Trick Or …Truck? Lots Of Halloween Weekend Options!

The World’s Largest Food Truck Rally 12 may not break the all-time record for largest food truck parade Halloween weekend at the Tampa Premium Outlets (TPO), but it will have enough food on hand that we can heartily suggest wearing stretchy pants.

The rally, according to organizer Jeremy Gomez, is expecting roughly 80 trucks for the Oct. 30-31 event, which will be held 11 a.m.-6 p.m. each day. That truck number was as of our press time, and is expected to grow.

The World’s Largest Food Truck Rally, a traveling caravan of cuisine, set the Guinness World Record for the largest food truck parade in 2014, with 125 food trucks at the Florida State Fairgrounds. It will headline the 17th annual Wesley Chapel Fall Festival, essentially taking the place of the usual carnival rides and turning the festival into a fall foodie-palooza.

Drew Cecere of Florida Penguin Productions, which is organizing the Wesley Chapel Fall Festival along with the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce, says the change was made to mix things up this year, as well as to alleviate the event’s competition with other area fall festivals that rely on rides.

“We went in a totally different direction this year,” Cecere says. “This will help us reach a totally different demographic.”

The Wesley Chapel Fall Festival will still offer live music, kids activities like bounce houses and a host of local vendors. There will be a pumpkin patch, pet costume contest, face painting and a Miss and Mr. Pumpkin Patch pageant. On Sunday, the popular Trunk or Treat event will begin at 4 p.m., before regular trick-or-treating begins.  

Tickets to the event are $10, and can be purchased at eventbrite.com by searching “Wesley Chapel Fall Festival.” For more information, visit Facebook.com/WesleychapelFallFestival. 

As for the food vendors, there will be a variety of local trucks along with those that travel with the rally. Here’s some to check out, according to World’s Largest Food Truck Rally organizer Jeremy Gomez:

TACOS Y SNACKS EL INDIO: One of the most authentic Mexican trucks around, and the owners are the hardest working I know.
HORHAY’S MAC & CHEEZ: Absolutely amazing mac dishes. Comfort foods with a modern twist like their Ghost Pepper Mac N Cheez. RENEGADE BURGER COMPANY: Best burgers around.
RED ZEPPELIN ROCKING LOBSTER :Lobster Rolls from heaven. 
TRES SUSPIROS HANDMADE BRAZILIAN CHOCOLATE: The absolute best chocolate around. Works of art. Brigadeiro Chocolate is a skill that not everyone can master… and Chef Amy has done that. These are works of art and taste even better. 
HOTT MESS: Tater Tots like no other! Everyone does tots now… Hott Mess has been doing them always, they wrote the book. They also have some amazing giant breaded pork sandwiches that are really hard to find this far south.
SHEFU: Super authentic Chicago Style Dogs and more. And, they also are just amazing people. We know its “just” a small Chicago-style hotdog trailer, but the owners go out of their way to import everything from Chicago, making it truly authentic, and hard to find down here.
SMOKIN MOMMA LORA’S BBQ: Some serious serious BBQ glammed out to the hilt. Her BBQ is on another level.
TREE DOG ROOTS: Absolutely amazing mash, veggie dishes, and everything else. The owner is so sweet and has been at this for a long time…really knows her flavors. Her specialty is mashes and root vegetables,  which by itself is rare..  but what she does with them is amazing.
CHAZITO’S LATIN CUISINE: They make amazing food. They follow us all over the country, four generations work the truck…and they are all awesome. Their mix of Spanish/ Cuban/Puerto Rican style is super refined, and is hard to find at other places.
PHILLY T’S CHEESESTEAK AND PO’BOYS: His sandwiches (pictured) are just amazing.. and they also follow us all over the country
DAVIS ISLAND VIBES: Amazing tropical fruit beverages served inside a pineapple. They have been a major hit every year..and its because the drinks are fantastic. 
PAMZ PIZZA CONEZ: They take pizza and make them into these cones that you can hold… so they are like cups of amazing pizza goodness… that you can then eat…really clever.

Other Halloween Events In/Near Our Area:

The Sarah Vande Berg Tennis Center (6585 Simons Rd. in Zephyrhills) is hosting its first annual Halloween Dog Show (see ad, right) on Saturday, October 30, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. It costs $20 to enter your dog, and there will be prizes for the top 3 dogs, as well as raffles, gift doggie bags, a bounce castle and more. Plus, 25% of all proceeds will be donated to Allie Cares, a nonprofit organization which offers free medical care treatment options for animals and families in need. For more information, call (813) 361-6660.

The Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County is hosting its second annual “Halloween Hullabaloo” on Saturday, October 30, noon-4 p.m. The event will feature a 3v3 basketball tournament, a 5v5 indoor soccer tournament and a volleyball tournament. The cost is $100 to register each team. There also will be activities for kids in the lobby from 2 p.m.-4:30 p.m. The cost is $10 for spectators. For more information, or to register, visit Wiregrass-Sports.com.

Fall Fest at The Grove is billing itself as Wesley Chapel’s biggest Halloween celebration, and it runs through Sunday, featuring amusement rides, a pumpkin patch, carnival food, Halloween activities and more. Plus, there is a Costume Contests at 4 p.m. on Halloween. You can buy ride tickets HERE.

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Host Your Next Event At Omari’s Grille At Lexington Oaks GC!

Chef Anass El-Omari

When classically trained chef Anass El-Omari and his wife Susana Herrera purchased Lexington Oaks Golf Club about three years ago, I was excited about the prospect of having another real restaurant in Wesley Chapel.

And, although Anass at first revamped the existing golfer-oriented menu at the golf course’s restaurant, which he re-named Omari’s Grille, he ended up scaling back his everyday offerings of fresh fish, pasta and filet mignon, and has kept the menu smaller and simpler since reopening Omari’s after the Covid-19 pandemic shut it down for a few months in 2020.

But now, while Omari’s regular menu is still mainly comprised of burgers, sandwiches, wings and other fast, simple foods favored by the golfers who frequent his completely renovated golf course, Anass has brought back some of the dishes I loved on his original Omari’s menu as specials on Friday evenings.

Anass loves both cooking and talking about cooking. So, in conjunction with this article, we recorded our second “Cooking With Anass” segment that was released a few days before this issue arrived in your mailbox, where he made an amazing Cajun pasta (above), with both Andouille sausage and top sirloin steak in a semi-spicy cream sauce that’s as good as anything you’ll find in any fine dining establishment.

“Good food is actually really simple to make,” he said as he set some hot oil on fire before sautéeing the steak and sausage together. “The key is knowing what ingredients and how much of each to use. I love sharing my secrets.”

And, I love tasting his recipes, because Anass is a true culinary artist who serves up some of the best food in our area, even if many locals still don’t know it. So, whether you want to start with authentic Colombian empanadas, crispy calamari or shrimp tempura salad, or enjoy a great grilled chicken caprese or salmon teriyaki entrĂ©e, you can’t go wrong at Omari’s. 

Great Events, Too! 

Now that things have gotten a little more normal in this Covid-crazy world, people are again looking for great places to host events like weddings, quinceañeras, baby showers, anniversary parties and even memorial gatherings and you can’t go wrong if you host your next event for 20-80 people at Lexington Oaks.

Omari’s offers a complete appetizer catering menu — featuring burger sliders, mini-croissants stuffed with chicken and tuna salad and more — as well as a sit-down dinner menu for events, so you can serve London broil with mushroom sauce, orange chicken and a variety of shrimp dishes, plus a dessert bar. Anass and his staff also can custom-design pretty much anything else you’d want to serve.

And, while the indoor space currently is limited to 80 people, Anass says he plans to extend the room out to the existing patio area, so that up to 120 people could fit in the air conditioned, indoor space. And, there is an additional covered outdoor space that can fit another 60 or so people.

“I think Wesley Chapel really needs an event space like this,” Anass says, “and the food will always be good. “Plus, we have the area down by the water (photo above) for weddings (as in the photo above) and the people love it.” 

Omari’s Grill at Lexington Oaks Golf Club (16333 Lexington Oaks Blvd.) is open Wednesday & Thursday, 11 a.m.-7:30 p.m., 11 a.m.-7:30 p.m. on Friday, 11 a.m., and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday & Sunday. For additional information, call (813) 929-4217, visit LexingtonOaksGolf.com. Or, call the golf course’s main number — (813) 907-7270 — to talk to a catering specialist about scheduling, and designing a menu for, your event. 

Nibbles & Bites: New Stuff In New Tampa!

