Kayโ€™s Kitchen Authentic Chicago-Style Fried Chicken Is Now Open!ย 

Photos by Charmaine George

So, you think youโ€™ve sampled enough fried chicken in our area to last you a lifetime? 

Kay Lee (left photo), the owner of the brand new Kayโ€™s Kitchen Authentic Chicago Style Fried Chicken, located (as we told you last issue) at 2808 E. Bearss Ave. in the Palms Connection plaza, says you havenโ€™t tried the areaโ€™s best fried chicken if you havenโ€™t sampled her full-wing fried wings with her signature, authentic Chicago-style mild sauce (top photo).ย 

And honestly, itโ€™s hard to argue with her. Kayโ€™s batter fries up extra-crispy and although the lemon pepper seasoning salt she adds to the chicken is a little salty, she says she (and her long-time cook, who goes by โ€œDJ Cottonโ€; heโ€™s an actual R&B DJ for hire, with a DJ booth Kay set up for him upstairs) are always happy to alter the amount of the seasoning to suit your taste. 

All I can tell you is that the chicken is so yummy, it doesnโ€™t need the sauce, but Kay hopes you transplanted Midwesterners will appreciate its authentic flavor. 

Photographer Charmaine George and I also loved the fried grouper (right; this photo was provided by Kay because, she said, the flaky, truly delicious grouper we were served wasnโ€™t โ€œpretty-looking enoughโ€), extra-crisp fries (which were still crispy somehow when I took home my leftovers an hour later), the extra-cheesy mac-&-cheese (below left) and the decadent, homemade Key lime cake (bottom right).ย 

Kay, who has operated two super-successful Kayโ€™s Kitchen food trucks in the Riverview area, says she has been looking for a brick-&-mortar location for a while now and she is so happy that โ€œGod brought me hereโ€ to introduce her outstanding, no-frills food โ€” including fried chicken gizzards and livers, shrimp, pizza โ€œpuffs,โ€ basa fish, hush puppies, okra and more โ€” to a whole new community. For more info or to place an order, call (813) 893-0415 or visit KaysChickenKitchen.com. โ€” GNย 

โ€˜Pieces Of Eightโ€™ Chicago Tribute Band Rocks The Performing Arts Center!ย 

All photos on this page courtesy of Haley Paige Garcia โ€ข @haleypgarciaphotography on Instagram

When a New Tampa resident calls to ask you to check out his eight-piece tribute band for the rock/pop group Chicago at the New Tampa Performing Arts Center (NTPAC), itโ€™s hard to turn him down โ€” even when the group Pieces of Eightโ€™s performance is the night before your New Tampa issue goes to press. 

But, having been a little disappointed when I saw the actual group Chicago in concert with the Beach Boys in either 1978 or โ€˜79, I wanted to see if long-time New Tampa resident Steve Hollingshead (drummer) and the Pieces of Eight band he helped organize could do as well or even better than the multi-Grammy Award-winning band itself could do. 

And oh boy, did Jannah and I โ€” and the rest of the nearly-sold-out house at NTPAC โ€” end up going home impressed. 

Lead singer and Wesley Chapel resident JC Grigg perfectly hit all of the high notes in Chicago hits like โ€œMake Me Smile,โ€ โ€œBeginnings,โ€ โ€œSaturday in the Park,โ€ โ€œFeeling Stronger Every Day,โ€ โ€œJust You & Meโ€ and my personal favorite Chicago song, โ€œ25 or 6 to 4.โ€ 

The spot-on three-piece horn section was led by the super-talented Charlie Phillips on every size of saxophone (including the way cool baritone sax). He also gave everyone chills on the flute part of Chicagoโ€™s renowned โ€˜70s slow dance song โ€œColor My World.โ€ 

Pieces of Eight also has expanded beyond just Chicago, performing songs by Tower of Power, Huey Lewis & the News and Peter Gabriel โ€” and it all combined for a great evening! 

For more info about Pieces of Eight, visit Po8Tampa.com. For upcoming NTPAC info visit NewTampaArtsCenter.org. โ€” GNย