Located in Palm Harbor, find out why you should visit this authentic NY deli! See

By GARY NAGER

Photos by Charmaine George

When Alex Mitow, the son of Kim Mitow, who first opened The Lucky Dill Deli in Palm Harbor way back in 1991, emailed to ask for advertising rates in the New Tampa & Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News, I’ll admit I was a little confused.

Why would a deli restaurant located in Palm Harbor (that I personally had visited many times over the past 31 years because it is a true New York-style deli) want to advertise itself to two communities located at least 45 minutes away?

During my most recent visit, Lucky Dill general manager Ron Garcia explained it this way to me:

“We know that pretty much everyone in Palm Harbor, Tarpon Springs and even New Port Richey and Clearwater pretty much already knows who and where we are and what we serve,” Ron said. “But, our goal is to bring in and introduce a whole new group of customers to our ‘destination restaurant’ because we know that if they give us a try, they’ll keep coming back — and tell their friends about us.”

Ron, who has more than 30 years of experience in the hospitality business himself, has been the GM at The Lucky Dill since 2020. He told me that it was important to him to maintain the family feel Kim and her family created with delicious, top-quality food and outstanding service.

Kim and her children Jason, Tanya, and Alex, worked hard to bring the New York way of life, along with its commitment to top-notch food and great value, to Lucky Dill Palm Harbor. Over the years (according to its website), “Lucky Dill has been heralded as not only one of the best restaurants in Palms Harbor (it’s nominated again for that honor by Creative Loafing), but one of the top NYC delis in Florida. A loyal following of New York transplants... have grown to call Lucky Dill their home away from home.”

And, for good reason. It had been a couple of years since I had visited The Lucky Dill, but I was excited to give it another try, because it offers a few of my favorite New York deli items you really can’t find anywhere else near here, including real matzo ball soup and savory Jewish-style brisket of beef (not to be confused with BBQ brisket) with real au jus for dipping. “We use real steamer trays and collect the brisket drippings to make the au jus,” Brian, the head bartender (left) at Lucky Dill’s full liquor bar (with great craft cocktails) told me. We don’t use any of that canned or powdered crap other places use for their au jus.” The menu at The Lucky Dill is huge, but the variety of deli sandwiches — with favorites like corned beef, pastrami, roast beef, turkey and even chopped liver — is definitely the star of the show. Those who like their sandwiches as big

The Lucky Dill Deli on U.S. 19 in Palm Harbor has a huge variety of true NY-style deli favorites, from (above left) The New Yorker bagel sandwich with Nova Scotia salmon, (above right) the Empire State Stacker, (below left) brisket & pastrami combo sandwich with real au jus and (below right) real matzo ball soup.

In addition to traditional deli favorites, The Lucky Dill has a (left) full liquor bar, (above left) amazing Bananas Foster French toast and even Italian favorites like (above right) Vinny’s mozzarella stack.

The Lucky Dill’s Brooklyn Bakery (top) offers an incredible variety of cakes, pies, cookies (above left) and even a cannoli bar where you pick your own fillings . Lucky Dill’s outdoor Ditch Plains Surf Bar has its own menu with favorites like fresh calamari (above right), as well as a true Hamptons-style tiki bar (below). as their heads definitely should try one of the “skyscraper” options, like the Empire State Stacker shown on the previous page, which is a nearly 9-inch-tall combo of corned beef, pastrami, turkey and roast beef with Swiss and provolone cheeses on marble rye. Lucky Dill even offers “old school” NY Deli Delights like tongue, silky smoked whitefish salad and “Nibbles & Noshes” like Gabila’s Coney Island knishes, Lower East latkes (potato pancakes) with sour cream and chunky applesauce and Hebrew National hot dogs.

But, in addition to those deli classics, The Lucky Dill also offers “A Taste Of Little Italy,” with favorites like clams casino pasta, chicken Alfredo and Vinny’s mozzarella stack. Breakfast, Bakery & More!

