Willa's celebrates its third birthday, Dunedin's Taco Baby says goodbye, plus more Tampa Bay food news

Openings

Pacific Counter (downtown Tampa) A new fast casual spot in downtown Tampa softly opened this week, and it offers yet another lunch option for the droves of business casual wearers that work in the area.  Pacific Counter’s newest location resides at 115 W Tyler St. in downtown Tampa, around the corner The Straz Center for Performing Arts and the Riverwalk. The fast casual poke spot quietly opened its doors on Tuesday, March 5.  Pacific Counter’s Best of the Bay-winning menu features quick and health-oriented fare that’s a “mainland mix of coastal classics,” with dishes like build-your-own poke bowls, loaded hot dogs, Spam musubi and sushi burritos that can cater to a variety of vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free diets. Its popular Dole whip soft serve (which is free with a poke purchase on Wednesdays) and a variety of boba teas are also offered at all of Pacific Counter’s locations. Owners Tanner Loebel, Eric Bialik and Chitt Noythanongsay debuted the first Pacific Counter on downtown St. Pete’s 600 block in 2018 and have steadily expanded its footprint across Tampa Bay. In addition to Tampa’s newly-opened Pacific Counter, the locally-owned company operates locations in downtown St. Pete, Lakewood Ranch, South Tampa, Sarasota and even a scaled-down operation inside of Tropicana Field. Downtown Tampa's Pacific Counter was originally slated to debut roughly two years ago.  115 W Tyler St, Tampa. pacificcounter.com

Craft A massive new dining experience has just set sail on the Hillsborough River. Craft, Yacht Starship’s brand new dining cruise, makes its highly-anticipated debut this weekend.  At 130-feet in length and only 11-feet of air draft, the 150-seat upscale dining ship is the largest commercial vessel currently on the Hillsborough, all while still being able to pass under five of the river's lowest bridges. Its parent company says that Craft is the first dining ship to feature diesel outboard propulsion, an open kitchen concept with a gas grill and stove, three dining options including indoor, outdoor or bar seating, and a 1914 vintage wooden cruiser that's been transformed into a bar. Craft’s menu from Executive Chef and Tampa native Allison Beasmann features brunch, dinner, and craft cocktail options including entrees like Korean-barbecued octopus, garlic parmesan-crusted chicken, seared duck over whipped potatoes and goat cheese fondue and sweet and sour short ribs. Lunch and brunch reservations for the rest of the month seem pretty booked out, but there’s still a few dinner slots available in the upcoming weeks. 603 Channelside Dr., Tampa. crafttampa.com

Closings

Taco Baby Downtown Dunedin officially needs a new spot for street tacos and casual, to-go Mexican fare. Taco Baby at 235 Main St., a charming 51 square-foot taqueria, has recently closed its doors—or singular pick-up window, actually. “After much consideration, we’ve made the decision to close Taco Baby permanently. While we’re sad to say goodbye, we cherish the memories we’ve created together and the joy that Taco Baby has brought to our community,” the restaurant wrote on social media last month. “Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for being a part of our Taco Baby family.” While the social media announcement didn't explain the reasons for Taco Baby's closure or state its last day in business, the tiny taqueria has been listed as "permanently closed" on Google for the past several weeks. Chef Traci Bryant and Shane Bittaker of Nina Hospitality Group opened Taco Baby out of a former ATM stand in the spring of 2019. Its understandably small menu consisted of street tacos with proteins like chicken tinga, al pastor, jackfruit, and pork carnitas, chips and queso, loaded nachos and a variety of bottled sodas. tacobabydunedin.com

Events

Willa’s Anniversary Weekend Willa’s, North Hyde Park’s go-to spot for craft cocktails, seasonal lattes and classic French-inspired American fare, is entering its toddler years. The restaurant hosts a multitude of live entertainment, drink specials, themed brunches and discounted eats to help keep the third-anniversary party going this weekend. Festivities kicked off on Wednesday, March 6 and continued with an all-day happy hour and natty wine tasting on Thursday, Jack Daniel’s-sponsored music and vinyl-spinning on Friday, March 8, a pastry pop-up and neighborhood cleanup on Saturday, and a Sunday finale filled with a brass band performance, a New Orleans-themed brunch, industry night and 50% off all bottles of wine. Willa’s will remain walk-in friendly throughout the week, but reservations are always recommended. Hospitality veteran Nate Siegel and Merrin Jenkins—granddaughter of Publix founder George W. Jenkins, who has a background in education and nonprofit work—opened Willa’s and its accompanying daytime coffee shop in the spring of 2021 out of a century-old industrial warehouse. It’s named after Jenkins’ great-grandmother William "Willie" Lowry, a “19th-century Tampa pioneer whose devotion to her hometown and civic involvement still reverberates throughout town.” 1700 W Fig St., Tampa. willastampa.com

