If you prefer some good, down-home, yet surprisingly upscale barbecue, I definitely suggest a visit to the new Union 72 Barbecue in the Shops at Wiregrass mall.
Union 72 is a chef-inspired barbecue restaurant with a modern and innovative take on sauces, rubs & pairings. According to Union72.com, local restaurateurs Jeff Martin and Bharat Chhabria have at least two things in common. They love barbecue and they’re both impressed by the increasing use of global spices and flavors in American culinary scene. Their idea became a reality when Geoff Zukosky, whose cooking technique and vision resonated with their own. Union 72 was born, with Geoff as the Pitmaster.
I’m not the biggest BBQ guy myself, but like so many have posted on the Wesley Chapel Community website, I really enjoyed the BBQ brisket, collared greens and mac-and-cheese (left) I tried on my first visit and I like the fact that all of Union 72’s smoked meats come without sauce on them.
For more info about Union 72 (28211 Paseo Dr., next to The Brass Tap) or visit Union72.com.
Freedom High senior standout Megan Clark (center) signed her letter of intent with Tennessee Tech last month.
When you build a winning basketball program, new players can tend to think that the successes of the past will automatically continue. Freedom High girls basketball coach Laurie Pacholke says she sees it all the time.
But, very often, she says, it doesn’t.
And, that kind of lesson is never very easy for a coach to drill into his or her players’ heads.
After a six-year run that included 127 victories, four trips to the playoffs and a state semifinal appearance in 2013, the Patriots suffered through the first losing season since Pacholke became head coach in 2009.
Freedom’s 13-15 record included the Pats’ first loss to New Tampa rival Wharton High since 2010.
Pacholke’s team did still make the playoffs and nearly upset traditional state powerhouse Winter Haven High in the playoffs — losing by one point — but Pacholke says, “Looking at the record…yeah, that’s brutal.”
Freedom, which opened the 2016-17 season with a 33-30 loss to Alonso but has bounced back with consecutive wins over Gaither and Wiregrass Ranch, returns six seniors in its effort to bounce back this season, including Megan Clark, who averaged 14.7 points a game last year after missing the first month and a half with an injury.
Pacholke says that Clark — a 5-foot-9 senior forward who has signed to play college ball for Division I-A Tennessee Tech in Cookeville, TN — has a high basketball IQ, a sterling work ethic and a nose for the ball.
“She’ll lead us in offensive rebounds, that is for sure,’’ Pacholke says, adding that Clark’s pull-up, mid-range jumper and three-point shot are as good as anyone she has ever coached.
Olivia Williams will, “shock a lot of people,” Pacholke says. The 6-1 senior center is a top rebounder with a nice shot from 14 feet in, and has great hands. Taraja Leon, a 5-7 senior, will take over the starting point guard duties after scoring 7.2 points a game in a reserve role last year, and 5-10 senior forward Ashley Bell brings lockdown defense and a strong physical style to the Pats.
Another senior, 5-7 forward Gazal Refaee, will add some strength in the post, and 6-foot sophomore center Ragen Roger has made significant progress after playing in 14 games as a freshman.
“I like the pieces that we have,’’ Pacholke says. “It’s a new year, and I told them you can’t worry about anything that happened in the past.”
(Right) Wharton High’s Ashley “A.J.” Jones (left) & Parker Onderko will be counted on to help carry the team until they can find their footing.
Wildcats Looking For A Spark
Wharton, which was 12-14 last year, will have to overcome offseason injuries to key players to reach double-digit wins again.
Seniors Dawn Norwood and Sabrina Eye, two post players at 5-10 and 6-1, respectively, both suffered torn ACLs. Coach Chad Reed says he hopes to get Eye back before the end of the season.
“Those are significant,” he says. “They will hurt.’’
They have hurt. The Wildcats got off to a slow start, losing their first five games to open the season. They are, however, coming off a 51-49 victory over Gaither on Nov. 30.
Two starters from last year — 5-8 senior point guard Ashley Jones and 5-4 senior guard Parker Onderko — will be asked to carry the load early. Reed says he the Wildcats will have to find success with a rotation of transfers and new and old players, such as 5-10 junior forward Regina Henry, 5-11 sophomore center Semera Wilson and 5-3 sophomore guard Mecca Bythewood, as well as from promising freshmen like 5-10 forward Julian Trice and 5-4 guard Angelica Ayala.
Reed said he has some good shooters, so the Wildcats will rely on quick ball movement to create open shots. He thinks because of all the new pieces, Wharton will take its lumps this year, but he believes the future is bright.
“We have to take it game to game,’’ Reed said. “It can’t be about wins and losses (right now). If we get better each game, the wins will come.”
(l-r) Tray Gildon, Dae’son Barnes and Isaiah Thomas are returning starters for Wharton, which is looking for another 20-win season.
