A Familiar Name Opens Upscale Birkin’s Steakhouse In Lutz! 

(Photos by Charmaine George)

Even though his new place isn’t located in Wesley Chapel or New Tampa, a heartfelt congratulations goes out to Mark Birkin, the owner of the new Birkin’s Steakhouse & Sushi Bar on N. Florida Ave./U.S. Hwy. 41 in Lutz, in the former location of the once-popular L.A. Hangout (and a couple of other restaurants since then). 

Until I saw Mark the day his new steakhouse opened (May 29), I couldn’t remember how I knew his name. But, when we shook hands after Jannah, photographer Charmaine George, her boyfriend Brendan and I enjoyed an outstanding meal at Birkin’s, Mark and I immediately recognized each other. He’s the long-time owner of The Wexford Irish Pub & Grille (previously known as PJ Dolan’s Irish Pub). 

But, while his other local restaurants have had pretty good food, if you haven’t yet tried Birkin’s, you really need to go check it out ASAP. 

First of all, L.A. Hangout’s former live entertainment side is now a beautiful sushi bar with outstanding, beautifully presented, fresh sushi, like the tasty volcano roll shown here (top left photo). 

But, the real star of the show is the steakhouse side, serving everything from the fresh, sesame-seed encrusted seared tuna steak (top right photo) to escargots and a fried lobster bites appetizer (top middle photo). 

What really impressed me was Birkin’s 12-oz. filet mignon, grilled to medium rare perfection and, to quote my fellow New Yawkas, “like buttah” tender. No one else even has a 12-oz. filet in our area. Also on the menu are lollipop lamb chops, a tomahawk ribeye and much more. “Steak and sushi are my two favorite things to eat,” Mark says. “I wanted us to serve the best of both worlds.” 

Birkin’s also has tasty Italian specialties, like zesty meatballs, mushroom ravioli, chicken parmesan and more. Add to that great family-style side dishes like homemade mac & cheese, sautĂ©ed vegetable medley and creamed spinach. Birkin’s also has a full premium liquor bar with great craft cocktails (ask about the exclusive wine lockers, too) and decadent desserts like the cinnamon-y apple crumble with ice cream (above left photo) and Bailey’s Irish cream cheesecake. 

Birkin’s Steakhouse & Sushi Bar is located at 16411 N. Florida Ave. It is open Wed.-Sun. for dinner only (reservations are suggested, but not required, beginning at 3 p.m. For more information, call (813) 374-8002 or visit BirkinsSteakhouse.com. 

Dummy Crabby Is Open, But The Price In The Neighborhood News Was Wrong!

PRICE CORRECTION FROM OUR DUMMY CRABBY STORY IN OUR JUNE 11 WESLEY CHAPEL ISSUE!

Silly name, but really fresh, tasty seafood. That’s how I can sum up the new Dummy Crabby II, which recently opened in the space previously occupied by Medilish Mediterranean (next to Fratelli’s Pizza CafĂ©) at 5325 Village Market (Bruce B Downs Blvd., south of S.R. 54).

Dummy Crabby, which is a much smaller restaurant than the similar Hungry Crab Juicy Seafood on BBD in New Tampa, also serves its clams, mussels, crawfish, shrimp, scallops, lobster tail and dungeness, king and snow crab legs in Seafood Boils, covered in a variety of spices and sauces, inside those boil-in-bags . I’m still not sure I understand why people love making already messy food even messier, but I will say that if you love truly delicious snow crab legs, get The Grand Opening special at Dummy Crabby. 

You’ll receive one lb. of snow crab free when you buy one lb. for what is still a super-low price of just $30.95! The amount mistakenly put in the June 11 edition of Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News was $19.95, but that is NOT the correct price and was due to a misunderstanding on MY part. All I can do is apologize to the owners and employees of Dummy Crabby and to any customers who saw the price and have visited Dummy Crabby anytime since the June 11 hit their mailboxes. Believe me, the snow crab is worth every bit of $30.95 per lb., much less that price for TWO lbs., so I hope anyone else who shows up thinking that the price is $19.95 will understand that the mistake was entirely mine and NOT the fault of the owners or employees of Dummy Crabby! 

And, as the co-owner Kevin promised, the crab legs are just so fresh & delicious! Like the original Dummy Crabby on W. Hillsborough Ave. in Tampa, the Wesley Chapel location also has a Special Noodle seafood dish, raw or steamed oysters, wings, beer and more. 

For more info, call (813) 330-4136 or visit DummyCrabbyFL.kwickmenu.com.

