Tag: food

Wesley Chapel’s 2020 Favorites!

With the possible exception of the hotel/tourism industry, there’s little doubt that the restaurant business was among the most Covid-affected industry sectors in Florida in 2020.

And, although many of the new eateries that opened in Wesley Chapel in 2020 were delayed by the pandemic, the past year was still one of the busiest for new restaurant openings in Wesley Chapel.

Among the new eateries that opened in 2020 in (and adjacent to) Wesley Chapel were the following:

Main Event — Yes, we realize that the bowling and entertainment center is more than “just” a restaurant, Main Event did host one of the first North Tampa Bay Chamber ribbon-cutting events following Gov. Ron DeSantis’ pandemic-caused shutdown of just about everything here in the Sunshine State.

Double Branch Artisanal Ales — Again, Double Branch, located in The Village at The Grove of Wesley Chapel (above), doesn’t yet qualify as a “restaurant” — at least not until its kitchen opens — but it has offered pizzas from a food truck outside the craft beer brewery and should open a kitchen inside in 2021. Even so, enough of Wesley Chapel’s craft beer-crazed residents voted for it as their Favorite Bar in New Tampa & Wesley Chapel for it to finish in this year’s top-5 in that category.

Treble Makers— Another entertainment venue that opened in The Grove at Wesley Chapel during the early stages of Florida’s restaurant re-openings, Treble Makers was one of the few newcomers to register more than a blip with our readers, finishing as the 4th Favorite restaurant in Wesley Chapel (see list, right) and Favorite American Restaurant in both of our distribution areas. if you haven’t tasted the coconut curry grouper, fried calamari or grilled filet mignon, you owe it to yourself to check out Treble Makers for a dueling piano show on Friday or Saturday night ‚ or anytime!

Rock & Brews — Considering how packed the place has been (even with social distancing) inside and out since the moment it opened, we were a little surprised that the first Tampa Bay link in this small chain (on S.R. 56) — inspired and owned in part by Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons of the rock group KISS — didn’t get any votes at all from our readers, until we realized that it didn’t open until a week before we shut down the voting. With great live music on the weekends and everything from unique bruschetta to sweet heat fried chicken on the menu, Rock & Brews will likely make our 2021 top-10 — and look for it to finish at least that high when I reveal my 2020 favorites in our next issue.

Florida Ave. Brewing Co. — Another hotly-anticipated entry that opened too late to receive reader votes this year, the former location of Sports & Field on S.R. 56 has a unique menu, with items like bibimbap bowls, Chinese sticky ribs and smoked gouda lobster mac & cheese, to go with more typical sports bar fare, an amazing craft beer selection, full liquor bar and private tasting rooms.

Zukku-San Sushi Bar & Grill — Again, Zukku-San opened too late to get any reader votes this year, but it is a beautiful new restaurant with a full liquor bar, great sushi and Japanese specialties (including the best tempura and chicken teriyaki we’ve had in years) and a true South Tampa vibe. Look for Zukku-San to register with our readers in 2021 and to finish very high in my list of faves this year.

Chuck Lager America’s Tavern — After years of failed attempts to improve the former PrimeBar location in the Shops at Wiregrass, the third location of Chuck Lager’s in the U.S. (and only one in Florida) brought in great food from the mind and kitchen of celebrity TV chef Fabio Viviani and a beautiful-looking new place for lunch and dinner that also opened too late to register with our readers (above) this year but will still make my list of Wesley Chapel favorites and will surely do just as well with our readers next year.

Brooklyn Water Bagel Co. — As a transplanted native New Yorker, I appreciate the “legit” kettle-boiled-then-baked bagels and “Brooklynized” water used for the bagels and coffee at this new favorite on S.R. 54 in Wesley Chapel, which could contend for “Favorite Breakfast” in our distribution areas with our readers next year.

Crumbl Cookie — Although it also opened too late to make a splash in this year’s Reader Survey, not since Nothing Bundt Cakes opened in the Shops at Wiregrass has any new dessert-only place created such a stir in our community. The decadent churro and s’mores cookies are our favorites of Crumbl Cookie’s rotating flavors so far.

