A couple of weeks before we went to press with our Aug. 31 Wesley Chapel issue, the new location of Provisions Coffee & Kitchen (previously Buttermilk Provisions) became the first repurposed shipping container to open in the KRATE container park (at 5862 Goldview Pkwy., #s 102 & 104) at The Grove in Wesley Chapel.
Provisions Coffee & Kitchen opened with a larger menu for breakfast and lunch, a new coffee supplier (MADE Coffee, which is based in St. Petersburg) and tasty regular donuts to replace the gluten-free ones that were so popular at the old location on Bruce B. Downs Blvd. in Wesley Chapel (although there are still some gluten-free goodies, like pumpkin bread).
Owner Dana Morris said that although it’s taken about two years since she signed the lease to get open at KRATE, “Our customers seem to believe it’s been worth the wait.”
Morris also is getting ready to open another Provisions location in the former Seasons Fresh spot in the Palms Connection plaza on E. Bearss Ave. (just west of BBD) and she says the new location also will feature her much-improved, expanded menu.
Sadly, neither she nor a spokesperson for developer Mark Gold knew when the other KRATE containers were likely to open. — GN
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.
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.Â
In fact, managing editor John Cotey, whose wife is Vietnamese, says his entire family loved the pho noddle soup and other Vietnamese specialties, so you know it’s good.
Photographer/videographer Charmaine George also said that her taro boba milk tea with mango popping bobas was delicious, too.
The Skipperdome at Skipper’s Smokehouse. (Photo: SkippersSmokehouse.com)
Pick Of The Week: Skipper’s Smokehouse!
Although it’s located 20 minutes or so south of Wesley Chapel, the legendary Skipper’s Smokehouse (910 Skipper Rd., off N. Nebraska Ave. in North Tampa) has officially reopened — and anyone who has lived in this area for more than a few years surely has visited (and missed!) this fun and funky non-chain seafood restaurant and live music venue.
I visited the closed-since-Covid restaurant on one of its soft pre-reopening days a few weeks ago and was thrilled with the latest incarnation of this long-time favorite.
Back when Wesley Chapel had only a handful of homes and New Tampa had only a few restaurants of its own, Skipper’s was famous on both sides of the county line for its great drink prices, outstanding live music, fresh fish (like the yummy grilled wahoo, above right, that I brought home to Jannah), raw oysters and great wings (above left). My new friends Terri and Michael (below) enjoyed those crispy wings (with medium-spicy “hotter” sauce on the side) so much that they got a second order of them. And, Skipper’s has revamped its menu from its soft opening to include a few more of its all-time favorites, from gator ribs to pulled pork and from fried shrimp to crawdaddy mac and more.
And, the locally famous Grateful Dead cover band, Uncle John’s Band, returned for its first Thursday evening show at Skipper’s in more than a year just before we went to press with this issue, and another popular Skipper’s staple, The Red Elvises, put on the first Saturday night love music show at the Skipperdome.
Hopefully, Skipper’s also will bring back its famous, adults-only Freakers Ball this year to celebrate Halloween properly.
Call (813) 971-0666 or visit SkippersSmokehouse.com for more Grand Reopening info, showtimes and the new menu — and please tell them I sent you! — GN
More Food Coming Soon To Our Area!
Years ago, Carrabba’s Italian Grill was rumored to be coming to Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. in Wesley Chapel, on a still-undeveloped parcel located south of where Bonefish Grill used to be located (where it has been replaced by Señor Tequila).
Then, originally reported in 2019 to be coming to the Cypress Creek Town Center area on the north side of S.R. 56, along with the now-open Aussie Grill, and the new location of Bonefish, Carrabbas’s has finally begun construction. According to Pasco County’s permitting records, the 5,074-sq.-ft. Carrabba’s will be built in between Bonefish Grill and Aussie Grill. — JCC
Meanwhile, Zaxby’s (right), the fast-casual fried chicken eatery, is getting ready to open on the south side of 56, near ALDI and the Tidal Wave Car Wash and was still hiring additional employees as this issue went to press. — GN
The ExerScience Center Hosts A Ribbon Cutting!
Congratulations go out to my friend and Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) Dr. Lauren Leiva of The ExerScience Center, located at 24706 S.R. 54 in Lutz, less than two miles east of the Tampa Premium Outlets.
Lauren, her family and staff hosted a Greater Pasco Chamber ribbon cutting on July 19 and she, of course, couldn’t resist the urge to cut the ribbon with a Samurai sword, instead of the traditional (and boring, at least to her) scissors.