Since taking over the Paul R. Wharton High boys basketball program in 1997, coach Tommy Tonelli has had nothing but success.
Only one time have his Wildcats not won at least 18 games. And, Tonelli has guided the Wildcats to eleven straight 20-win seasons, seven district titles and nine playoff appearances.
But last year, despite going 21-5, the Wildcats did not make the playoffs, losing in the District semifinals to arch-rival Freedom High in Tampa Palms.
The two teams renew their rivalry tonight in a Class 8A, District 8 clash at 6:30 p.m. at Wharton, with the Wildcats looking to get back to the postseason and Freedom looking at a rebuilding year.
“I feel this team definitely has a real good outlook and can achieve whatever they want,’’ says Tonelli, who is just another 20-win season shy of 400 career wins with the school. “They just have to earn it and pay the price and go out and compete for it. It is a talented group. We have the necessary pieces.”
Three of those pieces are returning senior starters: Tray Gildon, Dae’son Barnes and Isaiah Thomas. Another big piece should be transfer Reggie Jennings, a 6-3 senior guard who averaged 20.1 points and 10 rebounds a game last year for Wesley Chapel High.
Gildon started every game as a junior, and the 6-foot-1 point guard is poised to have a big season. Tonelli said Gildon shined during the offseason, showing leaps forward in maturity and leadership. Combine that with a smooth handle, great vision and a solid jumper, and Gildon could emerge as one of the Tampa Bay area’s top point guards.
“He has good natural point guard ability,’’ Tonelli says. “He has all the intangibles.”
Barnes, a 6-2 shooting guard, also played a lot as a junior. He has improved his jump shot and his defense and Tonelli thinks Barnes can raise his scoring average into double digits.
“He can put the ball in the basket a lot of different ways,’’ the coach says.
Thomas is a 6-3 forward who started last year as a reserve and played his way into the starting lineup midway through the season. He provided a lift for the ‘Cats on offense, and is a tremendous leaper who plays above the rim.
Wharton, which is 2-0, isn’t a very big or physical team this year, but they are athletic and fairly long, with players like 6-2 sophomore guard Darin Green,6-5 junior point guard D.J. Henderson and junior varsity call-up Renaldo Williams all expected to play big roles this season.
“I’m real excited about our guys,’’ Tonelli says, “and what I think we can accomplish.”
Freedom Hoping To Reload
Freedom coach Cedric Smith is taking a more muted tone with the Patriots as he waits to see how his team gels.
The Pats lost seven seniors from last year’s team, including about 41 of the 57 points per game the team averaged in winning a school-record 23 games.
Freedom head coach Cedric Smith
Freedom, which is 1-1 after beating Gaither to open the season and then dropping a close 60-56 decision to Wiregrass Ranch in a pair of Class 8A, District 8 games, will rely on Chase Creasy, a 6-4 senior wing player that Smith thinks can be better than he has been. Last year, Creasy averaged just 6 points per game in limited minutes but was third on the team in three-pointers made.
The Patriots also return 6-8 junior Alek Rojas and 6-7 senior Nicola Maganuco, two centers. Neither player made a big impact last year, averaging a combined 5.7 points and 2.8 rebounds, but Smith is counting on them to put up bigger numbers in 2016-17.
Gerald Fleming, an athletic 6-4 senior forward, and 5-8 sophomore point guard Nicholas Butler round out the starters for Freedom.
“We have some work to do,’’ said Smith, the former USF star who took over the program in 2011 and finished 8-14 his first season, but has improved the team’s win total every year since then.
Nibbles & Bytes: Fushia Adds Chinese Hot Pot Buffet
If you’re looking for a healthier and more fun way to enjoy an authentic Chinese meal, Fushia Asian Bistro has recreated a portion of its space in the Shoppes at Amberly plaza in Tampa Palms as our area’s first-ever Chinese Hot Pot Buffet.
Although it isn’t cheap (it costs $25.99 per person), Fushia co-owner Sharon Wang says the hot pot buffet can be addicting (in a good way, of course). Sharon says to think of it as a kind of a “melting pot” for Asian cuisine. Each diner chooses one of 8 broths as the “base” for their own hot pot, which simmers on burners at each table. Then, choose from more than 30 different kinds of meat, chicken, shellfish, fish and veggies. Throw it all in your hot pot, let it simmer and then you scoop out all of the goodies and drop them in your plate and enjoy them with more than 20 different sauces — from sweet and mild to multiple kinds of hot & spicy. Your meal comes with soft drinks and dessert.
I wouldn’t try the hot pot buffet with the kiddies. Go on a date night, bring the coupon in the ad below and try the sensation that’s sweeping large cities across the nation! And, Fushia does still have delicious New York-style Chinese fare next door, too.
