Category: News

So Far, These Are My Favorite Dishes At KRATE Restaurants

So, how many of the restaurants at the KRATE Container Park at The Grove have you tried so far? I have tried all of them, although I definitely haven’t tried every dish at every KRATE eatery yet, so below is a list — in alphabetical order by the name of the KRATE — of my favorite dishes so far at the now-18 open restaurants and bars at the KRATEs. I plan to keep on sampling everything I can at these mom-and-pop eateries, and I will list my favorite KRATE desserts next issue, so stay tuned! — GN

Bacon Boss HQ — Although I have them put the BBQ mayo on the side, my favorite menu item at the Bacon Boss is the Bugsy Siegel Burger, which features a grilled-to-perfection burger topped with two slices of American cheese, crispy bacon, lettuce & tomato. So good.

Blush Wine Room — Despite its billing as a wine bar, this is definitely one of my favorite KRATE restaurants. I already love the bruschetta, beef & pork meatballs with spicy marinara and the chicken with vodka sauce flatbread (photo, left). The wines (including wine flights) also are great, but my favorite drink is the strawberry frosé — perfect on a hot day.

Chamo Bites Venezuelan Cuisine — I’ve always been a fan of arepas, and Chamo Bites tops them with a great variety of meats and cheeses, but I’m absolutely addicted to the Cachapa (a sweet corn pancake) filled with queso de mano, or “hand cheese,” which is like mozzarella only better.

El Prince Mediterranean — The meat shawarma sandwich, which is delicious, marinated sliced ribeye beef roasted with Middle eastern spices in a pressed pita-style wrap, topped with onions and tahini sauce (that I had them put on the side) is still my favorite at El Prince, although the diced El Prince salad is also a delicious option.

La Creacion Express — You don’t have to be a fan of Puerto Rican cuisine to enjoy La Creacion, although I haven’t yet tried the more hard-core items like octopus or alcapurria (green bananas & taro root) empanadas, I love the tripleta sandwich (with steak, ham and pork).

Mojo Grill Latin Fusion — The menu really is a mix of so many Latin favorites you really can’t go wrong, but my favorites so far are the steak chimichurri sandwich (thinly sliced skirt steak, caramelized onions, melted cheese and house-made chimichurri sauce on a toasted baguette) and the build-your-own bowl with grilled chicken, cilantro rice, black beans and Cuban slaw.

Palani’s Hawai’i Noodles House of Saimin — To date, the only dish I’ve tried is the saimin noodles in a savory clear broth garnished with barbecued char sui pork, kamaboko and crisp green onions, but it definitely makes my list of KRATE favorites. I suggest paying $4 for additional Chinese-style char sui pork. So good.

Shake-A-Salad — Since it was one of the first KRATE restaurants to open, I’ve tried more than one option of all three parts of the menu — the salads (my favorite is The Cobb), the wrap sandwiches (the Chicken Caesar is my fave) and the signature rice bowls (I absolutely love the Asian Marinated Chicken Rice Bowl).

Tacos El Patron — Already a family favorite, we love the savory pastor quesadilla filled with marinated pork, the huge carnitas burrito (filled with pork chunks, rice, beans and cheese) and the asada (steak) taco salad.

Tasty Ramen — Although I’m not as much into the variety of ramen bowls as I am the appetizers, I definitely love the pan-fried gyoza dumplings and crispy spring roll.

TJ’s Hot Dogs — Although TJ’s has a great variety of topping for its gourmet hot dogs, I only really have one favorite type — a kosher-style dog with brown mustard and sauerkraut (above) and TJ’s satisfies that craving for me. I plan to try some of the other options…eventually.

Hopefully, The Doubters Will Continue To Give The KRATEs A Chance

Even before social media became a big thing, I had received criticism about my dining reviews not being “real” or that they are “pay for play” only. The fact is that when restaurants — or any businesses — advertise with us regularly, I do make sure we do a full-length dining or business feature story about those advertisers once each year.

