Ava, the latest restaurant project by 717 South owner Michael Stewart and former Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon, announced it will open its doors to diners for a seven-day series of test kitchens.
From 6 to 10 p.m. beginning Thursday, Nov. 20, culinarians will nosh on Italian-inflected eats such as fusilli al pomodoro, pork belly, half-grilled hen and zeppole off the restaurant's sample menus.
In August, Ava was featured in a CL piece on buzzed-about fall restaurant openings. The Tampa eatery's slated to open Nov. 28, Stewart told the Tampa Bay Business Journal Monday.
Highlights of the restaurant include its Italian-made Acunto oven, house-cured charcuterie, hefty wine list and chef Joshua Hernandez's emphasis on simple dishes with a few fine ingredients.
Interested diners should reserve their seats online, where they'll also find each evening's test-kitchen lineup.
This article appears in Nov 6-12, 2014.