Category: Dining & Entertainment

Fundraiser Concert At St. James Feb. 15!

Gary Brosch, a West Meadows retiree who runs the No Fret Guitar Camp, was at a music conference in Nashville when he first met guitarist and harp guitarist Muriel Anderson.

They became friends. He asked her for a plug on her Facebook page and has followed her career ever since.

He was still surprised, however, when Anderson called recently to tell him she was going on tour and would be in Florida. And, she was offering something even better than a social media plug — “She wanted to do a fund raiser for us,” Brosch says. “It was a very pleasant surprise.”

Brosch’s last, and only, fund raiser for his guitar camps was in 2019, before Covid got in the way. “I hadn’t really even thought of this year’s fund raiser yet,” he says, but now, just a month after her phone call, it is scheduled.

On Tuesday, February 15, at 7 p.m., Anderson will headline a free concert at St. James United Methodist Church to benefit the No Fret Guitar Camp, Brosch’s nonprofit that gives underserved teens free guitars and free lessons.

The concert also will feature Skip Frye, Sr., who played at the first No Fret fund raiser in 2019 and was a big hit. The Hall of Fame blues artist also has been an instructor at two of the No Fret camps.

While Frye played his own songs as well as hits by other artists that were familiar to the audience at the first fund raiser, Anderson’s performance is likely to offer a unique sound, touching on genres like folk, bluegrass, classical and pop, played on a unique instrument — a harp guitar (photo), which combines your typical guitar strings with open, harp-like strings that allow for plucking.

Her show is a multimedia spectacle, with a backdrop of visuals projected onto a screen behind her.

Anderson is the first woman to win the National Fingerpicking Guitar Championship, and her 2013 CD, Nightlight Daylight, was chosen as one of the top-10 CDs of the decade by Guitar Player magazine.

The fund raiser also will feature a silent auction and the event’s proceeds will benefit the No Fret Guitar camp, which has provided more than $320,000 of free guitars and lessons in five years for 800 students. Any church or organization can contact Brosch about hosting one of the camps, which are limited to six students each. No Fret students each receive a guitar and two-hour lessons for five days, with the focus on teaching basic chords and playing songs, rather than reading music.

While Covid may have forced some changes and wiped out his fund raisers the past two years, it also helped Brosch realize the impact the camps have had on many former students. He says he has heard from a number of parents that while their children were confined inside at various times during the pandemic, they were able to turn to their guitars instead of their computers, which also helped with anxiety and depression.

“That’s really been exciting for us,” Brosch says. “We really have a life-changing impact, and music can do that.”

St. James United Methodist Church is located at 16202 Bruce B. Downs Blvd. in Tampa Palms. To reserve a free VIP table, call or text Gary Brosch at (813) 597-1925.

Muriel Anderson

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

Gary’s Picks: Top 10 Favorites By Category

In case none of your favorites showed up in Gary’s Top 25 favorite restaurants for 2021, here’s a breakdown by category of his favorites places to enjoy dinner, dessert and drinks in Wesley Chapel.

GARY’S FAVORITE RESTAURANTS TO OPEN IN/NEAR WESLEY CHAPEL IN 2021
Considering how the pandemic continued to affect business in our area, a lot of new restaurants still managed to open in (or adjacent to) Wesley Chapel in 2021 and the following were my most welcome newcomers.
1. Falabella Family Bistro
2. Bluefin Sushi
3. Chick’n Fun
4. 900º NY Pizza (The Grove)
5. Shake-A-Salad
6. Omnivorous
7. Señor Tequila
8. Keke’s Breakfast Café
9. Green Market Café
10. Zaxby’s