Breakfast at The Lucky Dill includes The Bagel Noshery, with classics like The New Yorker with Nova Scotia salmon, the BEC (Bacon, Egg & Cheese) deluxe, with thickcut bacon, cheddar cheese, scrambled eggs and chipotle apple aioli.

There’s also a variety of bowls and toasts, like Awesome Avo + Egg toast and an Aussie Brekkie Bowl with poached egg, farro grains, fresh veggies, avocado, grilled halloumi cheese and pickled onions, as well as a variety of traditional egg and omelette dishes and “Bennies,” including the Brighton Beach Benny with smoked Nova Scotia salmon, wilted spinach, poached eggs and Hollandaise sauce on an English muffin with a side of home fries. I’ve had the Bananas Foster French toast, which is literally to die for.

The Lucky Dill’s Brooklyn Bakery has a huge variety of cakes, pies (the peanut butter pie is decadent), cookies (including the best black & white cookies I’ve had outside of NYC) and a cannoli bar, where you can custom-design your cannolis with a variety of fillings and toppings. The Bakery counter also serves as The Lucky Dill’s to-go area.

The Lucky Dill also features The Ditch Plains Surf Bar, the first-of-its-kind in the Tampa Bay area. Serving up a slice of Hamptons sophistication in Palm Harbor, this new bar celebrates laid-back beach life with its own beachy menu and refined takes on fresh summery cocktails, quenching frosés and craft beers from New York breweries.

The Lucky Dill Deli (33180 US Hwy. 19, Palm Harbor) is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day, 8 a.m.-9 p.m. For more info, call (727) 789-5574, visit LuckyDillDeli.com or see the ad on pg. 37 for a 3-course Dill-Flation meal deal. Join the email list and receive a $15 gift card emailed to you on your birthday.

Congratulations to Zach and Christina Feinstein of The Feinstein Group on the recent opening of their second location of The Living Room at the Shops at Wiregrass. The Wesley Chapel location of The Living Room is larger and has more indoor and outdoor seating (with live music on weekend evenings) than the original location on Main St. in Dunedin, and definitely has attracted lots of locals to fill those seats since its soft opening on Aug. 8.

Known for its amazing craft cocktails, like the Humidor, Bourbon Smash and “Oatgeat” Mai Tai, Executive Chef Joshua Rhynes also has created a menu of delicious Snacks (like flash-fried pork dumplings), Shareables (including tuna poké), Handhelds (e.g., Korean street tacos), Soups & Salads (roasted tomato bisque and Kale, Caesar!) and entrées like the perfectly spicy chargrilled pork chop (photo by Charmaine George) marinated in habanero salsa, with cilantro lime rice, avocado, roquette, zucchini and squash, fresh shrimp garganelli pasta and more.

There also are great daily specials like the Social Hour (Mon.-Fri., 3 p.m.-6 p.m.), with greatly reduced drink and select snack (at the bar only) prices, Taco Tues., Whiskey Wed. and endless mimosas and bloody Marys for $25 Sat. & Sun.

One thing that some folks have been concerned about is the fact that The Living Room Wesley Chapel adds a 20% service charge to every check, but it is posted on the menu, at the bar and every table, as well as mentioned by every server. The Living Room (2001 Piazza Ave., Ste 100) is open for lunch and dinner every day. For more information, call (813) 934-7911 or visit TLR.restaurant. — GN

Now Open: Nova Pizza & Gorkhali Kitchen!

Nova Pizza is now open in New Tampa’s Pebble Creek Collection at 19651 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., in the former location of both Windy City Pizza and Full Circle Pizza.

And, even though some folks aren’t happy that Nova Pizza doesn’t offer Chicagostyle pizza, yours truly and others are thrilled that Nova has NY-style ‘za and Italian fare (like the tasty chicken parmigiana pictured here). We also loved the pepperoni and cheese pizzas, the meatball sub and the garlic knots. For more info, see the ad (far right), which has a coupon for 15% off any purchase at Nova Pizza, or call (813) 501-4056.

