WCCC Keeps The Ribbons Flying!

Wok Chi ribbon cutting.

I was on hand for the Grand Opening and WCCC ribbon cutting at (Taste of New Tampa & Wesley Chapel participating restaurant) Wok Chi (28152 Paseo Dr., in the Shops at Wiregrass mall) on Mar. 10, at the amazing new information center for the Avalon Park West (APW) community off S.R. 54, and at the Meraki Aesthetic Center (26907 Foggy Creek Rd., off S.R. 56 in Wesley Chapel) on Mar. 16.

For my money, Wok Chi is now the best Chinese restaurant in Wesley Chapel. Fresh, crisp veggies and tasty chicken, pork, beef and seafood are sautรฉed with white, brown or fried rice, whole wheat or egg noodles or even quinoa while you wait and topped with some excellent sauces (my favorites so far are the spicy Sichuan and kung pao sauces) and the dim sum also is pretty great. My favorites so far are the crispy chicken and veggie spring rolls. You can even enjoy two kinds of free, delicious hot tea, as well as purchase soft drinks, to go with your meal.

Please tell GM Mark Pasquale that youโ€™re a friend of mine and, if you just happen to have a shellfish allergy like I do, so he can cook your food in a separate, clean wok.

For more info, call Wok Chi at 862-2315 or visit WokChi.com.

I canโ€™t wait for the new sections of APW to open. If youโ€™ve driven past the building on S.R. 54 shown in the top photo above, you may have wondered what it was. Well, itโ€™s a representation of the new multi-family community with businesses on the bottom floor of the buildings (some call it neo-traditional) to be built from where the information currently sits to where it will meet up with the existing homes in APW, about a mile west of the center. APW is part of the New River Township Development of Regional Impact (DRI), which is approved for 4,800 residential units and 700,000 square feet of commercial uses. One of the new sections of the community that is certain to attract a lot of attention to APW is K-12 charter school that should begin building shortly. Weโ€™ll keep you posted as things start to heat up.

The Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC) continues to cut ribbons at new businesses in both New Tampa and Wesley Chapel, including at the new and very cool Imagine Escape Games, located at 2830 E. Bearss Ave., in the Palms Connection plaza (next to PJ Dolanโ€™s Irish Pub).

I will say that Imagine Escape Games was not what I expected โ€” I thought it was going to be some sort of video arcade or maybe a place that sells video or role-playing games.

Wrong! Imagine Escape Games is the ultimate team-building exercise as you are (gulp) locked behind a gate and have to use clues and teamwork to escape from those locked cells.

If youโ€™re claustrophobic, you may not want to try it, but if not, there currently are two rooms available for escape as youโ€™re reading this. The team I was on of mainly WCCC members escaped the first challenge in a little more than 10 minutes, almost five minutes sooner than our allotted 15 minutes.

For more info, visit ImagineEscape.com or call 693-BOOK (2665), and please tell them the Neighborhood News sent you, even though I didnโ€™t have a pic to show you because I was part of the game.

And for the full upcoming WCCC schedule of ribbon cutings and business events, visitย WesleyChapelChamber.com

Precinct Pizza Getting Close

For those who have been wondering how soon the new Precinct Pizzaย will open in the space previously occupied by Zaytoun Mediterranean Grill at 10970 Cross Creek Blvd. (at Morris Bridge Rd., behind Dunkin Donuts), the answer is…pretty soon.

Although I spoke to Precinct Pizza founder Rick Drury recently, I still canโ€™t give you an exact opening date for the New Tampa location at our press time, but with more than a decade of success as the only true New York-style pizza place in the Channelside District of downtown Tampa, many of us in New Tampa are truly excited about the fact that our Precinct Pizza should be open by sometime in April. Look for more updates on future episodes of WCNT-tv, and at NTNeighborhoodNews.com.

New Tampa & Wesley Chapel Celebrate St. Patrickโ€™s Day In Style!

The gang at O’Brien’s

I have to say that the bars in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel really know how to throw some great St. Patrickโ€™s Day parties.

Itโ€™s hard to say which โ€œwearing oโ€™ the greenโ€ celebration was the biggest or the best, as Mulliganโ€™s Irish Pub at the Pebble Creek Golf Club, The Brass Tap at the Shops at Wiregrass mall and Oโ€™Brienโ€™s Irish Pub & Grill in the Wesley Chapel Village Market all had live bands, fun activities, great food, excellent live music and big crowds.

Our gallery below includes photos of the Troy Duncan Band performing at Oโ€™Brienโ€™s, some of the crowd at Mulliganโ€™s, corn hole and entertainer Cal Oliver at The Brass Tap as well as a few colorful characters fromย the day.

I hope everyone had a safe and fun St. Pattyโ€™s Day and woke up to attend the Taste of New Tampa the following day.

Taste of New Tampa & Wesley Chapel Mmm Mmm Good!

Florida Hospital Center Ice Provides The Perfect Venue For The Triumphantย Return Of The โ€˜Taste of New Tampa & Wesley Chapel!โ€™

Congrats to all of my friends in the Rotary Club of New Tampa (which meets Friday mornings at Tampa Palms Golf & Country Cub) for successfully bringing back โ€œThe Taste of New Tampa & Wesley Chapel,โ€ in partnership with the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC).

An estimated crowd of about 2,000 people came to sample the wares from the 49 restaurants and beverage providers my restaurant committee assembled for the event, which was held on March 18, inside surprisingly not cold Florida Hospital Center Ice off S.R. 56.

