Saddlebrook’s RARE 1981 Introduces Its New Executive Chef & Menu!

RARE 1981 Chef de Cuisine Mark Davis & new Executive Chef Emanuel Zarlenga

Although I don’t know why Saddlebrook Resort decided to bring in a new Executive Chef and completely overhaul the menu at the resort’s RARE 1981, I’ll say this much — there is definitely nothing exactly like it anywhere in the Tampa Bay area, much less in Wesley Chapel. 

RARE 1981 new Executive Chef Emanuel Zarlenga, who is from Argentina, has replaced many of the dishes on the original menu with a variety of Argentinian-influenced options. 

The good news is that RARE 1981 still has some of the best prime steaks in the area — which is no surprise considering that Argentina is famous worldwide for serving some of the most delicious steaks anywhere. Jannah and loved our prime filet mignon (right), which was done to medium rare perfection. 

There also is a “Seabass of the Day” and a “Gulf Coast Catch of the Day,” which, for us, was a delicious mahi-mahi (left) in a buttery lemon garlic sauce, served with a side of peas, sliced asparagus and turnips. Excellent. 

Pretty much everything else we ordered were Argentine-inspired dishes. 

Mine and photographer Charmaine George’s favorite starter was the Whey-Melon Tuna (below left), which is 48-hour compressed melon cultured in whey, shaved and served with raw slices of pickled sushi-grade tuna, onions and carrots. It’s definitely a large enough portion to share. 

Our favorite of Chef Emanuel’s homeland-inspired dishes was the Choripan (right), which is an entrée but also works as a shareable appetizer that features pieces of both Argentine and American chorizo sausage cooked “sous vide” style (vacuum-sealed and cooked in a temperature-controlled water bath) and served with crispy and warm brioche, pickled veggies and chimichurri sauce. Amazing. 

Equally different was the Strawberry ‘Gazpacho” (not pictured), which featured nicely grilled scallops served with fermented strawberry and lacto-fermented cold gazpacho. 

We also tried a variety of new Family Style Sides, including our two favorites — the Hay Asparagus (below right), grilled with actual burning hay), and “Two Potatoes” (below left), made with buttery, tender potatoes, finished with a warm, airy potato espuma (foam). We also liked the 30-Hour Beets (cooked for 30 hours and finished with bee pollen, seaweed and fresh lime zest) and a traditional South American corn & squash Humita finished with queso fresco and a caramelized crust. 

And, even though we had no room for dessert, we shared the RARE 1981 Dessert Trio of the Day, which featured guava with brie, arroz con leche (rice pudding atop creamy caramel) and bread pudding with vanilla ice cream. 

For reservations & info, visit RARE1981.com or call (813) 907- 4466. — GN; all photos by Charmaine George 

Check Out The Newly Expanded & Redesigned Mama B’s Pizzeria!

(L.-r.) Owners Chuck Locke, Brenda Bening-Thompson & David Thompson of Mama B’s Pizzeria on S.R. 56 in Wesley Chapel. The newly expanded & redesigned interior features a nice bar area (below left photo) & some great white (below) & pepperoni & mushroom pizza & Italian food. (Photos by Charmaine George)

Congratulations go out to owners Chuck Locke, Brenda Bening-Thompson and David Thompson on the recent expansion and redesign of their Mama B’s Pizzeria on S.R. 56. 

The trio purchased the former Pomodoro restaurant in Dec. 2022 and changed the name to Mama B’s in July 2023. 

“I’m not Italian,” Brenda admits, “but I am ‘Mama B’ and all of the recipes we make here are mine. I’ve loved to cook since I was a kid — I have friends telling me I should open a Mexican restaurant next because they love my homemade salsa.” 

Thanks to the success of Brenda’s recipes, the partners decided to take over the out-of-business children’s shoe store next door. 

“We now have a total of 2,500 sq. ft. and a private dining room for 22-24 people,” Chuck says. “And we’re all really happy with the new look of the place.” 

That new look was created by Bobbie Smith, the owner of Interior Design by Bobbie. 

“They told me what they were looking for and I just ran with it,” says Bobbie, who also is designingthe upcoming Tampa Joe’s at The Hub at Lexington. “It definitely feels more like a restaurant now, instead of just another pizza place.” 

So, What About The Food? 

When we came to take pictures for this story, photographer Charmaine George and I got to sample quite a bit of the Mama B’s menu, starting with two different pizzas. I’ve honestly never been a big fan of “white” pizza, but this mix of creamy ricotta, fresh mozzarella and garlic worked well with Mama B’s true New York-style crust. 

