Wesley Chapel Dining Survey Results: Your Favorite Pizza!

(L.-r.) Preston Parilo, Cynthia Andujar, Joe Carrion & Ivan Plumb obviously enjoy serving — and eating — the delicious New York-style pepperoni pizza at 900º Woodfired Pizza in the Shops at Wiregrass Mall. (Photo by Charmaine George)

1. 900º Woodfired
28152 Paseo Drive #195
(813) 527-6940
900DegreesWoodfirePizza.com

Pizza continues to be a favorite option for lunch and dinner with our readers and none is more popular this year than owner Steve Falabella’s 900º Woodfired Pizza in the Shops at Wiregrass, which won this year’s Favorite Pizza in Wesley Chapel with our readers by a fairly wide margin.

And, considering that Falabella opened not only his Falabella Family Bistro (our readers’ fourth favorite restaurant in WC) but also a second 900º Pizza location (900º New York Pizza, which finished a solid sixth with our readers in its first year) in The Grove at Wesley Chapel in 2021, the fact that so many still selected the original 900º location as their favorite pizza place is a testament to Falabella’s commitment to quality food at super-fair prices.

The primary difference between the two 900º locations is that only the original pizza shop in Wiregrass offers Neapolitan-style woodfired pizza (like the Margherita pizza in the photo, right), as well as the New York style ‘za available at both locations.

But, thanks to its other great Italian specialties, 900º Woodfired Pizza also finished 10th as our readers’ Favorite Restaurant in Wesley Chapel. Among the favorite appetizers are the deep-fried calzones known as Panzeretto and the bruschetta, while my favorite pasta dish is the authentic pesto Genovese, although the penne alla vodka, Alfredo and Bolognese sauces also are all pretty popular.  And, wash them down with ice cold Peroni on draft, as well as bottled beers and wines by the glass or bottle. — GN

2. PizzaMania
1734 Bruce B Downs Blvd.
(813) 907-0005
MyPizzaMania.com

One of the first pizza places to open in Wesley Chapel also is still high among our readers’ favorites, as the NY/NJ-style pies and Italian specialties continue to earn lots of votes.

Not only is there ever-popular regular pizzas, but also gourmet options, like But, of course, pizza, including gourmet options like Margherita, white sauce and more, but PizzaMania also offers everything from fried ravioli and bruschetta to arancini (traditional rice balls) and other appetizers, plus a variety of salads, hot and cold subs, calzones and strombolis, plus wings with a variety of sauces, lasagna, baked ziti, stuffed shells, gnocchi Sorrentina and pasta with vodka, white clam and pesto sauce and even a seafood combo of mussels, shrimp and clams that helped it finish tied for 34th Favorite Restaurant in Wesley Chapel with our readers. — GN

3. NY NY Pizza
3757 Bruce B Downs Blvd.
(813) 528-8771
NYNYPizzeria.com

Technically, the New York New York Pizza in Wesley Chapel is part of a small eight-unit chain (including one in Tampa International Airport) of no-frills Tampa-area pizza places that serve excellent true-New York-style pizza. But, chain or no chain, the Wesley Chapel location has been among the top five favorite pizza places with our readers since it first opened.

NY NY, which finished third to second-place PizzaMania by only two votes and ahead of Amici by a half-dozen, offers a large variety of pizza-by-the-slice and whole-pie options, including everything from cheese and pepperoni to meat lovers and white and from cauliflower crust to my favorite Grandma’s pizza with a garlic red sauce in our area.

NY NY also has a nice selection of salads, sandwiches and even burgers plus baked pasta options. — GN

The rest of the 2021 Pizza Top 10:

(4) Amici
(5) Mellow Mushroom
(6) 900 NY
(T7) Fratelli’s
(T7) Best NY
(T7) Blaze
(T10) Papa John’s
(T10) Bosco’s. 


Wesley Chapel Dining Survey Results: Top 25!

1 — NOBLE CRUST
When a new restaurant opens in Wesley Chapel, it typically  become’s a reader’s favorite in its first year, and then gradually fades to the middle of the pack.

Not Noble Crust. A testament to an innovative and delicious menu, maintaining a steady staff in these difficult times for restaurants and focusing on excellence and consistency, Noble Crust has placed third in our Reader’s Survey every year since opening in 2017.

Great servers like Bri Small (on the left, holding the rigatoni + short rib ragu) and Josh Salinas (with the bronzed salmon) serving delicious food are a big part of Noble Crust’s win as this year’s Favorite Restaurant in Wesley Chapel. (Photos: Charmaine George)

Not this year, however. This year, Noble Crust has moved up to No. 1.

