With what may be the worst name of any restaurant ever (at least for Web searches) Tommy Ortiz has extended his SoHo restaurant dominance with Cheap (309 S. Howard Ave., 813-258-5878), a tapas joint in the former Cappy's location on South Howard.
Cheap's opening came the same week as the grand reopening of another of Ortiz's restaurants — Tacqueria Cantina (formerly Tacqueria Qutzacoatl, 402 S. Howard Ave., 813-359-9982). Husband and wife team Juan and Maya Vargas (formerly of Café Anna) now run the Cantina kitchen and have changed the menu to emphasize "freshness." According to a guy at the counter, that means "they're still the same ingredients, just arranged differently." Ahh, honesty.
Besides a fancy branding campaign and minor remodel, the real change at Cantina will come in extended hours — until 3 a.m., Wed.-Sat. — as well as a breakfast menu starting in a few months.
Ortiz also owns or co-owns The Hyde Park Café, Strings and Rings, Whiskey SOHO and Whiskey North. Where will it end?
