The Waterfront Restaurant - Anna Maria Island, FL

My son and I needed to go to Bradenton one day, and once we were done with what we had to do, we figured as long as we were already that far, we might as well head over to Anna Maria Island to visit an old favorite of ours. When we used to live in Bradenton, my family and I liked to head over to The Waterfront Restaurant quite a bit for Saturday lunches or Sunday brunches. Located on the north end of Anna Maria Island, one might miss it if they didn't know it was there because you do need to take a turn to find it. The restaurant was originally a 1922 cottage and one can appreciate the feel of that when you visit. There is a cozy fireplace inside for cold Florida evenings, but on the beautiful day that my son and I were there, we chose to dine out front on the porch. From the porch, we enjoyed a beautiful view of the gulf and you can almost pretend you are on vacation with the relaxing environment.

For lunch, my son enjoyed the mini beef hot dogs and fries from the children's menu. Usually one to order from the grown ups menu, he went back to the simple pleasures of an earlier, younger time, but he was a happy camper! For myself, I ordered the Fish tacos made with seasoned seared grouper and served with pico de gallo and red coleslaw on the side. The tortillas were grilled which was delicious and also meant that the tacos held up to the end. The fish was perfectly seasoned and with the addition of the pico de gallo, it was fantastic! It was hard to leave that wonderful view after finishing our meal, and I hope we have reason to venture over that far again, and soon.

The Waterfront Restaurant

111 South Bay Blvd

Anna Maria Island, FL 34216

941-778-1515

The Hangar Restaurant & Flight Lounge - Albert Whitted Airport @ St Petersburg, FL

Before it had even been open a week, my family and I headed over to The Hangar Restaurant & Flight Lounge out of sheer curiosity. The restaurant is the one and only restaurant located in the terminal at Albert Whitted Airport, and by the looks of it, it takes up most, if not all, of the second floor of the terminal. The restaurant itself has the feel of any typical airport restaurant, but with some history and memorabilia related to the Albert Whitted Airport. There are seats at the bar or tables inside, but the whole draw for my family and I was the outside seating overlooking the runway and the waterfront beyond. Diners seated on the outside patio can enjoy watching planes take off and it was great entertainment for the adults and few children that were seated around us. Just a note in advance, it can get loud while some of the small planes are waiting for takeoff, but it was still enjoyable for us.

For drinks, there is a full liquor bar available, and a wine and beer list. We ordered the Riesling, which was a nice complement to the Cheese Fondue that was served with granny smith apples and sourdough bread for dipping. The fondue was delicious, but not really a fondue in the traditional sense that you get a fondue pot, but lovely, nonetheless. Also, while waiting, they brought us toast points with a vegetarian bean dip that was quite tasty and garlicky. For dinner, we tried the Wild Mushroom Ravioli that is covered with a parmesan truffle cream sauce and served with grilled asparagus on top. Again, this was quite delicious and I was quite surprised because I was not sure what to expect from an airport restaurant.

The service there was good and I was pleased with our experience there. I read on the restaurant's website that they play live jazz on Thursday evenings, so I would probably enjoy stopping in for that sometime. Another good fact to know is that they serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner, which leaves one with a lot of options for stopping in and checking it out.

The Hangar Restaurant & Flight Lounge

540 1st Street SE

St Petersburg, FL 33701

727-823-7767

Cassis American Brasserie - St Petersburg, FL

Cassis is an excellent and welcome addition to the restaurant scene on Beach Drive in downtown St Pete. My family and I decided to try it for the first time during the lunch hour. Upon approaching Cassis our first impression is of the outdoor seating which is a beautiful spot to enjoy the nice weather that St Pete is enjoying right now. I especially enjoyed how the small tables next to the restaurant have their chairs facing out towards the sidewalk. When we have traveled to Europe, all the restaurants have their chairs facing this way, so that the diner can enjoy people watching and the scenery. However, as this was our first time there, we opted to dine indoors. Entering the restaurant, we enjoyed the light, bright view offered by the windows and the yellow walls further cheered the overall feel of the restaurant. An eye-catching spot is the bar with yellow back-lit mirrors. There are attractive leather backed booths to enjoy the dining experience.

Now for the dining experience. We were promptly seated at a table and our server took our drink order of 1664 Kronenbourg Pilsner. She also gave us the specials of the day which include the omelette of the day and the pasta of the day. We started with an order of onion rings which includes a garlic aioli dipping sauce. These were the best onion rings we have had in a long time. The onions were fully cooked inside so that when one bit into it it broke off without having the whole onion come with it and the garlic aioli was a perfect complement to the onion rings. For our entrees we went with the basics. My husband ordered the omelette - minus the meat, which includes a salad on the side. This was a plain tomato and onion omelette and was delicious and it was nice to have the mixed baby greens on the side. My son and I both ordered the Cassis burger, which comes with caramelized onions and swiss cheese on top. However, my son opted to order his without the caramelized onions. For our sides, we ordered the french fries which are cut like real fries with bits of the potato peel and everything and were majorly delicious. One thing I need to mention that we loved was that the french fries and onion rings came in small paper brown bags to soak up the oil and we felt that was a nice touch.

Overall, we loved Cassis and can't wait to go back. Next time, we will go and try the outdoor dining and perhaps we will try some of the entrees from the dinner menu. The service was excellent here and combined with the beautiful dining setting it made for a nice experience.

