I Am Proud To Announce The Taste Of North Tampa Bay On March 13!

Those of you who have met me are probably aware that I’m an excitable guy. I get all worked up whether I’m talking about my family, the Tampa Bay Lightning, new restaurants, new businesses, new developments and events happening in our area. 

One of the events that I am super-pumped to be able to announce in this space is the upcoming first-ever “Taste of North Tampa Bay.” 

North Tampa Bay Chamber president & CEO Hope Kennedy actually was the one who first made the announcement about the Taste (photo) — which is now scheduled for Saturday, March 13, 2027, at Saddlebrook Resort — but it was to such a small group of people at a VIP Chamber event at Saddlebrook on Sept. 17 that I still feel like I’m getting to be the first to announce it to (potentially) a large group of locals. 

And, Hope, new Saddlebrook VP of business & partnerships Freddie Wyatt and Jannah and I are thrilled to be planning the Taste on the beautiful grounds of the recently revamped resort. 

As I did for more than two decades for the Taste of New Tampa, I will be handling the procurement of restaurants and ongoing promotion for what promises to be a huge event — with Freddie bringing in musical acts and possibly even some celebrity chefs, while also helping Jannah and Hope’s crack Chamber team with bringing in sponsors and vendors. 

Having the event at Saddlebrook will certainly make my job easier. Without even making any effort yet, we already can count on the resort’s delicious RARE 1981 steakhouse, The GOAT sports bar, BREW coffee shop and Palmhaus outdoor grill to be providing samples for the event. I also plan to hit not only every restaurant in Wesley Chapel and New Tampa but also many outside of our direct area — from Dade City to South Tampa and from Lutz/Land O’Lakes to Dunedin, Tarpon Springs and New Port Richey. 

“We’ve got 484 acres of land here,” Freddie said at our recent first organizational meeting for the Taste. “We can fit as many restaurants on these grounds as you can get, Gary.” 

And of course, Saddlebrook has its own on-site transportation, so we can even spread out the restaurants, sponsor and vendor booths. 

We haven’t yet finalized any of the pricing to attend the event, but we are definitely planning to have “General Admission” and “VIP” tickets that will be all-inclusive for food and even adult beverages. We may even try to include some packages with overnight stays at the resort. Can we include golf? Tennis? Pickleball? Spa services? Why not? It’s all there at Saddlebrook! 

We also have not yet settled on the cost to have a basic vendor table, nor have we fixed the pricing yet for the various levels of sponsorship, but trust me, we’re working on all of it and, as soon as we know, you all will be the next to know. 

Freddie asked me how many people we can expect to attend this shindig. I told him I had no idea — not only has there not been a Taste of New Tampa since before the Covid-19 pandemic, but the crowd at the last Taste — in 2019 — was estimated at about 2,000 people. 

Even so, I know we had anywhere from 5,000-8,000 attendees at previous events and, with Saddlebrook as the venue and the number of restaurants in just our two distribution areas alone having more than doubled since then, I believe that anywhere from 50-80 restaurants (I think my record for food and beverage participants in years past was 57) and 5,000-10,000 people could easily be on hand for this first Taste — with a portion of all net proceeds being donated to local charities. 

As restaurants, sponsors and business vendors commit to be part of this one-day party (that Hope says she hopes to extend to both days of a weekend in the future), you will see ongoing updates in our Wesley Chapel and New Tampa print issues, as well as on our website (NeighborhoodNewsOnline.net) and our “Neighborhood News” Facebook and Instagram pages. 

In the meantime, if you are or know a restaurant or business owner who may be interested in participating in the first-ever Taste of North Tampa Bay, please email me at Ads@NTNeighborhoodNews.com. You also can call our office number at (813) 910-2575. Or, call the North Tampa Bay Chamber office at (813) 994- 8534 or email office@northtampabaychamber.com. But please, do NOT call or contact Saddlebrook about the Taste! 

Saddlebrook’s RARE 1981 Introduces Its New Executive Chef & Menu!

RARE 1981 Chef de Cuisine Mark Davis & new Executive Chef Emanuel Zarlenga

Although I don’t know why Saddlebrook Resort decided to bring in a new Executive Chef and completely overhaul the menu at the resort’s RARE 1981, I’ll say this much — there is definitely nothing exactly like it anywhere in the Tampa Bay area, much less in Wesley Chapel. 

RARE 1981 new Executive Chef Emanuel Zarlenga, who is from Argentina, has replaced many of the dishes on the original menu with a variety of Argentinian-influenced options. 

The good news is that RARE 1981 still has some of the best prime steaks in the area — which is no surprise considering that Argentina is famous worldwide for serving some of the most delicious steaks anywhere. Jannah and loved our prime filet mignon (right), which was done to medium rare perfection. 

There also is a “Seabass of the Day” and a “Gulf Coast Catch of the Day,” which, for us, was a delicious mahi-mahi (left) in a buttery lemon garlic sauce, served with a side of peas, sliced asparagus and turnips. Excellent. 

Pretty much everything else we ordered were Argentine-inspired dishes. 

Mine and photographer Charmaine George’s favorite starter was the Whey-Melon Tuna (below left), which is 48-hour compressed melon cultured in whey, shaved and served with raw slices of pickled sushi-grade tuna, onions and carrots. It’s definitely a large enough portion to share. 

Our favorite of Chef Emanuel’s homeland-inspired dishes was the Choripan (right), which is an entrĂ©e but also works as a shareable appetizer that features pieces of both Argentine and American chorizo sausage cooked “sous vide” style (vacuum-sealed and cooked in a temperature-controlled water bath) and served with crispy and warm brioche, pickled veggies and chimichurri sauce. Amazing. 

Equally different was the Strawberry ‘Gazpacho” (not pictured), which featured nicely grilled scallops served with fermented strawberry and lacto-fermented cold gazpacho. 

We also tried a variety of new Family Style Sides, including our two favorites — the Hay Asparagus (below right), grilled with actual burning hay), and “Two Potatoes” (below left), made with buttery, tender potatoes, finished with a warm, airy potato espuma (foam). We also liked the 30-Hour Beets (cooked for 30 hours and finished with bee pollen, seaweed and fresh lime zest) and a traditional South American corn & squash Humita finished with queso fresco and a caramelized crust. 

And, even though we had no room for dessert, we shared the RARE 1981 Dessert Trio of the Day, which featured guava with brie, arroz con leche (rice pudding atop creamy caramel) and bread pudding with vanilla ice cream. 

For reservations & info, visit RARE1981.com or call (813) 907- 4466. — GN; all photos by Charmaine George