There's more good news close by with a flurry of cafes, bistros and restaurants old and new raising the level mightily of food service in center city. Everything from an ultra-casual Spanky's "Dysfunctional Family Restaurant" (416 Beach Drive; 727/822-8888) to the seven eateries around the magnet of a 20-screen Muvico theater in the $40-million Bay Walk, which opened last November.
Here are my St. Pete favorites:
Perch
93 Central Ave. 727/551-0700
It took many months and big bucks before owners Robert and Liz Gordon, working with partner Richard Olson and chef Michael Donoho, previously at Tampa's highly regarded Le Bordeaux, were ready for their opening last February. But they quickly assembled a most pleasant professional staff and worked out a menu featuring a confit of duck and fried green tomato Napoleon, spiny lobster Caesar salad and a dramatically presented escargot of farm-raised Florida baby conch with roasted garlic pernod butter, followed by blue crab-stuffed spinach pasta crepes with lobster basil cream sauce, Cajunized jerk-spiced Atlantic salmon served with creole crayfish home fries and sauteed baby corn with fire-roasted red peppers, finished with huckleberry merlot beurre roux, and grilled Buffalo steak rubbed with rock salt and accented with buttered bourbon glaze, served with smoked garlic mash. Lunch and dinner, with entrees $15 to $40, served daily, and downstairs is the reborn Ten Beach Drive Piano Bar & Grill (727/551-0300), which the same team is hoping to bring back to its previous peak of popularity.
Chateau France
136 Fourth Ave. North 727/894-7163
A charming little house filled with the spirit and substance of France, with chef-owner Antoine Loura executing the Gallic classics with considerable panache, starting with "Canard Fume From the Foie Gras Ducks," frog legs provencal and filet mignon tartare prepared tableside by one of the caring, competent staff. The Dover sole is flown in from Holland, and the Gulf supplies the grouper, red snapper, sea bass and pompano, if you prefer seafood to such classics as tournedos, "Coq au Vin," duckling a l'orange or chateaubriand. Entrees range from $18 to $28 and are served nightly.
Black Opal
300 Second Ave. Northeast 727/894-4429
I like the Columbia and its offshoot Cha Cha Coconuts on the famous Pier, but this little year-old gem has its own kind of al fresco appeal, closer to the boats and Yacht Club marina, a perfect site for sitting and sipping while deciding whether to go the raw bar route or indulge in some superior lump crab corn chowder, a bit of pasta or go the whole way with fresh Florida snapper given the Oscar treatment, 12-ounce pork chop or New York strip steak. Open Mondays through Saturdays for lunch and dinner, with entrees $16 to $19, and Sunday brunch from $6 to &10.
Julian's at the Heritage
136 Fourth Ave. North 727/823-6382
The Heritage Inn has been modernized with Holiday Inn at the helm, but Julian's, which opened in February 1999, retains a touch of the old while keeping a good wine cellar and selecting quality seafood and prime meats. The bone-in prime rib is memorable, and the huge lobster tails unforgettable, but I never sell short the Sicilian veal chop, the far-better-than-average lobster bisque and gumbo. The side dishes are also worthy of serious attention. Dinner, with entrees $17.95 to $32.95, is served nightly.
#9 Bangkok Japanese Sushi & Oyster Bar
571 Central Ave. 727/894-5990
Simply put, this is the best sushi bar in town, and it's conveniently located close to the smashing new Arts Center, as modern and contemporary as the menu here with many familiar Thai treats but also expertly prepared Japanese temptations, with tempura, teriyaki and yakiniku in the titles. Owner Pitt Chaisurivirat does it all! Lunch and dinner, with entrees $5.95 to $19.95, are served daily. If you really want to celebrate, round up all your friends and order a "Combo C," for $52.95 -- 28 pieces plus California and Dragon rolls, properly concluded with ginger, green tea or red bean ice cream.