Upcoming Events — Commissioner Ken Hagan Hosts Town Hall, Fireworks For the 4th & More! 

Although the graduation events for both Freedom and Wharton high schools will already have been held by the time this issue reaches your mailbox, we wish all of our graduating seniors success in their future endeavors at the Summer of 2024 officially begins. In the meantime, there are some fun and some informative events on the upcoming docket. 

Monday, June 10, 6 p.m.- 8 p.m. — Town Hall Meeting with Dist. 2 Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan. At the New Tampa Performing Arts Center (8550 Hunter’s Village Rd.). Join Commissioner Hagan for an informative evening of information and an opportunity to ask the Commissioner your questions. 

Wednesday, June 19, 9 a.m.-10:30 a.m. — Coffee Social at the Sara Vande Berg (SVB) Tennis & Wellness Center (6585 Simons Rd., Zephyrhills), hosted by SVB’s Che Sara restaurant. Free coffee, networking & light bites. 

Friday, June 28, 4 p.m.-6 p.m. — NTBC’s “Final Friday” at Main Event (2839 Creek Grass Way, Lutz). Free networking event open to the public. Complimentary appetizers will be served. 

Saturday, June 29, 7 p.m.-11 p.m. — Jazz Night at The KRATE at The Grove Container Park. See story below.

Avalon Park Wesley Chapel off S.R. 54 will again host the only professional 4th of July fireworks show in Wesley Chapel. (File photo: Captured by Arlene) 

Saturday, June 29, 5 p.m.-??? — One-Year Anniversary Party for Azteca D’Oro. Our readers’ 2023 Favorite Mexican Restaurant in New Tampa & Wesley Chapel celebrates its one-year anniversary with a music performance by DJ RicoSmooth at Azteca’s outside bar. This free event also will feature drink specials & giveaways. 

Thursday, July 4, 5 p.m.-9 p.m. — 4th of July Celebration. At Avalon Park Wesley Chapel (4424 Friendly Way., off S.R. 54). Featuring a patriotic bake-off, bike parade (the deadline to register your child and their bike for the parade is July 3), bounce houses, food trucks, community performances & vendors,Wesley Chapel’s only professional fireworks show for the 4th is open to the public and is free to attend. For registration & more info, visit AvalonParkWesleyChapel.com. 

Why Are So Many Restaurants In Our Area Shutting Down? 

When popular chains like Red Lobster tart closing, there is definitely cause for some concern. 

When I lived in New York City in the 1980s, I was told by someone I looked up to in the advertising industry that unlike the real estate business — where the three most important words are “Location, Location, Location” — the rule of thumb for doing business with restaurants was “Get your money up front, Get your money up front, Get your money up front.” 

It didn’t take me long to figure out why that was true — at least in Manhattan, where some of my favorite restaurants would get one bad review in any of the major New York media and be out of business in a week. And, this was decades before the advent of online reviews, when anyone with a beef against a restaurant owner could anonymously go online and turn a restaurant’s (especially a new one’s) Google or Yelp rating (or both) to garbage in a heartbeat. 

But, in New York, almost every restaurant on every street was an individually owned mom-&- pop, which has always been more of a gamble than opening another link in a well-funded, regional or national, mass-marketed chain. 

However, as evidenced by the recent rash of restaurant closings in our area, it’s no longer just mom-&-pop, non-chain restaurants that are being affected by everything from rising food costs and salaries, plus ever-increasing rents/interest rates, as well as the cost of things like building materials to even open a new place. 

Case in point: When you see beloved (perhaps not by me, but still by many), well-established chains like Red Lobster (photo), Tijuana Flats and Beef O’Brady’s shuttering multiple locations, that is definitely a cause for concern. 

In Wesley Chapel, it seems like 80% of the eateries are chains — whether national or regional — and almost every new place that is popping up (like Rodizio Grill) is at least a small chain. The only exception seems to be Asian restaurants — from Japanese to Indian — which are more often single-location or just 2-3 total family-owned units. 

In other words, for every solo Via Italia or Falabella Family Bistro hanging in there you have a 201st location of Fazoli’s (see pg. 49) opening. For every one-off Chick’n Fun that attracts an audience, you’re surrounded by one of nearly 200 Slim Chickens and one of 20+ Chicken Guy! (which is coming soon to the north side of S.R. 56) locations. 

Of course, the cost to buy a piece of land and build a new restaurant in Wesley Chapel is becoming prohibitive for anyone other than a chain, but even shuttered fast food places like Wendy’s on S.R. 56 are simply being replaced by another chain — such as Shake Shack, which has nearly 400 locations. 

