BOCA GRANDE – The cheat sheet list Boca Grande restaurants.
The Pink Elephant: Great lunch and bar spot on the back side of the island on the bayou. Over 60 years old, and lunch and dinner hours. A dock too, 5 Bayou Avenue. (941) 964-0100
Pink Pony: An ice cream shop on the main drag where you can get sandwiches.
Gasparilla Inn: Of course, you can eat at the dining room at The Gasparilla Inn, and if you are staying there, the Beach Club has vastly improved weekend buffets. The Inn’s main dining room serves breakfast and dinner. Because this is a brief roundup, we won’t go into detail about the full Gasparilla meal experience; needless to say it is an American classic.
Loose Caboose: Right in town at the old train station, ice cream, lunch and dinner. www.loosecaboose.biz, (941) 964-0440
South Beach: The perfect beach spot and bar; the kids can play in the sand outside while you wait for dinner. Music at night. The restaurant is isolated and near the quiet South end of the island (not that the island is noisy, but the south end is EVEN quieter. Big inside area. (941) 964-0765
Temptation: What’s not to like. Cinder block front looks like the classic old Florida seafood restaurant, but the food is tons more sophisticated. The TemptingBlog posts their regular dinner menu. At last look it was rack of veal, oysters Rockefeller and stone crab. Follow their twitter feed for menu items and ideas. Reservations (941) 964-2610; package store and bar (941) 964-2327
The Outlet: A breakfast and lunch spot at The Innlet, which is a nifty little motel on the bayou overlooking the a small marina. Run by the Gasparilla, it’s casual, unpretentious and reasonably priced. Real locals, but everyone else shows up too. www.theinnlet.com
Club Dining:
Boca Bay, the private development, has an excellent club dining room that is available to some visitors to the place. It was developed by CSX, the railroad company that developed Boca Bay and managed by the Greenbrier staff.
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