“That’s huge for us,” says operating partner Danny Autrey. “To be able to stand apart from our other two locations (in Carrollwood and St Petersburg) is great. We pride ourselves on our great staff, and it’s nice to see them rewarded by the community.”

There is much to like about Noble Crust, which is located at the Shops at Wiregrass — the service, the bar, the ambiance and let’s be honest, the place just smells terrific.

Billed as Deep South Italian, Noble Crust combines farm-fresh flavor with unique pairings to create tasty dishes. It is likely so popular with our readers because it does so many things well. You could make the case that it has the best fried chicken (Autrey confesses that it’s so good, he enjoys a piece almost daily), best pizza, best weekend brunch and maybe even the best Italian food around.

The fusion of Deep South and Italian is where it shines, however. Traditional Chicken Marsala is served over four-cheese grits and chicken sausage, the chicken fried chicken parmigiana is country-fried for a more rustic result, the BLT is served with fried green tomatoes, pork belly and pimento cheese and one of its most popular dishes, the bronzed salmon (bottom right), is highlighted by pickled raisins that bring it all together.

And, don’t sleep on the pasta dishes, either, like the super-popular rigatoni + short rib ragu.

Noble Crust’s brunches on Saturdays and Sundays are exceptional, with its popular friend chicken and waffles, lemon ricotta pancakes and steak-and-eggs among the standout favorites.

The service ties it all together. Autrey says his grandfather would never return to a restaurant if a manager hadn’t stopped by see how the meal was, and he has taken that to heart running the Wesley Chapel location. When we stopped by last week, he was busy helping deliver dishes and checking in with customers.

“The personalized experience is important,” he says. “It’s something all of us here strive for, and I think it keeps our customers coming back.” — JCC

2 — TREBLEMAKERS

Rather than resting on its laurels after debuting as our readers’ fourth (and yours truly’s #1) Favorite Restaurant in Wesley Chapel last year, Treble Makers Dueling Piano Restaurant & Bar has continued to upgrade its menu and service under executive chef Kevin Maggard, GM & co-owner Lee Bevan and co-owner Jamie Hess and his family.

In fact, Treble Makers is this year’s Favorite Bar in Wesley Chapel with our readers this year, after adding great new bartenders and entertainment options to go with the popular weekend dueling piano shows.

But, for me, the best thing about Treble Makers is the food. With better fresh fish — like the grilled wahoo to the right — than most seafood restaurants and top-quality steaks, lamb chops, I hope you’ll check out Treble Makers soon.—GN

3 — FIRST WATCH
Located in The Shoppes at New Tampa, Wesley Chapel’s popular breakfast chain is well-known for its long lines (especially on Sundays) as it is for its delicious and healthy breakfast and lunch menu.

We can’t remember a time that First Watch wasn’t the top vote getter for breakfast joints, and it’s third-place overall finish this year is a testament to its terrific food.

The breakfast menu has traditional egg-and-bacon dishes, omelettes, and Floridian French toast (photo) gigantic pancakes, but items like the healthy turkey omelette, superfoods bowls & power wraps set it apart.

Now serving beer, wine and unique mixed drinks, too, First Watch’s all-natural healthy juices and lunch items like a variety of salads and sandwiches (ham and gruyere melt, mmmm) have kept people coming back in droves for more than a decade. —JCC

4. FALABELLA FAMILY BISTRO
Our highest-finishing newcomer has great weekend specials.

5. FLORIDA AVE. BREWING COMPANY
The food might be better than the beer — a big compliment.

6. VALLARTA’S
Wesley Chapel’s Latin favorite has its highest finish ever.

7. BAHAMA BREEZE
Still high among your faves despite all of the new eateries.

T8. KEKE’S BREAKFAST CAFE
Breakfast newcomer finishes in the top-10. 

T8. GRILLSMITH
Last year’s No. 1 has been the top choice six of last 10 years.

10. 900º WOODFIRED PIZZA
Your favorite pizza place also makes your top-10 overall.

11. BJ’s BREWHOUSE
Its huge menu and fair prices keep BJ’s near your top-10. 

T12. BONEFISH GRILL
Two-time Reader Survey winner survives moves to S.R. 56.

T12. THE HUNGRY GREEK
Voted as Wesley Chapel’s top Greek restaurant, again.

14. ZUKKU-SAN SUSHI
Your fave Asian has high-end, creative sushi & more.

T15. AMICI PIZZA
Your 4th-fave pizza place also has great Italian food.