Moschella’s Italian Eatery & Market — See story here.

As for the favorites in our Reader Survey:

1 — GrillSmith has been among the favorite restaurants in Wesley Chapel with our readers since the day it opened in the Shops at Wiregrass, but it was a little surprising for it to regain its top spot as the #1 in Wesley Chapel from 2018 (after finishing second to Bahama Breeze last year) with all the new places that opened.

Even so, it’s hard to argue with our readers on this one, as GrillSmith does have a great menu with a lot of variety that has been added over the years — including an increased choice of steaks, flatbreads, pastas and more.

I also believe that the fact that GrillSmith has added truly fresh “short trip” Florida fish and is one of the few local places that can surprise you with cobia, corvina or even amberjack, in addition to the more common grouper, snapper and mahi-mahi.

Plus, throw in its bottomless bubbles for weekend brunch, its expanded lunch menu and socially distanced bar area and prime location in the Shops and you’ll understand why GrillSmith’s return to the top spot isn’t that surprising at all.

2 — 900º Woodfired Pizza is more than just a “regular old pizza place,” although few do pizza any better. But its delicious tortellini della casa, pesto di Genovese and other pasta dishes make it so much more.

3 — Bonefish Grill is one of the few other choices for truly fresh fish in our area and there’s no doubt its now-open new location on S.R. 56 (with plenty of parking!) will help make it even more popular with our readers in 2021.

4 — Treble Makers was one of the first new restaurants to open in “The Chap” early enough in 2020 to register with our readers and its outstanding steaks, fresh fish and tuna (above) and dueling pianos entertainment will likely keep it high on this list for years to come.

5 — Bahama Breeze dropped a few slots this year when compared with last, but this island-themed eatery’s popular Jamaican, Cajun and American specialties, live music and indoor/outdoor bar areas featuring tropical drinks (above) are appreciated by our readers.

A CELEBRATION OF FOOD!

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.

ciccio cali fat rabbit food liang's bistro Stonewood Grill

Local Sikh Temple A Haven For The Hungry

*The Sikh Gurdwara in New Tampa serves nearly 1,000 hot meals every Sunday to those in need. It is open to everyone.* ***(Photos courtesy of the Sikh Gurdwara of Tampa Bay)***

Tucked between Cross Creek Blvd. and the entrance to Cory Lake Isles on Morris Bridge Rd., the Sikh Gurdwara of Tampa Bay temple, which typically goes about its business in relative anonymity, has become a haven for the hungry.

Every Sunday from 11 a.m.-2 p.m., almost since the Covid-19 pandemic began, hundreds of families happily receive aluminum, plastic and styrofoam containers filled with hot meals — rice, soups, pastas, curries, veggie burgers and even burritos.

What started as a mission to help a few has quickly evolved into a mission feeding hundreds.

*While meals are handed out at the Sikh Gurdwara, volunteers fill their trunks with food and seek out the homeless and hungry.*

“When the pandemic started in mid-March, we had to shut down our temples like all the churches, and we were wondering how we could do something to lift the spirits of our congregation,” says Harpartap Singh, one of the temple’s volunteers.

The congregants turned to the temple’s langar, the community kitchen of a Gurdwara, which serves meals free of charge to everyone, regardless of religion, gender or ethnicity. “One of the primary things in our religion is that everybody is treated equal,” Singh says.

The Gurdwara expanded the concept, and reached out beyond its congregation.

The members hung banners and posted invitations on social media. On March 18, it began — volunteers made 300 meals, although Singh says they were only expecting 15, or maybe 30 people. The plan was to take whatever was left over to Feeding Tampa Bay, part of the Feeding America network, which provides food to thousands of families that need it.

However, that Sunday, the crowd was overwhelming. More than 250 meals were served.

“And we haven’t stopped since,” Singh says.

Now, the Sikh Gurdwara of Tampa Bay, which has been at its Morris Bridge location for 27 years, serves nearly 800 meals every Sunday. And, that number continues to grow.

On the Sunday before we went to press, the main course was split pea curry, prepared as usual by three chefs that Singh says are all excellent. Main courses are typically accompanied by bottled water, fruit, chips and salad.

