Category: Dining & Entertainment

Nibbles & Bites: Checking Out The Third Annual Rum & Seafood Festival!

Our congratulations go out to Florida Penguin Productions for putting on a successful third-annual Rum & Seafood Festival at the Tampa Premium Outlets on June 3, despite the constant threat of bad weather that could have caused the event’s cancellation.

A steady stream of adult visitors paid $15 per person to get into the Festival, which featured live music, dozens of vendors — including Siesta Key and Sailor Jerry rums, FishHawk Spirits and Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey — and great seafood food trucks like Charm City Eats, Super Grouper, Got Lobstah? and From the Soul to the Sea. Among this year’s highlights were the Crab Races (that I unfortunately missed) and the “rooftop” bar.

The North Tampa Bay Chamber received a portion of the event’s proceeds.

Crazy Sushi Is Open At The Shops At Wiregrass; Azteca D’Oro To Open June 24!

Crazy Sushi Is Open!

If you love sushi and all-you-can-eat Japanese-inspired cuisine and haven’t yet checked out the new Crazy Sushi Wiregrass at the Shops at Wiregrass, you probably should.

Crazy Sushi is more than just another replacement for the several restaurants that have opened and gone out of business at 28152 Paseo Dr., #150 — it’s a much larger (having also taken over an adjacent store), real sit-down restaurant that just happens to also offer all-you-care-to-eat lunch (for $22.95 per person; available Mon.-Fri., 11 a.m.-3 p.m. only) and dinner (and Sat.-Sun. lunch, for $32.95) Japanese food that, based on our first visit, is well worth the price.

The sushi (the left photo is of a tasty sushi sampler that isn’t on the menu) is really fresh, the appetizers — including gyoza dumplings, tempura veggies, fried chicken karaage (right photo), etc. — and lo mein are spot-on and the hibachi sirloin steak and chicken are both of a higher quality (at least, in my opinion)than what we’re used to getting at Ginza or Koizi. And. the premium full-liquor bar offers full-sized drinks at lower-than-mall prices.

For more information, call (813) 991-8989 or visit CrazySushiWesleyChapel.com and please tell our friend Edgar behind the bar that we sent you!

Recapping Blush Champagne Bar’s Grand Opening Event!

Even though we told you that the Blush Champagne & Cocktail Bar had opened at the KRATE Container Park last issue, we didn’t get to show you any of the great pictures photographer Charmaine George took at the spectacular Grand Opening party on May 19 for the second KRATE (the other is the nearly adjacent Blush Wine Room) owned by Felicia and Nimesh Desai (top left photo). The event included a DJ, a 360º photo booth, the great Blush Wine Room food, a dozen frozen wine-based cocktails, a variety of sparkling wines and hundreds of happy attendees! For info about the Blush Wine Room or Champagne & Cocktail Bar, call (813) 428-6247 or visit BlushWineRoom.com.

Playa Bowls To Open June 17!

When Tabatha Castro and Pablo Reid open the newest location of Playa Bowls next to the Latin Twist Café at 2653 BBD Blvd. on or around June 17, you can expect not just the ever-popular açai bowls, but also coconut, banana, chia pudding, green and pitaya bowls, plus fresh fruit smoothies and juices, oatmeal & more. The beach-themed healthy eating place also known as “Pineappleland,” started at the Jersey Store and has grown to nearly 200 locations nationwide. For more info, visit PlayaBowls.com.

Now Open At Mirada — The Largest Manmade Lagoon In The U.S.!

The Metro Lagoon is Open South of S.R. 52 & Will Host a Grand Opening Celebration the Weekend of June 24-25!

“I made the call to make sure that Epperson got the potable water to open the first Metro Lagoons amenity in the U.S.,” District 1 Pasco County Commissioner Ron Oakley said proudly at the VIP Lagoon Ribbon Cutting event at the new Metro Lagoons amenity at Mirada on June 2. “And, it’s awesome to be here as we open the largest (Crystal Lagoons®) amenity in the country right here in Pasco!”

Yes, while Epperson’s 7.5-acre Metro Lagoons amenity was the first in the U.S. when it opened in Wesley Chapel in 2018, the 15-acre lagoon at Mirada, located just north of Wesley Chapel in San Antonio, is now the largest manmade lagoon amenity in the country — and also is now open to the public.

*Metro Development VP of Operations Kartik Goyani, Pasco Commissioners Ron Oakley & Jack Mariano, Dan Mitchell of the Pasco Economic Development Council & Metro CEO John Ryan.*

There were lots of “oohs” and “aahs” as more than 100 visitors — including Oakley’s fellow Pasco Commissioners Seth Weightman and Jack Mariano, a representative from State Sen. Danny Burgess’ office and Board members of the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce (NTBC) — joined most of the team from Metro Development Group, which now has three Metro Lagoons amenities in the Tampa Bay area (the other is at Southshore Bay in Wimauma), with a fourth opening this year in Ft. Myers, and several others planned throughout Central Florida.