If you visit local online communities, you’ll always see people bemoaning all of the chain restaurants we have and all of the mom-&-pops we don’t have in our area and yet, every year, hundreds of our readers vote mainly for chains and don’t seem to even know about many of the really good mom-&-pop places available to them. Here are some reasons why: 

Marketing — Even chains with food that I personally refuse to eat — like Taco Bell and Subway — spend millions of dollars every year on ads that magically make their food look absolutely edible. But, while many new local restaurants intend to spend money to promote themselves, the first thing most cut back on when their build-out inevitably takes longer than they ever expected is that advertising money. 

Labor — It seemed like the Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated a dangerous new attitude towards work among young people — the very labor source most restaurants have to look at to fill their employee rosters. And, while the height of the pandemic has been in the rear view for at least three years now — and many fewer people are being paid more to not work than if they have a job — that attitude still seems to be pervasive. 

And, since the trend towards higher pandemic-era tipping for waiters and bartenders seemed to settle down somewhat, many restaurants have added service charges (that, unfortunately, aren’t always fairly shared with the employees), charges for using a credit card to pay and other extras that have created higher costs to dine (or take) out and turned off many regular customers. 

Food Quality — I still feel that this is the biggest issue of all. Jannah and I believe that an expensive meal is always still worth it if the portions and prices are fair, the service is good and the quality of the food is high. However, overpaying for lower-quality food and/or bad service is never OK with us and I honestly think that many chains — and some mom-&-pops — have cut back on quality while charging more for the same meals, often with smaller portions for a higher price. 

I see a lot of people warning that many more restaurant closings are still coming, but I, for one, hope that won’t prove to be true. 

Stonewood Grill & Tavern Never Takes Being Our Readers’ Favorite For Granted! 

Among the menu staples that have made Stonewood Grill & Tavern in Tampa Palms the “Favorite Restaurant in New Tampa” with Neighborhood News readers for eight years in a row are the prime rib (above), the French onion soup (below, left), the ahi tuna appetizer (below, right) & (bottom, l.-r.) Asian chicken salad, B.L.A.S.T. Stack and peach bourbon pork chop. (Photos by Charmaine George)

If you ask operating partner Dennis Diaz or executive chef Danny Manzur how Stonewood Grill & Tavern, located for more than 20 years at The Pointe at Tampa Palms, has been named the Favorite Restaurant in New Tampa the last eight years, both will tell you that it’s about “Our commitment to quality.” 

Danny has been with the company for almost 24 years and has been at the Tampa Palms location of the eight-unit mini-chain the last ten — he also has served as the executive chef of Stonewood Holdings (the restaurant’s parent company) since 2018, “but that position didn’t become ‘official’ until 2020,” he says, adding that, across the brand, “We have great management, outstanding chefs and employees who buy into the company’s commitment to quality.” 

(L.-r.) Sous chef Jason Price, executive chef Danny Manzur, operating partner Dennis Diaz and kitchen manager Gary Zimmerman provide the outstanding food and service New Tampa residents have come to expect from Stonewood Grill & Tavern in Tampa Palms. 

He adds, “Here in New Tampa, I don’t think there’s another restaurant that has consistently been as committed to freshness, quality, having a scratch kitchen and an innovative menu as we have. We always buy the highest-quality meats, fish and produce possible from our vendors. That’s something we’ve never wavered from.” 

Meanwhile, Dennis has only been with the Stonewood for four years, starting as a sous chef at the Tampa Palms location in Feb. of 2020, or just before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, when the restaurant closed for two months beginning on St. Patrick’s Day. He has been the operating partner the last two. 

“I am very fortunate to have the staff I do,” Dennis says. “People didn’t know me when I first got here, so I did get some pushback. But, I work shoulder-to-shoulder with our entire staff and our staff and our guests can see that.” 

He adds, “It’s all about passion here, from how we train our staff to the quality food we serve, always with beautiful presentation. People know as they are coming into the restaurant that we cook on wood, because of that aroma you can smell every single day.” 

Tastes For Every Season 

Although all of the dishes shown on these pages are from Stonewood’s “core” menu, Chef Danny actually comes up with unique seasonal dishes that are changed every three months company-wide, with input from the chefs at each location. 

“We always want the limited time menu to offer unique dishes,” Danny says, “or dishes we’ve done well before that we bring back with a different, elevated presentation, since everybody eats with their eyes first.” 

He gave the example of my favorite Stonewood steak — then hand-cut Manhattan strip, as well as the herb-encrusted grouper. “We changed the presentation on the grouper so it brought the visual, the aroma and the bite to a different level.” 