Singh says the “humbling experience” of feeding the hungry has moved his congregation, and inspired the group to do more.

“Barely a week goes by that we don’t stand there and cry with somebody,” Singh says. “They tell us it is the best meal they have had all week, and tell us stories about how some of their family members have died and there was nothing they could do. We have fed people who are living in their cars.”

The hot meals are just part of the Sikh outreach.

Volunteers take food all over Tampa Bay, seeking out the homeless and the needy. At one location, under a bridge in the Mango area, Singh says that 70-80 homeless people now wait for the Gurdwara volunteers to arrive with the food on Sundays. Whether it’s in the downtown areas of Tampa, St. Petersburg or Clearwater, a handful of loyal volunteers fan out to find people on the street to distribute an additional 200-300 meals.

The Gurdwara members provide groceries for roughly 50 families. They have fed and paid the rent for international students at USF who have lost their jobs and cannot return home. They deliver food to an orphanage in Wesley Chapel that cares for autistic children, as well as first responders and those on the front lines of the Covid-19 battle.

The volunteer list at the temple is 400 strong. Tampa City Council member Luis Viera, who has visited the Sunday food drive multiple times, says he will be giving the group a City Council commendation in the coming weeks.

“What they do is incredible,” he says. “They are good people.”

Most of the expenses are paid by the congregation, which is comprised of many doctors, engineers and business owners throughout the Tampa Bay area. Some sponsors also have stepped forward. In all, Singh says the Gurdwara has been responsible for distributing roughly 19,000 food packages and $60,000 worth of dry groceries since the pandemic began.

He says the congregation sees some of the real impacts of the Covid-19 battle up close on a weekly basis.

The pain is real. The Gurdwara has enough food to last through February of 2021, and its members have no intention of stopping even if the pandemic passes. They are even looking into becoming a farmshare conduit.

“Even though this is a great country, there are so many people who need help,” Singh says. “It has truly touched us and lifted our spirits, and that’s what any religion is about. We are blessed to be able to do this.”

The Sikh Gurdwara is located at 15302 Morris Bridge Rd. in Thonotosassa. For more information about the Gurdwara and its food drive, visit TampaGurdwara.com, search for Tampa Gurdwara on Facebook or call (813) 599-1557.

Charity food Gurdwara Sikh

Treble Makers — Delicious Food & Super-Fun Entertainment!

It was less than a year ago when Jannah and I visited Gainesville for her work and happened upon a non-chain dueling piano bar/restaurant called The Keys. We had already eaten dinner, but hung around for the entire dueling piano show on a weekend night and we both looked at each other and said, “Why can’t we have something like this in Wesley Chapel?” multiple times.

A few months later, Wesley Chapel resident Jamie Hess had a meeting with The Grove developer Mark Gold and discussed the possibility of bringing a non-chain restaurant/bar with live entertainment to Wesley Chapel and, a week or so after that, Jamie and his wife Sandy, Lee Bevan and Jamie’s brother Joe and his wife Niki became partners in a then-unnamed, unbuilt new restaurant and lounge.

A few weeks later, the five partners realized they had stumbled onto the right thing at the right time when more than 1,800 different people (most, but not all of whom were residents of Wesley Chapel) suggested names on the Wesley Chapel Community Facebook page for their new place and, not long after that, Treble Makers became an actual thing. And, not even the start of the Covid-19 pandemic could dampen the enthusiasm of either the partners or the local community for the first real sit-down, non-chain American restaurant to open in Wesley Chapel since Dempsey’s Steak House at Saddlebrook Resort.

And, guess what? Treble Makers is, in my humble opinion, the best restaurant of any kind to open here since Dempsey’s, too.

While Jannah and I were so psyched to be getting our wish of having piano bar entertainment three miles from where we live fulfilled, we are both even more excited today about Treble Makers’ delicious food. And, best of all for these partners, we’re not the only ones.

Start Me Up!