Oakley added, “This amenity will be for all of our citizens and visitors and I’m very grateful to have it. It’s also part of the Connected City and I made the motion to approve that, too.”

*Metro Lagoons managing director Eric Wahlbeck.*

Oakley was introduced by Metro’s VP of marketing and communications Vaike O’Grady, who quickly ran down some of the stats about Mirada:

“This community is 2,000 acres and will one day have 4,500 homes from six different builders — DR Horton, Lennar, Lennar Active Adult Collection, Biscayne, Maronda and West Bay Homes — with prices from the high $200s to about $1 million,” O’Grady said. “This lagoon amenity includes about a mile of shoreline and is filled with 33 million gallons of water, or about as much as in 2,750 swimming pools. We also brought in 17.2 million pounds of sand, or enough to build four average-sized, two-story homes entirely out of sand.”

O’Grady then introduced Dist. 5 Commissioner and Pasco Board chair Jack Mariano, who noted, “Projects like this are what makes Pasco a premier place. We want to create quality places to live, work and play.”

*Members of the North Tampa Bay Chamber, Pasco County government and the Pasco Economic Development Council were all part of the Mirada Lagoon ribbon-cutting ceremonies.*

Mariano was followed by Dist. 2 Commissioner Seth Weightman, who said, “What a great and beautiful way to kick off the summer!”

Next, O’Grady introduced NTBC CEO Hope Kennedy, who said, “This is an absolutely wonderful day! We’re proud to have had a seat at the table on this project since, I think, 2012 or 2013, and we have been honored to stand by your side!”

Before multiple ribbons — well, pool buoy lines — were cut (by a saber-wielding pirate), Kennedy was then followed by Metro Lagoons managing director Eric Wahlbeck, who said, “We have had the first and now the largest (lagoon amenity) in the U.S. What’s next? This is a massive project and pretty exciting stuff!”

On With The Festivities!

In addition to the ribbon-cutting pirate, the VIP preview event featured three mermaids, one in a life-sized martini glass (above) one who appeared to be wearing a skirt surrounded by mimosas (above) and another sitting on the side of the lagoon deck.

There also were two gymnasts (top of page) wearing body suits covered in water bubbles who struck some impressive poses while balancing themselves. It looked like the young lady on page 1 was actually swimming in the lagoon (at least to me it did).

There also was a steel drum playing island sounds, the bar was open and serving tasty tropical drinks and a delicious lunch was provided by local favorite Vesh Catering that featured coconut shrimp, chicken satés and roast pork.

A Metro staffer told me that there actually are multiple events every week planned and that the total number of planned events at the lagoon will number in the thousands.

The public Grand Opening event for the Mirada lagoon will be held the weekend of June 24-25, 11 a.m.-8 p.m., both days. It will include free carnival rides, games & tasty treats at the “Lagoon Shore,” the Mirada Lagoon Bar will be open and there also will be food trucks, live music, activities and fun. You’ll also be able to meet the Mirada builders under the “Big Top” on the beach.

In other words, even if you’ve already been a regular at the Epperson lagoon, you owe it to yourself and your family to check out the largest manmade Crystal Lagoons® amenity in the U.S.

For free Mirada Lagoon Grand Opening weekend tickets, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/reserve-your-spot-tickets-574684235017 or MiradaStayCay.com.

Lagoon Metro Lagoon mirada Wesley Chapel

Check Out Everything New At The Grill At Morris Bridge!

Anyone who has ben reading this publication since at least late 2021 knows that The Grill at Morris Bridge (located on Cross Creek Blvd. in the Publix-anchored Cross Creek Plaza) has been high on my list of favorites from the moment it opened. It’s been so great seeing the brainchild of Frank and his brother and co-owner Jimmy Gouveia continue to adapt its menu to not only the owners’ tastes, but also to suggestions from their already super-loyal customers.

And, while The Grill continues to make changes to its already-popular dinner and Late Night/Happy Hour bar menus (see below), one thing that previously had been missing was a great Sunday brunch. But, no more!

