Category: Wesley Chapel

The Grill At Morris Bridge Making Major Menu Changes!

When The Grill at Morris Bridge opened on Cross Creek Blvd. (next to Publix) in late 2021, many locals raved about having a locally owned sit-down dinner place that wasn’t a chain. Others said it was a little pricy for what it was and some even (incorrectly, in one editor’s opinion) complained that the portions were small.

Well, owners Frank and James Gouveia heard the calls and they’ve been working with new chef Wally Dawson (who previously was the Executive Chef at Roy’s and at Lake Jovita Country Club) to revamp The Grill’s menu, reducing the prices on many menu items, adding a few new goodies and removing some items altogether. The Grill also has put additional emphasis on a great, reduced-price Bar Menu.

Frank, who spent a lot of years in the wine distribution business, also promises some lower-cost glasses and bottles of wine, and the new Happy Hour (Tuesday-Friday, all day until 6 p.m.) features a number of specially-selected bottles for just $28, as well as $4 draft beers and $5 Corazon tequila, Spring 44 (indigo) gin, Svedka vodka, Benchmark bourbon and Bacardi rum drinks.

The bar menu includes Cacoila paprika-braised pulled pork sliders, an outstanding blackened chicken sandwich (usually served with fries, but I get it with delicious sautéed broccolini), “smash” burgers and a variety of crisp-crust, oven-baked pizzas. Our new favorite of these is the slightly spicy, slightly salty linguiça sausage pizza , although the curiously named Route 140 pizza combines the same linguiça with banana peppers and onion. You also can dress up your own cheese pizza with a variety of veggies, meats and extra cheese.

There are a number of items that Frank treated me, Jannah and photographer Charmaine George to on our most recent visit — items that are so new, they hadn’t even been added to the menu at that point, but they’re awesome.

Mine and Jannah’s favorite was the bacon-and-parmesan-crusted mahi-mahi, served on a bed of asparagus, fried capers and roasted red potatoes, with a lemon butter sauce. The crust is thick and crispy, but not overpowering and Frank and Wally said that the mahi will cost about $22, which — take my word for it — is a bargain.

Another new entrée that Jannah and I didn’t get to sample (because of my accursed shellfish allergy) but Charmaine raved about was the blackened shrimp fettuccine Alfredo. She said the sauce, pasta and shrimp were all spot-on. Wally and Frank also promised that other new menu items will be announced shortly — possibly as soon as by the time this issue reaches your mailbox.

The only thing that could make some of our favorites at The Grill at Morris Bridge even better would be lower prices.

Among those favorites are the most authentic-tasting Caesar salad I’ve had in New Tampa or Wesley Chapel, the grilled pork chop (served with fingerling potatoes, sautéed Brussels sprouts and Romesco sauce), the 8-oz. grilled filet mignon (there’s also a tasty 12-oz NY strip and Frank says a ribeye might be added) and the chicken & broccolini (with rigatoni, diced chicken, garlic, broccolini and lemon cream sauce) and the true New England clam chowder.

Our favorite desserts are the creme brulée and the chef’s cheesecake (try either one with the perfect cappuccino or regular coffee) and The Grill also has “New Tampa’s Best Sunday Brunch” with tasty egg dishes (including a variety of Benedicts), brioche French toast and more, and the kids menu has four different items all priced at just $9.

“We don’t want The Grill to be just a ‘special occasion’ destination,” Frank says. We want it to be an affordable, family-friendly place you’ll want to visit every week.”

The Grill at Morris Bridge (10920 Cross Creek Blvd.) is open every day except Monday for lunch and dinner. For more information, call (813) 388-5353, visit TheGrillat MorrisBridge.com or search “The Grill at Morris Bridge” on Facebook.

Morris Bridge The Grill at Morris Bridge

Nibbles & Bites: Wesley Chapel’s latest

• In the same plaza as Blue Water Dental on S.R. 54 near Saddlebrook Resort, two restaurants are significantly closer to opening the second Wesley Chapel location for each.

Jersey Mike’s Subs (photo right), which already has a location in the Shoppes at New Tampa plaza on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. south of S.R. 56, is nearing completion, and is now hiring, with an anticipated opening sometime in early April.

