King of the Coop’s tender box comes with fries and sauces of your choice. Credit: Photo via kingofthecooptampa/Facebook

Openings

Wu Restaurant Seminole Heights’ newest spot for boba teas and fast-casual fusion eats soft opened just last week. Wu Restaurant is located in a shared building with Gabby Duncan’s popular bakery pop-up, adjacent to other Seminole Heights concepts like Chanko, The Lab and Florida Avenue Brewing Co. The newly-opened eatery has fenced-in, outdoor-only seating filled with bright neon signs, kid-friendly turf and and a food truck dishing out bao buns, chicken sandwiches, rice bowls and variety of boba teas that range from matcha and Thai tea to green and black teas topped with salted cheese foam and boba. While Wu’s menu is still limited in its soft opening phase, the new Seminole Heights spot will soon serve weekend brunch items like breakfast baos, ube-flavored French toast using Cuban bread, chicken and waffles and the “Flaming Pig and Chick” bagel sandwich complete with cream cheese, flaming Hot Cheetos, spam and eggs. Owners Jose Fradera and Anya Obringe told local blog WhatNowTampa that their new “Asian-Latin-inspired comfort food concept” will eventually sell beer and wine in addition to its variety of boba teas. 4410 N Florida Ave., Tampa. @wu_restaurant_ on Instagram

The Sourdough Co. Downtown St. Pete’s newest bakery is opening this weekend and if you’re wondering what it specializes in, its name is pretty self explanatory. The Sourdough Co. took to social media to announce its grand opening, which happens this Saturday, Nov. 11 from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. The new bakery and breakfast spot heads to 1113 Central Ave. in St. Pete’s Edge District in the same building that houses Intermezzo Coffee & Cocktails. In addition to traditional sourdough bread loaves, this new bakery incorporates sourdough into every one of its baked goods—from brownies and chocolate chip cookies to scones and fruity dessert breads. According to a soft opening menu recently posted on Facebook, St. Pete’s Sourdough Co. will also offer a variety of breakfast and lunch sandwiches—all on homemade English muffins or sourdough slices—soups in bread bowls and salads (topped with croutons, of course). In addition to its made-to-order breakfast and lunch items, the new bakery will also offer a sweet and savory selection of 14 different artisan loaves with flavors like cheddar jalapeño, cinnamon sugar, garlic and herbs and double chocolate. 1113 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. @the.sourdoughco on Instagram

King of the Coop Just a few weeks after its Seminole Heights location inside Flocale closed, King of the Coop’s new spot inside of Ybor City’s Cigar City Cider & Mead makes its debut. Today, The chicken restaurant posted on social media that its newest location is now open at 1812 N 15th St., dishing out a slightly smaller menu of hot tendies, wings, loaded fries and its “OG” sandwich with pickles and slaw. “The menu is limited and the prices have gone up a bit due to cost of goods, but that’s everywhere, so don’t come for our heads for that one,” the restaurant writes on Instagram. King of the Coop owner Joe Dodd told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that his new location will eventually start slinging bone-in chicken on Sundays, too. With its St. Pete, Soho and Seminole Heights locations all shuttering their doors within a few month span of each other, we’re just happy we can get our hot chicken fix in Ybor City. Its Wesley Chapel storefront at 27835 Wesley Chapel Blvd. is still up and running, too. 1812 N 15th St., Ybor City. @officialkingofthecoop on Instagram

Events

Tampa Bay restaurants offering Thanksgiving Day dinners, takeout, brunches and more We totally get it, you don’t want to spend all day making a from-scratch Thanksgiving dinner—and nobody blames you. Luckily, plenty of Tampa Bay restaurants are ready to do turkey day cooking for you, whether you want to dine-in on Thanksgiving day or pick up pre-made trays for an easy, at-home dinner. From decadent, all-you-can-eat brunches and pre-fixe dinners to vegan meals and to-go desserts, here are the Tampa Bay restaurants offering Thanksgiving specials this month. If there’s any Thanksgiving dinner or take-out specials that we missed, please email kyla@cltampa.com so we can add them to this roundup.

Dunedin Wines the Blues It was almost canceled this year, but residents rallied to keep Dunedin Wines the Blues alive, and the city listened. The party may be scaled back a little, like in the early days, but it’s happening. Talent taking over downtown includes Betty Fox, RJ Howson, Soulfish Band, “Tbone” Hamilton, and a tribute band that will help remember Wendy Barmore, a regular performer on the city’s live music scene who died last March at the age of 68. In addition to the full lineup of local music, attendees can purchase a $75 ticket to taste a variety of wines. There will also be a spread of vendors and food trucks dishing out tasty, wine-friendly eats. 420 Main St., Dunedin. dunedinwinestheblues.com—Jennifer Ring Tarpon Springs Seafood Festival For 35 years, residents of Tarpon Springs and beyond have indulged in a decadent spread of crab legs, shrimp, oysters and mussels at the charming waterfront town’s seafood festival. Live music, an arts and crafts show, a kid’s zone and a variety of local food vendors are part of the laid-back Tarpon Spring Merchant Association-organized festival, happening next weekend, Nov. 17-19. There’s free parking at Splash Park and Tarpon Towers, plus a complimentary shuttle that will take you to the festival itself. Event organizers estimate that about 30,000 people will be in attendance this weekend, so perhaps expect to wait in a line for certain vendors. Craig Park, 5 Beekman Ln., Tarpon Springs. @TarponSpringsSeafood on Facebook ICYMI

All the specials happening during Tampa Bay Burger Week 2023 (Nov. 2-12) Each year, Creative Loafing Tampa Bay teams up with dozens of local bars and restaurants to offer foodies a variety of unique burgers and accompanying sides. In addition to several take-out and dine-in burger deals, this 10 day-long collaboration also features drink specials, social media giveaways and the chance to vote for your favorite burger in Tampa Bay. Tampa Bay Burger Week 2023 runs from Thursday, Nov. 2 to Sunday, Nov. 12. There are almost 50 restaurants participating in this year’s Burger Week—from local institutions like El Cap, Ferg’s and Gigglewaters to burger-centric spots like Nebraska Mini-Mart and Butter’s Burgers, plus scenic, waterfront restaurants including St. Pete Pier’s Teak and Hula Bay. If you’d like to participate in any of these restaurants’ deals throughout next week, all you have to do is ask an employee about its featured Burger Week special.

All the specials happening during Tampa Bay Burger Week 2023 (Nov. 2-12)

It’s that time of the year where beloved Italian market Mazarro’s unveils its latest hunk of cheese. St. Pete’s Mazarro’s (2909 22nd Ave. N) recently received a 837-pound block of Auricchio Stravecchio provolone straight from Cremona, Italy. After the ceremonial cheese cutting happens in a few weeks, customers will be able to buy their own slices of the extra sharp, 18 month-aged provolone.

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