Over the last month or so, The Grill has added a huge selection of uniquely tasty items for Sunday brunch (11 a.m.-2 p.m.), including:

• “Brunch Plates” like the deliciously cinnamon-y Berry, Berry French toast, topped with a variety of fresh berries and served with maple syrup,

• Handhelds like a fried egg, bacon, cheese & fries egg sandwich and the F.G.T.B.L.T (fried green tomato BLT),

• Two huge new breakfast “pizzas,” including the savory Breakfast Pizza Fritatta (made with scrambled eggs, linguiça sausage, peppers, onions and spinach),

• A variety of Benedicts (including very tasty short rib, smoked salmon and crab cake “Bennys”), and

• Your basic omelette and grilled breakfast plates, plus shrimp & grits, steak & eggs and pancakes.

The Grill now also has a new Happy Hour & Late Night menu, available at the bar only. Among the tasty new items on this menu are short rib or pork tacos, stuffed, baked quahogs (pronounced “CO-hogs,” they’re giant New England clams), spicy Firecracker shrimp and tasty soft (but crispy outside) pretzel sticks, served with a creamy beer cheese dip. I can personally vouch for the quahogs, the short rib tacos and the breadsticks. Yum!

Although The Grill is still open for lunch Tues.-Sat., there no longer is a separate lunch menu, meaning that the full dinner menu is in effect for both meals, although there have been some new lunch-oriented additions. The “Handheld” options now include Philly and shaved ribeye steak sandwiches, a legit corned beef Reuben, an awesome-looking (haven’t tried it yet) smash burger (made with ground brisket, short rib and chuck), fried, blackened and Nashville hot chicken sandwiches, as well as a grilled Cuban (with shredded caçoila pork, salami, ham & Swiss).

As for the new favorites on the dinner menu, The Grill offers one of the best values for a melt-in-your-mouth 34-36-oz. tomahawk ribeye (for two) I’ve seen (just $105, including mashed potatoes and broccoli), a lamb shank osso buco, a Cabernet-braised short rib and the new bacon and parmesan-crusted grouper (which replaced the same dish previously made with mahi-mahi), a seafood (shrimp & scallop) risotto and my new favorite clams linguine.

And, with the best wine list in New Tampa, a great bar vibe and super-premium cocktails, The Grill at Morris Bridge just keeps getting better!

The Grill at Morris Bridge (10920 Cross Creek Blvd.) is open every day for lunch (or brunch) & dinner except Monday. For more info, call (813) 388-5353 see the ad on pg. 35 or visit TheGrillatMorrisBridge.com.

New Tampa The Grill at Morris Bridge

New Tampa Players Announce ‘Grease’ Cast & Crew And Auditions For ‘Shrek’

Congratulations to everyone who earned a role in “Grease,” the next show to be produced by the New Tampa Players (NTP) theatre troupe at the New Tampa Performing Arts Center (NTPAC).

Tickets are available for the performances of “Grease” the weekends of July 21-23 and 28-30 and NTP also offers Season Tickets to “Grease,” “Shrek The Musical,” “Dreamgirls” and a fourth show to be announced. “Season ticket holders are proud supporters of community performing arts in New Tampa,” says NTP producing artistic director Nora Paine. “You help make the entire season a success! You also get to pick your seats before general ticket sales open, and you will receive a free soft drink or bottled water at every show.”

After 320 people attended NTP’s “Prelude & Recognition Performance” on Mar. 25 and 1,050 were on hand at three sold-out performances of the Penguin Project production of “Beauty & The Beast” in April, NTP is getting used to packing the house at the NTPAC, so get your tickets now! You might even see a certain newspaper editor performing in the cast of “Grease” (see list below & right).

Also, auditions for “Shrek The Musical” at the Uptown Stage at University Mall will be held July 24-25. For more info, see the ad (right) or visit NewTampaPlayers.org.

“Grease” Cast & Crew List

Direction/Musical Direction:

G. Frank Meekins

Choreography: Sarah Walston

Danny: Dylan Fidler

Sandy: Olivia Carr

Kenicke: Kyle Fisher

Rizzo: Alyson Gannon

Sonny: Michael Figueroa

Marty: Heather Rich

Doody: Jake Veit

Frenchy: Ariyonna

Thomas

Roger: Tripp Peavyhouse

Jan: Anna Jeffries

Eugene: Zachary Smith

Patty: Catherine Kelly

Vince Fontaine: Gary Nager

Miss Lynch: Suzanne

Bainbridge

Cha-Cha/Ensemble:

Makayla Raines

Johnny Casino/Ensemble: Tristan Horta

Teen Angel: Trevor Lloyd

Ensemble:

Mia De Choudens

Cassidy Haberland

Dakota Henry

Michael Neary

Chelsea Orvis

Julian Rebelo

Wesley Santana

Amanda Schapiro

Zane Sarsour

New Tampa new tampa players

Brooklyn Water Bagel Co. Adds Even More Lunch Options!

