onions themselves, but the flavor they add is a necessity. I also love the wedge of sweet potato that’s soaked in the ceviche’s delectable juice. 

Well, on our most recent visit, Jannah, photographer Charmaine George and I sampled three new specials, including a “Marina Trio” (above left), which featured a nice-sized portion of that amazing fish ceviche, flanked on one side by Arroz Chaufa (Peruvian-Chinese-style fried rice) Mariscos, with shrimp, calamari, mussels and clams one side and by fried white fish fingers called Jalea on the other. Although I couldn’t eat the fried rice, Jannah and Charmaine agreed that it was delicious. I can vouch for the fried rice with either chicken or beef tenderloin tips, though. Yum! 

Next up was the Aticucho de Lomo de Res (top) — tender, tasty beef tenderloin tips (the traditional dish is often made with beef hearts) on skewers on a steaming dish with sizable sides of crispy potato wedges and grilled Peruvian corn. The only warning I’ll offer is that if you don’t like a very spicy dipping sauce, the innocent-looking side of pink rocato sauce is literally an eye-opener. 

And, even though Jannah doesn’t like her meal looking back at her, even she admitted that the third special we tried — the whole, deep-fried yellowtail snapper, served with thick yuca fries (right) — was excellent. The snapper was super-flaky and the flavor is unlike other whole snapper/fish you’ll find at other restaurants. 

The only regular menu item we sampled on our most recent visit, because we had never tried it before, was the aptly named Lima Bowl (below left) — a heaping portion of creamy (and well-spiced, but not spicy) chicken salad, made with Lima’s signature rotisserie chicken, served over white rice, black beans and Romaine lettuce with Peruvian-style pico de gallo. So good. 

Of course, anytime a local place continues to attract my attention, there are always dishes Jannah and I allow ourselves to indulge in on a regular basis. Mine always starts with the aforementioned CevichĂ© de Pescado (although I also loved the new CevichĂ© Lima, which adds fried calamari and a savory golden pepper sauce to the usual cevichĂ©), but Jannah’s absolute favorite dish at Lima is the Tallarin Saltado, which is similar to a Chinese lo mein-style dish, but combines flamed, sliced onions, tomatoes and cilantro, blended with fettuccine-style pasta and Peruvian soy sauce with a touch of sesame oil. 

I’m also partial to the variety of fried fillet of fish dishes, especially the Pescado a la Chorrillana, which is topped with sautĂ©ed spices, onions, tomatoes and cilantro, with a splash of wine, and served with jasmine rice, as well as the Asado de Res con Ensalada Rusa, which was a special I told you about last year that is basically the Peruvian version of beef pot roast/brisket, served with a Russian-inspired potato-&-beet salad. 

And yes, I’m also a fan of Lima’s signature crispy-skin, Peruvian rotisserie chicken, but I get almost as much enjoyment simply from the aroma of the chicken anytime you enter the restaurant. 

“It’s a very special oven we make the chicken in,” Oscar says. “We have quite a few regular customers who never get anything else.” If you’re one of these regulars, I get it, but my opinion is that you need to broaden your horizons. 

Don’t forget dessert. Charmaine and I both flipped for last year’s Cake de Maracuya, which is sort of like a passion fruit cake & flan combo. It’s light, airy and delicious. We also agreed that the special we tried this time around — the Tres Leches de Lucuma (right) — definitely had a different flavor than any tres leches we’ve had before, thanks to the South American lucuma fruit which we agreed is a combination of maple, butterscotch and caramel that is light and not too sweet. 

Other desserts include a creamy torta de chocolate, arroz con leche (rice pudding) and alfajores, which are crumbly cookies filled with dulce de leche (always on the front counter). 

Lima also serves beer (I usually get the Peruvian Cusqueña) and wine, as well as Inca Kola (regular and diet) and Peruvian juices in passion fruit and mango. The kids menu includes Salchipapas (French fries topped with diced hot dogs), as well as chicken tenders and fried fish strips. 