First Watch, which also already has its first location in the same plaza as Wesley Chapel’s original Jersey Mike’s, should be open later this month, possibly as early as April 24. We’ll keep you posted.

• We also have an update on The Living Room, the popular Dunedin restaurant and live music venue that is coming to the former location of Ciao! in the Shops at Wiregrass.

Co-owner Zach Feinstein says that supply chain issues have delayed the opening of The Living Room (photo above) here and that it looks like the fully gutted and revamped eatery likely won’t open before sometime in June of this year.

• And finally, although it’s not located in the KRATE Container Park, we wanted to congratulate Victoria and Dan Watson, the husband-and-wife team that has owned The Acting Studio since 2009 without a formal space to call their own, for the Grand Opening and North Tampa Bay Chamber ribbon cutting (photo, above) of their new studio and theater in The Village at The Grove (at 6027 Wesley Grove Blvd., Suite 204).

The extracurricular theater program offers opportunities for everyone from middle schoolers through adults, with a primary focus on high school-aged kids.

For more information, visit TheActingStudioTampa.com or call (813) 679-4810. — GN

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Zukku-San Sushi Owners To Open Astro Ice Cream & Ato Sushi & Poké

Zukku-San Sushi Bar & Grill, located on the north side of S.R. 56, just west of I-75, has been my favorite Japanese restaurant in our area since the day it opened.

I love sushi, and Zukku-San has an incredible variety of some of the best sushi in our area, but for me, it’s always been more about everything else on Zukku-San’s delicious menu that sets it apart from its competition.

Co-owner Ferdian Jap and co-owner/executive chef Gia Tran have created something special in their unassuming space next to Crumbl Cookie. And, while Zukku-San is an elegant, but still casual, sit-down restaurant with a full premium liquor bar (with craft cocktails like the lychee nut martini and coconut mojito shown center right on this page), Ferdian and Gia actually started together with more of a fast-casual poké-bowl-and-sushi-“burrito” concept in Tampa’s Armature Works, with a similar location also open in Charlotte, NC, and they are getting ready to open a similar concept called “Ato” in the KRATE Container Park at The Grove (Ferdian says Ato likely won’t open until late May or early June).

And, since they’re obviously not busy enough with just those eateries, Ferdian and Gia also have an Astro Craft Ice Cream location in Armature Works, and plan to open a second Astro location where Great Clips closed on the north side of S.R. 56. next to Mellow Mushroom. The signage is up at the new Astro Ice Cream, but Ferdian says the new location likely won’t open until June or July (more on that below).

But, this article will focus on Zukku-San, which continues to add new favorites to my list every time I try anything new.

The Best Starters!

I have been raving about the Starters at Zukku-San from Day One, including the most perfect deep-fried gyoza (pork dumplings) with house-made Ponzu sauce, crispy vegetable spring rolls served with an amazing semi-spicy orange chili sauce, skewered traditional Japanese chicken and beef tenderloin yakitori (with fresh veggies; there’s also shrimp and veggie-only varieties) served with teriyaki sauce, steamed or garlic edamame, crispy fried Karaage chicken served with spicy mayo and a wonderful tuna tataki, plus it’s the only place I know of that serves Tempura a la Carte options.

The tempura is lightly battered and fried to golden perfection and allows you to order individual portions of your favorites.

Our most recent order (left) included four pieces each of carrots, sweet potatoes and zucchini (only $2.95 per order each), as well as a whole soft shell crab ($9.95), which was cut into bite-sized pieces for us.

Other a la carte tempura options include shrimp, tofu, broccoli, while giant squid, avocado, hamachi (yellowtail snapper) collar, asparagus, onion, red and jalapeño peppers and whole lobster tail. So good!

On our most recent visit, we also ordered the chef’s special spicy bluefin tuna chu-toro crudo, which has thin slices of bluefin tuna (which is a fattier tuna they call medium-fatty, than their regular ahi tuna tataki appetizer), topped with jalapeños and scallions in an incredible sriracha/chili-based spicy sauce. It’s also served with a side of seaweed salad.

The Best Entrées!

We’ve usually stayed pretty basic when it comes to our favorite entrées “from the Wok & Grill” at Zukku-San, but on our most recent visit, we tried three new dishes (in addition to our usual chicken fried rice) and no one was disappointed.

