Every restaurant on this list has at least one Mexican dish I like, but the 2023 opening of Azteca D’Oro and its more authentic menu (with items like the chicken taquitos shown here), plus great “vibe” nudged it past Cantina, which has equally great fajitas, and Señor Tequila, which revamped its menu in 2023.
1. Azteca D’Oro
2. Cantina Real Mexican
3. Señor Tequila
4. Vallarta’s Mexican Restaurant
5. Tacos El Patron
No one has ever doubted that Jannah and I love to sit at the bar and enjoy a great cocktail with our meal and there are several other favorite places that didn’t make this list, including Miller’s Ale House, Carrabba’s, Bonefish, Grillsmith and Outback, but Grill at Morris Bridge gets this year’s nod for its consistency.
1. Grill at Morris Bridge
2. TrebleMakers
3. Stonewood Grill & Tavern
4. Fat Rabbit Pub
5. Cooper’s Hawk
6. Joe Whiskey’s
7. Via Italia
8. The Living Room
9. Bubba’s 33
10. (tie) Brass Tap & Noble Crust
Unlike most other local restaurants, Bubba’s 33’s menu has changed very little since it first opened on the south side of S.R. 56 (just east of I-75) in Wesley Chapel four years ago.
“That’s an indication that our customers enjoy our food,” says managing partner (since July 2021) Joe Vergona. “And we take a lot of pride in it. Almost everything we make is from scratch.”
Vergona says that although Bubba’s 33’s fries and pickles aren’t made from scratch, “pretty much all of our sauces are. We even make our own spice mixes.”
Bubba’s 33, the sports bar chain created in 2013 by Texas Roadhouse founder Kent Taylor, today has 45 locations in 15 U.S. states, with Texas having 19 of those. The Wesley Chapel Bubba’s 33 was the chain’s first link in Florida.
Jannah and I have been Bubba’s 33 fans since the beginning, and many members of our family have their own favorites. I love both the grilled and the espresso-marinated Signature, Texas Roadhouse-quality ribeye steaks; Jannah’s favorites are the classic cheeseburger with crispy bacon (and the tasty sweet potato fries) and the California chicken (grilled chicken breast topped with avocado, pico de gallo, jack cheese and scratch-made honey lime sauce); Jannah’s daughter Lauren is partial to the creamy chipotle pasta (with shrimp and grilled chicken, roasted peppers, onions and mushrooms tossed in spicy chipotle cream sauce and topped with cilantro and parmesan); and our granddaughter Rosie is crazy for the chicken & bacon mac n’ cheese. I’m also a fan of the fried chicken dinner (although I get the scratch-made cream gravy on the side) and I recently also enjoyed the Super Stromboli (homemade pizza dough stuffed with pepperoni, Genoa salami, sweet Italian sausage, Canadian bacon, mozzarella, provolone and pizza sauce).
Meanwhile, photographer Charmaine George sings the praises of the shotgun shrimp appetizer (“It’s just spicy enough and delicious,” she says), the new BBQ chicken pizza (with pepper jack cheese added to the usual Bubba’s 33 blend of cheeses, plus red onions, banana peppers and scratch-made honey chipotle BBQ sauce) and especially, the “Big Ol’”onion rings.
“We think our onion rings are the best in Wesley Chapel,” Vergona says, and it’s hard to argue with him. “The crunchiness and the flavor of the batter are definitely different,” Charmaine adds.
And, while Bubba’s 33’s hand-made pizzas can’t be called “New York style” (which is, of course, my favorite), they are super-tasty, have a crispy crust and are made with outstanding ingredients. My favorites are the meaty-meaty and the Dickie V (with Italian sausage, cherry peppers, fresh basil, grated parmesan and a zesty garlic buttered crust).
The desserts can’t be called anything but decadent. Both the chocolate chip cookie sundae and Oreo® brownie are served with vanilla ice cream and the Bubba’s cheesecake is NY-style and offered with your choice of strawberry glaze, fudge, caramel and pecan toppings.
Bubba’s 33 features high-definition TVs all around, and has an excellent drink menu with a full premium-liquor bar and imported, domestic and craft beer options at great prices, so it’s the perfect place for watching football and hockey games and we also appreciate the nonstop rock videos.
Specials include Monday Madness, when any burger on the menu is just $10.99. Mondays also are “Ditch the Digital” nights, where you get a free dessert or appetizer for keeping your phone in a sealed pizza box and playing board games throughout your meal.
“We have lots of regulars coming in for Ditch the Digital,” Vergona says. “It’s fun!”
Speaking of free appetizers, you also can get one (up to $8.99) with the purchase of any entrée with the ad on pg. 45 of this issue. See the ad for details and restrictions.
Tuesday is Pizza Night, when any 12” (small) pizza is just $12.99. Tuesday also is free Music Bingo night (7 p.m.-9 p.m.). On most Wednesdays, Magic Mike (a magician, not a male dancer) performs and one kid 12 & under eats free with each paid adult meal.