T15. ROCK & BREWS
KISS-themed bar with classic American food from scratch.

T15. KING OF THE COOP
Put a little spice in your life with the King’s Nashville hot chicken.

T15. TEXAS ROADHOUSE
This year’s highest-finishing steak place has great prices, too. 

19. RICE-N-BEANS
Your 2nd-favorite Latin choice features Puerto Rican cuisine. 

20. CHUY’S TEX-MEX
Super-fun atmosphere & tasty Tex-Mex specialties.

21. UMU JAPANESE & THAI
Great setting, fresh sushi and the lobster rolls are a hit.

T22. GLORY DAYS GRILL
Quality bar food and one of best places to catch all the games. 

T22. BUBBA’S 33
Another fave for “upscale” bar food & TVs galore.

24. FORD’S GARAGE
A top spot for a classic burger, fries and a craft beer.

25. CAPITAL TACOS
Unique taco/burrito/bowl combinations made fresh for you.

New Tampa Asian Restaurants That Are Coming & Going

Hana Sushi & Grill is the latest Asian restaurant to open in New Tampa.

Unlike all of the (mostly) chain restaurants that continue to enter Wesley Chapel’s restaurant scene, New Tampa continues to be a hub for great locally-owned Asian eateries, with more on the way.

We told you in October that Kobé Japanese Steakhouse was moving from in front of the Pebble Creek Collection to the former location of Romano’s Macaroni Grill, Señor T’s and Vuelo at 17641 Bruce B Downs (BBD) Blvd., and it did indeed close the old location on Nov. 22, in anticipation of its move. We don’t yet have word as to when the new Kobé will open, but it could be before the end of this year, or early next year, at the latest.

Meanwhile, Aroi Thai-Tsuyu, which had been located at 20685 BBD in the Live Oak Preserve area for a couple of years (the same restaurant also has had other names), has closed and been replaced by Hana Sushi & Grill. You can check out the menu at HanaSushiGrillTampa.com.

And finally, Gu Wei Noodles & Grill, which opened in 2020 in the former location of Sukkho-thai on Highwoods Preserve Pkwy. (across from the AMC Highwoods 20 movie theater), is “temporarily closed for updating the concept.” — GN

Oronzo Honest Italian Is On The Grow…And Still Delicious!

Oronzo Has A New Midtown Tampa Location, A New GM In New Tampa & Some Yummy New Menu Items! 

Even though its original location opened in The Walk at Highwoods Preserve plaza during the pandemic in the summer of 2020, the original location of Oronzo Honest Italian has been successful enough that owner Dan Bavaro decided to open a second location of his fast-casual, from-scratch Italian concept restaurant in the new Midtown Tampa development off I-75 at N. Dale Mabry Hwy.

Bavaro certainly is no stranger to success in the restaurant business. He also has opened four popular locations of Bavaro’s Pizza Napoletana & Pastaria (including St. Pete, Sarasota, on Franklin St. in Tampa and at Tampa International Airport), but Oronzo’s may be Bavaro’s most ambitious concept to date — one that he co-founded with the company that owns The Melting Pot restaurant.

“You’re getting Bavaro’s old-world, from-scratch Italian cuisine combined with The Melting Pot, which is know for experiences and customer service and we kind of merged those two together to create Oronzo,” Dan told Charley Belcher on a recent Fox 13 News feature about the new Midtown location.

Named for his grandfather Oronzo Bavaro, who emigrated to Brooklyn, NY, from Italy, Oronzo Honest Italian is New Tampa’s only place for actual homemade pastas (which you can watch being made in the open kitchen), plus flatbreads and burrito-style sandwiches made from piadina bread (which Bavaro says dates back to the 1800s) from the eastern Italian town of Rimini, located on the Adriatic Sea.

Whatever its roots may be, Oronzo features modern takes on not only many of the recipes created by Dan’s grandmother Angela Bavaro, but also on how to order, create, serve and enjoy made-from-scratch, fast-casual Italian cuisine.

Favorites Old & New!

We featured Oronzo around the same time last year in these pages, but there are several new menu items that have been added, as has new general manager Simon Luckett, who had been with Oronzo for less than two months when we interviewed him for this story.

“It’s a great place, with delicious food and happy customers,” Simon says (no pun intended). “Everything has been really great so far.”

As for the new dishes, one of my favorites is the healthy new Protein Bowl, which features a delicious base of farro and brown rice, with celery, onion, grilled chicken, soppresata pork, roasted mushrooms, garlic, heirloom tomatoes, roasted bell peppers, feta cheese and homemade pesto dressing. So good!