My favorite was my grilled short ribs, which are marinated in Asian pear juice, grilled to perfection and served with jasmine rice and sautéed veggies. These aren’t your fall-off-the-bone short ribs; they’re more like Chinese-style BBQ spare ribs, but the flavor is definitely unique.

Photographer Charmaine George ordered the wok-fired Udon Noodles with fried tofu and we all raved about the sauce covering the chewy soft noodles, the tofu and the sautéed broccoli, onion, carrot, red peppers and zucchini. Like Zukku-San’s fried rice and wok-fired hibachi (egg) noodles, you can order them with just veggies, chicken, tenderloin steak or shrimp, too.

Of course, Jannah and I also had to bring our granddaughter Rosie with us, since Zukku-San has been her favorite restaurant since she was just over a year old. Rosie and her mom Lauren love all the starters we order (the carrots are her favorite) and the perfect California roll, but her dad Albert also raved about the soy butter glazed baked salmon entrée. Lauren also always gets a Mexican roll, with tempura shrimp, avocado, cucumber, sesame seeds, masago (fish roe) and spicy mayo.

For those who only crave sushi, try Zukku-San’s Masterpiece sushi rolls like the shrimp volcano and lobster Masterpiece roll.

Zukku-San also has a wide variety of nigiri (sliced fish on rice) and sashimi (no rice), hand rolls, as well as sushi and sashimi palettes with from 24 pieces of up to four different sashimis (for $50) up to small and large sushi palettes with as many as six Masterpiece rolls or 8 classic or hand rolls for $120.

For lunch, Zukku-San has make-your-own poké bowls with rice or mixed greens, up to two proteins (try the panko chicken and ahi tuna), up to two sauces and up to three toppings, as well as Bento Box lunches with short ribs, chicken teriyaki, shrimp tempura or sushi-only, served with ginger salad, pork gyoza and miso soup.

Zukku-San Sushi Bar & Grill is located at 25916 Sierra Center Blvd.) and is open seven days a week for lunch and dinner (although the lunch menu isn’t available on weekends). For more info, visit ZukkuSushi.com or call (813) 419-1351.

Astro Ice Cream Set To Open!

For those of us who love ice cream, the announcement that Zukku-San’s owners also are opening a second location of their Astro Craft Ice Cream in our area is very much welcome news.

The Armature Works location features a variety of unique flavors that, according to its website, “feature new twists of traditional flavor combinations that reflect the diversity of our Tampa Bay community & honor its rich history.”

Ferdian says no one else has flavors like creme brulée café con leche, whiskey cookie dough, Tampa guava cream cheese or banana pudding peanut butter cookie, Ybor spiced run toasted coconut meringue pie, or options like ice cream sandwiches made with real pressed Cuban bread from La Segunda Bakery (photo above). “The bread gets crispy and the ice cream stays cold,” says Ferdian. Wow!

Stay tuned to these pages for updated on Astro Ice Cream’s expected opening.

sushi Zukku-San

Nibbles & Bites: Mojo Fusion Latin Cuisine & MaeBerry Co. The Latest KRATEs To Open

MOJO FUSION: Although it wasn’t quite open when we went to press (it is open as you’re reading this), Jannah and I were fortunate enough to be able to attend the Friends & Family pre-opening of Mojo Fusion, the Latin Fusion restaurant owned by Luis Ledezma and his family. Ledezma, who has years of experience in the food business, is from Venezuela, but promises that his menu at the first restaurant he has owned also includes Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican and even Argentinian-style dishes on its smallish — but delicious — menu.

We got to sample the super-tasty Argentinian-style Choripan chorizo sandwich shown above (the chimichurri sauce is legit) and the Cuban nachos (plantain chips topped with shredded pork, chicharrones, melted cheese, pico de gallo, cilantro aioli and fresh chopped cilantro), as well as the “fantastica” house-made red sangria. For more info, call (813) 406-5385 or visit MojoGrillLatinFusion.com.

MAEBERRY CO.: MaeBerry Co., the brainchild of Monica Russo, a Wesley Chapel resident who previously sold her baby clothes and accessories online only, opened the day before we went to press and I was so impressed with MaeBerry’s super-soft, breathable Hanlyn Collective Game-On bamboo pajamas that I bought a pair for my grandson Jackson (picture, right).