The spring limited menu will continue to be offered until mid-June, when Danny says he will unveil five or six new dishes, including, “a salmon burger, a chicken skewer and a scampi surf & turf.” 

One of the former limited menu items that made it onto the core menu is the tasty center-cut, bone-in peach bourbon pork chop with garlic mashed potatoes and sautĂ©ed baby kale shown below left — one of my new favorites. 

Jannah, Charmaine, Charmaine’s boyfriend Brendan and I visited Stonewood two days in a row to take the pictures on these pages and the really cool thing is that most of what we sampled isn’t usually what we order when we visit. For example, Jannah and I almost always share the Stonewood bruschetta (vine ripe tomatoes, basil, garlic, aged parmesan, griddled garlic bread and balsamic dressing) and either the simply grilled fresh catch (the grouper is always excellent) or the 8-oz. filet mignon. My favorite appetizer is the seared ahi tuna (sushi-grade ahi rolled in spices and sesame seeds, seared rare, with mixed greens, wasabi, ginger and a zesty sesame ginger dressing) and my other favorite steak is probably the herb-crusted prime rib. Jannah’s favorite entrĂ©e when we’re not sharing is the Southwest chicken bowl (Santa Fe-style chicken breast, turmeric rice, black bean & corn salsa, pico de gallo, tortilla strips, basil avocado aioli and jalapeños). 

But, Dennis had us sampling a variety of other dishes for this visit, including the excellent Asian chicken salad (oak-grilled & chilled, ginger lime-marinated chicken breast, crispy wontons, chilled sesame noodles, fresh mixed greens, sesame ginger dressing & Asian slaw), and the B.L.A.S.T. Stack (hardwood-smoked Bacon strips, field-fresh Lettuce, diced Hass Avocado, signature smoked Salmon and vine-ripened Tomatoes, with lemon-infused olive oil, basil avocado aioli). Both were outstanding with a one-of-a-kind taste. 

Stonewood’s authentic French onion soup features a rich beef, onion broth, topped with toasted Holland rusk, finished with melted Swiss, gouda, gruyere and fontina cheeses. 

Don’t Forget About Brunch! 

Perhaps the best thing about brunch at Stonewood is that it is served on both Saturday and Sunday. Or, maybe it’s the fact that there are special non-brunch items on the brunch menu. Or, maybe it’s because you can create your own bottomless mimosas from the mimosa cart. Or, maybe it’s the Stonewood beignets (flaky, buttery puff pastry topped powder sugar, served with a decadent chocolate and caramel sauce and Julius Meinl espresso dipping sauce). “Our coffee is Julius Meinl premium coffee, too,” Dennis says. 

Finish off your weekend brunch with these house-made Stonewood beignets.

Among the brunch menu items we sampled were the chicken & waffles (super-crispy chicken breast tenders, pearl sugar, Belgian waffles, Four Roses Old Fashion maple syrup, honey butter & choice of side); the prime rib “Benny” (slow-roasted, shaved prime rib, poached egg, chipotle hollandaise, griddled garlic bread & choice of side) and the crĂšme brĂ»lĂ©e French toast (custard French sourdough toast, Four Roses Old Fashion maple syrup, brĂ»lĂ©ed banana, fresh berries & choice of side) — and all were so satisfying. Charmaine also loved the shrimp & grits (creamy white cheddar grits, sautĂ©ed white shrimp, andouille sausage, red and green bell peppers, CrĂ©ole beurre blanc & blistered tomato). 

Stonewood’s Saturday & Sunday brunch features entrĂ©es like shrimp & grits.

We also sampled the tasty steak bowl (garlic-marinated steak tips, flash-seared, crispy seasoned potatoes, fresh arugula, fire roasted red & green bell pepper, caramelized onions, black bean & corn salsa, with a horseradish cream drizzle) and the Nashville hot chicken sandwich (Jannah’s new favorite). 

Dennis also wants everyone to know that not only does Stonewood do on-site catering, “We also have a private dining room for up to 24 people.” 

And of course, Stonewood’s bar also is among the most popular hangouts in New Tampa. “We definitely could use a bigger bar,“ Dennis says. “It’s always packed.” 

Stonewood Grill & Tavern (17050 Palm Pointe Dr.) is open every day for dinner & for brunch (opening at 11 a.m.) on Sat. & Sun. only. Happy Hour is every day from opening until 7 p.m. For info call (813) 978-0388 or visit StonewoodGrill.com. 

The mimosa cart lets you customize your endless weekend brunch bubbles with a variety of fresh fruit flavors.