Congratulations to franchise owners Mike and Liz Montante (below left photo) of the new Qdoba Mexican Eats, located in the same plaza in Highwoods Preserve as Namaste (at 17509 Preserve Walk Ln.). The Montantes celebrated the opening of their second Qdoba (the other is in Brandon), the fast-casual Mexican eatery, in the former location Moeโs Southwest Grill on March 6.ย
โItโs been a long struggle, but weโre finally here,โ Liz said at the fun Grand Opening event, which featured a North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce (NTBC) ribbon cutting, a prize wheel attendees got to spin if they scanned the Qdoba QR code at the restaurant and signed up for email or text alerts. Among the prizes was a year of free Qdoba eats.
At least 50 people attended the opening event and most of those attendees purchased a freshly made, custom-designed bowl, burrito or taco and everyone seemed to enjoy the food.
โWeโre excited to be open and for the local community to check out not only the quality of our food but also our friendly atmosphere,โ Liz said.
For more information about the New Tampa location of Qdoba Mexican Eats, call (813) 761-0005 or visit Qdoba.com to check out the menu online.ย
Although we didnโt even find out about it until we went to press with our Feb 6 issue, OishiExpress, a decent fast-casual Japanese place, lasted only about a year in the spot at 17503 Preserve Walk Ln. in Highwoods Preserve โ between Taste of New York Pizza and Lapels Cleaners (behind EggTown) โ the new fast-casual Namaste Express(or XP) has already replaced Oishi.
Iโve only visited once since Namaste opened, but the new eatery can be summed up pretty easily โ itโs a small place with a huge and what seems to be a very tasty menu.
On my visit, I enjoyed the chicken stir-fry bowl (left), which had just a hint of spice, with lots of chunks of chicken and clearly fresh vegetables. The savory sauce tasted like a completely unexpected cross between the curry flavors so prevalent in Indian cooking with a nod to Szechuan Chinese cuisine. I told the chef (I sadly forgot his name) that I would be back to try his biryani, the delicious-sounding Apollo fish (a fish filet tossed with ginger, garlic and a spicy sauce, which is specialty of Hyderabad) and the marinated, fried (but not breaded, because theyโre gluten-free) chicken lollipops shown here.
Namaste has menu options from every region in India and even offers a unique โGrab & Goโ menu that the restaurantโs website says is โmeticu- lously crafted through cutting-edge flash chilling processes.โ It definitely sounds unique.
Although there is clearly a sizable Indian population in New Tampa, considering how many Indian restaurants there already are in zip code 33647 โ including Saffron, Minerva, Raaga, Dosa Hut, Bang-Bang! Bowls and the cafรฉ inside the Taaza Mart (as well as the Nepalese Gorkhali Kitchen, which also offers Indian specialties) โ we hope that Namaste Express will be able to find its footing in what has so far proven to be a difficult location.
For more information, call (813) 866-1300 or visit NamasteXP.com.
Update On Qdoba
At our press time, Qdoba Mexican Eats,which we told you last issue was getting ready to open in the same plaza in Highwoods Preserve as Namaste (at 17509 Preserve Walk Ln.) last issue, was still not open, but co-owner Liz Montante says that she and her husband and co-owner Mike were expecting the New Tampa Qdoba to open โon or around March 1,โ or a few days before this issue hits your mailbox.
In other words, if youโre a fan of Moeโs Southwest Grill (which Qdoba is replacing in Highwoods), Chipotle or any other fast-casual Mexican fare, you definitely should check out Qdoba, too.
โItโs been a long struggle, but weโre finally almost there,โ Liz told me the day before I finished this issue. โWe canโt wait for New Tampa to experience our fresh Mexican eats.โ
For more information about Qdoba Mexican Eats, call (813) 761-0005 orvisit Qdoba.com to check out the menu online.
By the time this issue reaches your mailbox, the new Qdoba Mexican Eats should either be open or within just a few days of opening in the former location of Moeโs Southwest Grill in the Highwoods Preserve area at 17509 Preserve Walk Ln. (off Bruce B. Downs Blvd., next to EggTown).ย
Considering that Moeโs was pretty popular for years in the same spot, Iโm guessing Qdoba will do pretty well there, too, even with a Chipotle located less than a half-mile north (Chipotle is in the same outparcel building in the Walk at Highwoods Preserve as Panera Bread).
โWe make everything fresh and have no freezers,โ franchise owner Mike Montante, who also owns the Qdoba franchise on Falkenburg Rd. in the Brandon area (but not the closest location to us on E. Fowler Ave., next to MOSI, where I took the photos below), told me when we met him at the North Tampa Bay Chamberโs Final Friday event at Walk-Onโs Sports Bistreaux on Jan. 26.ย
Qdoba allows you to craft your own entrรฉe โ whether you want a bowl, burrito, grilled quesadilla, nachos, salad or three tacos. Available proteins include veggie, grilled adobo chicken, ground beef, Cholulaยฎ hot & sweet chicken, pulled pork, grilled steak or brisket birria. There also is a nice variety of salsas and toppings โ from tortilla strips, shredded cheese and pickled jalapeรฑos, pico de gallo, salsa roja, chile crema and more, as well as both hot and mild queso sauces.
For my bowl (right), I chose grilled steak, white rice, red beans, romaine lettuce, pico de gallo, chile corn salsa and the chile crema sauce and everything did indeed taste very fresh.ย
The New Tampa Qdoba was still hiring at our press time, but I canโt be sure whether or not positions will still be available as youโre reading this, but you can text โ116Aโ to 31063 to find out for yourself. For more information, call (813) 761-0005 or visit Qdoba.com.