The grilled chicken pesto with fresh zucchini noodles (top left) is a favorite of our editor’s at Oronzo Honest Italian in Highwoods Preserve. We love the cracker-crisp crust of Oronzo’s American flatbread (top, middle), but artisan-style pizzas will be soon be available, too. Oronzo’s Protein Bowl (top right) is one of several delicious new menu items. The new GM at Oronzo’s New Tampa location is Simon Luckett (bottom right). (Photos by Charmaine George) 

Another savory (albeit less healthy) new dish is the meatball (or chicken) parm Italian burrito, with homemade spaghetti, your choice of sauce, fresh mozzarella and parmesan wrapped in homemade piadina bread. Not only are they super-tasty, it’s also fun to watch them being made!

The new dish I was shocked that I enjoyed was the pasta and Impossible Bolognese (left) with gluten-free rotini pasta. Photographer Charmaine George and I agreed that the Impossible meat substitute looked and tasted like ground beef and you can choose your favorite pasta to go with it.

And, while you also can still get a variety of delicious cracker-crisp flatbread-style pizzas made with Oronzo’s homemade piadina bread (like the American with pepperoni and San Marzano tomatoes pictured on the previous page), also new to the Oronzo menu — but only available at the Midtown Tampa location at our press time — are artisan pizzas with a more traditional crust. Simon says (oops, I did it again) that the artisan pizzas also should be available in New Tampa soon.

But, our favorite menu items at Oronzo still include the amazing zucchini noodles (Jannah loves them with grilled chicken and homemade pesto, but you can also order it “meatless,” with pomodoro (red), spicy arrabiata, crema (white) or butter and extra virgin olive oil. If you’re not a fan of zucchini noodles (but I think you should try them before you decide), you can get your choice of sauces with Oronzo’s homemade spaghetti, imported Pastaficio DiMartino penne or the gluten-free rotini, and you can add homemade meatballs (which also are available as an appetizer), heirloom tomatoes, roasted mushrooms, and bell peppers. 

Oronzo also features a nice selection of fresh salads and soups (Jannah loves the tomato basil soup).

For dessert, try the new Nutella piatto (right)or my long-time favorite cannoli crisps, with the cannoli cream on the side as a dip. There’s also Italian wedding cookies and a variety six pack of French-style macarons.

Oronzo also features a kids menu, plus white and red wines, Peroni Italian beer on draught, espresso drinks, a Coca-Cola soda fountain and the tasty Oronziata (a house-made blood orange beverage) and bottled versions of the red sauces for retail sale. 

Oronzo Honest Italian (18027 Highwoods Preserve Pkwy.) is open 11 a.m.-8 p.m. weekdays (9 p.m. on Fri. & Sat.). For info, visit Oronzo.com or call (813) 730-0100.

Fall Festival Makes A Successful Move To The Outlet Mall

The North Tampa Bay Chamber made a bold move by switching the venue for the 17th annual Wesley Chapel Fall Festival from The Grove to the Tampa Premium Outlets — and, despite some parking issues during the two-day event that was held Halloween weekend (Oct. 30-31), the event was definitely another big hit, attracting some pretty big crowds both days. 

Instead of the usual fairway-style rides, this year’s Fall Festival, presented by Florida Penguin Productions for the first time, featured another installment of the World’s Largest Food Truck Rally, with dozens of unique food trucks (see page 46 for pictures of a few of them) offering everything from hot dogs to churros and from mac & cheese to crepes.

And yes, the event still featured the always-popular Lil’ Miss & Lil’ Mister Pumpkin Pageant.

Some folks were confused (including yours truly) because The Grove still did host a Fall Festival with amusement park-style rides and more food trucks, but I give the busy NTBC two thumbs  up for this year’s Fall Festival. — Gary Nager; photos by Charmaine George 

If you didn’t get to attend the Wesley Chapel Fall Festival Oct. 30-31, you missed out on the return of the World’s Largest Food Truck Rally, which, while it didn’t break the record for the most-ever food trucks in one location, the pics on this page are just a small sample of the more than 80 different food trucks that did find their way to the parking lot of the Tampa Premium Outlets on Halloween weekend.

Whether you were hoping to find Filipino Food, Hot Diggity Dogs, Alston’s Grilled Chicken, Kickin Caribbean cuisine or desserts from the Ice Cream Hearse, snow cones, frozen drinks or fried bananas, they were all on hand at the Wesley Chapel Fall Festival! — Gary Nager; all photos by Charmaine George