Nibbles & Bites: Chicken Galore

Hungry for some chicken? Before too long your choices could be (l.-r.) Slim Chickens, Chick’n Fun, King of the Coop, Popeyes and Chick-Fil-A. (Graphic by John C. Cotey)

Chicken lovers rejoice — yet another entry into the “fast-casual” chicken tender and sandwich business is ready to start building.

Slim Chickens, a fast-casual chain that specializes in chicken tenders, wings, sandwiches, salads, wraps and chicken & waffles, has now filed its plans to build a 3,065-sq.-ft. restaurant on the southeast corner of Wesley Chapel Blvd. and Old Pasco Rd.

Not only that, but Slim Chickens also has plans to build another location in the Mirada Market on S.R. 52.

Until now, it’s been slim pickins’ for Slim Chickens in the Tampa Bay area. While the restaurant has more than 100 locations in more than 30 states, these will be just the second and third locations in the Tampa Bay area, joining the lone existing Slim Chickens near Macdill Air Force Base.

The new location will create a chicken-eat-chicken world of competition along Wesley Chapel Blvd. (see map on the next page), as a Chick’n Fun restaurant is just a short walk east from Slim Chickens, which is just another short walk from King of the Coop, which is another short jaunt from Popeye’s and then Chick-Fil-A, and of course, off S.R. 56 are Zaxby’s and PDQ (not shown on map). — JCC

The Clarksville, TN Black Rifle Coffee Company store.

Black Rifle Coffee Coming To S.R. 56?

With coffee chain powerhouse Starbucks adding two more locations in Wesley Chapel — one at the new Promenade Business Center on Curley Rd. and the other in front of The Grove off Wesley Chapel Blvd., a lesser-known chain is making plans for a local location.

Black Rifle Coffee Company, founded in 2014 by former U.S. Army Green Beret Evan Hafer, was built upon the mission to serve coffee and culture to people who love America. Popular with conservatives and those in favor of right-wing politics, Black Rifle submitted pre-application plans to the county for a planned 2,659-sq.-ft. retail store and drive-through immediately east of the Rock & Brews on S.R. 56, a half-mile or less from Starbucks.

Despite Black Rifle’s attempts to distance itself from extremists, based upon recent election results and the bright red politics of Pasco County, a Black Rifle café seems like an ideal fit. — JCC

Hickory Farms Opens At Wiregrass Mall! 

Although this issue hits mailboxes after Thanksgiving, it certainly is reaching you long before Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, and our local malls, as they do every year, are adding several new stores — many of which are temporary for the holiday season.

Among the newbies at The Shops at Wiregrass is Hickory Farms, which (according to its website) has “been bringing delight to every occasion since 1951.” Although there also are pre-made baskets available, at right is a picture of Hickory Farms’ four-item special — 1 meat, 1 cheese, 1 sauce & 1 box of crackers for just $24.99. Yum! 

For all of the new and coming soon stores and restaurants (including Crazy Sushi!), visit TheShopsatWiregrass.com. — GN  

Garden Mediterranean Grill — So Close & So Authentic!

Even though there are quite a few Mediterranean/Middle Eastern restaurants located in New Tampa, based on what I’ve already tasted and heard from customers, it’s still well worth a few-minute drive to the Eagle Plaza on Oak Grove Blvd. at S.R. 54 in Lutz to try the new Garden Mediterranean Grill.

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Owners Raja Saad and her husband, Chef Hedi Jlassi (top photo) are both from the Arabic North African nation of Tunisia and they offer a huge variety of delicious Mediterranean-influenced food in a beautiful, but casual setting.

The restaurant now called Garden Mediterranean Grill has had a number of previous tenants, including a Latin restaurant and a number of coffee shops, but Raja and Hedi and their family believe that they have brought the right cuisine and the right price to the location — and yes, the food is delicious!

Whether you dine as a couple of bring a large family or group of friends to the Garden, you’re sure to find plenty of options, as well as huge portions.

