That anticipated chill in the air hasn't reached the Bay area quite yet. However, the missing touch of autumn won't stop Brooklyn-born Grimaldi's Coal Brick-Oven Pizzeria from launching a new seasonal menu in Tampa next week.
Beginning Sept. 10 at its WestShore Plaza restaurant, the pizza chain expects to roll out fall flavors like caramel apple, ginger and buffalo chicken (because football, apparently), which are worked into a number of offerings. Wedge salad, buffalo chicken pizza and caramel apple cheesecake are among the featured dishes, as is the chocolate cheesecake with an Oreo crust.
Two cocktails — peach bourbon Mule (Maker's Mark, peach purée, fresh lemon juice, ginger beer, diced peaches) and Caramel AppleJack (Laird's Straight Applejack 86, sea salt caramel, cinnamon sugar) — round out the selection.
Locally, Tampa houses the lone upscale-meets-casual restaurant for Grimaldi's, started in 1990. The family-oriented chain specializes in traditional pizza with a "secret" sauce and a crispy, smoky thin crust that pays homage to Naples, Italy.
This article appears in Aug 30 – Sep 6, 2018.