Congratulations go out to The Fat Rabbit Pub, located at 16029 Tampa Palms Blvd. W. (in the City Plaza at Tampa Palms shopping center) for celebrating its fifth anniversary. Always near the top of the New Tampa rankings in both our Reader Survey and with yours truly, Jannah and I visited Fat Rabbit for its anniversary celebration on July 16.
Executive chef Cole McBride, who has been coming up with the Fat Rabbit’s unique better-than-bar-food dishes from Day One, offered a number of specials for the day, including those top-rated wings topped with “Apocalypse” wing sauce (which has earned an 8/10 on the “heat” scale), a red velvet cake/cheesecake dessert special (photo, bottom, shown with the Rabbit lager special served in a 5-Year Anniversary glass, while supplies last) and a new burger that Cole says is being added to the menu: “The Rabbit 13 (photo below),” which is a short rib and brisket patty topped with tortilla strips, roasted poblano peppers, pepper jack cheese and pico de gallo (shown on the side), topped with a creamy queso cheese sauce and served with your choice of the greatest tater tots in our area, crispy fries or the awesome, super-crisp onion rings shown here for just $1 more.
Perhaps best of all (at least for me) is that Cole says he should soon be bringing back his weekly fresh fish specials. So good!
For more info, call (813) 252-3004 or visit FatRabbitPub.com. — GN
In our most competitive category in our 2020 Survey, where the top five vote getters were separated by just a handful of votes, Treble Makers, one of the first new restaurants to open in The Village at The Grove shopping center, sneaked into the top spot as your favorite American eatery in either of our markets.
While that may seem a little surprising when you consider how many restaurants are now located in Wesley Chapel alone, it’s no surprise at all to anyone who’s eaten there — especially if you’ve enjoyed a delicious dinner and stayed for the dueling piano shows on the weekends or for the live music on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Chef Kevin Maggard’s menu will likely continue to grow and evolve over time, but he already has a lot of favorites from which to choose, including the unique coconut curry grouper and some of the tenderest, best-seasoned steaks in either of our distribution areas.
I also regularly rave about Treble Makers’ calamari, ahi tuna and diver scallops appetizers. — GN
The chicken wings at Bubba’s 33 are some of the best around.
2 — BUBBA’S 33 The surprise here isn’t that Bubba’s 33 finished #2 in this “Favorite American” category, it was more that Bubba’s only finished as your 17th favorite restaurant in WC despite its great menu and drink and food prices.
3 — BONEFISH GRILL Bonefish Grill is obviously one of the consistent favorites among our readers again this year, as it finished as both your third favorite restaurant in Wesley Chapel and third favorite American restaurant in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel.
4 — BAHAMA BREEZE Bahama Breeze Even though a good portion of its menu isn’t necessarily “American” food, Bahama Breeze also was pretty consistent, finishing as your fifth favorite restaurant in WC and fourth favorite American restaurant in both of our markets.
5 — FAT RABBIT Fat Rabbit in Tampa Palms is a classic American joint. The bar serves ice cold beer, including its own craft brew, the burgers and wings are terrific and the super-crispy tater tots shouldn’t be as good as they are.
The Next 10, in order of votes: Oakley’s, GrillSmith, Ciccio Cali, BJ’s Brewhouse, Stonewood, Mr. Dunderbak’s, Glory Days, Walk-On’s, Cheddars, Ford’s Garage.
Thanks to delicious steaks like this, Stonewood Grill & Tavern is New Tampa’s favorite restaurant again.
There isn’t anyone alive today who hasn’t been touched by Covid-19 in one way or another. Restaurants, however, were more than touched. They have practically been strangled.
This year has been arguably the hardest on the hospitality industry in American history, thanks to the pandemic that has been a living nightmare and is likely to have long-lasting effects.
Locally, as the novel coronavirus spread through the state, restaurants were closed in the spring for more than a month. Employees lost their jobs. Owners had to pivot to a takeout model for survival, and the community rallied around many of them. Facebook pages implored their communities to place orders and help local eatery owners stay afloat.
But, even as restaurants, and finally bars, reopened, tables inside remained empty. The fear is real. Covid-19 is still in full (or is it fuller?) swing, businesses in virtually every industry — but especially restaurants — still haven’t bounced all the way back, and the road to full recovery is a long one.
Cali – Tampa Palms is always among New Tampa’s top 5 favorites.
So this year, it’s our hope that our annual Reader Dining Survey & Contest results will serve as a celebration of food and drink, and of all of our readers’ favorite places in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel.
The number of you who took part in the survey this year was less than half of those who entered last year, although a lot of that probably can be attributed to the fact that we didn’t spend nearly as much time in restaurants and bars in 2020 as we have in previous years.
