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Restaurant Adds A Twist To Food That Is Familiar

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By HAROLD VALENTINE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 9, 2008

CARROLLWOOD - After Hops and later Houlihan's closed their doors at 14303 N. Dale Mabry Highway, managers at GrillSmith say they have the goods to be the location's best restaurant.

"It's been successful in the past," said GrillSmith manager Alfons Alizzi of the Grand Plaza setting. He noted Hops was there many years before being replaced by Houlihan's. "Finding a location in Carrollwood was difficult."

GrillSmith restaurants have been in Tampa Bay for nearly four years and opened in Carrollwood in August. Alizzi cited a simple business plan spawned from owners Bob and Mark Johnston, who also own The Melting Pot franchise, and business partner Todd Dziubek: good food and good service.

Though the Carrollwood location does not offer lunch and doesn't open until 4 p.m., cooks arrive at 8 a.m. every day to prepare food. GrillSmith touts its American cuisine, which restaurant spokeswoman Emily Harrison described as "something for everyone; familiarity with a twist."

"I actually grew up in Carrollwood," Harrison said. "That location has been a success, and we think we have the food residents have been waiting for."
Michele Gentile coordinates catering and trains servers for the restaurant. Gentile has worked 30 years in the restaurant industry and said "there's no comparison" when it comes to other eateries in the GrillSmith price range.

"We make everything fresh," Gentile said. "We cut all our own steaks, and we use high-quality produce. We make all our sauces to order. We spend a lot of time and a lot of money to perfect everything, and a lot of money on training."

Alizzi said the wait staff receives extensive training and needs to know "pretty much every ingredient" because customers frequently cite health issues with certain foods.

GrillSmith's menu items often run a few dollars over those at Chili's or Outback. Appetizers start at $7.50 for cheeseburger empanadas and $8.50 for Asian lettuce wraps. Alizzi added calamari, $9, to the menu after customer requests. He said the menu is frequently updated to meet the needs of customers.

The most popular entrees, Alizzi said, include oak barrel salmon, $17, and chimichurri steak, $18, which is basted with citrus parsley and cilantro garlic pesto.

Alizzi, a self-described "burger guy," said GrillSmith has the best burgers in town. Their burgers range from $8.50 for a classic cheeseburger to $10 for the Portobello caprino burger, featuring the mushroom, goat cheese, roasted red pepper aioli mixed field greens.

Alizzi said prices for wines such as Beringer are often less than at other prime steakhouse locations. House wine is $3 a glass during happy hour.

"From what the wine people have told me," Gentile said, "we're competitively less, 20 to 30 percent less, than every other restaurant in the area. Plus on Monday and Tuesday we offer an additional 20 percent off."

Assistant manager Jeremy Gomez said the Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired decor attracts hungry Carrollwood residents looking for a restaurant.

"On this strip of Dale Mabry we have a beautiful building, and at night you can't help but look at it when the lights are on," Gomez said.

Gomez said that on Fridays and Saturdays the wait list is often two or even three hours. Gomez said reservations are recommended, especially on weekends. The telephone number is (813) 269-1500.

The building seats 270 inside, with 70 more available on the patio. It is open until 10:30 p.m. on weekday nights, 11:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 10 p.m. Sunday.

"It's all about the food and service for us," Alizzi said. "We're getting judged hundreds of times a day on our performance, and we want to make this everyone's favorite restaurant."

GRILLSMITH

ADDRESS: 14303 N. Dale Mabry Hwy.

HOURS: 4 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 4 p.m. to 11:30 Friday and Saturday; 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Sunday

PRICES: appetizers start at $7.50, entrees start at $14, wine starts at $3 and desserts are $5.50 to $6.50

CONTACT: (813) 269-1500 or www.grillsmith.com

Reporter Harold Valentine can be reached at (813) 865-1526 or hvalentine@tampatrib.com.

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