GARY’S 10 FAVORITE PIZZA PLACES in WESLEY CHAPEL
Although not all of the places listed below serve the true New York-style pizza I love the most, they are all delicious places to pick up a delicious pie an, in many cases, a slice. For me, NY NY is #1 because its Grandma’s pizza sauce and its sausage and pepperoni slices and pies are a tiny cut above Amici, the two 900º locations and Fratelli’s. The next five are all excellent, too, as I am happy to argue with anyone that Wesley Chapel is a great location for pizza.
1. NY NY
2. Amici
3. 900º Woodfired (Wiregrass)
4. 900º NY (The Grove)
5. Fratelli’s
6. Noble Crust
7. PizzaMania
8. Pasta di Guy
9. Caprese Pizza House
10. Moschella’s

GARY’S 10 FAVORITE ASIAN/MEDITERRANEAN RESTAURANTS in WESLEY CHAPEL
Although both New Tampa and Wesley Chapel still have limited numbers of Mediterranean places, I still think I will go back to not including Mediterranean/Greek/Middle Eastern places in the same category as the much more populous Chinese, Japanese, Korean & Thai options. Not quite making this list, but also very good, are Hot Wok 88, Gonna China, Ho Wok, Medilish Mediterranean Grill, Tokyo Grill & Sushi and others. Zukku-San gets the edge over BlueFin and Umu because of its appetizers, moreso than its sushi.
1. Zukku-San
2. BlueFin
3. The Hungry Greek
4. Umu
5. Arroy Thai
6. Bonsai Sushi
7. Yamato
8. Garden Mediterranean Grill
9. Hibachi Express
10. FJ Express

GARY’S 10 FAVORITE LATIN RESTAURANTS in WESLEY CHAPEL
Most of the places listed below serve either Mexican, Tex-Mex or Southwestern-U.S.-style cuisine, with the exceptions being Rice-n-Beans (Puerto Rican), Arepa Mia (Venezuelan) and Latin Twist (Cuban). I like Vallarta’s best for its sizzling fajitas, although Chuy’s isn’t that far behind, Rice-n-Beans for its chicharrones, Capital Tacos for its bowls and Arepa Mia for its arepas and empanadas. Cantina Laredo would finish higher with me if it was a better value.
1. Vallarta’s
2. Rice-N-Beans
3. Capital Tacos
4. Chuy’s Tex-Mex
5. Arepa Mia
6. Cantina Laredo
7. Latin Twist Café
8. Señor Tequila
9. Taco Bus
10. Taco Son

GARY’S 10 FAVORITE DESSERT PLACES in WESLEY CHAPEL
This is a tough category for me because 1) I love dessert so much, 2) can’t enjoy it as often as I would like because I’m fat and 3) not all of the places listed below are dessert-only places. Even so, there’s no doubt that Joe Schembri’s Ice Dreammm Shop, with its homemade ice cream and decadent brownies and cookies, is #1. I included and put Falabella second because it does sell its baked goods out of a display case and Culver’s #5 for its frozen custard.
1. Ice Dreammm Shop
2. Falabella Family Bistro
3. Nothing Bundt Cakes
4. Crumbl Cookie
5. Culver’s
6. Twistee Treat
7. Brooklyn Water Bagel
8. Moschella’s
9. Cafe 365
10. Barnes & Noble Café (Wiregrass)

GARY’S 10 FAVORITE BARS in WESLEY CHAPEL
Another super-tough category because each full-liquor bar listed below has different strengths and drawbacks. Treble Makers has piano music and a great crowd. Chuck Lager is our favorite place just to sit at the bar. Joe Whiskey’s has karaoke and the best drink prices. Florida Ave. has the most comfy bar stools. The Brass Tap’s karaoke starts a little late, but it has the best prices at the mall. Glory Days beats Bubba’s because of its superior wi-fi (important for fantasy football). Top Shelf rarely has seats at the bar. O’Brien’s has karaoke and live music, but skews a little country. Rock & Brews dropped when it stopped its live music. Please note that there are no beer-&-wine only bars here because Jannah and I aren’t beer drinkers.
1. Treble Makers
2. Chuck Lager
3. Joe Whiskey’s
4. Florida Ave. Brewing Co.
5. The Brass Tap
6. Glory Days
7. Bubba’s 33
8. Top Shelf Sports Lounge
9. O’Brien’s
10. Rock & Brews

food gary's favorites

Gary’s Favorite Wesley Chapel Restaurants!

