Volume 32 Issue 2 January 23, 2024
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Treble Makers Is Again Gary’s Favorite In Wesley Chapel!
The Dueling Piano Bar & Restaurant Beats Out Falabella Family Bistro & Zukku-San For The Top Spot! By GARY NAGER
Every year, after our readers’ favorite restaurants in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel are published, I like to provide our readers with my own list of favorites — and there are always many differences between your choices and mine. I also always have a few haters every year who say that my reviews aren’t “real,” that I only pick my favorites based on which restaurants advertise with me and/or give me free food, that I have no taste whatsoever, etc. The primary thing these haters don’t seem (or want) to understand or believe is that the restaurants I tell you about in my annual “Gary’s Favorites” are not just the places I like the most, they’re also the places where I spend the most of my own money. And yes, when you consider that there are literally dozens of restaurants named on pgs. 32-38 of this issue, Jannah and I do spend a lot of our money dining out (and taking out food) — I’m betting more than just about anyone else in our distribution areas, especially when you consider our combined annual income. The “trolls” also don’t seem to “get” the other reason I give my opinions on local eateries every year is that I so appreciate the feedback — both positive and negative — I get after “Gary’s Favorites” are published each year. I can’t even tell you how many people come up to me and Jannah when we’re sitting at the bar at The Grill at Morris Bridge, TrebleMakers, Stonewood, Zukku-San, Azteca D’Oro or any of
EDITORIAL
Our editor is ready to celebrate 30 years of Neighborhood News! See page 3
our other favorite eateries to tell me what they think of my opinions. The vast majority of them say things like, “I only tried this place because of what you wrote about them” or “I didn’t really love this place the first time I tried it, but I decided to give it another try because of you.” If you’ve never felt that kind of love from strangers, I promise you that it’s one of the things that most makes the long hours I still put in 30 years since I first started this job (see pg. 3) worthwhile. And yes, a few people also come up to me to tell me that they totally disagree with my assessment of one restaurant or another. Others also tell me that they read my reviews “even though I know they aren’t real.” But, the fact is that whether my haters believe it or not, my dining reviews are 100% real. And, unlike the online trolls who think they’re dining “critics” because they tell their few followers that they hated something they ate (or the service they received) at a particular place, I still tell every restaurant owner in our area that when I write a review of their eatery, I will tell more than 170,000 of my “closest friends” (that’s the total possible number of readers we reach in print) everything I like about their place. Anything I don’t like I will tell the restaurant owner about — and pretty much all of them appreciate this approach a lot more then online trolls who cause their overall online ratings to drop. See pgs. 32-38 to see my 2023 Favorite Neighborhood News editor Gary Nager checks out a few of his favorite dishes at TrebleMakRestaurants in New Tampa & Wesley Chapel! ers, his favorite restaurant in Wesley Chapel again for 2023. (Photo by Charmaine George)
NEW ELKS LODGE FORMING! The veteran- and children-oriented service organization to open in Wesley Chapel. See page 6
A WHEELCHAIR TRAY FOR ‘PILY!’ Cypress Creek High engineering students work together to help a fellow student. See page 12
BIG GAME SQUARES!
Win FREE dining and make watching the ‘Big Game’ a little more fun! See page 31
Here’s Some New Deliciousness For You! 1
Check out the Leonidas Chocolates Café on pg. 40!
For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News • Volume 32, Issue 2 • January 23, 2024 • NeighborhoodNewsOnline.net
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