MaeBerry has lots of baby teethers, Itzy Ritzy diaper bags and so much more in one of the smallest spaces we’ve seen at the KRATEs that you really should check it out for yourself. For more information, visit MaeBerryCo.com or search “MaeBerry Co.” on Facebook.

EL PRINCE MEDITERRANEAN: Continuing our ongoing tour of the newest KRATEs to open at The Grove, El Prince Mediterranean, which has only had locations in Middle Eastern destinations like Dubai and Qatar, has opened its first U.S. location right here in Wesley Chapel.

I’ve only sampled a couple of items at El Prince so far, but both the meat shawarma (photo; which is delicious, marinated sliced ribeye beef roasted with Middle eastern spices, topped with onions and tahini sauce that I had them put on the side) and the El Prince salad (with dice lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, onions and a savory vinaigrette dressing) were super yummy.

El Prince also offers shish kebab (cubes of marinated lamb) and shish tawook (cubes of marinated chicken) platters, kofta kebabs (grilled, seasoned ground beef) and a mixed grill of all three, plus bone-in grilled chicken and the specialty of the house — roasted lamb shank, and more.

For the full menu and more info, search “El Prince Restaurant” on Facebook or visit ElPrinceRestaurants.com.

Other KRATEs that were hoping to open by the time this issue reached your mailbox but will likely take a little longer to open are The Bacon Boss (one of our favorite local food trucks, with amazing burgers and more, opening its first actual restaurant) and Palani’s Hawai’i Noodles, both of which are now planning to open sometime later this month.

Other KRATE restaurants getting ready to open over the next couple of months include Ato Sushi Burritos & Poké Bowls, Tasty Ramen, Boba Mac’s Tea & Eat, Tacos el Patron, TJ’s Hot Dogs, Flipn’ Fries Factory, Bakery X, Cafe Zorba and more. — GN

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900º New York Pizza At The Grove Is A New Wesley Chapel Favorite!

I have known Steve Falabella for more than a decade, since he first co-opened 900º Woodfired Pizza in the Shops at Wiregrass in 2011. Today, not only are Steve and his wife Micaela the sole owners of 900º Woodfired, they also opened (in 2021) two new restaurants, which are located next to each other in The Village at The Grove at Wesley Chapel — Falabella Family Bistro and 900º New York Pizza.

We’ve been telling you about all three of these outstanding eateries, not only in Dining Feature stories but also in our annual Reader Dining Survey and Gary’s Favorites features, where Falabella Bistro finished as the #3 Favorite restaurant with me and #4 Favorite Restaurant with our readers for 2021, and both 900º Woodfired and 900º New York finished in the top-6 for Favorite Pizza with both yours truly and our readers — for good reason.

But, no matter how nice a guy and well-liked Steve, his family and crew may be, if his places were all just so-so, they wouldn’t finish as high in our annual rankings. But, the fact is that this native New Yorker whose family roots can be traced to Italia knows great Italian food and he definitely has brought that knowledge to his Bistro and pizza places. Only quality ingredients are used, and it shows, at all three local Falabella-owned restaurants.

OK, Let’s Start With The ‘Za

Steve’s 900º Woodfired pizza may also offer traditional Neapolitan-style wood-burning oven pizza as well as New York style, but he only offers the NY-style at his pizzeria at The Grove.

But, that’s just fine with yours truly, as I have always preferred NY-style, which also has a thin crust, but with a little more crust on the outside ring, made in a traditional pizza oven on what is known in the biz as a pizza “stone.” I also have always enjoyed the thicker-crust, square Sicilian-style pizza, which is another long-time favorite of mine at both of Steve’s pizza places.

In fact, while I usually order fresh round pies with pepperoni and sweet Italian sausage (or just plain cheese), I also am a big fan of the Meat Lovers pizza shown above. But, Steve says that one of his most popular by-the-slice options is what he calls his Carmine pizza, which is a square pie with a slightly different crust than his Sicilian pizza. The Carmine is covered in “baby” pepperoni and a zingier almost-Grandma’s-style sauce, as the pizza made famous by Carmine Gangone of Carmine & Sons Pizzeria in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, NY.