I personally was even more impressed with Mama B’s pepperoni and mushroom pizza — even though I don’t generally like (or order) mushrooms on anything, much less my pizza. But again, the true NY-style crispy crust was definitely an upgrade over the last time I had a slice at Mama B’s. 

“I’ve really been working with our cooks on consistency,” Brenda says, “especially when it comes to pizza. If all the ingredients are measured and the dough is worked the same way every time, your pizza should taste the same every time you visit.” 

Charmaine absolutely loved the house-made garlic knots, which we both used to mop up the tasty (but different) marinara sauces served with the house-made signature meatballs (which are served with a generous scoop of ricotta cheese), and the extra-meaty (the way I like it) lasagna. I told Brenda that what I love most about the lasagna is the fact that when you cut into it, it doesn’t all fall apart, despite the generous amounts of ricotta, mozzarella and marinara. 

My other favorite dish we tried, which again was something of a surprise because I almost never order pasta with Alfredo sauce, was the creamy fettuccine Alfredo. Yes, it’s made with cream, but Mama B’s Alfredo was definitely not as “runny” as I’ve sampled in many other places. 

I would definitely add Mama B’s pan-seared chicken to the Alfredo on my next visit, or I could opt for a more familiar favorite of mine — fettuccine pesto — with the chicken. 

Other appetizers on Mama B’s menu include crispy baked — and then flash-fried — chicken wings with your choice of five sauces (from Nashville hot to teriyaki), and fried ravioli or mozzarella. There’s also a Mama B’s Savory Sampler with fried mozz, garlic knots and wings. 

We also enjoyed the Mediterranean salad, with Kalamata olives, cucumbers, onions, cherry tomatoes, banana peppers and creamy feta cheese, with a zesty Greek dressing. Other salads include house, Caesar, caprese and antipasto. 

Mama B’s also offers a variety of specialty pizzas from standards like Margherita and Grandma’s to unique options like “This Little Piggy” (with a BBQ sauce base, pulled pork, smoked mozz & pickled red onion). 

The casual eatery also offers a variety of strombolis, calzones and toasted hot subs, as well as pasta dishes like baked ziti, penne alla vodka, spaghetti with meatballs or meat sauce and chicken parm. Visit for a great lunch special (for example, two slices & a fountain drink for $7.99), plus beers on draft, wine by the glass and even a kids menu. 

Mama B’s Pizzeria (27607 S.R. 56, Suite 105) is now open every day for lunch & dinner. To order or for more info, visit MamaBsPizzeria.com or call (813) 328-8063.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐅𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐏𝐢𝐳𝐳𝐚 & Latin Restaurant 𝐈𝐧 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐓𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐚 (𝐍𝐓) 𝐎𝐫 𝐖𝐞𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐥 (𝐖𝐂)?

So, this year’s Dining Survey & Contest is all new! For another chance to win, tell us your Favorite Pizza Place AND your Favorite Latin (but NOT Mexican) Restaurant in New Tampa or Wesley Chapel HERE. 

Submit a correctly filled-out form HERE and you’ll be entered into a random drawing to win up to $200 in FREE dining at the restaurant of your choice located ANYWHERE in the Tampa Bay area! 

Here is what you need to know to enter this year’s Survey & Contest: 

In order to be considered to win any of this year’s five dining prizes, you must write the names of both your favorite Pizza and Latin restaurants in the entry form HERE! 

HERE ARE OUR OTHER RULES! 

1) Please look up the restaurant zip code or location to see if it qualifies as a Wesley Chapel or New Tampa restaurant. 

2) In order for your votes to count and help your favorite restaurants, you must include your real first AND last name, the community you live in (Lexington Oaks, Epperson, etc.), your daytime phone number where I can reach you (which I will only do if your name is selected to win a prize) and your valid email address. 

3) This year’s prizes are again FREE dining at any restaurant YOU choose anywhere in the Tampa Bay area, including the Grand Prize of $200, as well as prizes of $100, $75, $50 & $25. 

4) Fill out the entry form HERE! Good Luck! — GN 

Tell Us Your 5 Favorite Restaurants In Wesley Chapel To Win FREE Dining!

So, this year’s Dining Survey & Contest is all new! Below are pictures & descriptions of all of the mom-&-pop and small (10 units total or less) chain restaurants in or near Wesley Chapel (see location info below), with their addresses, phone numbers, websites and a picture of their exteriors and/or signage. 

All we’re asking you to do, as Wesley Chapel residents, in this issue is name your FIVE (5) Favorite Restaurants located in Wesley Chapel — in zip codes 33543, 33544 & 33545, plus locations on Wesley Chapel Blvd. & S.R. 54 in Lutz up to Oak Grove Blvd. 