Lauren has helped strengthen my knees and Jannah rehab her back and The ExerScience Center also offers outstanding personal training, nutrition counseling, group fitness and yoga classes, in addition to her award-winning physical therapy — as she has been named the People’s Choice Best of the Best Physical Therapist by the Tampa Bay Times two years in a row. To find out more, call (813) 803-7070 or visit TheExerScienceCenter.com. — GN
Nancy and Charles Frankulin invite you to check out their Buffalo chicken and other hand-tossed pizzas and homemade Italian specialties. (Photo by Charmaine George)
I consider Bosco’s Italian-to-Go owners Nancy and Charles Frankulin to be my friends, even though they know that because their thin-crust pizza is made “Detroit style,” or on a conveyor belt oven, instead of on a traditional New York-style stone, their pizza is never going to finish at the top of my list of local favorites.
Even so, I give them high marks for quality ingredients (I do love the taste of their pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese), super-fair prices and for being quality people who genuinely care about their community.
These Wesley Chapel High graduates have seen a lot of local pizza places come and go in their nearly five years since taking over the Bosco’s location in the Freedom Plaza on S.R. 54 from original owner David Bosco.
And, while many more restaurants failed because of the Covid-19 pandemic the last year+, Bosco’s has maintained its clientele and has continued to deliver (more on that below) its Italian fare to more and more people in every community in Wesley Chapel.
Plenty Of Favorites…Â
I do want to make it clear that although Bosco’s isn’t my favorite pizza locally, there are plenty of options on their menu that I do genuinely enjoy.
First of all, the pepperoni on the hand-tossed pizza (above) is delicious, and I also like their plain cheese and “meat feast” pizzas (the latter with pepperoni, Italian sausage and bacon). Photographer Charmaine George, who took all of the photos on this page, said the Buffalo chicken pizza had just the right amount of spice and there also are veggie, “Honolulu pineapple,” white winter spinach and chicken Alfredo pizzas on the menu, starting as low as $11.50 for a 14” plain cheese and going up to no more than $20.99 for the 18” meat feast and “Works” pizzas.
As for the subs, the bread does come out with a crispy edge, so I do recommend not only the chicken parm, but also the meatball ($8.49) and sweet Italian sausage (with onions and peppers) subs (also $8.49). There also are cold Italian ($8.49) and ham and cheese ($7.49) subs that Nancy says are very popular but I haven’t tried. All of Bosco’s subs come with a bag of chips and a can of soda, too.
Speaking of salads, Bosco’s has a very tasty Greek salad, with olives, feta cheese and banana peppers ($8.99), as well as Caesar ($6.49), chicken Caesar ($8.99), grilled chicken or chicken tender salads (both are $8.49) and an antipasto salad ($8.99) I’ve never sampled.
Cannoli
Meatballs
Greek salad
Cheese pizza
Nancy Piping the Cannoli
I do also like Bosco’s garlic bread sticks ($4.99) and garlic cheesy bread sticks ($5.99), as well as the lasagne ($9.49), baked ziti ($7.99) and stuffed shells ($8.49). All dinners are served with a small salad and garlic knots. I’ve also never tried include calzones (with one topping of your choice, ricotta and mozzarella, for $11.49), strombolis (stuffed with 3 Italian meats & 3 Italian cheeses for $12.99). Add $1.75 for each additional topping with your calzone or stromboli.
Save room for dessert, as Bosco’s offers hand-piped cannolis ($3.39) and delicious CinnaStix ($5.50). “There’s a baker in New Port Richey who provides our cheesecake ($3.39), tiramisu ($3.99) and cannolis,” Charles says.
Helping Those In Need
Charles and Nancy also enjoy doing their part to help the local community, as they have done school supplies drives in years past and now have a small food pantry on at Bosco’s to help local residents in need.
“We collect non-perishable food items and offer them to anyone in the community who says they need help, no questions asked,” Nancy says. “There is no stigma here. We’ve only been collecting items for a few months, but already have had a lot of locals thanking us for the help.”
Bosco’s also provides its own pizza delivery, instead of using Grubhub, Uber Eats or other delivery services. “We deliver to all of Wesley Chapel,” Charles says proudly.
Bosco’s Italian-to-Go is located at 30122 S.R. 54 and is open Mon.-Thur., 11 a.m.-10 p.m., and 11 a.m.-11 p.m. on Fri. & Sat. For more information, call (813) 907-2440 or visit BoscosItalianFL.com.