Lima (19062 BBD Blvd.) opens every day at 11 a.m. & stays open until 8 p.m. Mon.-Thur., 9 p.m. on Fri. & Sat. & 7 p.m. on Sun. For more info, call (813) 304-0205, order on UberEats or DoorDash, visit LimaTampa.com — and please tell Oscar I sent you! 

3rd Annual Fall Festival At New Tampa Performing Arts Center This Weekend — All FREE!

The New Tampa Performing Arts Center (NTPAC) will host its all-FREE third-annual Fall Festival all weekend (Sept. 12-14), beginning this afternoon at 5 p.m. and continuing all day tomorrow & Sunday.

Festival Schedule

All events and performances are free to attend. In addition to mainstage acts, the festival will showcase lobby performances by both professional and student artists throughout the weekend. 

Friday, Sept. 12 – Doors open at 5 PM 
 
Studio 1 
5:45 PM: Outcast Theatre 
7:45 PM: Cultural Arts Theater
 
Studio 2A 
Backstage Tours at: 5 PM and 6 PM 
 
Theater 
7 PM: Wattaka Choir  
8:15 PM: Jansen Dance Project   
 
Saturday, Sept. 13 – Doors open at 9:30 AM 
 
Studio 1  
5 PM: Winold Music Festival 
6:45 PM: USF Musical Theatre Program   
 
Studio 2A  
9:30 AM-1 PM: Florida Orchestra Instrument Petting Zoo 
Backstage Tours at: 12:15 PM, 1:45 PM, and 4:30 PM 
 
Theater 
10 AM: Film screening: Disney’s Beauty and The Beast (1991)  
1 PM: Entertainment Revue  
2:15 PM: Hillsborough College Music Department  
3:30 PM: Rebecca Penneys Piano Festival featuring Vincent Pham (solo piano)
4:45 PM: Hat Trick Theatre and Tales of Mild Interest  
6 PM: Anna Dance Academy  
7:30 PM: Tampa City Ballet’s Cinderella  

Food Trucks 
Rollin’ Bites and Forge Pizza  
 

Sunday, Sept. 14 – Doors open at 12:30 PM  
 
Studio 1 
1:15 PM: Countdown Improv  
3 PM: Devine Madness Sketch Comedy 
 
Studio 2A  
Backstage Tour at 3:15 PM 
 
Theater 
1 PM: Cypress Creek Jazz Band 
2:15 PM: Rudram Dance Company  
3:45 PM: New Tampa Players  
5 PM: St. Pete Opera with special performance by Tampa City Ballet 

Papichy’s Is Now Open On WC Blvd.

I’ll admit that the first time I ever bought anything from the Pastelitos Papichy’s food truck — which has been located in the same plaza as LA Fitness and Five Guys Burgers & Fries south of County Line Rd. and west of Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. in New Tampa for about two years — was a few months ago, when I first heard that owners Ruben Caridad and his son, Ruben, Jr., were opening their first brick-&-mortar location in the Grand Oaks Plaza at 26242 Wesley Chapel Blvd. in Lutz (photo below). 

But now, I’m definitely a fan. And, considering that one of my daughters-in-law is from Venezuela, as are the Caridads, I probably should have tried Papichy’s sooner. The entire menu is a variety of fried Venezuelan items, from savory to more dessert-oriented. Open for a few weeks at our press time, the new location is the seventh Papichy’s for the Caridads, who also have their food trucks off Waters Ave. in Tampa and in Odessa (FL) and Orlando. 

Since “Pastelitos” is part of the place’s full name, I first tried a guava and cheese pastelito, which was crispy and delicious, but be warned that the guava jelly is molten-hot, but worth it! A box of 25 assorted (there also are chicken, pizza, potato-&-cheese, ground and shredded beef varieties) mini-pastelitos is shown at the top of the page. 

Since then, I also have sampled the mini-empanadas (available in many of the same savory varieties, as well as filled with ham & cheese, fish, black beans, bacon, seafood & more), as well as tequeños (cheese sticks) and my surprise favorite — the mandocas (cornmeal doughnuts shaped like teardrops). They’re all just so good. 

