Category: News

Gary’s Top 25 New Tampa Restaurants!

Every year, in the issue after we report the results of our annual Reader Dining Survey & Contest, I always feel compelled to give you my dining favorites, including all of the restaurants that opened in (or very near) Wesley Chapel and New Tampa the previous year.

As someone who remembers when Good Fellas, The Boston Cooker, The Ultimate Bagel and Joy-O-Wok in Tampa Palms were the only restaurant options in New Tampa — and who has sampled every new place to eat since then — I do feel uniquely qualified to provide you with my annual list of favorites in both of our distribution areas.

And, even though quite a few new eateries opened in our distribution areas in 2021 after the reader voting ended, my top-25 “survey” lists aren’t quite as different from the readers’ lists this year as they have been in previous years, especially in Wesley Chapel.

And, I’m excited to say that this year, both Stonewood Grill & Tavern and Treble Makers Dueling Piano Bar & Restaurant have both repeated as my Favorite Restaurant in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel, respectively, which is a pretty big accomplishment, considering all of the new competition that opened in 2021 in both of our distribution areas.

On pages 28-32 of the latest New Tampa issue, you’ll find short write-ups about my 25 favorite restaurants (new and existing) in New Tampa for 2021.

Enjoy! And, try to remember that, as it says above, these opinions about local restaurants are mine alone, so I don’t expect you to agree with me about everything (or anything). Feel free to let me know when you agree or disagree!

1 — STONEWOOD GRILL & TAVERN
17050 Palm Pointe Dr., Tampa Palms
(813) 978-0388

Despite the fact that a number of new restaurants have opened in New Tampa the last two years, it was still too hard for me to disagree with our readers as to which restaurant in New Tampa is my #1 favorite for 2021 — Stonewood Grill & Tavern!

There is no doubt that despite the fact that all seven of my top New Tampa favorites on this page are good enough, in my opinion, to one day challenge for New Tampa’s #1 restaurant, Stonewood still has the best (and best variety of) steak, the best ahi tuna appetizer and some of the best fresh fish options, and those have always been the most important choices for yours truly.

Stonewood also has delicious bruschetta, an outstanding sweet tea brined pork chop, an excellent blackened chicken pasta, super-tasty Tuscan chicken and great new crafted bowls with ahi tuna, southwest chicken or salmon, plus an incredible “two hand” chicken club sandwich with bacon and Swiss.

When you throw in the fact that Stonewood also is mine and Jannah’s favorite bar in New Tampa, with superlative service and fair drink prices, and you can understand why it has repeated as my favorite restaurant in New Tampa this year (as it has been with our readers every year but one since 2015) and has long been in my top 5.

2 — VIA ITALIA
8644 Hunter’s Village Rd.
The Village at Hunter’s Lake
(813) 475-4857

Although I still prefer it for pasta moreso than for its amazing variety of pizzas, the reason Via Italia ranks as my #2 favorite restaurant in New Tampa is because those pasta dishes are all so authentic and delicious it’s hard for me to go very long without them.

A lot of places in our area have good pasta with pesto sauce, but Via Italia’s pesto Genovese is the best and also is the only place that serves authentic pasta pesto Siciliana (photo). And, add in delicious bruschetta, meatballs, oven-baked chicken wings, lasagne, cavatelli with broccolini and sweet Italian sausage and the “intensely flavored” linguine alle vongole (clams) and you have one of New Tampa’s best.

If owner/chef Roberto Maganuco ever adds fresh fish and/or grilled steaks and chops, it could easily be my #1.

3 — ACROPOLIS
14947 Bruce B Downs Blvd.
Oak Ramble Plaza
(813) 971-1787

Even though Acropolis Greek Taverna isn’t new, it was taken over by new owners Eddie Nasr and Stacy Esposito in 2021 and has definitely returned to its former top-5 glory with both yours truly and our readers. My favorite dishes are the saganaki (fried cheese) appetizer, the lamb lollipop chops and the amazing Athenian fish pictured above, although there are many other Greek specialties I enjoy, too — including the mini-gyro trio (lamb, pork and chicken), the pastitsio (Greek-style lasagne), the chicken Rhodes (in garlic parmesan wine sauce) and the pasta Santorini (in a creamy lemon wine sauce), to name a few — to keep me coming back for more. And, while the “Acropolis dressing” on the Greek salad isn’t a traditional Greek vinaigrette, it’s pretty yummy.