Treble Makers owner Jamie Hess (left) and executive chef Kevin Maggard pose with Neighborhood News publisher Gary Nager, who has once again chosen Treble Makers as his favorite Wesley Chapel restaurant again.

As someone who remembers when Cracker Barrel, Denny’s, Waffle House and Brewmaster’s Steakhouse (the original tenant in Vallarta’s spot in the Village Market plaza) were the only “restaurants” in Wesley Chapel outside of Saddlebrook Resort — 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.

1 — TREBLE MAKERS
6034 Wesley Grove Blvd.
The Grove at Wesley Chapel
(813) 406-4371
Even though a number of local chain restaurants made it to my top-25 list of Gary’s Favorites in Wesley Chapel for 2021, I am still someone who most appreciates great mom-&-pop eateries. And, as someone who has been observing, enjoying and writing about the local dining scene for 28 years next month, I just have to say that of all the mom-&-pop places that have opened in Wesley Chapel and New Tampa (at least those that are still in business) since I bought the Neighborhood News in 1994, Treble Makers Dueling Piano Bar & Restaurant truly is my #1 favorite — now for two years in a row!

In order to be at the top of my Favorites list, a restaurant has to specialize in the items that I appreciate most when Jannah and I go out to eat, whether for lunch or dinner.

First of all, we love sharing a great steak (Jannah prefers a filet, but I also love the New York strip).

Second, our favorite places always have to have great fresh fish on the menu, too. You can keep us coming back for more with grouper, snapper, mahi-mahi or the amazing wahoo bianco — it’s my favorite new dish in Wesley Chapel for 2021 — so thanks to Treble Makers Executive Chef Kevin Maggard for staying creative.

Co-owners Jamie and his brother Joe Hess and Lee Bevan also are to be commended for sticking to their guns with providing an affordable, yet upscale, fine dining experience with great food, located in Wesley Chapel proper, despite all of those chain restaurants and having to fight through the worst pandemic of all of our lifetimes.

An, while Treble Makers is still also an entertainment destination, especially on weekend evenings, you owe it to yourself to check it out during the day or any night other than Friday or Saturday, when Jamie admits that the service can be slower due to the sold-out nature of most of those dueling piano shows.

Jannah and I have enjoyed those shows, but most of the time, we just visit for a great meal. My favorite appetizers are the sesame-crusted seared ahi tuna appetizer, the potato gnocchi with smokey Alfredo sauce and the sweet & spicy fried calamari.

In addition to the delicious, tender steaks and the wahoo, our favorite entrées are the coconut curry grouper (which doesn’t really taste like curry at all; I told Kevin and Jamie they should just rename it coconut grouper), the savory penne alla vodka (to which we add the most tender grilled chicken) and my new favorite grilled double lollipop lamb chops. All are amazing.

I also really enjoy the diver scallops and bruschetta chicken entrées, but it’s hard to sample everything on the menu because we love all of these items so much. I don’t think we’ve had any of the handhelds on the menu other than the brisket/chuck blend cheeseburger and the blackened chicken sandwich, which also are among the reduced number of menu items available on the lunch menu at reduced prices. Our favorite sides are the Brussels sprouts and the garlic mashed potatoes.

In other words, Treble Makers is my back-to-back Favorite restaurant in Wesley Chapel for good reason.