The food and beverages were awesome โ€” my favorites being the seared ahi tuna from the Peopleโ€™s Choice 1st place-winning Bonefish Grill, the fresh sushi from Olde Heights Bistro, Little Italyโ€™s meatballs, the angus burgers from OTB Cafรฉ, the short rib sliders from Twisted Sprocket Cafรฉ, Wok Chiโ€™s spring rolls and pot stickers, gnocchi ricotta from Noble Crust (the 2nd-place Peopleโ€™s Choice), chocolate bundt cake from Nothing Bundt Cakes (3rd place) and The Cake Girlโ€™s double chocolate brownies.

Love This Weather? Here Are Three Of My Favorite Restaurants On St. Pete Beach

If youโ€™re loving the weather weโ€™ve been having lately and plan a visit to one of our areaโ€™s world-class beaches over the next few weeks, I have some suggestions about some amazing restaurants you should try.

And, if youโ€™ve been watching WCNT-tv (YouTube/WCNT-tv), you know how much I love St. Pete Beach. In fact, Iโ€™ve featured one of these three excellent eateries in my โ€œNeighborhood Dining Newsโ€ segments, and all three of them are located basically within walking distance of each other on St. Pete Beach proper.

All three offer not only still-swimming fresh seafood, but also other equally- high-quality entrรฉes and appetizers. Two are on the pricier side, while the other is one of my favorite value places for my money on any of our local beaches.

In other words, you canโ€™t go wrong with any of them โ€” and please tell them that you heard about them from Gary of the New Tampa Neighborhood News and WCNT-tv!

+++++++++

Mad Fish

5200 Gulf Blvd.

St. Pete Beach

MadFishOnline.com

(727) 360-9200

Under the direction of Head Chef Oliver Harris, Mad Fish was founded in 2016 to recreate the spirit of early twentieth century visitors who travelled to St. Pete Beach by railroad.

Although it looks to me, from the outside, more like the diners I grew up loving in Long Island, NY (but they never had food like this!), Chef Oliver has brought the old school dining car experience into the future, with innovative new dishes and twists on classic favorites, providing the ultimate dining experience to locals and travelers alike.

Whether you love the look of the place from the outside or not, thereโ€™s no doubt that inside this train car, the elegant interior and awesome food, wine and craft beer (not having full liquor is perhaps its only drawback) attract a great-looking, upbeat crowd…for very good reason.

Iโ€™ve enjoyed several wonderful meals at Mad Fish, including the 10-oz. aged filet mignon pictured in the previous column, as well as the Chilean sea bass and, since I canโ€™t risk an allergic reaction to what Iโ€™m certain is an incredibly crispy lobster-crusted grouper on the menu. Iโ€™ve had the grouper without the crusting, and it was amazing. I also can recommend the ahi tuna poke and flash-fried Brussel sprouts appetizers (all of the veggies are awesome) and I plan to try either the chateaubriand for two or the rack of lamb on my next visit, which I will likely pair with a glass of the Familia Zaccardi Malbec โ€œA.โ€

If youโ€™ve never been to Mad Fish, you really need to check it out soon.

+++++++++

Selene Fresh Fare & Bar

4945 Gulf Blvd.

St. Pete Beach

SeleneRestaurant.com

(727) 317-2064

My frequent weekend trips to St. Pete Beach have helped me become very well acquainted with the Skiadotis family โ€” the patriarch Nick, who owns Neptune Grill in Gulfport and two of my favorites on St. Pete Beach proper (Selene and Skidderโ€™s; see next item), as well as his son, Teddy, who owns the almost-too-good Craft Kafe in St. Pete, less than ten minutes from the beach.

Selene Fresh Fare & Bar, located about a quarter mile or so further south on St. Pete Beach than Mad Fish, is the most upscale of Nick Skiadotisโ€™ restaurants and it is a big, beautiful, elegant place with prices very similar to those at Mad Fish and even though many of the menu items also seem similar and are also absolutely delicious, both restaurants have different takes on everything from fresh fish to steaks.

Among my favorite dishes to date at Selene are the pistachio-crusted black grouper (photo below), the branzino (whole grilled sea bass), the 16-oz., grain-fed ribeye steak and the beef pappardelle (large, flat noodles with beef short rib ragout, red wine and a rich beef stock with tomato and fresh parsley). Thereโ€™s also three amazing seafood pastas I unfortunately canโ€™t try as-is, although Iโ€™m sure the kitchen would probably make the seafood Americain for me without the Gulf shrimp, as Iโ€™m not allergic (at least not so far) to the scallops, clams or grouper in the dish, which is served in white wine, EVOO olive oil, fresh lemon and herbs over linguine with Pecorino Romano cheese.

Selene also is famous for its grilled octopus, fried calamari and crab cakes appetizers and I plan to enjoy the duck spring rolls on my next visit. Selene also features an ultra-premium full-liquor bar, Sunday brunch and live music on Wed., Fri. & Sat. nights.

+++++++++

Skidderโ€™s Restaurant

5799 Gulf Blvd.

St. Pete Beach

SkiddersRestaurant.com

(727) 360-1029

My first experience with any of the Skiadotis familyโ€™s eateries was with Skidderโ€™s Restaurant, which is located almost directly across Gulf Blvd. from the Tradewinds Resort. And, although Iโ€™ve heard some people compare the interior of Skidderโ€™s to a diner or IHOP (in part because it is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner), I can assure you that this casual, comfortable restaurant with full liquor bar is the place to go for not only an absolutely delectable grouper or flounder Francaise for dinner (for $20 or less), but also for whatever yuโ€™re craving, from rack of lamb to Greek salads and souvlakis and for Italian-style veal and chicken dishes with pasta and even great New York-style pizza.

Families are welcome, as Skidderโ€™s has a great kids menu, with everything from grilled cheese and hamburgers to spaghetti and meatballs, fried flounder and shrimp, all for just $4.95-$7.95.

Oh, and save room for dessert, as Skidderโ€™s has a great New York-style cheesecake and authentic Greek baklava.ย  ย