Gary Nager Editorial

The vast majority of the restaurant stories we publish, however, are much smaller pieces — many (but not all of which are) in our “Nibbles & Bites” column near the back of every issue — that focus mainly on new openings, eateries that close and other dining news, whether they advertise with us or not.

That has never been more true than over the course of the past year, as the places to eat and drink have opened at the KRATE Container Park at The Grove. Although it’s been hard for even yours truly to keep up with all of those openings since Provisions Coffee & Kitchen opened last year, pretty much every restaurant that has opened at the KRATEs already has been featured in these pages. And, I have been proud to be the first to provide information about so many of these new places — all of which are mom & pop-owned, not chains. I also can’t explain just how excited I was about the Grand Opening event at the KRATEs on June 4 and not just because The Grove itself spends some money with us.

The bottom line is that even if you have read every one of our stories, you can’t really get a feel for how unique KRATE is or how hard the people who have opened in the container park have worked to get open and serve you without actually visiting them.

Yes, I know some locals have posted unkind comments about some of the prices, slow service, the lack of shaded seating, the widely varying open hours and the parking at the KRATEs, but developer Mark Gold’s crown jewel of his complete revamping and expansion of The Grove is still really in its experimental phase, as many of the KRATE business owners are running their own businesses for the first time.

And, while each KRATE does have its own operating hours, pretty much all of them are open every weekend by no later than noon, so if you still haven’t checked them out and don’t want to be disappointed that the KRATE you were most excited to visit isn’t open on a Wednesday afternoon, I suggest planning to spend a weekend afternoon exploring all of the unique non-chain options you won’t find on S.R. 56, Dale Mabry or any major thoroughfare in the Tampa Bay area.

For those complaining about service issues, please recognize these facts: 1) many of the KRATEs are still brand new and learning how best to serve their greater-than-expected numbers of customers and 2) there is a serious labor shortage across this great country of ours. So, most KRATE owners and their families are providing the cooking and customer service themselves. Even the KRATEs that have been open for months are dealing with labor issues.

And, thankfully, since the whole shebang is opening during Florida’s hottest months, both the developer and the KRATE owners have started adding more outdoor seating with umbrellas (the tiki huts near the KRATE stage area are pretty cool-looking) for shade, since the air conditioned space inside even the larger repurposed shipping containers is still pretty limited.

As for parking, as someone who recently had both knees replaced, not being able to park in the spaces directly in front of the KRATEs has definitely been an inconvenience, but a large parking lot between the south end of the container park and Outback Steak House was nearing completion as 8,000+ people descended upon the KRATE Grand Opening event on June 4. And, until that lot is open to the public, there are still plenty of pretty close spaces between the KRATEs and The Grove’s big box stores like Cost Plus World Market and Dick’s Sporting Goods.

As for the pricing of your favorite KRATE food and beverage items, I’m sure you’re aware that everything you’re buying at your local grocery store costs more now than it did even a year ago. I also hope you’ll take into consideration how much time, blood, sweat, tears and money has gone into getting the KRATEs open and that these owners are trying to recoup what they’ve shelled out — some for as much as three years, thanks to the pandemic.

The fact is that not every KRATE business open today or opening soon will still be in business six months, a year or more from now. One oft-quoted stat is that 95% of all new businesses don’t survive their first 1-5 years in business. But, I hope that this non-chain-starved community will support those who have worked so hard to bring you so many new and unique dining and shopping options.

So, please get out and visit the KRATEs and sample the Blush Wine Room, Tacos El Patron, Palani’s Hawai’i Noodles, Katie Beth’s Boutique and all the rest for yourself.

Oh, and feel free to tell them I sent you, because, as of today, not one of them is advertising with us.

RADDSports Charity Hosts First 5K Run & Family Festival June 18!

Runners, take your marks!

Fresh off a successful first-ever Charity Golf Tournament at Lexington Oaks Golf Club last December, RADDSports Charity — the 501(c)(3) nonprofit arm of the company running the programs at the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County — will host its first-ever 5K Run and Family Festival at the Sports Campus on Saturday, June 18.