Treble Makers Dueling Piano Bar & Restaurant is open every day for lunch and dinner. For dinner & show reservations or more info, call (813) 406-4371 or visit TrebleMakersofWC.com. `

2 — GRILLSMITH
2000 Piazza Ave #100
The Shops at Wiregrass
(813) 907-1900

Speaking of fresh fish, Grillsmith’s “short trip” fish entrée has elevated the Tampa-based mini-chain to near the top of my rankings since it was first added to the Grillsmith menu a few years ago. We’ve had everything from grouper and mahi to corvina and amberjack since then and we’ve never been served anything but nice-sized portions of fresh, delicious fish. We’re also really fond of the smashed cauliflower side, as well as the crunchy tuna appetizer, the lemon feta chicken, port wine filet and the outstanding service we always receive at the spacious bar. I also enjoy the skirt steak chimichurri entrée and the desserts, and Grillsmith currently has “Fireside Flavors” like white chicken chili and burgundy braised beef tips. The Sunday brunch menu is outstanding, too.

3 — FALABELLA FAMILY BISTRO
6027 Wesley Grove Blvd.
Suite 105
(813) 428-6957

Congrats to owner Steve Falabella, his family, GM Adrian Luna and the staff of Falabella Family Bistro, my favorite new restaurant to open in Wesley Chapel in 2021. Steve also managed to open his second local pizza place — 900º New York Pizza — adjacent to the Bistro in The Grove, all while turning the Bistro into the favorite Italian restaurant in The Chap. With delicious Italian specialties like beef short rib ragu, Sam’s meatballs and the spaghetti with white clam sauce shown above, plus amazing desserts (amazing cheesecakes, tiramisu, etc.) by Evelyn Barreno of 7 Layers Bakery, if the Bistro adds a fresh fish dish other than salmon to the regular menu (I loved the mahi-mahi special), the Bistro could move up in my ratings.

4 — ZUKKU-SAN SUSHI BAR & GRILL
25916 Sierra Center Blvd., Lutz
(813) 419-1351
The second year of Zukku-San being open on the north side of S.R. 56 hasn’t done anything but confirm for me why we loved it so much in the first place. From the most creative and delicious sushi (try the bluefin tuna options) and the appetizers like the chicken and beef tenderloin yakitori shown above, the gyoza dumplings, Japanese spring rolls, tempura and more, to the best chicken teriyaki entrée (served with amazing fresh, sautéed veggies) and the best Japanese-style fried rice, and its full liquor bar, it should come as no surprise that Zukku-San is again my favorite Asian restaurant in Wesley Chapel. And, later this year, the owners of Zukku-San will open Ato Sushi Burritos & Poké Bowls in the KRATE Container Park at The Grove.

5 — FLORIDA AVE. BREWING CO.
2029 Arrowgrass Dr.
(813) 452-6333
Although the menu is missing some of our favorite items, what remains available at Florida Ave. Brewing Co. still keeps it near the top of my rankings. And, with the opening of what may be the largest microbrewery in Florida in 2021, Florida Ave. is only getting more popular. The restaurant’s cutely named specialty burgers are tasty, but you can still order a plain bacon cheeseburger with fresh veggies (photo) — and you won’t regret it. Florida Ave. also has crispy wings, a great chicken club sandwich and popular Korean-style bibimbap bowls (now available with a variety of protein options, from chicken and bulgogi shaved prime rib to salmon and vegan Beyond burger), plus beers, ales, hard seltzers and ciders and a full-liquor bar.

6 — NOBLE CRUST
28330 Paseo Dr.
Shops at Wiregrass
(813) 703-2602
I would be lying if I said that so many of you voting for Noble Crust in this year’s Reader Survey didn’t convince me to take Jannah there a little more often towards the end of last year. Although I enjoy a lot of Noble’ Crust’s ever-changing menu items, my favorites are still the house-made gnocchi, the unique beef and pork meatball appetizers (there’s even Impossible meatballs available now), as well as the chicken fried chicken parm (picture, right) entrées. And, I believe the fried chicken and waffles are outstanding, too. We also enjoy Noble Crust’s oven-baked pizzas, although we usually go for the entrées. We wish the bar area was a little bigger, but it offers an amazing selection of ultra-premium liquor and a great, fun vibe.