Sausage Fest 2024 Get your stomachs ready for another rendition of “Tampa Bay's wurst festival,” because the German American Society of Pinellas is hosting its annual Sausage Fest this weekend. This family-friendly event features a wide variety of food vendors offering over a dozen different kinds of sausages and other German fare, dancing, games, dachshund races, cold beer, raffles and DJs. According to the organization’s website, just a few sausages that are on the menu include: andouille, English bangers, chorizo, jalapeño cheddar, Filipino longanisa, bratwurst and Polish-style sausages. And when the German American Society of Pinellas County isn’t organizing meaty events, it’s hosting folks at its biergarten or soccer-watching parties, gearing up for its annual Oktoberfest celebration and sharing German-American culture with Pinellas Park and beyond. Entrance to Sausage Fest 2024 happening Saturday, March 9 at German American Society of Pinellas County is $3-$5. 8098 66th St. N, Pinellas Park. germantampa.com

Pints of Science It's not weird science, it's beer science. One of Tampa’s most beloved music venues has found a way to unite entertainment and education in an inventive way that goes beyond the traditional trivia night. Pints of Science is a recurring lecture series that takes place at New World Brewery, which the venerable institution has called home since 2020 after relocating from Ybor City. Each event hosts three esteemed area scientists who are given 20 minutes to speak about their individual projects and passions, followed by a question and answer segment that allows the audience to further interact and engage with each speaker.The event is the brainchild of New World co-owner Nancy Bird, who retired from her 37-year nursing career at Tampa General Hospital and wanted to keep her passion for science alive by sharing it with the community. There's no cover for Pints of Science happening at New World Brewery in Tampa on Wednesday, March 13. 810 E Skagway Ave., Tampa. newworldtampa.com—Jourdan Ducat

VegFeast 2024 St. Pete vegan restaurant Good Intentions at 1900 1st Ave. S will host this year’s rendition of VegFeast, a celebration of local vegan businesses and the plant-based hot dogs, baked goods, seafood, burgers, sandwiches and specialty coffee that they specialize in. Just a few of the vendors that will be present at VegFeast on Saturday, March 16 include the ultra-popular Gabby Bakes, Nah Dogs, 3 Dot Dash, Vegan Halal Cart, Seasoned Green, Oh My Cod, Golden Dinosaurs and Look Alive Coffee, plus many more. The annual festival/market runs from noon-4 p.m. and there’s no cover to attend. VegFeast 2024 coincides with the 5th anniversary of Shelter Farm Sanctuary, an Arcadia-based vegan farm, nonprofit and animal sanctuary, and a few bucks tossed its way will definitely help the farm continue its noble cause of “providing compassionate care and safe shelter to animals who otherwise would have lived naturally short lives full of pain and fear.” @vegfeast_ on Instagram ICYMI

Barstool’s Dave Portnoy was in Tampa Bay doing ‘One Bite Pizza Reviews’ El Presidente was in Tampa Bay, and he spent a lot of time shoving pie down his hole. Over the last week, Bay area pizza shops shared video and photos of Dave Portnoy, the controversial founder of the Barstool Sports, popping in to grab food, and posting his taste tests, as part of his ongoing “One Bite Pizza Reviews.” In the reviews, Portnoy—who founded his blog, which is now worth hundreds of millions of dollars, in 2003—takes one bite (actually several bites) of a plain cheese pizza and rates it on a sale of 0-10, decimal points and all. In 2019, he gave downtown Tampa’s Eddie & Sam’s a 7.1 in a review that’s been viewed more than 216,000 times. Stops on Portnoy’s 2024 agenda include a handful of Sarasota pizza spots that’ve already received scores: Venezia Italian Restaurant (6.7), Il Panifico (7.4) and Rico’s (7.2). “Il Panifico,” that’s my favorite in the area,” he added. Portnoy also visited more than a dozen Tampa Bay pizza spots including Brooklyn Pizza Company, Cristino's Coal Oven Pizza, Delosa’s Pizza, DiGiorgio’s Pizzeria, Forbici and Joey Brooklyn’s, plus a handful more. —Ray Roa

The Dan, located on the ground floor of downtown Tampa’s Hotel Flor (fka Floridan Palace Hotel) just launched its new dinner menu by executive chef Dernier Buleje, who’s partial to the new citrus hummus starter. “It hits all flavors, spice from the harissa glazed carrots, Greek yogurt crema, broccolini pistou is vibrant and full of umami and citrus,” Buleje wrote in a release, adding that his two favorite dishes are the Loup de Mar (sea bass with tomatoes, olives, pickled onion, arugula, parsnip velvet, herbed salsa verde) and the shrimp and grits. The Dan—located at 905 N Florida Ave. in Tampa—is open for lunch and dinner service daily. dineatthedan.com

St. Pete Rising recently reported that Dairy Inn’s former property at 1201 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. will soon be razed to make way for a handful of modern luxury townhomes. The beloved ice cream shop and snack stand quietly closed its doors in late 2023 after unfinished renovations left the once-orange building with a large, wraparound awning looking like a stripped down shack. The history of Dairy Inn dates back to 1947 when it first opened as a Dairy Queen, and the St. Pete mainstay was best known for its hand-dipped cones, malt milkshakes and cheap hot dogs.

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