4 — FRAMMI
17631 Bruce B. Downs Blvd.
(813) 523-5075

Before 2021, this restaurant was still called “Oakley’s Grille” and featured some of New Tampa’s best hamburgers, chicken sandwiches and a few Italian specialties from new owner Luca Ammirati, who took over a couple of years earlier. But, when Luca decided to add an entire additional menu of his native Italian specialties and rename his restaurant Frammi early last year, it catapulted all the way up my list of favorites, with an outstanding black angus beef ragu, pasta pesto Genovese, a semi-spicy sausage ragu, a spicier arrabiata red sauce and the savory pasta vongole (clams) pictured above. Yes, Frammi still has those great burgers, fajitas, chicken and pressed sandwiches on his expanded American menu, but it is his new and extensive (without being expensive) Italian menu that keeps me coming back for more.

5 — THE GRILL AT MORRIS BRIDGE
10920 Cross Creek Blvd.
(813) 388-5353

When I first heard that a new, upscale restaurant was coming to the space previously occupied by Beef O’Brady’s and a couple of failed Italian restaurants in the Cross Creek Plaza, I was excited about the possibilities. Once I got to sample the new Grill at Morris Bridge opened in Dec. by brothers Frank and James Gouveia and Executive Chef Daniel Friley, I was even happier. No, The Grill isn’t cheap, but it has excellent steaks, delicious fresh fish, the best Caesar salad in New Tampa or Wesley Chapel, great crab cakes, authentic New England clam chowder, a tasty dry aged pork chop and a wonderful rigatoni with chicken and baby broccolini, plus New Tampa’s best wine list and amazing bar food and drink specials.

6 — FAT RABBIT PUB
16029 Tampa Palms Blvd.
City Plaza at Tampa Palms
(813) 252-3004

Even though the Fat Rabbit Pub could have dropped a little more in my personal rankings when it stopped offering a fresh fish special every week, the fact is that this is still one of New Tampa’s best restaurants with one of its most creative, better-than-sports-bar-food menus in our area. The Fat Rabbit serves the best blackened wings, plus delicious burgers, an amazing blackened chicken roll appetizer, delicious street tacos (with pork, shrimp or short ribs) and new rice bowls like chicken tortilla and the tasty and tender short rib bowl shown above, plus blackened chicken, Tampa Palms cheese steak, Key West grilled chicken and other unique sandwiches, and the area’s best tater tots, all coupled with an ultra-premium liquor bar and craft beers.

7 — LIMA PERUVIAN
19056 Bruce B. Downs Blvd.
New Tampa Center
(813) 304-0205

You may not have known that Peruvian food has long been considered the best of the Latin cuisines, but if you try owner Oscar Escudero’s Lima Rotisserie Chicken & Peruvian Cuisine, you’ll understand why it’s true. Yes, the rotisserie chicken is outstanding, but I love Lima for its fresh fish ceviche (available with one or a trio of unique sauces), lomo saltado Lima (beef tenderloin tips or diced chicken breast wok-sautéed with soy sauce, onions and tomatoes) and tallarin saltado with flamed tenderloin tips, a variety of shellfish or diced chicken (photo) with lo mein-style noodles, pescado a la chorrilana (fried fresh fish filet), Peruvian-style fried rice and some of the best black beans and rice in our area. And, you can top it off with a Cusqueña Peruvian beer.

8 — CALI
17004 Palm Pointe Dr.
Shoppes at The Pointe
(813) 975-1222

It seems that virtually every restaurant in our area now serves some sort of bowls, but Cali (formerly Ciccio Cali) was undoubtedly the first local restaurant to focus on the now-popular bowl culture. Cali also serves great wrap sandwiches (like the California club wrap with bacon and char chicken), unique baked pizzas and of course, those epic bowls.

The bowls at Cali are all available with seared ahi tuna, char or blackened chicken, grilled steak and a variety of veggies proteins (like lentil bites) and bases, but my favorites are the Hot & Crunchy bowl with seared ahi tuna, the Lean & Clean bowl with char chicken, roasted broccoli and cauliflower and the grilled steak fajita bowl.