7 — BLUEFIN JAPANESE RESTAURANT
6034 Wesley Grove Blvd.
(813) 803-4709
Based on the rankings shown on this page, BlueFin was my second favorite new restaurant to open in Wesley Chapel in 2021. It also qualified as my second favorite Asian restaurant in Wesley Chapel, behind Zukku-San. And for good reason. This newcomer offers completely different takes on its large sushi and sashimi menu, and its gyoza dumplings (photo), and veggie tempura, soft shell crab, chicken teriyaki and steak fried rice are all outstanding. We also really enjoy the hibachi-style filet mignon, chicken and scallops, the fried pork or chicken katsu and the overall vibe of the place, which is located directly next door to Treble Makers in The Grove. There’s also a great variety of beer, wine and sake.

8 — OMARI’S GRILL
Lexington Oaks Golf Club
26133 Lexington Oaks Blvd.
(813) 907-7270
Omari’s Grill at the Lexington Oaks Golf Club may have dropped a little in my rankings this year, but not because the quality of the food has slipped at all. The problem is that, like many restaurants nationwide, Omari’s has greatly reduced the number of choices on its menu, including several of mine and Jannah’s favorites. The good news is that you can still get co-owner/chef Anass El-Omari’s perfect grilled mahi-mahi topped with mango salsa, crispy, but tender chicken parmigiana, filet mignon with cream sauce and Cajun pasta with andouille sausage, but only as Friday night dinner specials. The burgers and grilled chicken sandwiches (photo, right), wings and salads on the regular menu are all as good as you’ll find here.

9 — TOP SHELF SPORTS LOUNGE
AdventHealth Center Ice
3173 Cypress Ridge Blvd.
(813) 953-1032
When Top Shelf first opened at what is now called AdventHealth Center Ice, it was a best-kept secret as far as being a place with great food and a rockin’ full-liquor bar scene for watching Tampa Bay Lightning games. Well, the word is out now, as Top Shelf is almost always packed, especially for Bolts games, but the food is still outstanding. Top Shelf still has some of the best wings, burgers and bar food around (you can even get delicious mixed veggies as a side), and has added new menu items like the brisket quesadilla (pictured) and ahi tuna and Havana bowls. The true Canadian-style poutines are super-popular, as are the craft beers from owner Keelan Cottle’s own 81Bay Brewing.

10 — CHUCK LAGER AMERICA’S TAVERN
2001 Piazza Ave, Suite 175
Shops at Wiregrass
(813) 820-4500
Now in its second year, it didn’t take much for this third link in a new, small chain with a menu inspired by celebrity TV chef Fabio Viviani to surpass its predecessor (Primebar) in its space at the Shops at Wiregrass. Chuck Lager is a beautiful restaurant with a great vibe and a unique menu that has caught on with locals, even though it opened deep into the pandemic. Jannah and I love the Fabio’s meatball sub and Cajun grouper taco (pictured) handhelds, as well as the chicken parmesan, pork chop Milanese and Italian steak entrées and the sautéed baby broccolini is amazing. There also are great burgers, flatbreads and salads. Try the bourbon flights, featuring everything from Redbreast to Hotel Tango. Smooth.

12 — The Hungry Greek
13 — Bonefish Grill
14 — Bubba’s 33
15 — Glory Days Grill
16 — Outback Steakhouse
17 — Vallarta’s Mexican Restaurant
18 — Umu Japanese & Thai
19 — Arroy Thai
20 — Rice-n-Beans
21 — 900 Degrees Woodfired Pizza
22 — Amici Pizza
23 — Capital Tacos
24 — Texas Roadhouse
25 — Brooklyn Water Bagel

food gary's favorites

New Tampa Dining Survey Results: The Best Bars!

