Congratulations to co-owners Victor and Armando Ramos of the ninth family-owned location of Azteca D’Oro, in the space previously occupied by Cantina Laredo in the Shops at Wiregrass.
Azteca Wesley Chapel opened on June 19 and hosted an incredible Grand Opening event the weekend of June 24-25, with a mariachi band and dancers all in traditional Mexican garb — and Victor says that mariachis will play “every Thursday, 6 p.m.-8 p.m.”
However, while the “fiesta” music was great and the completely revamped restaurant — which now features not only outdoor seating, but seats both inside and out at the extra-large bar — is beautiful, without great food, it would all mean next to nothing.
Chicken Taquitos.Pork osso bucco. Tableside guacamole. Coctel de camarones (shrimp cocktail).Combo Fajitas. (l.-r.) Azteca D’Oro general manager Cristina Casimiro & co-owners Victor & Armando Ramos.
But, while Azteca D’Oro definitely isn’t an inexpensive place to eat, the food options include such upscale authentic entrées as borrego (marinated, seasoned and baked lamb shank) and molcajete (steak, chicken, chorizo sausage and shrimp over onions and green peppers in a mildly spicy sauce), plus favorites like the thickest-ever chicken-stuffed taquitos appetizer (above left), which four people can share, and, of course, great combo fajitas (shown, above), of which my favorites were the pork carnitas fajitas, and a huge menu of other authentic specialties for lunch and dinner, including delicious tableside-made guacamole finished with real bacon.
Churros & ice cream for dessert? Yes, please!
And, do not miss the caramel-stuffed churros and ice cream (photo, right) for dessert!
The ultra-premium bar features many upscale tequilas and mezcals, as well as a unique margarita flight of four different favorites, plus specialty cocktails like the Mexican classic Paloma (José Cuervo Tradicional Reposado tequila, fresh lime & Squirt grapefruit soda).
Azteca D’Oro (2000 Piazza Ave., Unit 170) is open every day for lunch and dinner. For more information, visit Aztecadoro.com.
Celebrity chef Fabiano Viviani is bringing Chuck Lager America’s Tavern to the Shops at Wiregrass next spring. (CBS Philadelphia)
Chuck Lager America’s Tavern is coming to the Shops at Wiregrass, according to the Tampa Bay Business Journal.
By mid-April, the new restaurant inspired by celebrity chef Fabio Viviani could be open in the 7,500-sq.-ft. space previously occupied by Primebar.
According to TBBJ, the operating partners are Anthony Sandstorm and Brian Henry, formerly regional managers with Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza.
The Wesley Chapel location will be only the second for Chuck Lager America’s Tavern, which also has a Pike Creek, DE location.
The made-from-scratch menu, designed and perfected by Viviani, is loaded with American classics with a twist from the Florence, Italy-born chef.
A restaurateur, cookbook author and former Top Chef star three different seasons — including one where he was voted the “Fan Favorite,” Viviani helped craft a menu that includes items like crunchy smoked mozzarella with tomato jam, asiago gnocchi, chicken marsala, roasted salmon risotto and a variety of pizzas, burgers and salads.
The brunch menu includes tasty-sounding treats like bananas foster french toast, carnitas omelets and lemon ricotta pancakes.
Viviani is involved in several restaurant projects in the Tampa Bay area, including Mision Lago Ranch in nearby Thonotosassa.
Jamie Hess was as excited as he could be when he jumped headfirst into a pool built — and filled with hope and dreams — by developer Mark Gold.
Within days of Gold’s $62.7-million purchase of The Grove shopping complex, Hess (and his brother Joe) was one of the first local business people to sign a lease which will allow his idea of bringing a non-chain restaurant and dueling piano bar to Wesley Chapel to come to fruition.
Hess wasn’t alone in his excitement, apparently. When it came to naming his place, Hess turned to four area Facebook pages, including the popular Wesley Chapel Community and Wesley Chapel Network pages, and turned it into a contest.
The result: 1,830 entries, more than a thousand more than he says he expected.
So, welcome to Wesley Chapel, Treble Makers.
“The response has been unbelievably overwhelming,” says Hess, who has owned Gadget Repair in the New Tampa Commons plaza near the Shops at Wiregrass since January. “It has definitely exceeded expectations.”
The credit for coining the name Treble Makers goes to Wesley Chapel’s Rodney Beuno, who was the first of three Facebook posters to suggest it.
He will be rewarded with VIP entry at the Treble Makers grand opening, with free food and free drinks, and will also receive a $500 bar and restaurant tab.
Sara Brinkley and Mara Mroz, both of Wesley Chapel, also chose the same name, and will each receive a free VIP experience for their efforts.
With the name out of the way, Jamie is now focusing on bring the piano bar to life. He will apply for his permit on Nov. 26, he says, and has been ordering kitchen equipment while the designs are being finalized.
“Once that permit comes, we’re running,” he says.