The Grill At Morris Bridge

Although we don’t know exactly when, New Tampa is getting yet another non-chain restaurant.

After years of being home to a Beef O’Brady’s and then, for a short time, the ill-fated Chefs of Napoli (and for about a minute, Regina Margherita), the westernmost corner location in the Cross Creek Commons plaza on Cross Creek Blvd. at Morris Bridge Rd., will apparently be home to The Grill at Morris Bridge.

Located to the west of Great Expressions Dental Center (photo) and just two doors down from Publix, which owns the 18-year-old plaza, The Grill at Morris Bridge is currently under construction, a $250,000 job that, according to plans filled with the City of Tampa, will include a restaurant and bar.

We’re also not sure what kind of food the new place will be offering, but the new restaurant will be about 2,400 sq. ft. inside, and will have seating for roughly 145 customers. The Grill also will have a 240-sq.-ft. outdoor patio on the far west side parallel to Meadows Rd. (facing Heritage Elementary), as well as a bar with 16 seats.

Here’s hoping The Grill at Morris Bridge will be opening sooner than later. —  JCC

The Bean Bar Co. Coffee & Artisanal Eats

The new The Bean Bar Co. Coffee & Artisanal Eats is now open in the Shoppes at The Pointe at Tampa Palms plaza, near Koizi Endless Hibachi and Palms Pharmacy at 17018 Palm Pointe Dr.

The place looks awesome inside, with a hip and artsy interior and casual seating for customers. If you’ve ever enjoyed The Bean Bar’s coffee drinks from their mobile unit, you know you’re in for a treat.

So, go check them out in person, or visit BeanBarCo.com or call (814) 442-7699 and please tell them I sent you.

• Speaking of beverages, both the second location of Provisions Coffee & Kitchen and the new Mint Cocktail Lounge are expected to open soon in the Palms Connection plaza on E. Bearss Ave., just west of BBD. 

As mentioned above left, the first Provisions is now open at the KRATE at The Grove container park. The second Provisions is expected to open a week or two before Mint, which is owned by the same owner as the Bearss Tavern & Tap in the same plaza. Mint will have full liquor and bar snacks and it is beautiful inside.

• And, although it’s only an unconfirmed rumor as we went to press, we’ve been told that the end cap in the Shoppes at Amberly plaza in Tampa Palms previously occupied by McNatt’s Cleaners (and Cotney’s Cleaners before that) will be a drive-through bagel place. — GN

Kobé Steakhouse Moving Down The Road

Kobé Japanese Steak House’s move to its new location at the former Vuelo’s Mexican Grill on Bruce B. Downs Blvd. (above) is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Kobé Japanese Steak House, which has been located at the corner of Bruce B. Downs Blvd. and Pebble Creek Dr. since 2011, is moving down the road to the old Vuelo’s/Señor T’s/Romano’s Macaroni Grill site in front of New Tampa’s Home Depot.

According to Hien Nguyen, a spokesperson for the family-owned mini-chain, as soon as remodeling is completed on the former Vuelo’s, Kobé “will transition from our current location.”

Nguyen says the new location, “will be larger to accommodate our growing team and business. We aim to transition by the end of this year.”

The new site for Kobé is 7,000 square feet — giving the restaurant roughly 1,000 more square feet to accommodate a larger kitchen for it’s growing to-go business —and offers more parking.

The successful and highly-rated Japanese steak house, one of 12 located in Florida, is now going to try to succeed where others have not when it moves into the former Vuelo’s Mexican Restaurant location, which was previously Señor T’s and before that Macaroni Grill, which closed in 2013.

Señor T’s opened in November 2015 but was poorly received and scathingly reviewed by many. It failed to make it through even a year, closing its doors for good in July 2016.

The Mexican eatery was rebranded, redesigned and opened with a new, but still Mexican-based, menu as Vuelo’s a few months later, in November. But, whether it was the food or the location, Vuelo’s died out just over a year later and the restaurant has been empty since 2018.

Can another restaurant succeed in that seemingly cursed location, which can be difficult to get in and out of from BBD?

Probably, considering that Chili’s has had staying power right next door. Plus, Kobé has an established reputation and is popular in New Tampa (at least according to our annual Reader Surveys, which always give the restaurant high marks). And, according to 2,756 Google ratings, Kobé has a 4.7 out of 5 rating. Yelp reviewers give Kobé 4 out of 5 stars.