9 — BAYSCAPE BISTRO
10630 Plantation Bay Dr.
@ Heritage Isles Golf Club
(813) 994-3445

F or good, old fashioned American cuisine with a variety of other options, owner/chef Eddie Bujarski’s Bayscape Bistro offers breakfast all day (try the brioche French toast, meat lover’s hash or the Breakfast in Hand), smaller plates like delicious battered and fried grouper baskets, wings and chicken strips, a fresh grilled mahi and other sandwiches, hot dogs and burgers, and wonderful signature dishes like mojo pork loin, a 12-oz. ribeye steak, a pasta garden with roasted veggies, roast half chicken and a really delicious country fried chicken (photo). Yes, even though it’s located at a golf course, Bayscape is open to the public and also features karaoke on Friday nights and $25 family of four takeout meals.

10 — FRESH KITCHEN
8648 Hunter’s Village Rd.
The Village at Hunter’s Lake
(813) 336-3800

My third favorite new restaurant to open in New Tampa in 2021, Fresh Kitchen is a Florida-based mini-chain with 15 locations either already open or opening soon, and it has some of the best options for your freshly made bowl of any restaurant.

My favorite proteins are the grilled steak, the almond-baked chicken planks (both shown in the bowl above), grilled citrus or BBQ chicken and even Caprese tofu. My favorite bases are the baby kale Caesar and kale slaw, but Jannah loves the sweet potato noodles and spinach salad bases. We both enjoy the parmesan broccoli and sesame green beans, as well as the creamy white ginger and herb balsamic vinaigrette sauces.

The best of the rest:

11. LAS PALMAS
12. LIANG’S BISTRO
13. ORONZO HONEST ITALIAN
14. KOBE JAPANESE STEAK HOUSE
15. CANTINA REAL MEXICAN
16. SUSHI CAFE
17. WOOD FIRED PIZZA
18. MICHI RAMEN
19. LITTLE GREEK
20. GLORY DAYS
21. THAI RUBY
22. POKE ISLAND PLUS
23. MAHANA FRESH
24. BURGER 21
25. PEABODY’S

Why I’m Glad I Took The Covid Vaccine — A Non-Political View

Before I get into my own whys and wherefores, I just want to say that even though I disagree with those who refuse to get vaccinated against Covid-19, I still defend your right not to take the “jab.”

Gary Nager Editorial

While I’m not over age 65, I am in my 60s, still somewhat overweight and I’m on daily medicine to control my blood pressure, so as soon as I became eligible to receive the vaccine, I took my chances and got my two doses of the Moderna vaccine in February and March of 2021. Eight months later (in November of 2021), I got the Moderna booster and will plan to continue to get boosted whenever the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) says I should or that it’s OK for me to do so.

Why? The primary reason I chose to do so, and why Jannah did as well (also having received her two original Moderna doses and her booster a little less than a month after I did), is because we love to go out to eat, to have a few drinks, go to sing karaoke, see concerts and attend Lightning and Bucs games and we believed that being vaccinated was a safer way for us to continue to do those things than choosing not to. While we wore our masks whenever we went shopping or to local Chamber, Rotary and other public meetings, we certainly didn’t wear them when we went out to eat or to watch the Bolts at Amalie Arena.

To those who say we’re crazy, that we don’t know what’s really in those shots or how they will affect us long term, for us — as older adults (although Jannah’s almost eight years younger than me) who aren’t concerned about how the vaccinations will affect our reproductive systems — the choice was easy for us and now, we’re both even happier that we made the decision we did.

After still basically doing all the things we love and never having tested positive for Covid in the nearly two years since the pandemic first hit (despite taking multiple rapid and PCR tests during that time)*, I first got a mild cough in mid-January, and I thought it might even just be a cold or allergies because I never ran a fever and never had body aches or major fatigue. And, although my cough did get a little worse, I still didn’t think I had Covid until my son called me a couple of days into my symptoms (and a week after we had all celebrated mine and my mom’s birthdays together) to say he had tested positive and that he was having a major sore throat issue.