“Carmine and I are friends from Brooklyn and he showed me how to make his most famous pizza,” Steve says. “That’s why I named it The Carmine. We only sell it by the slice, and it takes two hours to make one pan of it. It always sells out almost right away.”

And of course, 900º NY Pizza also serves a wide variety of other pizzas — from 12” and 18” pies with your choice of toppings to Keto-style; low-carb options made with a cheese crust in 12” or 16” sizes; gluten-free 10” personal pizzas made with a cauliflower crust; and about 20 different Specialty Pizzas, from his version of Grandma’s pizza to barbecue chicken pizza with white sauce, Calabrese (with spicy Calabrese salami, Ortolano (with cherry tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, artichokes and no sauce) and many more. There’s even “Pizza Metro” party pizzas (36” x 18”) that serve 10-12 people, make-it-yourself pizza kits (which were super-popular during Covid) and of course, an always-changing variety of NY- and Sicilian-style pizzas sold by the slice.

Calzones, Appetizers & More!

But, what if you’re in the mood for something other than pizza? Steve’s got you covered at 900º NY Pizza, too. There are delicious salads, like the grilled chicken Caesar shown on this page, Mediterranea (with romaine, kalamata olives and feta cheese) and more.

For other starters, 900º NY Pizza also has a great Caprese (with fresh mozzarella and slice tomatoes), bruschetta, mozzarella sticks, fried calamari and delicious oven-baked wings (naked or with your choice of BBQ, Buffalo Hot or garlic parmesan sauce), plus some of the best garlic knots in town. There also are deep fried calzones called panzerotto, fried cheese ravioli and traditional Italian Arancini (rice balls).

I’m personally not the biggest fan of calzones, but if you are, people rave about them at 900º NY Pizza. You can choose from a base calzone with shredded mozzarella, to classic (mozzarella, fresh ricotta and ham), Americano (with pepperoni and Italian sausage) and a vegetarian style “Farcito,” with spinach, black olives and tomato.

And, don’t sleep on the hot subs at 900º NY Pizza, either. Both the chicken and meatball parm subs are served on crisp crust sub rolls with mozzarella and tomato sauce. They’re also delicious.

Pasta, Everyone?

In addition to the pizzas, my other favorite reasons to visit either of Steve’s 900º locations are the delicious pastas.

From specialty baked pastas, like the lasagne, ricotta or blue crab-filled ravioli, baked ziti or the excellent chicken parm entrée (top right photo on this page) served with a side of spaghetti or penne in tomato sauce, to delicioso create-your-own pastas with your choice of pomodoro (homemade tomato), alla vodka, Bolognese (meat), Alfredo (cream) or Pesto (with basil, pine nuts, grated parmesan and olive oil), you really can’t go wrong.

I’m not usually the biggest Alfredo fan, but the fettuccine Alfredo with grilled chicken (pictured) is as good as I’ve had in our area — super-creamy, but not overly heavy.

My favorite pasta is still the pesto “Genovese” style, to which I add not only grilled chicken, but also some sautéed fresh spinach.

There’s also an affordable kids menu with everything from chicken fingers to spaghetti or penne with meatballs, meat sauce, butter or pomodoro, four pieces of fried ravioli or a kids-cut pizza slice (all just $4.95-$5.95).

And, while I don’t usually save room for dessert at 900º NY Pizza, a variety of delicious options is available — from pizza Nutella (a 12” pizza crust covered with Nutella hazelnut spread and dusted with powdered sugar), which also is available topped with strawberries and bananas. There also are Nutella knots (deep-fried dough draped with Nutella and topped with powdered sugar), plus a variety of real Italian ice flavors.

For those who want an adult beverage with their meal, 900º NY Pizza has pinot grigio (white) or cabernet blend (red) wines by the glass, 20-oz. Peroni Italian beer on draft, a variety of other domestic and imported beers, plus White Claw hard seltzers.

900º NY Pizza (6027 Wesley Grove Blvd.) opens every day at 11 a.m. and is open until 9 p.m. Mon.-Thur., 10 p.m. on Sat. & 8 p.m. on Sun. Dine-in, pick-up and delivery (through Uber Eats, Door Dash & ezCater) are available. For info, call (813) 406-4500 or visit 900degreeswoodfirepizza.com, which also has info about 900º Woodfired.

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