For more info about Fushia’s Hot Pot Buffet (15315 Amberly Dr.), call 903-6705 or see the ad below.
ALLOW ME to start this review by saying that although Little Italy’s Family Restaurant & Catering isn’t actually physically located “in” New Tampa or Wesley Chapel (it is located on S.R. 54 in Lutz, two miles west of the Tampa Premium Outlets), it is the only place we have in our area serving authentic, delicious sit-down Italian food in a casual eatery that’s more than just another pizza place that also happens to serve Italian specialties.
The husband-and-wife team of Carl and Chef Jessica Meyers takes pride in being not only my favorite Italian place located close enough to our distribution areas for me to include it in our annual Reader Dining Survey & Contest, but also one of the favorite places of so many of our readers.
But, the big news is that Jessica and Carl have added a new lunch menu with smaller-sized (for them, anyway) lunch portions of so many of our favorite dishes that we felt that these new lunch options warranted their own full-length feature article in these pages. And yes, all of the food pics shown here are the actual portions you’ll receive for only $6-$9 apiece, with the seafood selections shown hereselling for just a few dollars more. And, lunch is served at Little Italy’s Tuesday.-Friday, noon-3 p.m., although the full dinner menu is available anytime the place is open.
So Simple…So Yummy
Although the shellfish dishes pictured on the facing page don’t actually appear on the new lunch menu, Jessica usually includes both the shrimp fra diavolo and mussels marinara shown here on her daily specials board, along with the only shellfish option I can still eat without an allergic reaction — the linguine with white clam butter sauce. I will say that the people whose shrimp over linguine Gavin photographed for this article were getting a little impatient waiting for him to finish.
My favorite item off Little Italy’s new lunch menu is definitely the still-huge lunch portion of meaty baked lasagne, which comes with a side salad. Umm, actually, I think it’s the tender chicken parmigiana over spaghetti (also served with a side salad). Meanwhile, Gavin said the hand-crafted individual pizza (we preferred the meat lovers, but the veggie ‘za photographed better) was his favorite.
Although I didn’t include a picture of it on these pages, my favorite item also could be the mini meatball (it’s also available in chicken or eggplant parm) “grinda,” featuring the meatballs (photo) my entire staff has deemed the best they’ve had, at least in the Tampa Bay area, to date. The mini-sub roll comes out properly crispyand Jessica’s red sauce — what her family back in Brooklyn still calls “tomato gravy” — is second to none in our area. One of those perfect meatballs also is served as a lunch menu item over spaghetti with a side salad.
Another lunch option not pictured here is the personal-sized traditional cheese calzone, which, at just $8, is definitely a lot smaller than the regular size calzone that sells for $13 on the full menu, but it’s still big enough for two to share, especially if you add Buffalo chicken or any kind of meat (pepperoni, sausage, etc.) to it for just $1 per item.
I also would be remiss if I didn’t mention the amazing daily ravioli special, including the one shown here — spinach and cheese raviolis over Alfredo sauce with sautéed spinach in the sauce. I was surprised at how much I loved it because I’m not usually a cream sauce fan, but the spinach was the perfect complement for it and Jessica’s homemade raviolis are to die for…literally.
Help For The Holidays!
If you’re getting ready to host a holiday party for 2-to-200 people (up to 40 if you host it at the restaurant), you owe it to yourself to let Little Italy’s cater it for you. Jessica says she can do anything from a huge antipasto salad to big servings of bruschetta to eggplant rollatini, chicken Francese and even a roast beef carving station. Just don’t forget to order a few dozen meatballs. Oh, and maybe also get a dozen hand-piped cannolis filled with Jessica’s house-made cannoli cream for dessert.
For more info about Little Italy’s Family Restaurant & Catering (24436 S.R. 54, Lutz), visit LittleItalyFamilyRestaurant.com or call 909-2122. And, be sure to mention this article when you visit for a special offer.
If you prefer some good, down-home, yet surprisingly upscale barbecue, I definitely suggest a visit to the new Union 72 Barbecue in the Shops at Wiregrass mall.
Nibbles & Bytes: Fushia Adds Chinese 
A
wn here on her daily specials board, along with the only shellfish option I can still eat without an allergic reaction — the linguine with white clam butter sauce. I will say that the people whose shrimp over linguine Gavin photographed for this article were getting a little impatient waiting for him to finish.
If you’re getting ready to host a holiday party for 2-to-200 people (up to 40 if you host it at the restaurant), you owe it to yourself to let Little Italy’s cater it for you. Jessica says she can do anything from a huge antipasto salad to big servings of bruschetta to eggplant rollatini, chicken Francese and even a roast beef carving station. Just don’t forget to order a few dozen meatballs. Oh, and maybe also get a dozen hand-piped cannolis filled with Jessica’s house-made cannoli cream for dessert.