Vergona says a four-year anniversary celebration is in the works for later this month. Call or visit Bubba’s 33 for details.
Bubba’s 33 (26340 Silver Maple Pkwy.) is open every day, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. For more info, call (813) 522-5090, visit Bubbas33.com.
For me, this was one of the toughest of all categories, as virtually every place on the list has multiple dishes among my favorites. But, Lima’s ceviche and tallarin saltado de pollo (photo) keep it ahead of the merluza at Las Palmas, the ceviche at Pisco, the chicharrons at Rice N Beans and the cachapas at Chamo Bites.
1. Lima Peruvian Cuisine
2. Las Palmas Latin Grill
3. Pisco Express
4. Rice n Beans Puerto Rico
5. Chamo Bites
6. Rice n Beans Express
7. Mojo Grill
8. La Creacion Xpress
9. Latin Twist Café
10. Arepa Mia
“Pily” has some really strong arms.
They’ve gotten that way because the 20-year-old has always used them to push her manual wheelchair wherever she needed to go.
But one thing those arms can’t do is be useful for a separate task while she’s pushing the wheelchair.
Pily is a student in Cypress Creek High’s on-the-job training (OJT) program for students with disabilities who have deferred their high school diploma and not yet graduated, although they are between 18 and 21 years old. They are learning skills and tasks that will prepare them for opportunities in the workforce when they turn 22 and public school is no longer an option.
John Sousa is the OJT educator who teaches Pily, whose real name is Liz Velisse Bermudez-Ortiz.
John says OJT, “is a transition program where we help to answer the question for parents, ‘What am I going to do with my child when there is no longer free public school for them?’”
The 12 students currently in his class work in the cafeterias at Cypress Creek High and Middle School, and some of them travel to Publix. Without a tray, and while pushing her wheelchair with her arms, Pily was unable to participate in the work that the other students were doing.
“I looked at this problem I have,” says John, “and I realized that I have engineering students next door. So I walked in and said, ‘Mr. Baker, can you give me two hotshots who are really into figuring out solutions to problems?’”
“Oh, I’ve got lots of those,” John says Nathan Baker, the engineering instructor, told him. John says he gladly accepted help from seniors Liam Dzanan and Gabriel Linck. They are part of Cypress Creek High’s “pack leader” program and, in the engineering department, which means they have the opportunity to work on special projects.
“I have a refrigerator with snacks,” John says he told them. “And you guys could give this young lady arms. You could give her the ability to pick things up and hold things.”
John says they took the task to heart.
Liam and Gabriel set out to fabricate a tray that would fit on Pily’s wheelchair, allowing her to carry trays in the cafeteria, boxes and other items, helping her to contribute to the work she and her peers are assigned to do.
They came up with a thick acrylic tray and the idea to trim it with a lip, so things wouldn’t roll off it. They also had to take precautions so it wouldn’t crack during fabrication or while Pily is using it.
Liam and Gabriel previously had plenty of opportunities to learn engineering skills in the classroom, but this project was the first time that their work was not just hypothetical.
A previous project, for example, was to create a boot that would help someone with cerebral palsy to walk. The students came up with a great solution, but it didn’t actually help a real person.
The fact that Pily would be counting on them to solve her problem made this project exceptionally different.
“We felt like we couldn’t mess this up,” Liam said. “And like all of our prior practice and hypotheticals all led up to this. Only a real engineer could finish the project to help Pily.”
Gabriel agrees.
“It’s kind of intimidating because if we make mistakes, they’re expensive,” he says. “We only had one chance to make it. If we messed it up, we would have to buy another sheet for $150, so it’s a lot of pressure.”
So they sketched and re-sketched on paper until they were sure they had the right design, then made cardboard models to try it out in real life.
They learned how important it is to look at things from Pily’s perspective, instead of from theirs.
This led them to learn to countersink screws to make them perfectly flush so they couldn’t scratch, for example. They did a lot of sanding. They even make changes after they thought they were finally done, adding neoprene to make points of contact more comfortable.
It was all worth it when they got to present the new tray to Pily.
“She was ecstatic when we gave it to her,” said Liam.
John says he is so proud of Liam and Gabriel. “They were able to put that tray on her chair, and even added Velcro straps so it can slide into a new chair if she gets one,” John explains.
Not only does the new tray allow Pily to complete work tasks she couldn’t do before, it’s also essential to helping her feel included as a part of the OJT group.
“Independence is a huge thing in life for everyone,” he says. “Here’s a 20-year-old girl who can now carry things from point A to point B, be included in the group, and perform simple job tasks because of the help she got from these kids.”
John thinks this is just the beginning of many more projects to come. In fact, he said, engineering students also have come up with a 3D-printed tool that helps his students who lack the dexterity to open a soda can get the leverage they need.
“The engineering students at this school are amazing,” he says. “It’s amazing what kids are doing to help other kids.”