When somebody like Frank Gouveia — the proprietor of The Grill at Morris Bridge, some of the well-liked unbiased eating places in New Tampa — tells you that he discovered a brand new chef he thinks is the “greatest I’ve had but. Please come by and test him out!,” it’s virtually not possible for somebody like me to withstand.
However, Frank is true. New Chef Michael Touranjoe (left) is bringing a singular creativity and panache to The Grill’s already spectacular menu and he doesn’t plan to cease revamping and including new menu gadgets… mainly ever!
“As soon as I create one thing new, I tend to get bored repeating the identical dishes on a regular basis,” Chef Mike says. “I’m like, ‘I’ve performed that. What’s subsequent?’”
Nonetheless solely in his 30s, Chef Mike nonetheless one way or the other has practically 20 years of expertise within the restaurant enterprise. He has “labored the whole lot from short-order to three Michelin star eating places, Asian to Italian, and pizza to sushi to make myself well-rounded.”
He has been a sous chef below Chef/proprietor Jeannie Pierola at her Counter Tradition and Edison: Meals + Drank Lab eating places in South Tampa, and an Government Chef/coach for American Cruise Strains.
“He walked in right here to strive the place,” Frank says, “and walked out as my new Head Chef!”
Among the many new menu gadgets he’s added to the common and Bar Bites menus at The Grill embody mushroom arancini (balls of crispy fried risotto topped with tomato mayo and sherry aioli); crispy grouper bites with a zesty Previous Bay remoulade; pork Milanese (breaded and fried pork cutlet, topped with arugula, pickled crimson onions, tomatoes, shaved parmesan and grilled lemon); seared Florida grouper atop goat cheese and pea risotto and a confit of child greens; plus homestyle meatloaf on a mattress of cheddar whipped potatoes, haricot verts and topped with caramelized onion jus; and my present favourite — the baked rigatoni with spicy Italian sausage, candy peas, creamy marinara, recent mozzarella and herbs. All of those new menu gadgets are proven on this web page and have been completely scrumptious.
The precise picture is the brand new (and yummy) hen Marsala (sautéed hen breast, haricot verts, button mushrooms, Marsala wine and thyme butter sauce atop mashed potatoes).
Chef Mike is also bringing a brand new vitality to The Grill’s already-popular wine dinners. The occasion on Apr. 2 featured the pork loin roulade with candy cornbread & spinach stuffing, corn basil cream and candied pecans in addition to the mole marinated hangar steak with gorgonzola whipped potatoes, grilled asparagus, lemon zest and herb beurre blanc proven on the subsequent web page. The hangar steak had a pleasant exterior crusting and was super-tender and completely delectable. We not often save room for dessert, however I liked the salted caramel cheesecake proven beneath, too!
We didn’t attend that Stags’ Leap wine dinner on Apr. 2 however Chef Mike included the entire dishes served that night time, together with his rigatoni Bolognese — which our pal and long-time Tampa Palms resident and The Grill common Mike Wallace mentioned was “Superior”— amongst his new weekly Chef’s Specials.
The Wine Dinner We Did Attend!
Jannah and I (and Jannah’s mother Carolyn) attended The Grill’s most up-to-date wine dinner, which was held on Apr. 30 and featured a “reception” glowing wine, plus three Wilson Daniels Italian wines and a Hungarian dessert wine, every paired with a scrumptious dish (see beneath).
The occasion was hosted by Frank, Chef Mike and Craig Leslie, the North Florida space supervisor for Wilson Daniels, who described every of the wines as attendees sampled every course of the excellent meal, first beginning with a Bisol Jeio brut Prosecco “reception” wine, adopted by an area Solena burrata with strawberries, assorted roasted beets (which I don’t normally like, however have been fairly tasty), rhubarb jam, crispy shallots and arugula, paired with a crisp Elena Watch Pinot Grigio that had simply sufficient sweetness for Jannah and Carolyn to get pleasure from it, too.
I couldn’t pattern the precise second course — a grilled shrimp bucatini pasta puttanesca (proper picture) paired with a Volpaia Chianti Classico — however Jannah mentioned it was “wonderful.” And, Chef Mike substituted the baked rigatoni on the prime of the earlier web page for me and Carolyn, who referred to as the dish “completely to die for.” I additionally liked the chianti a lot, I ordered two bottles of it (and two bottles of the prosecco).
The third course — a parmesan-dusted grilled petit filet mignon (topped with a Tremendous- Tuscan demi-glace) was served with smashed fingerling potatoes and garlic broccoli rabe with semi-spicy Italian sausage — was paired with a Sette Cieli Yantra Tremendous Tuscan crimson wine. The steak was “like butter” and the bitter broccoli rabe (one among my favourite veggies) was softened properly by the sausage and garlic.
And eventually, the dessert was a mascarpone-filled tartlet with recent raspberries, lemon, chocolate, basil and pistachio mud paired with a correctly “syrupy” Royal Tokaji ice wine-like dessert wine from Hungary. So good!
Frank hasn’t but introduced when the subsequent wine dinner will probably be held, however as soon as he does, you must undoubtedly join it!
And, Frank says that every one three pre-dessert programs will seemingly find yourself quickly on Chef Mike’s weekly Chef’s Specials, which implies that you’ll in all probability nonetheless have an opportunity to pattern them for those who didn’t attend the wine dinner.
And, by the best way, Chef Mike additionally was featured on a Season 4 episode of The Meals Community’s “Chopped” (he’s 2nd from the left within the beneath picture) again in 2019, entitled “Beef Cake Errors.” However, he ended up getting “Chopped” (that means he didn’t win the competitors). In actual fact, he says, “I didn’t get “Chopped,” I bought hammered,’ but it surely was nonetheless an ideal expertise for me.”
And sure, The Grill nonetheless has excellent craft cocktails, essentially the most in depth wine listing in New Tampa, an ideal bar vibe, in addition to its well-known bar pizza and most of the different gadgets which have been on the menu since earlier than Chef Mike arrived.
The Grill at Morris Bridge is positioned at 10920 Cross Creek Blvd. (subsequent to Publix). It’s open for dinner solely on Mon. (5 p.m.-9 p.m.); lunch & dinner on Tues. & Wed. (11:30 a.m.-9 p.m.); 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. on Thur. & Fri. & 11 a.m.-10 p.m. on Sat. For more information go to TheGrillatMorrisBridge.com or name (813) 388-5353!