*Patrick Paterson and Brianna Miranda are proud to serve you a hard-to-find beer in a traditional beer stein (above) at Mr. Dunderbak’s. (Photo: Charmaine George*)

1. Mr. Dunderbak’s
14929 Bruce B. Downs Blvd.
(813) 977-4104
Dunderbaks.com

When J.B. Ellis bought Mr. Dunderbak’s 25 years ago, it had just six beers on draught and he says the first thing he did was get rid of the Natural Ice and Bud Light. Don’t be shocked.

He replaced those popular favorites at other bars, and expanded the bar, with the kinds of beers you would expect in a European pub: a variety of English, Belgian and German lagers, just for starters. You could argue, by the cases and cases of beers throughout, that the joint looks like a beer hoarder had moved in to live there.

When Ellis moved the bar/restaurant from its original space in University Square Mall to its current location on BBD, he cut a hole in the wall of what used to be a hair salon next door and added an in-house brewery, “so I could brew things I want to brew.”

The wide and traditional selection of beers, along with a quirky and comforting setting and a menu featuring German goodies like sandwiches, sausages and schnitzels that draw in big crowds, make it New Tampa’s best bar this year (at least, according to our readers), despite the fact it only offers beer and wine and no hard liquor.

A charming curmudgeon, Ellis is definitely old school. He was at ground zero of the craft and home beer explosion in Tampa Bay, and offers more beers (500+) that you can’t find anywhere else than anyone else in the New Tampa, including favorites like Hacker Pschorr and many others.

“Your chances of finding a candy corn-flavored, lactose-infused cookie dough bull—- beer is just not going to happen here,” he says.

Which is why he proudly sells T-shirts that say “Beer Flavored Beer” on them at his popular location.

Of all the winning restaurants and bars in this year’s survey, no one has a better Google rating than Mr. Dunederbak’s — an impressive 4.8 out of 5 stars average, with more than 2,000 reviews.

Our readers are definitely among those who agree. — JCC

2. Stonewood
17050 Palm Pointe Dr.
(813) 978-0388
StonewoodGrill.com

Although it hasn’t always finished as high with our readers for Favorite Bar as it has for Favorite Restaurant in New Tampa (including this year), one of the highest compliments you can pay the local location of this mini-chain is that there may be no more New Tampa crowd at any bar in our area year after year than at Stonewood Grill & Tavern.

The drinks aren’t cheap, but neither are they overpriced, and many locals (including Jannah and yours truly) prefer to dine at the bar instead of the more private tables and booths in the main dining area.

Part of the reason for that is the crowd itself — which is usually made up of Stonewood’s well-dressed regulars — but it’s also because of the outstanding service provided by the always-attentive bartenders. In other words, Stonewood is your place for great food, drinks and conversation. — GN

3. Fat Rabbit Pub
16029 Tampa Palms Blvd. W.
(813) 252-3004
FatRabbitPub.com

There aren’t too many things that The Fat Rabbit Pub does wrong, hitting the triple crown of bar services — great food, great bar and a relaxing and clean atmosphere. It caters to both drinkers and eaters, and a plethora of TVs makes it a perfect place to catch a game after work.

The Fat Rabbit has a wide variety of beers, the lineup being regularly tweaked with craft and local beers, as well as a full offering of premium liquor and wine. It may also be the sharpest-looking bar in town.

When it comes to food, Fat Rabbit, which was the No. 4 overall favorite restaurant last year (#11 this year), can make the case for having both the best (and widest variety of) wings, as well as the best burgers in New Tampa. Oh, and the tater tots (try the New Tampa Truffle) are a treat, too.

The Fat Rabbit isn’t an entertainment venue, but its food, drinks (try a bourbon flight) and service are outstanding. — JCC

The rest of your Favorite Bar in NT top 10:
(4) Glory Days
(5) Acropolis
(6) Via Italia
(7) Peabody’s
(8) Chili’s
(9) Bayscape
(T10) Red Lobster and Olive Garden.

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