At the other end of the scale are the ambitious arrays of themed merchandise available in Planet Hollywoods and jungle-inspired Rainforest Cafes, the bounty of buyables in local Cracker Barrel links, the many bookstores with on-site cafes and snackeries, and of course Disney, which is one big shop. But smaller independents are hanging in there and among them are these favorites:
Alley Cat Cafe
1558 Fourth St. 941/954-1228
Sarasota
Englishman Steven Acker and his wife Meredith took over this off-the-beaten-eatin' path last September, and they were smart enough to add background music and hire chefs Laurent Moussa and Willie Tia, who promptly installed a heart-smart menu featuring freshness and finesse. While you're sipping one of the superior soups or digging into a vegetarian delight, you can be considering the purchase of one of the vintage bird cages or some wearable art made out of natural fiber, maybe hemp. Lunch, Monday through Saturday; dinner, entrees $15 to $22, Tuesday through Saturday.
Bizaare Ave. Cafe
921 Lake Ave. 561/588-4488
Lake Worth
The spelling of this restaurant's name gets as much attention as the red claw-footed tub dominating the wine bar, the display kitchen in the back dining room, and the antiques everywhere, which are for sale and for use as cozy seating while working through a splendid menu with such imaginative soups as pumpkin pear and curried corn chowder, wraps and rollups loaded with cajun chicken, tuna, fresh veggies, individual designer pizzas -- barbecue smoked chicken is my favorite -- salads, cr?pes, pasta and terrific tapas to accompany wine-tastings. Owners Howard and Liz Griffith and Al and Keely Salopek, who opened here in February 1997, have such a winner they cloned another, Too Bizaare (see below), in Jupiter. Lunch and dinner, entrees $7 to $15, served Monday through Saturday.
Daniel's
3045 N. Federal Hwy. 954/630-0310
Fort Lauderdale
Daniel La Branche's spring bright gift shop with florist shop attached provides a tranquil tea room setting for afternoon indulgence in finger sandwiches, miniature pastries and scones flattered with Devonshire cream, fast-breaking morning coffee and croissants, solid luncheon salads, bistro dinner entrees and $8.95 weekend brunches featuring French toast, eggs Benedict and Florentine, and cheese blintzes, saluted with complimentary mimosas. Breakfast, lunch and dinner, entrees $8 to $15, served Tuesday through Sunday.
Great Outdoors Trading Co. & Cafe
65 N. Main St. 352/454-2900
High Springs
Sumptuous super-stacked sandwiches, soups of the moment, Everglades French toast, panhandled eggs, no-fat muffins and salad dressings, and such specialties as Ichetucknee Splash, Canoer's Combo, River Runner's Reuben and Diver's Delight, all served in a happy little space a few feet from the camping gear and other essentials for outdoor adventures, including how and where-to guides and trail food. Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily, with entrees $7 to $14.
Lunch on Limoges
14139 Seventh St. 352/567-5685
Dade City
For 19 years Phil Williams and Skip Mize have been pleasing patrons near and far who find refreshment in an elegant corner of an updated general store that's been in Phil's family since 1908, in the heart of the lovingly preserved and thoughtfully restored Pasco county seat. The muffins are marvelous and so too are the freshly assembled salads, the tarragon-spiked chicken and pecan-coated grouper. For finishers there are lovely blobs of floating islands or yellow fairy cake, a variation of English trifle with a fine custard sauce. Lunch, entrees $9 to $11, June to October, served Tuesday through Saturday; November to May, served Monday through Saturday.
Tea at Lily's
3020 N. Federal Hwy. 954/565-1144
Fort Lauderdale Plaza 3000
Ten years ago sisters-in-law Maureen and Dolly Van Hengel opened their ground floor Lilywhites Antiques. Five years ago they moved some of the collectibles upstairs and opened this Laura Ashley-like luncheon tea room with light classical music playing softly while the back room makes the freshest of salads, featuring tuna and roasted almonds, strawberry and curried chicken, tortelline with basil or sundried tomato pesto. There are also French bread sandwiches layered with excellent English Cheddar (in honor of Maureen's origins) and Black Forest ham, smoked salmon with cucumber, brie with salami and of course Dutch gouda in honor of Dolly's origins, as well as a hot or cold soup of the day along with some kind of quiche and such impossible-to-resist sweeties as apricot tart, turtle and cappuccino moussecake and scones with Devonshire cream. Lunch, entrees $6 to $9, and High Tea for $13.95 -- $32.50 to $37.50 in season with live chamber music -- Monday through Saturday. Reservations recommended for the High Teas.
Too Bizaare
287 E. Indiantown Road 561/745-6262
Jupiter
One good misspelling deserved another, and the team behind Lake Worth's Bizaare Ave. Cafe opened this spinoff five months ago with resident partners Ginger and Dean O'Neill, who used chef Billy Hartig from the parent to instruct their new hires in the intricacies of the progenitor's menu, with the same emphasis on designer pizzas, tapas, cr?pes, wraps, super salads and soups, and wine-tastings in a high-ceiling setting with artfully arrayed antiques and collectibles and an upside down men's room that's the talk of the town. Lunch and dinner, entrees $7 to $15, served Monday through Saturday.
Toujours Provence
85 S.E. Sixth Ave. 561/330-0561
Delray Beach
Stefani and Serge de Laville, the French couple running this surprise of a beautifully restored, bright little yellow 1906 country cottage, are right out of central casting as they charm their way through Provencal furnishings and home accessories by Souleiado, Manuel Canovas and Pierre Frey. Ponder your purchase as you lunch on salmon or steak tartare, croque monsieur or lemon pepper-seasoned tuna with mesclun greens. Return for dinner and additional discussions with the well-informed owners while you dine on perfectly prepared Duck Magret, sirloin steak with port wine sauce presented on a bed of straw mushrooms and new potatoes. Then toast your new purchase with a suitable French wine and finish the indulgent celebration with some creme brulee. Lunch, served Monday through Saturday; dinner, entrees $17 to $23, are served Wednesday through Saturday.