But nonetheless, more than 100 restaurants and bars in the Wesley Chapel and New Tampa area received votes in one category or another.
In the favorite restaurant category, 99 restaurants in Wesley Chapel and New Tampa received votes. More than 25 Asian restaurants were selected as the favorite by readers, 26 restaurants offering sweets like cake, ice cream and drinks were chosen, and more 30 different pizza places — yes, 30! — received votes. That is a lot of choices, people. And clearly, you do have your favorites.
Let’s start with the top 20 Restaurants in New Tampa as chosen by our readers.
1 — STONE GRILL & TAVERN Stonewood Grill & Tavern in Tampa Palms has been either the #1 or #2 favorite restaurant in New Tampa every year since it opened and this year was no exception under new managing partner Matt Passardi.
For anyone who has never tried Stonewood, it combines fresh fish and seafood, perhaps the best variety of hand-cut steaks of any restaurant in either of our distribution areas (Longhorn and Outback are the only ones even close), and the addition of lunch a couple of years ago definitely enhanced its standing as New Tampa’s favorite place for a great, more-upscale meal out, whether for lunch, dinner or even Sunday brunch.
Yes, Stonewood now offers “bottomless bubbles” (for just $12 per person), along with unique brunch items like a crab cake or prime rib “Benny,” creme brulée French toast and shrimp and grits on Sundays, 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
And yes, Stonewood may also have New Tampa’s favorite upscale bar scene, even though it didn’t make the top-10 in this year’s Survey.
2 — Cali-Tampa Palms (nee Ciccio Cali) The name has changed, but Cali was the first to bring “bowl culture” to New Tampa and still has some of the best wrap sandwiches, stir-fry dishes and thin-crust pizzas in our area.
3 — Mr. Dunderbak’s While it may have originally been located in the University Mall, Mr. Dunderbak’s has been New Tampa’s favorite German eatery since its move more than a decade ago to the Oak Ramble plaza south of Tampa Palms.
4 — The Fat Rabbit Although it has only been open for a few years in Tampa Palms, The Fat Rabbit has made its mark on not only our readers but our staff as well — especially since it added a fresh catch entrée to its more upscale sports bar fare (amazing wings & burgers, and don’t forget the side of tater tots!).
5 — Liang’s Bistro Liang’s Bistro has been among the top-10 in New Tampa with our readers every year since it opened and continues to be your favorite Asian restaurant in our area — for good reason. Our faves are the NY-style appetizers.
Owners John Kuemmel and Shawn Diehl have done exactly what they wanted to do when they decided nearly three years ago to fulfill a 25-year dream they shared of opening their own bar. In the heart of Tampa Palms, they have spun an inventive menu, ice cold beer, premium liquor and a unique atmosphere into our readers’ favorite bar in New Tampa to enjoy a night out.
What’s not to like (other than the ridiculously hard questions on Tuesday Trivia Nights)?
A bar that has outstanding food — and The Fat Rabbit finished just behind Acropolis as our readers’ sixth favorite restaurant in New Tampa, too — is never a bad thing.
The chicken wings are arguably the best around — make sure you check out the Buffalo Garlic Ranch — and there’s even a Real McCoy burger named after former Tampa Bay Buc and Tampa Palms resident Gerald McCoy and a fresh Catch of the Week. And, the crispy tater tots are truly divine.
The Fat Rabbit now even brews a Transplant IPA and Concrete & Gold Pilsner in-house, with more tanks on the way.
And, the decor gives the Fat Rabbit an elegant look with a comfortable neighborhood feel that keeps you coming back for more. — JCC
2. Stonewood Grill & Tavern has been among New Tampa’s favorite places to drink since the moment it opened, and since our readers obviously also love the food (see previous page), too, there’s no doubt that Stonewood is here to stay.
3. Mr. Dunderbak’s has never had a full-alcohol bar, but its huge variety of beers from around the world, unique German-inspired menu, gifts and even chocolates keep it one of our readers’ favorite bars year after year, which often makes it hard to find a seat at that bar.
4. Chili’s Grill & Bar in New Tampa continues to receive lots of votes in our Reader Survey every year. Even though it’s a chain, there’s no easy access to it from BBD and the restaurants next door to it keep going out of business, it keeps on rolling. ‘Nuff said.
5. Peabody’s in the Shoppes at Amberly plaza in Tampa Palms is another long-time favorite bar that also has great food (especially pizza & wings). Plus, it’s New Tampa’s adult play place, with tons of TVs, pool tables, darts and a younger-skewing crowd.