In addition, KobĂ© has been the most successful/longest lasting of all of the restaurants to have come and gone from its location in front of the Pebble Creek Collection. 

The saga began when Tampa Bay media personality Jack Harris leant his name to (and co-owned) Harris & Co., the original restaurant in Kobé’s location, which opened to rave reviews in 1997 but closed in 2000. But, Harris & Co. would just be the first of five restaurants in the building, which also has been home to Durango Steak House (2000-02, 2003), the Durango-owned Sammy Frogs (2004) and Wasabi Japanese Steakhouse (2006-11) prior to Wasabi selling its spot to Kobé.

Nibbles & Bites: Balanced Foods Opens, Wolf’s Den Closes, Another First Watch Planned.

In case you missed it, Balanced Foods, the six-store chain which started in Woodlands, TX, is now open in the former La Prima Pizza location next to Super Target in the North Woods Plaza at 1211 Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. (just north of County Line Rd.). 

I’ve already visited multiple times and enjoyed both lunch- and dinner-sized portions of fresh, healthy, house-made entrées like the roasted vegetable and tenderloin entrée (pictured) and the city grilled chicken with mashed sweet potatoes and green beans. There are different lunch and dinner entrées, and all come in small, medium and large sizes to fit your diet, taste and budget.

Balanced Foods also offers a variety of snacks, from its own freshly made chunky chicken salad dip (served with gluten-free crackers, apple and celery sticks), to packaged items like yummy ChipMonk banana chocolate chip sunflower Keto Bites and addictive ICON Meals peanut butter vanilla Protein Popcorn. For more info, visit BalancedFoods.com or call (813) 778-4874 and please tell them you read about them in the Neighborhood News. We also plan to do an update on the explosion of healthy eating locations in Wesley Chapel in a future issue. — GN

Wolf’s Den Closes; First Watch To Open 2nd WC Location?

For those of us who prefer mom-and-pop restaurants to chains, this may not be great news for you, as Wesley Chapel recently lost the always-popular Wolf’s Den Restaurant located on S.R. 56, but will apparently soon have a second location of First Watch, The Daytime Café, on S.R. 54, about a mile east of BBD, in the same plaza as Baybreeze Dental (see story below left).

Wolf’s Den owner Tony Carbone, who had to close temporarily a couple of times earlier this year because of a lack of help in the kitchen, closed for good before the end of August. “It was time,” he told me. “It’s been a real struggle with employees this year.”

Meanwhile, First Watch, which has a Wesley Chapel location in the Shoppes at New Tampa plaza on BBD south of S.R. 56, as well as in the new Village at Hunter’s Lake plaza on BBD in New Tampa and on S.R. 54 in Lutz, has not yet confirmed that it will open next to Baybreeze Dental, but we’ve been told by multiple sources that the currently empty end cap in that plaza (also home to a BayCare Medical Group office) will be a First Watch. — GN

Baybreeze Dental Hosts A Chamber Ribbon Cutting!

Congratulations to Ronak Parikh, D.M.D. (Doctor of Dental Medicine), the owner of the new Baybreeze Dental office at 28868 S.R. 54 (call 813.377.1822), and his family and staff, for celebrating the Grand Opening of the office with an outstanding North Tampa Bay Chamber ribbon-cutting event Photo) on Sept. 8. Attendees got to enjoy tours of the modern new cosmetic dentistry office, great food by Glory Days Grill (located almost next door), plus delicious desserts from Nothing Bundt Cakes & Crumbl Cookie. — GN 

WC Quick Bites

• Cluckin’ Fun To Replace Hardee’s? 

A month or so ago, a new banner sign went up on the former location of Hardee’s on Wesley Chapel Blvd. (next to Goodyear Auto Service) announcing that Cluckin’ Fun, an apparent chicken restaurant, was going to replace the burger chain, but as of the day before we went to press with this issue, the sign was gone and we have no further info about Cluckin’ Fun.

• Shake-A-Salad To Open At KRATE 

We told you last issue that Provisions Coffee & Kitchen was the first former shipping container to open at the KRATE container park at The Grove. It looks like the second crate to open, within a month or so, may be Shake-A-Salad, a new salad-and-wrap concept from fellow transplanted New Yawkas with fresh, tasty and healthy food options and homemade dressings. Visit ShakeaSaladfl.com. — GN