So, even though I’m from New York and lived and/or worked in Manhattan for about 10 years, I never remembered seeing a Nepalese restaurant featuring the cuisine of Nepal, a small country located in the Himalayan mountains between China and India.

When I found out that Gorkhali Kitchen (named for a soldier from a certain region in Nepal), located at 10044 Cross Creek Blvd. in the Cross Creek Center plaza (in the former location of India Gate restaurant), was going to be the first Nepali restaurant to open in the entire Tampa Bay area, I had to check it out.

And, while the menu also features many dishes from India (including delicious tandoor oven lamb chops), I had to try at least one of the most authentic dishes from Nepal, the pan-fried chicken and veggie momo dumnplings. Momos also are available steamed, deep-fried, in a soup broth and just with veggies. I also really enjoyed the Nepalese fried rice with egg, veggies and soy sauce.

Please tell my new friends Menora, Reena, Ponam and Rajesh that I sent you.

For more info, call (813) 388-6404 or visit GorkhaliKitchenTampa.com.

Falabella Bistro Adds Liquor & New Menu Items!

Congratulations to my friend and one of Wesley Chapel’s favorite restaurateurs Steve Falabella!

By breaking through a wall between his Falabella Family Bistro (6027 Wesley Grove Blvd.) and adjacent 900º NY Pizza at The Grove, Steve has been able to add full liquor to his beer and wine license at Falabella Bistro (only).

Jannah and I already loved Steve’s delicious Italian cuisine, but since we prefer full-liquor drinks when we dine out, we probably haven’t been to the Bistro as often as we might have otherwise. But now, Fuhgeddaboudit! While Jannah sipped her delicious Cosmopolitan (and I enjoyed a new rum punch drink), we both gobbled down our favorite fried zucchini appetizer, shared Steve’s new filet mignon (photo) entrée with Marsala mushroom sauce (which we ordered on the side) and his chicken, spinach and ricotta cannelloni, and followed all that up with a slab of dessert chef Evelyn Barreno’s awesome chocolate mousse cheesecake. Need more prodding? Check out the ad on pg. 12 of this issue, call (813) 428-6957 or visit FalabellaBistro.com. — GN

Only a few restaurants have yet to open at Phase 1 of the KRATE Container Park at The Grove at Wesley Chapel — and the word is definitely getting out that KRATE is a great destination for a wide variety of cuisine types from all over the world. Bakery X (pronounced “Eeks” en Français) Authentic French Bakery did finally open on Aug. 3, and if you love authentic French croissants, breads and pastries as much as I do, you have to check it out! In additional to traditional butter croissants and a few varieties of French bread (the brioche is unlike anything you’ve had at local restaurants), Bakery X also bakes its own pain Suisse (Swissstyle croissants with custard), pain du chocolat or almond (chocolate or almond croissants) and more (photo above). Merveilleux! Also now open at the KRATEs is Pisco Express Peruvian Chinese Fusion, which capitalizes on the fact that Peru is directly across the Pacific Ocean from China and the cuisine combines the best of Latin American with Chinese fare, like the Tallarin Saltado (Chifa) below left, which is lo mein-style egg noodles with fresh veggies and your choice of protein (Jannah and I devoured the chicken Tallarin in the picture). The Peruvian-Chinese fried rice also looked amazing and the fish ceviche was spot-on.

Also now open is the second Wesley Chapel location of Cafe 365 (the other is in the Shops at Wiregrass), which has delicious gelato (I loved the marshmallow flavor), desserts (photo below), coffee drinks and more. The only eateries yet to open at the KRATEs are Boba Mac’s (mac & cheese and boba teas) and Café Zorba Greek Cuisine. — Gary Nager

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