Meet the Owner: Tampa Fried Chicken Plus

Didn't that restaurant on Nebraska Avenue in Sulphur Springs used to be, until recently, a ... oh, it escapes us now. You know, that fried chicken chain with the name that makes you think of those places with steeples on them?

The new signage and colors outside seems awfully similar to the old signage and colors — we had to do a double-take to notice the difference. Once inside, it's quickly apparent that the delectables offered are pretty much in the same vein as the restaurant's former incarnation. And when the additional menu items are weighed in — the "Plus" if you will — what you're actually left with is a neighborhood soul food joint that hasn't shed its former corporate chicken chain look.

Tampa Fried Chicken Plus

8501 N Nebraska Ave.

813-932-5000

Opened: early December 2011.

Deep fried chicken parts, plus: Assistant manager J.R. Mercer stokes a metal offset smoker with oak wood out in the parking lot to produce his version of barbecued chicken. We asked how he makes his Georgia-style barbecue sauce, and like a good Q'er, he refused to tell us. The grill inside churns out Philly cheese steak sandwiches.  

Also from the fryers: fried chicken livers and gizzards, chicken tenders, onion rings, fried okra, jalapeno cheese bombers, fried shrimp, fried fish filets, and french fries.

Sides: baked beans, coleslaw, biscuits, potato salad.

Coming soon: Mercer said he plans to add turkey legs to the outdoor smoker.

Hours: 10 a.m. to midnight seven days a week.