Una Más hosts sneak peek in Tampa Heights, new eats at Armature Works, and more local food news

Openings

Ling’s Dumplings & Han Hand Roll Bar The stalls inside Armature Works are always changing, and the food hall's newest additions from the owners of Zukku Sushi—Ling's Dumplings and Han Hand Roll Bar—soft opened earlier this week. Ling’s Dumplings offers a variety of both traditional and unique options—from pork and beef soup dumplings to bright green edamame and truffle dumplings— while Han’s Hand Roll Bar is described as an “approachable yet sophisticated sushi haven” that highlights fresh seafood like uni, salmon, o-toro, crab and more. In addition to a variety of dumplings that are wrapped in homemade, brightly-colored dough (due to pigments in ingredients like ube, spinach and beets), Ling’s also offers chilled sesame noodles, dan dan noodles and a dumpling noodle soup. While there’s no menu posted online for Han Hand Roll Bar just yet, it seems like its offerings are a tad more specialized than its sibling Zukku Sushi, which sells sushi rolls, burritos and poke bowls. Both fast-casual Asian restaurants are the latest concepts from Majestic Restaurant Group, the same hospitality company that operates Astro Ice Cream and Ato Burritos & Bowls in addition to Zukku Sushi. Give @hanhandrollbar and @lingsdumplingstampa a follow on Instagram for the latest news on their menus, operating hours and more. Both new Asian restaurants are open from 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m.-9 p.m. on Sunday. 1910 N Ola Ave., Tampa. armatureworks.com

Coming Soon

Una Más Despite a majority of local bars, restaurants and hotels gearing up for a quieter summer, an up-and-coming Tampa Heights cafe is getting ready to (slowly and steadily) open its doors. Una Más—a specialty coffee shop with light, Hispanic comfort food-inspired bites—is the brainchild of longtime Tampa baristas and hospitality maestros Paola Chamorro Ward and Curt Hensley. Local coffee lovers may not necessarily know them by name, but chances are you’ve seen them behind the bar of beloved shops like Foundation, Union and King State. Chamorro Ward, 37, and 31-year-old Hensley’s current friendship and business partnership has decade-old roots that reach back when the two first worked at Buddy Brew together around 2014. The baristas ended up working side-by-side at Armature Works’ former cafe Union and then Foundation in Tampa Heights where they slung espresso and shared regulars. Two regulars in particular—Robby and Megan Wages of Fancy Free Nursery—would eventually serve a huge role in their debut business several years later. Una Más will be located inside of the Tampa Heights plant shop (to the left when you walk through its doors), offering a “comfortable and familiar” atmosphere and about 20 seats, with most tables outside amongst the flora. The duo hosts their first pop-up inside its future home on Saturday, May 11. There's no cover for the Una Más sneak peak happening from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. inside Fancy Free Nursery in Tampa Heights. 1502 N Florida Ave., Tampa. @unamastpa on Instagram

Dang Dude & Gallito Taqueria A pair of popular Tampa-based concepts are heading north (to Pasco County, that is). Asian-fusion concept Dang Dude and taco hotspot Gallito Taqueria are the newest additions to Trinity's upcoming Collective at Escape. Escape Brewing’s new food hall and outdoor gathering space is slated to debut sometime this summer. Although there’s no date set in stone, the Tampa Bay Times says that ownership is aiming to open the 18,000 square-foot space (and its accompanying 4,000 square-foot outdoor beer garden) in August. In addition to hosting a variety of locally-owned food stalls, The Collective will also organize live music on weekends, offer a variety of craft cocktails and beer from its neighboring brewery, and provide lawn games for the whole family. Besides these two Sparkman Wharf concepts that will open at Lithia’s new food hall, future patrons can also expect sushi from fellow Tampa restaurant Āto (whose parent company just debuted a new hand roll and dumpling stall at Armature Works) and casual eats from Jimmy Renner’s Burger Co., with a few more announcements on the way. Gallito Taqueria is known for its Mexican street food-inspired fare of quesabirria tacos, nachos, street corn and quesadillas while Dang Dude boasts an Asian-fusion menu of dumplings, noodles, sandwiches, double-fried chicken wings, boba tea, sake bombs and more. 11495 Trinity Blvd., Trinity. thecollectiveatescape.com

Events

Here are some of Tampa Bay's best Mother's Day brunches, buffets and dinners It’s Mother’s Day once again in Tampa Bay, and a variety of hotels, resorts, and restaurants both casual and high-end are hosting their annual brunches, buffets and prix fixe dinners this weekend—here are 15 of them. [content-3] Elevenses’ ‘Gilmore Girls’ menu Lovers of the slice-of-life, cult classic show can indulge in some TV nostalgia this month when Elevenses hosts its annual run of "Gilmore Girls"-themed menu items. “Hello fellow townspeople—It is with great excitement (and only a smidgeon of trepidation ) that we announce our annual trip to Stars Hollow!” Elevenses owner Jade Yelvington writes on social media. “Last time your enthusiasm for this themed menu was seriously unmatched, so we’re going even bigger this time.” This year’s “Gilmore Girls” menu—which boasts the theme of “a thousand yellow daises"—runs from Wednesday, May 15 to Saturday, June 1. Elevenses’ hours will remain normal throughout these three weeks—noon-6 p.m. Wednesday-Friday and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday (or until sold out.) Elevenses' specialty baked goods and beverage menu draws inspiration from the fictional Connecticut town of Stars Hollow, referencing different characters and places. A few offerings are even based on dishes that were sold at Luke’s Diner, a regular gathering place within the show . 1001 E Columbus Dr., Tampa. elevensesco.com

ICYMI

St. Pete-based experimental coffee roasters Hogg Batch host a rare event at its Central Avenue space on Saturday, May 11, where guests can enjoy barrel-aged espresso from France and Italy topped with artisan ice cream. Hogg Batch’s affogato pop-up runs from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at 2327 Central Ave., where other specialty beverages and retail bags of coffee will also be available.

Gulfport’s The Wine House (2913 Beach Blvd S) celebrates its first birthday on Saturday, May 18 with an all-day disco-inspired party, live music, free wine tastings, barbecue and more. The owners of the adjacent hotel Peninsula Bed & Cocktails—with the help of  Matt and Paige Acree of Gulfport Brewery + Eatery—opened the  wine and barbecue spot out of the former Backfin Blue Cafe last spring.

Despite not offering a specific brunch menu, Columbia is representing Tampa in OpenTable’s " Top 100 Brunch Restaurants in America for 2024 ” list, which the online reservation service released last week in preparation for Mothers’s Day. Largely known as one of Florida’s oldest restaurants, the Ybor City mainstay with multiple local locations dishes out Cuban classics like Spanish bean soup, picadillo-stuffed empanadas and ropa vieja, plus its prized Cuban sandwich "1905" salad.  While Columbia was the only local restaurant in OpenTable's latest roundup, eateries like Raglan Road Irish Pub, Wine Bar George and Sales in  Lake Buena Vista, Orlando and Naples also made the cut.

The 25 best restaurants and bars with a view in Tampa Bay Whether's its beachside views or skyline views, Tampa Bay is truly a looker, and quite a few of our local restaurants and bars offer some of the best spot to take in the views. From beachside restaurants, to tiki bars, rooftop perches, and more. Here you'll find a few essential spots where the sips and eats are as good as the vista. Subscribe to Creative Loafing newsletters.

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