The event — which will benefit local youth athletes who couldn’t otherwise afford to participate in RADDSports’ programs at the Sports Campus — will kick off with a chip-timed (by FITniche Events) 5K road race at 7:30 a.m., with age group awards given to the race’s top finishers.

The cost to participate in the 5K is $30 (or $25 until June 17, for those using the code “RADD5” when they register) or $35 the day of the event, and all registered runners will receive a race T-shirt (although proper sizes can not be guaranteed for all participants).

The 5K will be followed at 8:30 a.m. by a one-mile race, where the pre-race-day cost to participate is $15 (again, using the code “RADD5”) or $20 the day of the event. Event T-shirts (while supplies last) also will be given out to one-mile race participants.

After the two races, at 9:30 a.m., there also will be a free 1/4-mile Kids Fun Run for children ages 10 & under.

Family Festival All Morning!

Also kicking off at 7:30 a.m. and lasting until noon will be a Family Festival, which will be free to all runners, and $2 for all non-runners.

The Family Festival will feature a variety of vendors (including Culver’s, shown at the top of this page), some of which will be serving food and beverages for free (including Smoothie King and others that had not been finalized at our press time), as well as a variety of free family-friendly activities (including games, music and more).

“We are excited to be hosting our first-ever RADDSports Charity 5K and Family Festival at the Sports Campus,” says RADDSports president & CEO Richard Blalock. “It’s a great way for us to offer a fun community event that will benefit the young athletes in need in our community.”

Although the runs and Festival events will be held outside the Sports Campus, the on-site registration and restrooms for the event will be held inside the 98,000-sq.-ft. AdventHealth Sports Arena, which also will be open for anyone interested in touring the facility. The arena can be configured to include 8 full-court basketball courts or 16 full-sized volleyball courts, has a world-class cheerleading area and performance training for its athletes. Indoor soccer (aka “futsal”) also is offered inside the arena.

Blalock and the entire Board of RADDSports Charity also thank the event’s Champion Sponsor — Abdoney Orthodontics, as well as all of the event’s Corporate Sponsors — Parks Motor Group, Smoothie King of Wesley Chapel, Sana Dental Studio & Spa, Topgolf Tampa, Transform Solar and the New Tampa & Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News. Thanks also go out to the 5K Route Sponsors — Ark Softwash, Lucas, Macyszyn & Dyer Community Foundation and McNamara Health & Wellness and In-Kind Sponsors Coca-Cola Beverages Florida and Pepin Distributing Co.

For more info or to pre-register for the event, visit RADDSportsCharity.org, email Charity@RADDSports.com or see the ad (right). For last-minute sponsorship/vendor opportunities, email Jannah@RADDSports.com.—GN

RADDSPORTS

How Far Will $20 Million For Sidewalk Repairs Go?

The Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) committed a large chunk of money to repaving many of its roads last year. This year, the BOCC is tackling sidewalks.

The commissioners voted 6-1 on May 4 to spend $20 million from the county’s remaining pool of America Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to address dangerous sidewalks damaged over the years by tree roots, vehicles and age. District 7 Commissioner Kimberly Overman was the lone dissenter, stating a preference that the $20 million be spent on addressing the affordable housing crisis instead.

The county received $285.9 million from the federal Covid-19 relief package in 2021 and, after the sidewalk appropriations, will have about $44 million remaining.

Which sidewalks will be fixed, and whether any of those are in New Tampa, won’t be known for another month or so (90 days from the meeting), and commissioners will meet with county planners to determine the areas of need.

District 2 commissioner Ken Hagan, who represents the New Tampa area, told commissioners at the meeting that, “sidewalk repairs and road resurfacing are by far the top requests to my office.”

Damaged and uneven sidewalks are a major concern, commissioners said. Hagan shared the story of one constituent who says their children wait in the street for the school bus in the morning because the sidewalks are so bad. In other cases, children and adults biking, the elderly out for a walk and those in wheelchairs are unable to use the sidewalk for basic things like getting to school, a store or a bus stop.