I was so impressed that I brought 100 assorted Papichy’s treats to the Volunteer Day at the future home of Sgt. Quincy Lopez in Wesley Chapel and they were all quickly gobbled up. You definitely should try Papichy’s if you haven’t already! 

‘The Music Man’ Is The Latest Triumph For The New Tampa Players!

I will readily admit that among the dozens of Broadway and Off-Broadway musicals that I saw during my years of living in New York, “The Music Man” was never one of my favorites. But, I only ever saw the hit 1962 movie starring Robert Preston as the conniving Prof. Harold Hill and Shirley Jones as the lovely librarian/music teacher Marian Paroo — although I was in the show’s (barbershop) “Quartet” in my high school’s performance of the classic Tony Award-winning hit. 

I thought the story of Hill, the traveling salesman/con man, and his duping of a town full of weird and often stupid characters, created by Meredith Willson and Franklin Lacey, was just too dated and not as much fun as some others. 

But honestly, to me, the New Tampa Players’ (NTP) production of “The Music Man” at the New Tampa Performing Arts Center was better than the movie. And apparently, I wasn’t alone. All of the people sitting around Jannah and me raved about the talented cast and their beautiful singing voices, the sets, the costumes and the 15-piece orchestra — the largest ever for an NTP production — under the musical direction of the great G. Frank Meekins. I hope director Angel Borths, choreographer Tatiana Eriksen, costume designers Shelley Giles, Heather Cleveland, Travy Stemm and Dave Giles and production manager (and NTP producing artistic director) Nora Paine and the entire cast and crew are proud. This also was the first NTP show I’ve seen with sign language interpreters (photo below)! 

The amazing Melanie Bierweiler was correctly sassy as Marian (and did a fantastic job singing “Goodnight My Someone” and “Till There Was You”) and David Groomes didn’t disappoint in the demanding role of Prof. Hill on “Ya Got Trouble,” “76 Trombones” and with Melanie on “Till There Was You.” The “Quartet” of Chase Reeder, Michael Bonassar, Jacey Squires and James Cass hit every note of every song, including on “Lida Rose.” 

Neil Bleiweiss provided great comic relief as Mayor Shinn and Becky Groomes correctly “overacted” as his zany wife Eulalie. Talented youngsters Nora Duffy as Amaryllis (who sang like a songbird in duet with Melanie on “Goodnight My Someone”) and Luke Adams as Marian’s lisping brother Winthrop (who sang to the back of the theater on “Gary, Indiana”) showed that NTP has a bright future ahead. And, Debbie Scourtes brought a lot of verve to the role of Marian’s widowed mother Mrs. Paroo, who is trying to keep her daughter from becoming an old spinster. 

You could just hear the audience hissing at the show’s one villain, Charlie Cowell (played to perfection by Stephon Mikell), and Jaden Figueroa and Chloe Tort were great as the young “troublemaker” Tommy Djilas and Zaneeta Shinn (“Ye Gawd!”), respectively. 

The largest cast I’ve ever seen in an NTP production also included the super-fun and funny Pick-A-Little Ladies (Lena Wigfall, Suzann Humara, Christy Adams and Chelsea Keith), plus nearly 20 “ensemble” players young and old (including the super adorable extra-young’ns Mars Wolfe Bonassar and Elliott LeFloch). 

But, I wouldn’t be telling the truth if I didn’t say that Gabriel Martin White as Hill’s buddy and fellow con man Marcellus Washburn was this show’s scene stealer. He got laughs — calling Hill by his real first name (“Greg”) throughout — and he brought to mind the young Dick Van Dyke in “Mary Poppins” with his expressive face and high-flying, elastic-legged dancing. My pics did him no justice! 

Great job, one & all! 

Up next for NTP are another classic musical — “Oklahoma” — in October, and “The Sponge Bob Musical” (yes, really) in January. Auditions for both shows have already been held (although volunteers to help with both productions are still needed), so look for announcements about when tickets go on sale in these pages and at NewTampaPlayers.org. — GN