The Moon Under Water
332 Beach Drive 727/896-6160
English pub grub with many refinements, served in a Raffles of Singapore setting indoors and out, with lamb shank curry, chicken prepared Tandoori-style or splashed with Chablis, and a flavor-packed "burger" made with layers of cheese and portabello among the headliners, along with all the beers on tap. Lunch and dinner, with entrees $9.95 to $16.95, are served daily.
Dan Marino's Town Tavern
Bay Walk, 121 Second St. North 727/822-4413
A lively tribute to celebrateur Marino -- the former Miami Dolphins quarterback -- who has a second floor gold mine complete with lively entertainment. There's no dolphin per se on the menu, but they do have nut-crusted mahi with vanilla rum butter sauce, along with sushi-grade seared tuna on noodles with wasabi and ginger soy vinaigrette, chicken cordon bleu, oak-grilled prime sirloin and marinated pork chops with their own cran-raisin applesauce. Lunch and dinner, with entrees $9.95 to $23.95, are served daily.
Gratzzi
Bay Walk, 199 Second Ave. North 727/822-7769
The Main Man here is chef Alfie Crescentini, who learned to please local palates at the Hyatt Westshore and then The Grill at Feather Sound, perfecting such sensational pastabilities as the open ravioli with a generous supply of ultra-succulent lobster and julienne veggies in a white wine sauce and such starters as yellow corn-crusted calamari, sauteed mussels, proscuitto-wrapped prawns, blue crab and eggplant Napoleon, terrific preludes to the oak-fired swordfish, braised rabbit and polenta, rotisserie duckling with blackberry sauce and an apple-white raisin-walnut dressing, and the blackest double-cut pork chop I've ever eaten. Dinner entrees range from $12 to $23 and are served nightly.
Pacific Wave
211 Second St. South 727/822-5235
Chef partners Joe Chouinard and Peter Tanhnavong combine forces to create a bit of excitement in one-time staid St. Pete -- fusion fare with fantastic flair. From such Pan-Asian inspirations as sake-soaked swordfish, roast duck in a marvelous marinade mingling ginger and hoisin sauce, lemon grass and soy sauce. Where else can you find ostrich in town, especially one that didn't bury its head but was marinated in guava and Chinese mustard? Lunch and dinner, with entrees $15 to $25, are served Monday through Saturday.
Restaurants Around the State
SOUTHEAST - Boca Raton
Boulevard Grille
Royal Palm Plaza 561/391-7734
Contemporary American grill with serious steaks and prime rib and all the talents of top-flight chef Andrew Swersky, plus a most solicitous, knowledgeable staff in a bistro setting with patio seating in the right season. Lunch, $9 to $12, and dinner, $16 to $28.
SOUTHWEST/TAMPA BAY - Naples
Bistro 821
821 5th Ave. 941/261-5821
Owner Chip Shumway runs a class act with a young crew of enthusiastic chefs and servers who execute with precision and professionalism their mission of providing the locals with boredom-breaking food at all levels. Good wines. Early bird dinner from 5 to 6:30 p.m., $12 to $15, regular entrees, $16 to $24, and daily specials can run up to $36.
CENTRAL - Cocoa Beach
The Mango Tree
118 N. Atlantic Ave. 321/799-0513
One of the most lushly landscaped restaurant settings in the state, an enchanted garden with more magic coming from the kitchen, where the accent is on New World cuisine. Pasta is particularly easy to recommend, as are the desserts. Dinner, $13 to $39.
NORTHEAST - Jacksonville
Bistro Aix
1440 San Marco Blvd., San Marco 904/398-1949
Snack on one of chef Tom Gray's wood-fired designer pizzas or feast on a tangle of shrimp and tagliatelle or one of the fresh fish-of-the-day specials, given the "Aixoise" treatment over oak. Lunch, $9 to $12, and dinner, $8 to $25.
NORTHWEST - Tallahassee
Silver Slipper
531 Slipper Lane 850/386-9366
An old shoe beloved by legislators and lobbyists who like the private booths, the honest bar and old-timey super-friendly staff, the fillets of fresh fish from waters near and far and the solid steaks. Dinner, $11 to $25.