Executive Chef Kevin Maggard interviewed for the job at Treble Makers by creating a seven-course meal of his take on many of the items Bevan and the Hesses said they wanted on their menu at Joe and Sandy’s Wesley Chapel home.

Kevin, who was trained at The Art Institute (AI) of Tampa, but has been a sous chef for multiple restaurants and catering companies in the Tampa Bay area, said that although he was fine with many of their choices, he called the menu “a little boring.”

When he asked if he could get a little adventurous with their concept, he was told to go ahead and run with it.

The result? Kevin and his fellow AI grad and head sous chef Jason Rosenberg came up with a number of unique menu items.

For starters, while my long-time readers know how much I love seared tuna, they’ve rarely ever heard me brag about calamari being one of my favorites. But, at Treble Makers, while the sesame-crusted ahi tuna (on a bed of homemade Asian-style slaw) is as good or better than what you pay more for at Bonefish, Kevin’s calamari is extra crispy and in a perfectly balanced sweet-spicy sauce that can only be compared with Ocean Prime’s in Tampa. So good.

Then, throw in his top-seller, the Imperial crab dip, homemade potato gnocchi in a smoky Alfredo sauce topped with a homemade cheese crisp, Buffalo shrimp and unique wings and, well, you get the idea.

So, What Else Is On The Menu?

Jamie says that although Treble Makers doesn’t yet have a separate lunch menu, the full dinner menu is available for every day for lunch. It includes such midday-friendly items as blue crab bisque, French onion soup, house, Caesar and wedge salads, plus a brisket/chuck blend burger, grilled or blackened chicken sandwich and steak, fish or shrimp “Treble Street Tacos” — none of which are pictured here but only because Treble Makers has only been open a few weeks as I’m writing this and I’ve been so enamored with so many of the dinner entrées.

But, rest assured, I will eventually be dining in or taking out lunch from Treble Makers a lot in the months to come. There’s even a make-your-own pasta option with your choice of five sauces that I will try.

For dinner, you can’t go wrong with a thick 6- or 8-oz. filet mignon, 12-oz. NY strip or boneless 12- or 16-oz. prime ribeye, all $23-$32, and served with two sides (the fresh broccoli is perfect, and photographer Charmaine George says the garlic mashed potatoes were outstanding; people also raved about the Brussels sprouts). I say they don’t need the $3 per add-on toppings like port demi, gorgonzola or lemon garlic butter because the steaks themselves are all tender, tasty and done to perfection — but they’re available.

Mine and Jannah’s surprise favorite so far has been the coconut curry black grouper — a surprise because we both thought we didn’t like anything curry-flavored. So wrong. The huge filet of absolutely fresh grouper shown here sits on a bed of basmati rice and keeps the curry flavor from overpowering the dish with a hint of sweetness, and you will get fish, sauce and rice in every delicious bite. Yum.

Another excellent sweet-&-spicy combo that North Tampa Bay Chamber president Hope Kennedy and her friend Matt let me have a bite of were the diver scallops in sweet corn sauce garnished with jalapeños.

Other great dinner entrées include Polynesian chicken breast, pan-seared chicken or veal Marsala (Charmaine said her veal, in the photo above, was “just so tender”; it’s also available with a port demi sauce), chicken or eggplant parm, salmon and a totally unique seared rare yellowfin tuna in thick “slabs” with green goddess sauce and a scallion medley that’s so much better than it even sounds, if you’re a tuna fan like I am.

Save room for dessert, too, as we have sampled the three currently on the menu — Key lime pie, NY-style cheesecake with homemade whipped cream and a super-rich triple chocolate cake.

In a word? Decadent.

What About The Music?

I’m glad you asked. Every Fri. and Sat. night, the dueling piano shows — which are 9 p.m.-midnight and are a separate cost of $12 per person (adults only) — feature different talented pianists who really know how to get the crowd going. They take requests — and tips help move your request up on the list — and Jamie delivers on his promise that every reservation gets you a socially distant table for four in the main dining area with great views of the action.

Speaking of Covid, Hess says Treble Makers, like every tenant at The Grove, has UV light sterilizers to disinfect the air and also disinfects every table as it is cleared.