  • Lamb chops
  • Meat lovers platter
  • Foule
  • Half chicken
  • Interior of restaurant
  • Al Bohsali Dessert
  • Appetizer Dip and Pita

To start, try the Foule (pronounced “fool”; center photo, far right), a delicious dish of puréed fava beans, garlic, lemon and topped with virgin olive oil. It’s served with the fluffiest pita bread I’ve had anywhere. To really get into the variety of starters, however, Raja and Hedi recommend the appetizer platter, which includes hummus, baba Ghanouj (mashed, cooked eggplant), labneh (strained yogurt), falafel (fried, ground chick peas) and grape leaves. Other starters include fried calamari, Nabulsi fried cheese, tabouli (chopped parsley, diced tomatoes, onions, dry mint, lemon juice and olive oil), shakshouka merguez (sautée of Merguez sausage and eggs cooked with tomatoes, onion, garlic and spices and even shrimp scampi. 

So far, the only salad I’ve sampled is the tangy house salad (diced tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, lettuce, parsley, herbs, olive oil and lemon juice), but there also is a great-looking Greek salad, fattoush, tahini and Caesar salads. You also can top your salad with a variety of meats and seafood, including chicken kabobs (so good) or shawarma, beef or lamb shish kabobs, kufta (ground lamb) kabobs, delicious, fresh-cut gyro meat, salmon or shrimp.

I haven’t sampled any of the sandwiches yet, but I have had several of the meats available as sandwiches as entrée platters. The sandwich that looked the most interesting to me was the chicken shawarma quesadilla, which is a nice Middle Eastern take on the popular Mexican dish which combines sliced chicken shawarma meat and a delicious garlic sauce with cheese, onions and tomatoes stuffed inside a soft tortilla. There’s also fish, shrimp and falafel wraps on the menu.

The perfectly-season meat entrée platters all include long-grain yellow rice and amazing grilled veggies (onions and red and green peppers; Jannah and I order them well-cooked). Among my favorite entrées so far are the gyro, beef shawarma and chicken kabob platters, but my can’t-miss option so far is the lamb chop platter. You get four tender, delicious rib chops that are grilled to perfection. 

Lamb chops.

Other entrée options include Turkish kabobs (ground lamb and beef, but Raja says they are different from kufta kabobs), Merguez sausage, lamb shanks and chicken tekka, which is a marinated half-chicken char-grilled in what appears to be an Indian-influenced blend of spices. I didn’t taste it but photographer Charmaine George said it was outstanding.

Although I can’t eat shrimp and personally don’t love salmon or tilapia, the seafood entrées include shrimp kabobs, salmon, fish and mixed seafood platters, as well as the char-broiled whole fish of the day, usually red snapper or bronzino. There are also are large meat-lovers’ platters (with shish, kufta and chicken kabobs, gyro and beef and chicken shawarma) and royal meat-lovers’ platters (add lamb chops, shrimp and salmon), both in sizes to serve 2-3 and 4-6 people, although all of them honestly look like they could serve even more people to me.

Desserts & Beverages!  

Like most Mediterranean restaurants, Garden Mediterranean Grill offers dessert favorites like baklava, warbat (filo dough stuffed with cream) and a variety of cakes, but my favorite so far are the almond baklava fingers shown and the salted caramel cheesecake. I’ve yet to try the baklava with ice cream, but it’s definitely on my list. As for beverages, try the Turkish coffee, the Moroccan mint green tea and the fresh mint lemonade.

Left to right: Mint lemonade, salted caramel cake and hot tea being poured.

Garden Mediterranean Grill is located at 1900 Oak Grove Blvd., Lutz (zip code 33559) and is open Mon.-Thur., 10 a.m.-10 p.m., 10 a.m.-11 p.m. on Fri., 9 a.m.-11 p.m. on Sat. and 9 a.m.-10 p.m. on Sun. For more information, call (813) 528-8088 or see the ad on pg. 39 of our latest issues for a Grand Opening Special 15%-off coupon.