Although Brooklyn Water Bagel Co. is a small chain of 24 locations in six states (the majority of which are located in Florida, including the original location in Delray Beach), local franchise owner Daniel Kurland takes great pride in his restaurant, the service he provides and the company’s growing menu.

Brooklyn Water Bagel has been open on S.R. 54 in Wesley Chapel, just west of I-75 (at the front of The Grove at Wesley Chapel’s property) since 2021 and since then, Daniel says, his breakfast business has been booming. After all, Brooklyn Water Bagel’s kettle-boiled-then-baked bagels (and other baked goods) are made with water that is “Brooklynized” on the premises to give them that authentic New York-bagel taste.

But, since all Brooklyn Water Bagel locations are open for both breakfast and lunch, the company has been working on expanding its lunch menu and Daniel recently invited the Neighborhood News to come sample the new options.

He says the best seller of the new menu selections has been the Little Italy bagel sandwich — made with salami, capicola and ham with provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato, onions, banana peppers and vinaigrette dressing. It’s like an Italian sub but on your choice of Brooklyn Water Bagel’s dozen+ bagel varieties.

My favorite new item, however, is the new bagel dog, a premium beef hot dog (or chicken sausage) that is wrapped in bagel dough, topped with everything seeds and served with spicy mustard and sauerkraut (which honestly, is the only way to eat a hot dog, in one reporter’s opinion). The menu doesn’t call the hot dog “Kosher” or even “Kosher style,” but at Jewish delis in my native New York, we would have called it a “special,” or oversized hot dog, and the flavor is definitely Kosher-style.

Photographer Charmaine George also enjoyed the new spicy grilled chicken sandwich (right), which is topped with bacon, pepper jack cheese, pickle slices, lettuce, tomato and spicy mayo. It is served on a club roll or the bagel of your choice.

Charmaine and I also enjoyed the new club melt sandwich, which is served open-faced and combines warm ham, turkey and bacon with melted Swiss cheese, tomato, onion and butter on the bagel or bread of your choice.

All of these lunch sandwiches also are served with an authentic deli-style sour pickle.

*The new pastrami, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich was a hit with our editor.*

And, for you salad lovers, Brooklyn Water Bagel has now added a new cobb salad, with ham, turkey, bacon, egg and shredded cheese with grape tomatoes served atop a bed of tasty greens.

Of course, there’s also still delicious corned beef, pastrami (either of which are available as Reuben sandwiches), roasted turkey and chicken, tuna, egg or whitefish salad sandwiches on your choice of bread or as wraps. And yes, there is even a pretty authentic-tasting matzo ball soup, offered as a cup with one matzo ball, as well as in combination with a variety of different sandwiches.

New Breakfast Items, Too…

The new menu options available at Brooklyn Water Bagel Co. aren’t only for lunch. First of all, the entire menu is available for breakfast or lunch, which itself is great news.

However, for those looking for something more than the usual smoked salmon and cream cheese (it’s called The Williamsburg there) and egg, bacon (or Taylor ham) and cheese bagel sandwiches, there is now a new corned beef “hash” sandwich with a hash brown, plus corned beef, egg and American cheese, as well as pastrami, egg and cheese sandwiches. There’s even The Greenpoint sandwich with egg whites, spinach, mushroom and Swiss on a scooped bagel.

*There’s no better way to top off a great meal than with a delicious S’mores bagel and a Cubsta iced coffee drink.*

Save room for dessert, because not only does Brooklyn Water Bagel still have the most authentic (and decadent) black & white and chewy chocolate chip cookies in our area, a variety of fresh-baked muffins (including a new orange cranberry option), and flaky rugelach pastries, it also now offers a scrumptious, open-faced S’mores bagel with Nutella spread and toasted marshmallows (right).

And yes, I still love Brooklyn Water Bagel Co.’s delicious coffee blends, especially the Brooklyn Infusion blend (with vanilla, caramel and Kahlua flavors) and the new Hanna Banana blend, which is available for the spring only. If you don’t see a coffee flavor you want, you can add shots of U-Bet chocolate syrup, vanilla and a variety of other flavors. For you iced coffee lovers, check out the “Cubsta” iced coffee, available with coffee-flavored ice cubes.

You can even take out bulk bagels, large-size cream cheese spreads and pre-packaged tuna, egg, chicken and whitefish salad.

Brooklyn Water Bagel (27835 Wesley Chapel Blvd., Suite 101 (next to King of the Coop), is open every day, 6 a.m.-3 p.m. For more info or to place an order, call (813) 775-2275, or visit BrooklynWaterBagel.com.

brooklyn water bagel Brooklyn Water Bagel Co. Wesley Chapel