Boizao Steakhouse

Editor's pick

International Plaza District : 4606 W Boy Scout Boulevard, Tampa, 33607

Boizao (pronounced "boy-zoun") opened a couple years ago along Boy Scout Boulevard to capture some of the Tampa International Airport/Westshore business crowd. It's a vast, slick space (they may serve 1,000 diners a day) with a festive, all-you-can-eat party vibe. The waft of rotisseri …

Byblos Cafe

Editor's pick

South Tampa : 2832 S MacDill Ave., Tampa, 33629

The local rebirth of Middle Eastern cuisine gets its most stylish display thanks to smart Lebanese entrepreneurs. Yogurt, grape leaves and kibbe are deliciously fresh. Stay late and finish with intoxicating bellydancing or a dreamy draw on the water pipe (hookah).

Currents at Hyatt Regency Sarasota

Sarasota : 1000 Boulevard of the Arts, Sarasota, 34236

Gulf Bistro

North Pinellas beaches : 15225 Gulf Blvd., Madeira Beach, 33708

For years this cozy refuge was called Cafe de France. It was a reliable outpost of superb yet simple French fare. It served classic French fare (coq au vin, duck confit, lobster bisque, escargot)at a steady but unhurried pace. Don't worry: it has a new name but not much has changed. This cafe tu …

Harry's Continental Kitchen

Manatee beaches : 525 Saint Judes Drive, Longboat Key, 34228

Includes Harry's Corner Store with produce, hot lunches, pastries, bread, groceries, beer and wine, newspapers.

Maison Blanche

Editor's pick

Sarasota beaches : 2605 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Longboat Key, 34228

Jose Martinez's seven-year-old Longboat Key special-occasion restaurant serves uncompromisingly haute French cuisine in a glamorous, white-curtained dining room designed by architect Franck Hammoutene. It's an evening's theater, a reason to dress up and order a bottle of something nice (300 labe …

Mystic Fish Seafood Grill

Editor's pick

Palm Harbor : 3253 Tampa Road, Palm Harbor, 34684

Veteran chefs added this flash to old North Pinellas several years ago, and it hasn't dimmed. Familiar Bermuda fish chowder and lobster bisque remain, yet there's always something extra: Asian BBQ short ribs, togorashi seared ahi tuna, maple leaf duck breast. Wine list is smartly selected and pr …

Roy's

Editor's pick

International Plaza District : 4342 W Boy Scout Blvd., Tampa, 33607

It's hard to resent chain restaurants when Outback can bring a chef like Roy Yamaguchi and his jeweled fusion of French polish and Asian flavors to our table. Love rack of lamb or Hawaiian fish? Roy's local partners do them up teak-brown, with orchids, breezy guitars and a happy crowd of casual  …

Vernona

Editor's pick

Sarasota : 1111 Ritz-Carlton Drive, Sarasota, 34236

In the Ritz-Carlton. Put on the down-home Ritz in Sarasota and you'll taste local flavor as well as the chain's culinary fame. Almost everything but the salmon has Florida roots, from heirloom melons and tomatoes to Everglades bass and orange-braised veal shanks as the restaurant features locall …

Victoria & Albert's at Disney's Grand Floridan Resort & Spa

Lake Buena Vista : 4401 Floridian Way, Lake Buena Vista, 32830

Dinner jackets required for men. Also: (407) 939-3463.