Cassis American Brasserie
170 Beach Drive Northeast
St Petersburg, FL 33701
727-827-2927

Fortunato's Italian Market - St Petersburg, FL

Located on Central Avenue in St Pete, Fortunato's does brisk business. I expect one of the reasons for that is because they offer pizza by the slice. Just stop in and look in the case and pick the slice of you choice, grab a drink, and you can be on your way again. Delicious and convenient. You can also order a whole pizza, hot and cold subs, pasta, soup, etc. This place has a regular spot on my rotation and I am glad they are in downtown St Petersburg.

Fortunato's Italian Market

259 Central Avenue

St Petersburg, FL 33701

727-898-4888

Kahwa Cafe - downtown St Petersburg, FL

I am absolutely in love with Kahwa Coffee's 2nd location that opened up in St Pete. I enjoyed going to their other location, but the second store has some added extras. First, Kahwa Cafe is a nice, bright space with huge windows overlooking the street. There is more room at the cafe, which means more tables. Also, don't forget to check out the cool art on the wall. Since Kahwa has opened, I have attended two art openings there and can't wait to see what future artists will be showcased there. I was happy to see the addition of a small lunch menu. You can order a soup, salad, or a sandwich. So far, I have tried the Grilled Chicken with Brie, arugula, and lindonberry jam. Also, the mozarella with tomatoes, basil, and a basalmic vinagarette. Both sandwiches were made on baguettes and I loved both of them, but particularly enjoyed the Grilled chicken sandwich. I think it was the lindonberry jam on the grilled chicken sandwich that really made the sandwich.

For those of you who have enjoyed the croissants at Kahwa's other location, you can still enjoy those at the cafe along with a few extra options to fulfill your sweet tooth. I have tried the brownies, which are delicious. Another bakery item that I spot in the case from time to time is the berry and lemon bar. When it is there, I always get it because that is my favorite. And I love the service there and how they remember what you drink when you walk in the door. Best coffee in town!

Kahwa Cafe

204 2nd Ave South

St Petersburg, FL 33701

727-821-1942

Bernini of Ybor - Ybor, FL

After a lovely evening stroll in Ybor, with thoughts of Italian food in our head, we decided to stop in and try Bernini's. Bernini's is elegant, without going overboard. The art on the walls features pictures of Italian sculpture and the decor in general is supposed to remind you of Italy. A lovely staircase leads upstairs where there are more tables overlooking the main dining area, but we dined downstairs on the evening we were there. Our first order of business was to order a couple glasses of chianti and that taken care of, we looked over the menu. While we were waiting for our meal we enjoyed some hot bread with basil and olive oil dipping sauce.

For myself, I ordered the chicken madeira, which was excellent. The chicken was grilled and covered in a rich madeira wine sauce and grilled portabello mushrooms and on the top of that was goat cheese, which really completed the flavors in the dish. All this was served on top of garlic mashed potatoes. Again, this dish was totally yummy. My husband and son decided to go for the wood fired pizza and chose the pizza margherita and the pizza florentine. The pizza at Bernini's is really wonderful. Besides the delicious toppings, what really made the pizza was its delicious crust. The crust was crispy and it stayed that way to the end of the meal. I had planned to try the dessert menu, but we were all so full after eating that delicious meal that we couldn't even think about dessert. Definitely dessert next time. As for the service, it was very attentive and our server made sure our glasses were full and he checked back in general. We will be happy to dine there again.

Bernini of Ybor

1702 East 7th Avenue

Ybor, FL 33605

813-248-0099

Bella's Italian Cafe - Tampa, FL

One evening my family and I had plenty of time on our hands, so we decided to go for a drive over to Tampa's Soho District and try out Bella's Italian Cafe on Howard Street. Bella's is located in a newer style strip mall, with a parking lot out back that was a tad bit small because we weren't sure if we were going to find a parking spot, but luck prevailed. Soon we were inside and at a table near the open kitchen where we could catch some of the action going on there. Overall, the decor of the place reminded me of a typical Italian chain restaurant, except that it isn't a chain.

After ordering a glass of Chianti and some sodas we took our time looking over the menu, which was quite large. I started off with the asparagus soup which was made with chicken stock and described as being creamy without the cream, and it was topped with mascarpone cheese. The soup was my only disappointment of the evening and this is a case where some cream was needed to give it some taste or richness. After the soup, everything went very well. My son chose the lasagna napoletana made with bolognese sauce, which was my favorite out of the three dishes we tried. My husband ordered the pesto pasta, which is always a favorite of his and it was quite good. Now, for myself, I had wanted to order something else, but no one else ordered pizza and I found it impossible to go to an Italian restaurant without trying their pizza; just a thing I have. I liked the pizza, but the sauce was a little spicier than I normally enjoy because I typically like my pizza sauce to be a plain tomato base. This is a matter of personal preference because my husband and son liked the pizza sauce. Finally, we ordered the Vesuvio for dessert. This was a basic chocolate lava cake with vanilla ice cream on the side. What a delicious and decadent way to end the meal. Overall, I enjoyed Bella's and I will go back again if I find myself on that side of the town and I thought the service there was excellent.

Bella's Italian Cafe
1413 South Howard Street
Tampa, FL 33606
813-254-3355