Treble Makers will be located in “The Village,” as Gold now calls it, which is the long-dormant retail/office plaza located across the parking lot from the big box stores in The Grove, closer to I-75.
Jamie and Joe will be located right across a parking lot from the new Double Branch Artisanal Ale brewpub, which is hoping to open by the end of the year.
“That whole area was a ghost town, but they (Gold and his Mishorim Gold Properties) are shaking it up,” Jamie says.
Jamie also says that Treble Makers will be a full menu restaurant serving American cuisine from salads to steaks and everything in between.
On most weeknights during dinner hours in the 6,000-sq.-ft. restaurant, a single pianist will be featured. And, on the weekends, dueling pianists — adults only, Jamie says — will take over. There also will be other forms of live entertainment, with karaoke and trivia nights sprinkled in.
Treble Makers will be surrounded by a number of ethnic-themed restaurants, and a short walk from a container park that already is drawing massive interest. Being a part of The Grove was a big deal for Jamie when he signed his lease three weeks ago.
“I’m a big believer in the Wesley Chapel community,” Jamie says. “This is really an exciting time, and I think Wesley Chapel needs something like The Grove. Downtown Tampa is great and nice, but we need a place like that at home.”
The day Heather Woodall signed the papers making her purchase of Oakley’s Grille official, her drive home that night to Haines City took more than two hours
It turned out to be an ominous sign.
Woodall confirmed last week that the long commute, combined with becoming a new mother, has made running a restaurant so far from home impossible, and Oakley’s has once again been sold.
Located at 17631 Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., Oakley’s opened in 2011 in the old Quizno’s location (next to Supercuts) in the North Palms Village. Keith Oakley’s spot developed a strong following as one of the area’s hidden restaurant gems.
In February, Oakley sold his restaurant to Woodall and partner Ladesha Stoudemire, who discovered the place through a business broker who stopped in to have lunch there.
Despite the typical grumblings from diehards about the place losing some of its charm, due to minor changes, as well as some personnel departures, Oakley’s Grille remained popular during the transition.
“We had a strong base of regulars,” Woodall said. “Things were good.”
Although rumors circulating around the restaurant by staff is that the burger joint — arguably home to New Tampa’s best burgers, as well as great chicken and other sandwiches and salads — could be converted into an Italian restaurant by the new owner, Luca Ammirati.
Woodall said she has been told that Oakley’s will again remain largely unchanged.
“He is keeping it as is,” Woodall said.
However, on top of the usual difficulties in succeeding in the always-tough restaurant business, Woodall faced other challenges.
“We decided to put all of our energy into a family,” Woodall said. “It was a great experience. It was really bittersweet, because we would have loved to remain here but it wasn’t feasible. With the drive and the traffic and with the little guy, you can only imagine.”
Efforts to reach the new owner were unsuccessful, but the Oakley’s faithful are likely hoping that Woodall is right, and one of the area’s best burger places will remain as is.
COMING SOON, ‘MON: Next to Oakley’s, where the old Dairy Queen used to be before being shuttered last year, progress continues to be made on the area’s latest entry into the restaurant market – The Humming Bird Jerk House.
The Jamaican-style restaurant is well into the remodeling process but still has a few permitting and final inspection hurdles to complete. Word is, the jerk spices should be humming by the end of the year. And, according to plans filed with Hillsborough County, the restaurant looks like it will have indoor seating for roughly 32-35 patrons.
OVER AND OUT? Although there are no signs on the door indicating that it has closed for good, that does appear to be the case at Café Ole Restaurant & Tapas Bar, which was at one time considered one of New Tampa’s hidden culinary gems.
A peek inside the restaurant, located at 10020 Cross Creek Blvd. (next to Thai Lanna), across the street from the New Tampa Regional Library, looks like it could re-open for business tod
ay. But, all three sections of Olé have been closed since at least the beginning of August.
So, how can one of my favorite local restaurants get even better when the husband-and-wife chefs who opened it — and still own it — hire a new chef?
That’s what has happened recently to my friends Jessica and Carl Meyers of Little Italy’s Family Restaurant & Catering on S.R. 54 in Lutz, less than two miles west of the Tampa Premium Outlets. Jessica and Carl have brought in an authentic Italian chef, born and raised in Napoli (not Naples, FL), who has honed his skills in not only his native country, but also in Germany, Australia, England, Tampa and, most recently, his own place, which was called Manzoni’s, even though neither the chef’s first nor last name is Manzoni.
“Manzoni is-a the street-a I grew up on in-a Napoli,” says Chef Simeone (pronounced “Sih-me-oh-nay”) Chiacchio, who opened Manzoni’s in Tarpon Springs a few years ago, after working at some of the better Italian restaurants in South Tampa. “Manzoni’s was-a the first-a time I ever owned a restaurant, and I found out that I’d-a rather cook for-a someone else and not-a have-a to be the boss.”
That worked out perfectly for Jessica and Carl, who brought in Chef Sam (“or Simon,” says Simeone. “Sam is just-a little easier for-a some people.”) a little over a month ago and have enjoyed not only his “autentico” Neapolitan cuisine, but also his accent, his sense of humor and his ability to multi-task.