Submit a correctly filled-out form HERE and you’ll be entered into a random drawing to win up to $200 in FREE dining at the restaurant of your choice located ANYWHERE in the Tampa Bay area! 

Please do not include ANY restaurants located in New Tampa’s 33647 zip code on the entry form HERE. You’ll have a chance to tell us your five Favorite Restaurants in New Tampa by filling out the form HERE! 

Here is what you need to know to enter this year’s Survey & Contest: 

(I hope) every brick-&-mortar restaurant that serves food and is located in & near Wesley Chapel (WC) that is either a true mom & pop or part of a “chain” — whether regional or national — that has fewer than ten (10) total locations, is listed in alphabetical order below. 

Please note that although the restaurant list doesn’t include any chain eateries with 10 or more locations in Wesley Chapel, you can still write the names of your favorite chains in any or all of the five spaces on the entry form HERE. 

But, whether you choose five places from the Wesley Chapel list of nearly 100 restaurants or five chains that don’t appear on the list or some combination thereof, in order to be considered to win any of this year’s five dining prizes, you must write the names of FIVE (5) WC-area restaurants in the five spaces on the entry form HERE! 

HERE ARE OUR OTHER RULES! 

1) DO NOT write the name of your one favorite place in more than one Top-5 space. Only its first-place vote will count. 

2) If the restaurant is on this list below, we consider it to be in Wesley Chapel. If you want to vote for a chain restaurant, please look up its zip code or location to see if it qualifies as a Wesley Chapel restaurant. 

3) In order for your votes to count and help your favorite restaurants, you must include your real first AND last name, the community you live in (Lexington Oaks, Epperson, etc.), your daytime phone number where I can reach you (which I will only do if your name is selected to win a prize) and your valid email address. 

4) This year’s prizes are again FREE dining at any restaurant YOU choose anywhere in the Tampa Bay area, including the Grand Prize of $200, as well as prizes of $100, $75, $50 & $25. 

5) See the Entry Forms HERE and HERE to find out how to have your votes counted & win prizes! Good Luck! — GN 

Bhimavaram Ruchulu Indian Cuisines Opens In Former Rice N’ Beans Express Spot!

Like many of you, I have been waiting to see what restaurant was going to replace the former Rice N’ Beans Express located at 24726 S.R. 54 in Lutz for some time. 

Well, the wait is over, as owner Kumaravel (he goes by Kumar) Chinnthambi opened his second location of Bhimavaram Ruchulu (BR) Indian Cuisine in late July at that location and photographer Charmaine George and I have found it be excellent, following our first visit. 

Kumar, who is from the southern part of India, opened his original location of BR at 10938 N. 56th St. in Temple Terrace more than a year ago, and has now brought his sizable menu of (mostly) southern Indian cuisine to a beautifully redecorated restaurant closer to Wesley Chapel. 

Charmaine and I started our meal with two appetizers, the very spicy (Kumar admits that most of his food is on the spicier side, which pretty much what South Indian cuisine is mostly known for ) Gobi 65 (Hyd, or Hyderabad style) fried cauliflower (left), and the only semi-spicy (but also semi-sweet) Chicken Manchurian (top photo), which is coated in a thick, ginger-garlic soy gravy that we agreed was truly delicious. The chicken stayed nice and crisp, too. 

We followed that up with the dish we both agreed was our favorite of the day, the creamy and delicious Paneer (Indian cheese) Tikka Masala (right), which had only a hint of spice. We also tried both the Chili Garlic (bottom photo) and Garlic Naan bread and we agreed that we preferred the only medium-spicy Chili Garlic version, especially dipped in the tomato-rich Tikka Masala sauce. 

And, of course, we had to try the not-overly-spicy BR Special Boneless Chicken Biryani (below right), which has most of the tasty shreds of chicken hidden near the bottom of the bowl. 

We didn’t try any of BR’s Tandoor oven specialties (like the Tandoor whole white fish; left), but Kumar says BR Indian Cuisines is known for its freshly ground authentic South Indian spices and traditional recipes. “We proudly prepare a wide variety of authentic vegetarian and non-vegetarian South Indian dishes using fresh ingredients and time-honored cooking techniques. We also specialize in catering for large parties, family gatherings, corporate events, weddings and other special occasions” 

All I can tell you is that the food is delicious, the place is really pretty inside and we will be back! For more info about Bhimavaram Ruchulu in Lutz, call (813) 388-5972. For the Temple Terrace BR, call (813) 280-9698. Or, visit BRIndianCuisines.com. — GN; all photos (except the whole fish) by Charmaine George