Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Thai eatery becomes chain

By MICHAEL CANNING
Published May 5, 2006

Jasmine co-owner Chai Lertpanit said the new restaurant should open sometime in mid May. The decor will be "East meets West," a blend of traditional Thai and contemporary treatments, he said. The restaurant west of MacDill Avenue will seat about 100.

The menu will be what customers of the original Jasmine Thai have come to expect - authentic Thai favorites that shun Americanized trimmings.

Lertpanit said he's particularly eager to unleash his award-winning panang curry sauce on South Tampa foodies. Although he plans to serve lunch and dinner, he said he was warned the area might not support dinner hours.

Lertpanit has faith in the location. "I pray Buddha to make sure it's busy for dinner," he said.

Originally from Songka, Thailand, he runs Jasmine Thai with his sister Nanta Lertpanit. The Carrollwood location has been open for 26 years. The Lertpanits opened another Jasmine Thai on Lumsden Road in Brandon 2½ years ago.

SAY AAAH, LOOK AT SCREEN: In the time it takes to munch an M and M, the folks at Coast Dental Hyde Park can produce and display digitally enhanced pictures of your teeth on a chairside computer screen. They also can spot a cavity earlier than with the naked eye or X-ray.

It's called digital radiography, and it's the big selling point at Coast Dental's new office at 2605 W Swann Ave., Suite 200, which opened March 13.

Coast spokeswoman Chris Duffy-Waldman said the process of taking X-rays, then waiting five to seven minutes for developing while the dentist leaves to see another patient is a thing of the past. With digital radiography, it takes about five seconds for the images to appear on a computer screen next to the patient.

Unlike X-rays, the digital images can be blown up and manipulated for a variety of diagnostic steps. The technology also can be used to give those considering cosmetic procedures a preview of possible results.

Coast Dental also offers a full range of general, restorative, preventative and cosmetic dentistry. Based in Tampa, Coast has 107 locations in Florida, Georgia and Virginia.

The Swann office hours are Mondays through Thursdays 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. On Fridays, the office takes calls to schedule appointments from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call 871-6050.

EARL HOLDING COURT: If anybody can say what the greatest thing since sliced bread is, it's Lord John Montagu, the 11th Earl of Sandwich. His ancestor, John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich, is credited with inventing the sandwich in 1762.

It's taken a few years, but the idea to make a restaurant chain out the original sandwich has finally caught on. The modern day Montagu is scheduled to appear today at the grand opening of the Earl of Sandwich restaurant at International Plaza's Bay Street.

This is the second Earl of Sandwich location. The first opened in Orlando's Downtown Disney Marketplace in March 2004.

A third location in Houston is scheduled to open later this week, said Ian Schneider, Earl of Sandwich director of franchising. The development rights for 15 other bay area locations have been sold, he said.

Lord Montagu actually is part of the company's ownership, along with Orlando restaurateur Robert Earl, a co-founder of the Hard Rock Cafe and Planet Hollywood, among others. The menu features oversized sandwiches on fresh baked artisan bread.

Earl of Sandwich was scheduled to open at Bay Street in January, but Gianni's Fine Jewelry took longer than planned to vacate the space.

Do you know something that should be everybody's business? Call 226-3394, or e-mail mikecanning@hotmail.com.

[Last modified May 5, 2006, 08:58:18]