“I told him you’re like an octopus,” says Jessica. “Carl and I really admire his skills. He can cook anything and he’s already adding amazing new specials and slowly making changes to our existing menu. We’ll be rolling out our new menu soon.”
Carl, who has been to Italy many times, says he can tell Chef Simeone is authentic because, “he doesn’t let anything go to waste. He cuts up the leftover penne and spaghetti for his pasta fagioli (one of his new specials) and he saves all of the scraps of cut produce, like onions, garlic and more and makes stock to keep his chicken dishes moist.”
Carl also mentioned something I forgot to write down about the beans used in Chef Sam’s pasta fagioli, but all I can tell you is that it is the best I’ve had in the Tampa Bay area. A bowl of it is so big and hearty, it’s a meal unto itself, but don’t get too full to try Sam’s outstanding faggotini pasta, which may not have an appetizing name, but it’s a flavor I’ve never tasted in Italian food before. Faggotini is a pasta “purse,” stuffed with pecorino Romano cheese and pear. Each bite of these filling purses has just a hint of sweetness from the pear, a perfect complement to the salty cheese. But, these faggotini are lightly covered with just the right amount of a creamy, but still light, pink tomato sauce that expertly finishes off this unique pasta dish.
“Just-a don’t-a call it a‘vodka sauce,’” Sam says. “There’s-a no vodka in it.”
New Entrée Specials, Too!
As soon as I saw the new specials board (both the pasta fagioli and faggotini are on it), I got really excited about what Sam’s bringing to the table (pun intended) at Little Italy’s, especially once Jessica and Carl also showed me Sam’s super-extensive menu from Manzoni’s.
Of the new entrées already sampled by yours truly, my surprise favorite was the chicken Vesuvio, which Sam can make for you with the chicken lightly breaded or unbreaded. The chicken surrounds ample, tender slices of eggplant and topped with fresh mozzarella and a light (but not pink), zesty tomato sauce.
My second favorite dish from the specials board was the Caprese chicken over pasta (I’m obviously a tomato/tomato sauce guy). Thick, tender (thanks to that homemade stock?) chicken breasts are topped with also-thick slices of delicious, fresh tomatoes, dense (but perfectly melted) slabs of fresh mozzarella in a thicker tomato sauce more reminiscent of Little Italy’s original sauce, topped with fresh basil. It was served over a helping of spaghetti that provided side dishes for two more meals for me after all that I left over during my visit.
The third new entrée I sampled was the chicken panna, which is served in a thinner-than-Alfredo creamy sauce with pancetta, peas and fresh mushrooms. Jessica said it was her favorite of the new specials and she almost didn’t let me steal even a bite from her (just kidding, Jess).
And of course, yes, you can still order anything from the restaurant’s existing menu, although you might want to ask your server to explain any tweaks Sam may have made to Little Italy’s locally famous lasagne, veal parmigiana (my personal favorite; more on that below), chicken piccata, calzones and huge, rectangular pizzas.
You might just recognize that server, by the way, as Jessica says that she is now going to sometimes work the floor as a server, especially on the weekends, because she really does want Little Italy’s thousands of loyal fans to have full explanations of every new dish and any tweaks Sam may have made to their favorite dishes when they visit.
“All I can say is that the guy is doing amazing things in that kitchen,” Jessica says, “so I want to explain to our customers what goes into making these dishes.”
Carl adds, “This restaurant and kitchen aren’t large enough to do true fine Italian dining. But, what we’re serving now is a step up from what we’ve been doing, without being a step up in price.”
Sam told me not to order the veal parmigiana until the next time I came in because Little Italy’s just started using a new meat purveyor, “and I-a want-a you to-a taste-a the good-a vitello (veal).” He says there will be osso buco (veal shanks on the bone) on the specials board soon and maybe even a steak special.
“Oh, and-a Gary, I know you’re-a not-a the only-a one who likes-a fresh veggies,” Sam says. “We’ll-a give you a choice-a of pasta or veggies with-a your (non-pasta) entrée, too.”
And of course, Sam can create just about anything you want for your next party. Catering has long been a big part of Little Italy’s success the past three years, and I don’t see that side of the business slowing down anytime soon. I guarantee you that a big tray of Little Italy’s lasagne would be the perfect addition to any 4th of July celebration.
And, of course, Little Italy’s still has a “Little Goombas” menu and recently added beer and wine. So, enjoy a delicious glass (or bottle) of delicious chianti, pino grigio or Grandma’s homemade sangria, or a Peroni or domestic beer and get to know the new Little Italy’s. It’ll be “molto delizioso.”
Little Italy’s (24436 S.R. 54, Lutz) is open for dinner only Tues.-Fri. and for lunch & dinner on Sat. & Sun. For info, call (813) 909-2122, or visit LittleItalyFamilyRestaurant.com.