The sore throat — which we heard was a major indicator that we had caught the Omicron variant — finally kicked in for me the following day and got so bad over the next two days that no matter how much hot tea with honey, zinc, vitamin C, Airborne, cough drops and other over-the-counter medications I took, it got so bad I couldn’t sleep for two nights. I actually went and had myself swabbed for strep at a local Urgent Care center, just to make sure I didn’t have two illnesses happening at the same time. But, I tested negative for strep and was told to increase my Ibuprofen doses and within a day or so after, the sore throat started to subside and while I was still coughing up phlegm, it no longer hurt to do so. Two days after that, I again tested negative for Covid.

Meanwhile, Jannah tested negative when I first tested positive but began experiencing entirely different symptoms than I had on the third or fourth day after my positive test. She started with a low-grade fever and body aches, which progressed into a minor cough with a minor sore throat a couple of days later, but all of her symptoms went away within a few days and, almost exactly a week after her positive test, she also tested negative for Covid.

Now, people tell me that Omicron, while apparently more contagious than previous variants, generally had less severe symptoms than Delta and other earlier forms of the disease, even for the unvaccinated. Even so, I could only imagine how much worse my symptoms could have gotten and that the possibility of being hospitalized, at least for me, seemed all too frighteningly real.

So, while I fully expect to receive the usual string of nasty emails and requests not to deliver the paper to those who are anti-vax and anti-mask, I still felt that I wanted to share my Covid story — not necessarily to change anyone’s mind, but just to say that knowing that people in my age, weight and general health categories are still dying from even the Omicron variant, I’m still glad that I weighed my options and felt that “taking the jabs” was less risky than just allowing my immune system to fight off this scourge.

And, considering that I’m getting ready to have both of my knees replaced over the next few months, I’m glad that, at least for now, I can worry a little less about Covid and more about my post-surgical recovery.

Covid-19 Jab Omicron

The Story of Justin Scott: Never Give Up!

Justin Scott, surrounding by his family and friends, got his first playing time on Senior Night against Durant. (Photo: Charmaine George)

Wharton senior Justin Scott took in every high five, every pat on the back and every hug on the most glorious night of his life.

The doctors who birthed him wouldn’t have believed it. His first teachers would be floored. Most anyone who knows anyone with cerebral palsy would be flabbergasted.

This kid can play.

Overcoming the greatest of odds, Justin held his head high as he walked off the field towards the locker room, still talking about the game, a 2-0 Wildcats win over Durant, a victory he started and played almost all 80 minutes of, like it was a dream he hoped would never end.

“I was told I would never walk, I would never walk, and I was told I was going to die before I was two year old,” Justin said. “Now look where I am — playing soccer for my high school team.”

On Jan. 14, 18-year-old Justin started at forward for the Wharton boys soccer team, a surprise reward for his years of perseverance, his positivity and his commitment to his teammates.

Justin says soccer has long been his passion. He once had a hat trick in a league game at the YMCA and, in limited action at Turner-Bartels K-8, he was a goaltender who never allowed a shot past him.

But, in high school, as the players get bigger and stronger, Justin was outmatched.

He didn’t try out for the soccer team as a freshman, because he was too nervous. He was cut as a sophomore but, instead of giving up, he accepted a spot as the team’s manager and promised he would try out again.

He again was cut junior and senior years. “I really thought this year I had a chance,” Justin said.

His chance did finally come, on Senior Night, where friends, teachers and family — his mother Michelle and her husband Rob, his father Michael Scott and his wife Jennifer, and grandmother Blannie Whalen — gathered while waving cutouts of Justin’s head on a stick, to celebrate the young man who just wouldn’t quit.

Justin’s teammates were as excited for him as he was, smiling as they welcomed him to the starting lineup. (Photo: Karl Greeson)

When he was introduced as part of Wharton’s starting lineup, he trotted out to the middle of the field where his smiling teammates high-fived him. When the first whistle blew, he took off like a bolt, chasing down the opponent, and blocking a long pass attempt by jumping in front of the ball, the thud sending a shiver down his mother’s spine.

“I was pretty nervous,” Michele said, “but I was also so full of pride. He played so well. He was fearless.”

Justin was born prematurely, a childbirth during which Michelle had an allergic reaction “to a penicillin-type drug” and went into anaphylactic shock. Justin was born with brain damage and, sometime around the age of 1, was diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

He learned how to walk, which wasn’t supposed to happen, and learned how to talk, too. Eventually, he was running and jumping around and fell in love with soccer, and grew into a popular kid that teachers and classmates rallied around.