I told him I’d like to see the ultra-premium, full-liquor bar area, with honestly very fair drink prices, open to half-capacity “general admission” seating for the shows, but, he says, they have no such plans. However, they do plan to add trivia and karaoke and have already added Bike Night on Wed. nights and live acoustic music on Thur. nights.

Treble Makers is open for lunch and dinner every day, 11 a.m.-10 p.m., and is open until 1 a.m. on Fri. & Sat. nights. For more info, including dinner and show reservations, visit TrebleMakersofWC.com, call (813) 406-4371.

dueling pianos food fun treble makers

Nibbles: Restaurant Blitz!

The months of Oct. & Nov. will be among the busiest times yet for new restaurants in the Wesley Chapel area.

Here are some of the highlights:

Florida Avenue Brewing Co. (2029 Arrowgrass Dr.) — With its opening as we went to press, I think our readers will be really excited about Florida Ave., which has a great menu and lots of room for social distancing (even at the spacious indoor and outdoor bars), in the former location of Sports + Field off S.R. 56.

Florida Ave., which has its original location in Seminole Heights, isn’t yet brewing its awesome variety of microbrews at its new location — its original Florida Ave. location will still provide the beer — but it has a full-liquor bar, video games for the kids and delicious, food items, including both standard bar fare and unique options like the Chinese-style sticky ribs shown above (photo by Charmaine George), bibimbap bowls, crispy cauliflower tacos and many more. Please tell the Derby family I sent you!

Rock & Brews (26000 S.R. 56, Lutz) — Our Rock & Brews will be the 18th link in this chain of rock-themed restaurants owned in part (and inspired) by Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of the rock band Kiss. In order to preview Rock & Brews in this issue,

I visited the aptly-named “Kiss”-immee location, and I definitely came away impressed with the look of the place (with images of rock icons from Kiss to Prince and from Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen adorning the walls) to the food, including the blackened redfish shown above (which comes with a Louisiana-style crawfish cream sauce that I couldn’t eat because of my shellfish allergy) to a semi-spicy bruschetta. Rock & Brews (visit RockandBrews.com) should open by mid-October.

Bonefish Grill (Sierra Center Blvd., Lutz) — Although Wesley Chapel has had a Bonefish Grill for years, that location on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. is expected to close when the new Bonefish opens next to Aussie Grill — which could be in October as well. Although we weren’t able to get an opening date from parent company Bloomin’ Brands, there is a “Now Hiring” sign at the new location.

Zukku-San Sushi Bar & Grill & Crumbl Cookies (25916 & 25922 Sierra Center Blvd., Lutz) — Of these two new options, located in the same building as the Woof Gang Bakery and the new Charles Schwab office (east of Bahama Breeze on the north side of S.R. 56), Zukku-San looks closer to opening, although both places have “Now Hiring” signs out in front. The guess here is that neither will open much before the end of October. For more info, visit ZukkuSushi.com or CrumblCookies.com.

Moschella’s Italian Eatery & Market (5648 Post Oak Blvd.) — Owner Billy Moschella says Moschella’s should be open by the end of October and will feature a deli, pizza, fresh pastas, a butcher shop, hot prepared foods and much more. He’s also hiring cooks, pizza makers, deli workers and cashiers. To apply or for more info, visit Moschellas.com.

Chuck Lager America’s Tavern (2001 Piazza Ave., Suite 175) — So, according to the restaurant’s website, Chuck Lager is a worldwide archeological adventurer who decided to venture into opening made-from-scratch restaurants that exemplify his love of great cuisine. Lager met “Top Chef” fan favorite Fabio Viviani in Viviani’s grandmother’s Italian kitchen and a concept was born.

With locations in Pike Creek, DE, and Barrington, NJ, the Lager team came to “The Chap” to take over the never-good-enough former Primebar location at the Shops at Wiregrass. It doesn’t look like it will make it to an October opening, but hopefully, we’ll see this tomato bacon grilled cheese with tomato bisque (above), homemade meatballs and chicken parm sooner than later. (Visit ChuckLager.com.)

Chuck Lager Florida Avenue Brewing food restaurants Rock & Brews