One thing Tallahassee has no shortage of? New restaurants and lots of them.
The uptick continues with a host of new offerings in the works or slated to open soon.
One of the most anticipated: The reopening of Osaka Japanese Steak House in its new swanky location. In November, the restaurant relocated from itsformer Raymond Diehl Road sitetoMaclay Commerce Drive, about a half mile away.
To celebrate, Osaka is planning an official grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony in mid-April.
From Greek Mediterranean tobarbecue, each new place hits a different culinary craving scattered throughout the city.
A snapshot of what's coming and what's recently opened:
Osaka Japanese Hibachi Steakhouse
Location:1489 Maclay Commerce Drive
More on the restaurant: A favorite among locals who hunger for tasty sushi like the Ninja Roll, filled with shrimp tempura, spicy mayo, avocado, tamago, cream cheese and masago and topped with fresh salmon. The Tallahassee location is the original and has been around for more than 20 years. There's also a Osaka site in Destin.
Check out the menu athttp://www.theosakasteakhouse.com/.
Rankin (Crunchy & Confused) Tacos
Location: 2386 Allen Road, across from Ross at the Centre of Tallahassee mall.
More on the restaurant:The locally owned food truck moved into brick-and-mortar digs. The menu is rooted in family recipes created by the owner'sgrandmother, Willie Grace Rankin, who's credited formaking this style of tacos.
The website said: "This taco is very different from a traditional taco which involves a crunchy tortilla shell used to cradle meat that is prepared separately. With this taco the meat and shell are prepared together to make what we like to call an 'American Style Taco'or a 'Rankin Taco.' ”
Florida Juice Bar
Location:633 W. Tennessee St.
More on the restaurant:You've seen beer on tap, right?This novelty beverage franchise brings the same concept to juicing.
The Florida Juice Company is a mobilejuice bar/food truck that recently openedits first brick-and-mortar location in Tallahassee (at the former Mr. Cool).
According to the company, it sells Florida grown-and-produced juices through a wall of taps, along withacai and yogurt bowls, paninis, croissantsand salads. The most popular flavors include the Mind Cooler, a strawberry lemonade and the PinPin, made with orange, pineapple, strawberries and lemonade.
For more details, go tohttps://www.floridajuicecompany.com/.
C&C Barbeque
Location: 831 Old Bainbridge Road
More on the restaurant:Not much is known about this new barbecue spot, other than it's a project through Florida Developers Inc., a Tallahassee-based company.
Parks Twisted Pizzeria & Grill
Location: 2819 Mahan Drive (in thestrip mall near Zaxby's and Walgreens by Capital Circle Northeast).
More on the restaurant: A steampunk-inspired eatery that's slated to open in early April. Considering the giant image of a cracked metal grey skull with pizza slices for a mohawk on its sign, it's sure to stand out.
According to Tallahassee Table,a local food blog whose work appears in the Tallahassee Democrat,the new restaurant is born after the closure of Park's Pizza Kitchen on Monroe Street in Midtown. Owner Joshua Parks told Tallahassee Table the new restaurant "will expand on Park’s current menu of pizza, salad and calzones by adding steaks, wings, more appetizers and deep-dish pizza as well as the New York-style pies Josh currently serves."
Check out their Facebook page athttps://www.facebook.com/pg/parkstwistedpizza/.
Chuck’s Fish
Location: 224 E. College Ave.
More on the restaurant:This location has had many food lives: The Deck Pizza Pub,Southern Public House, Tucker Duke's and Po Boy's Creole Cafe for nearly 20 years before it closed. Chuck's is a chain restaurant with locations in Birmingham, Mobile and Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and Athens, Georgia.
By the looks of the menu in other cities, it serves seafood gumbo, szechuan calamari, Gulf fish piccata and seafood paella.
It'sslated to open in early April. Check out the menu athttps://www.chucksfish.com/.
Kairos Greek Kitchen
Location: 1415-102 Timberlane Road
More on the restaurant: This new restaurant is slated for the Market Square shopping center, which is undergoing a top-down redevelopment. The menu includes "craveable faves" like the love triangle pita and Moroccan bowl, 17-step falafel and spicyharissa chicken. Check out the menu and more athttps://www.eatkairos.com/.
Flour Blossom Bakery
Location:1210 Capital Circle Southeast
More on the restaurant: This modest family-owned bakery opened in February in Cross Creek Square, the same shopping center at Beef O'Brady's. The shop sells cupcakes, muffins, scones and cookies. The loaves sound particularly hard to resist: Lemon berry, PB Explosion, ham and olive and ham, feta and spinach.
It offers specials and gluten free options, such as creamsicle and funfetticupcakes and blueberry scones. See for yourself athttps://www.facebook.com/flourblossombakerytally
Volcano Hot Pot
Location:1872 Thomasville Road(Capital Plaza, anchored by Joann Fabrics)
More on the restaurant:This is the location of the former Red Elephant Pizza & Grill. According to Tallahassee Table,it's a branch of a Kissimmee restaurant and plans to open sometime this month.
"If you’re eager to find out more about hot pots, pictures posted on the window of the restaurant show the steps in making your meal at the dining table," Rochelle Koff of Tallahassee Table writes."Basically you pick your broth, add the protein of your choice from a buffet and pick vegetables from a conveyor belt. The one caveat. It’s easy to overeat and waste food at a buffet, but Hot Pot charges $9.99 a pound for a pile of leftovers. This is bound to rankle some customers at first. Still, hot pots can be a really fun dining experience so I’m looking forward to this."
Find them on Facebook athttps://www.facebook.com/Volcano-Hot-Pot-BBQ-100783794699101/
Kami Poke Korean Kitchen
Location: Blair Stone Road andApalacheeParkway, nextto Canopy Roads Cafe and in the same shopping center as Party City and Dick's Sporting Goods.
More on the restaurant:Not much is knownabout this one, but there's a "coming soon" sign out on the window.
Contact TaMaryn Waters at tlwaters@tallahassee.com or follow @TaMarynWaters on Twitter.
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