While cerebral palsy had stripped Justin of many of the motor skills and coordination needed to play, he never stopped once he started, not only playing but learning how to be a linesman and refereeing games and helping to coach his old middle school team.

And, of course, he was a great manager, always there, always encouraging, so eager to be part of the team. But of course, his dream was to play. And Wharton coach Scott Ware finally gave him his opportunity.

Justin didn’t score, but he had a few chances. (Photo: Karl Greeson)

“He deserved it,” Ware said. “He’s definitely earned it.”

Justin called his mom when he first heard it might happen and, when it became official, he brought home his kit (uniform) and proudly tried it on for her.

“He told me, ‘Mom, this isn’t just about me, I just want people with disabilities not to give up on themselves,’” Michelle said. “That’s how he is.”

The next day, Justin, who has been accepted into a number of colleges but is really hoping to attend the University of Florida, wore his kit to school, and later that night played in it: No. 14.

And Justin played hard, as hard as he could, eager to make the most of the moment. He chased down opposing players who had the ball, mixed it up in the box with others trying to jostle for a shot, actually had a few potential goals go awry and even had a header.

Every time he came close to a ball near the goal, his teammates on the bench would lean forward, and in unison yell “Justin” in anticipation of a miracle.

“We were all excited for him that he was playing,” said senior Christian Lundblad. “If he had scored, I would have stormed the field. I might have gotten in trouble for it, but I would have done it. We were all rooting for him tonight.”

At halftime, he was asked if he was tired. “I could keep going for another two days,” he said.

In the second half, a ball was played into the box from the far side. The ball miraculously found its way through four players and the keeper, right to the feet of Justin. He was surprised it got to him, and reacted as quickly as he could, sliding and poking the shot just wide of the open net. It was agonizingly close.

“Nine times out of 10 the goalkeeper stops that ball,” Justin said. “That’s why I missed it. That will haunt me for days and years.”

But, it didn’t stop him from smiling afterwards.

Just playing in the game was a dream come true. Justin said he doubts his coach even knows just how much it meant to him. He was proud, and grateful beyond words for an opportunity he thought would never come.

“I just never gave up,” he said. “It’s the story of my life.”

soccer Wharton

Sonya Kelly, Hillsborough Teacher Of The Year Finalist, and New Tampa’s Other TOYs!

District 3 Hillsborough County School Board member Jessica Vaughn (left) and Superintendent of Schools Addison Davis congratulate Tampa Palms Elementary teacher Sonya Kelly for being one of five Teacher of the Year finalists for the entire Hillsborough District.

Sonya Kelly was taken by surprise on December 7, when Hillsborough County Superintendent of Schools Addison Davis and an entourage of school officials filled her third grade classroom at Tampa Palms Elementary with cheers.

They were there to announce that out of 15,000 teachers countywide, Kelly was chosen as one of five finalists for Hillsborough County’s Teacher of the Year.

How did she feel in that moment?

“A little bit overwhelmed, honestly, and kind of shocked because I just didn’t see it coming,” she said, as she choked back tears. “It’s a huge honor.”

Kelly has been teaching in Hillsborough County public schools for the past 12 years. She was selected by her peers at Tampa Palms Elementary (TPE) as the school’s Teacher of the Year and became one of 228 nominees for the District-wide title.

She did not win — the Teacher of the Year was Laura Widerberg, Biology Teacher at Armwood High — but just being a finalist was a buig accomplishment.

“Mrs. Kelly is so deserving of this recognition,” said TPE principal Maryann Lippek. “She makes a lasting difference in the lives of her students. She believes in all of her students and helps them to believe in themselves.”

Of the five county finalists for Teacher of the Year, the five finalists for the Ida S. Baker Diversity Educator of the Year, and the three finalists for Instructional Support Employee of the Year, Kelly was the only one chosen from any of New Tampa’s public schools.

Kelly’s principal says she sets an example for other teachers.

“Her dedication and commitment to education is inspiring,” Lippek said. “Tampa Palms Elementary is very proud of her!”