Tom Fesler, the county’s chief financial administrator, told commissioners that the county has paid out $2.5 million in claims over the last 10 years related to sidewalk trip-and-falls.

“It is one of the most significant items we have as far as claims to come to the county go,” Fesler said.

The Neighborhood News reported a story in July 2019 about the dangerous sidewalks in many of the seven neighborhoods that comprise Cross Creek. Jo-Ann Pilawski, the community association manager, said she had reported the sidewalks for years, but repairs were just added to a massive backlog. Instead, swatches of bright orange paint and dozens of orange safety cones were placed throughout the neighborhoods as warnings to pedestrians.

Three years later, the paint has faded, the cones are gone, and the uneven sidewalks remain.

Pilawski hopes the BOCC’s vote moves some of the repairs further up on the county’s to-do list.

“I keep calling,” she says.

Hagan said he has compiled a list from constituent phone calls to compare with what the county staff has come up with as to which sidewalks to address.

However, Hagan stressed that there is an 8-10 year backlog on sidewalk repairs and, at the BOCC meeting, commissioners agreed that $15 million of the $20 million voted for would be used to repair sidewalks in underserved areas.

Hillsborough County Public Works maintains more than 3,200 miles of sidewalks, with a budget of only about $550,000 a year to perform repairs. Last year, the county said it had nearly 2,500 open requests for sidewalk repairs, but the budget would only allow it to get to less than a third of those requests.

“The need is enormous,” Hagan said. “Hopefully, we are able to spread it around as much as possible and do as many sidewalks as possible.”

hillsborough county roads sidewalk

Thousands Flock To KRATE Opening! (Photo gallery, too!)

“It’s a home run.”

That’s how Wesley Chapel’s Jon Kramer described the KRATE at the Grove’s Grand Opening on June 4, while sitting in the shade holding a beer as his wife Faith sipped on a sangria. Their dogs, Marley, a 5-year-old Golden Doodle, and Maverick, a 6-year-old Labradoodle, also enjoyed the shade.

Developer Mark Gold promised KRATE would be cool. And on June 4, that’s what he delivered.Thousands — maybe 8,000 or so, according to one estimate, but no matter your guess, the number was many more than expected — swept up and down the rows of converted shipping containers. Some sat and listened to music, children got their faces painted and frolicked on the playground, and slowly but surely the large crowd completely drained many of the 18 open restaurants of their tasty contents. leaving the owners and their employees with no time to catch their breath.

Miguel Calvo, who owns Chamo Bites, lives five minutes from the KRATE at the Grove, and had to run home four times to get more food to restock his container. At the end of the day, he was moved, maybe even a little shaken, by the outpouring of support. He called it “life-changing” and showed off an arm full of goosebumps.

It was the kind of festive event that Chappies have been yearning for.

“This is the best thing to ever happen to this place,” said Jon, who has lived just a few footsteps away from The Grove for 22 years. He has watched what was once nothing but a strip mall sprout from the ground, then wither and nearly die, until Gold showed up and promised to save it.

When Gold and Co. crossed the finish line at the Grand Opening, Jon and Faith were there to celebrate with them.Twice, in fact. The Kramers came in the morning, and then returned again in the evening.

And, get this — in between, they drove to downtown Tampa to have a drink at Sparkman Wharf, the trendy, smaller container park that opened along Channelside Dr. in 2018.

And, while Wesley Chapel may still not be quite as hip as downtown Tampa, it’s clear to Jon that Sparkman Wharf is now officially Tampa Bay’s “other” container park.

“KRATE blows it away,” he says. “They have a few bars and food and nothing else. Here, there is that and local artisans and local shops. It’s just better.”

That will be music to Gold’s ears. On numerous occasions, due to the delays and hurdles, the developer has referred to the nearly three-year KRATE project as “Mission Impossible.” But, he never doubted that once it was completed, it would be a big hit.

A home run, even.