While she appreciates the accolades, Kelly notes that they are not the most important thing to her.

“I know I am truly making a difference in the lives of my students and I am honored that my colleagues have recognized me for Teacher of the Year at my [school],” she says. “It’s an incredible moment to be celebrated by my peers, but the true gift comes from the gratitude in the eyes of my students.”

The other Teachers of the Year from their respective New Tampa schools are:

JACQUELINE KOEHLER, Hunter’s Green Elementary

Teachers of the Year

What Betty White, John Madden & Bob Saget Meant To Me

The late, great Betty White always sort of reminded me of my grandmother — my beloved Nana Betty. Not only did they have the same first name, Nan lived until about a month before her 92nd birthday (and Nan’s older sister, my great aunt Molly, lived to three weeks before her 100th, just like Betty) and, like the esteemed actress and comedian, Nan was the queen of the one-liners and her relatively long life simply wasn’t long enough for her.

“I have to get better,” Nan told me as she lay dying from COPD. “I have a formal party to go to next month and I already have my dress picked out.”

And, also like the amazing Ms. White (photo), because she had such a zest for life and was always in good health until a couple of mild heart attacks in her 80s, we thought Nan was a shoo-in to make it to 100 years old.

Sadly, neither one made it that far. Even Aunt Molly, who was the oldest of the six siblings and who ended up outliving all of them, fell almost exactly as short of the century mark as did the former “Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “Golden Girls” and “Hot in Cleveland” star.

While today’s social media age mainly honors heavily filtered beauty, it’s been a nice change of pace seeing a geriatric woman who started out as beautiful on the outside inspire so many people — including yours truly — because of her inner beauty that made people smile, laugh and want to support the causes that were near and dear to her heart.

To that end, Jannah and I made a donation to a local animal shelter on what would have been Betty’s 100th birthday — Jan. 17.

Is it just a coincidence that Nan was born on June 17? Maybe, but I think not.

On Losing My Favorite NFL Coach

Most people who are my sons’ ages only know the late, great John Madden (who died a few days before White, at age 85) because he leant his name to the first hugely popular football (or any major sport) video game.

But for me, as a sports-crazy kid growing up in Lawn Guyland, New Yawk, who never forgave my original favorite NFL team — the Giants — for trading away my favorite player (a little-known wide receiver named Homer Jones) after the 1969 season, I was on the lookout for another NFL team to root for and Madden had just completed his first season as the Oakland Raiders head coach.

But, the reason I chose the Raiders as my team wasn’t just because they went 12-1-1 in 1969 under Madden, it was because they had my second-favorite player — and the wide receiver who gave me the most hope that I could someday play in the NFL — the great Fred Biletnikoff, who was my NFL role model, with his relatively small size, great hands and lack of breakaway speed.

Whether intentionally or not, the Raiders became the bad boys of the newly merged NFL under Madden, known as much for cheap-shot defensive backs who tackled with elbows and forearm shivers as they were for being a consistently great team on both sides of the football.

Unfortunately, Madden’s last season as a coach — 1978 — was the same year that New England Patriots wide receiver Darryl Stingley was paralyzed on a clean hit delivered by one of the dirtiest of the Raiders, safety Jack Tatum.

That also was the last year I rooted for Oakland. I still loved the NFL, I just was a fan of the entire league, rather than of any particular team, until I moved to the Tampa Bay area in ‘93.

But, Big John finished his 10-year coaching career (all with Oakland) having never had a losing season and his .750 career regular-season winning percentage is still a record for coaches with at least 100 NFL games coached.

Yes, I loved John’s “Boom” Hall of Fame TV sportscasting career and his Miller Lite commercials, but for me, he’s the coach who taught me that you don’t always have to root for your home team to be a fan.

I miss you, big guy.

Bob Saget, Too

Although I wasn’t much of a fan of his TV shows “Full House” or “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” I was a fan of the late Bob Saget’s super-raunchy standup comedy, including his appearances on many celebrity roasts.

But, the fact Saget was only a couple of years older than me and died so close to my birthday (in an Orlando hotel room, no less), plus the amazing tributes about him from not only his former castmates but so many other celebs made me realize yet again that it’s not only about what you accomplish in your career or your life, but the legacy you leave behind.

betty white bob saget john madden