Joe Bardi
Perfect if:
• You've heard The Burg's gotten boffo, but you've never made it across the bridge.
• You love Beach Drive, but you're allergic to snowbirds.
• You love art, and you love eating.
Itinerary: EAT, ART, EAT, ART
Suit up in your favorite pants with an elastic waistband and set off on an excellent culinary and artistic (culinartsy?) adventure along Beach Drive's ever-growing museum and restaurant row.
Start off on Friday afternoon by getting glassy-eyed at the new Chihuly Collection (400 Beach Drive NE, www.chihulycollectionstpete.com), which features a 10,000-square-foot gallery run by the Morean Arts Center that houses an impressive selection of artist Dale Chihuly's trippy glass sculptures. Then, when the cocktail hour approaches, grab one of Dottie's delicious martinis and a bowl of mussels or calimari at 400 Beach Seafood & Tap House (400 Beach Drive NE, 400beachseafood.com), the affordable, tasty eatery that shares a building with the Chihuly exhibit. Spend the rest of your evening cruising down Beach Drive and scoping out the menus for future reference. For a classic wedge salad and Niman Ranch sirloin, it's Parkshore Grill, a solid take on the big-city steakhouse (300 Beach Drive NE, parkshoregrill.com). Duck confit and French onion soup more your speed? Then succumb to the Franco-American charms of Cassis American Brasserie (170 Beach Drive NE, cassisab.com). Or, for fettucini Bolognese or scallops with pancetta brittle, brave the crush of friendly barflies for a delicious contemporary take on Italian at Bella Brava (204 Beach Drive NE, bellabrava.com). And for Indian curries in a convivial British pub atmosphere, try Moon Under Water (332 Beach Drive, themoonunderwater.com). You've got the whole weekend — try 'em all!
Assuming you've had more than one martini the night before, why not make it a surreal Saturday? Upend convention by beginning and ending the day with breakfast. In the morning, tea and coffee drinkers can choose between two neighboring Beach Drive spots, Hooker Tea Company (300 Beach Drive, hookertea.com), offering over 100 varieties of loose tea, and Nola Café (300 Beach Drive, nolacafe.com), where chicory coffee and beignets will remind you why the world loves N'awlins. Then it'll be time to dive deep into the surreal at the new Dalí Museum (One Dali Blvd., thedali.org), already famous for its bulbous glass facade, and home to the largest collection of work by Salvador Dalí outside Europe. With your brain adequately twisted, head across the street to Albert Whitted Airport's The Hangar Restaurant (540 First Street SE, St. Petersburg, 727-823-7767, www.thehangarstpete.com) and gorge on their excellent chicken and waffles. Breakfast and dinner at the same time — what could be more surreal than that? Plus, on Saturday nights, you can groove to the Buster Cooper Trio, fronted by the much-acclaimed local jazz trombonist.
On Sunday, after a few days of tripping out, you may want to cleanse your palate of the edgy with a stop at the classy and classic Museum of Fine Art (255 Beach Dr. N.E., www.fine-arts.org). Begin with an excellent brunch in the museum's MFA Café, whose terrace has a lovely view of St. Pete's serene waterfront parks, then explore the permanent collection of European and American art. But don't expect staid. The Human Touch: Contemporary Art from the RBC Wealth Management Collection opens May 14; highlighting depictions of the human form, it includes such well-known envelope-pushers as Vic Muniz, Nan Goldin and Carrie Mae Weems.
Finally, no self-respecting visitor to the St. Pete Bayfront will be complete without a trip to Paciugo (300 Beach Drive NE). Their incredible sorbets and gelatos will have you swearing off simple ice cream forever. But beware: the line is often out the door — and for a very good reason.
LODGING
The Old Northeast neighborhood of St. Pete sits just north of downtown and is dotted with several delightful bed and breakfasts that are only a few minutes' walk from all that the city has to offer. Though there are several good picks, only Dickens House Bed and Breakfast (335 Eighth Ave. NE, www.dickenshouse.com) received a perfect score from Frommers (who called it "exceptional") and was recommended by the New York Times as the best place to stay in The Burg.
B&B not your thing? Sandwiched between a smorgasbord of restaurants, The Grayl's Hotel (340 Beach Drive NE, St. Petersburg, graylshotel.com) will make a perfect home base for your arts-and-eats excursions along the waterfront.
OFF THE WATERFRONT
There's much more to St. Pete's dining and arts scene than just Beach Drive. Another dining option that's just a short walk from the waterfront is Chateau France (136 Fourth Ave. NE), which offers a classic take on French cooking that CL Food Critic Brian Ries has showered with praise and awards, even calling his meal there "one of the best dining experiences I've had on the Gulf Coast." And don't forget about the Morean Arts Center (719 Central Ave., moreanartscenter.org), The Florida Holocaust Museum (55 Fifth St. S, flholocaustmuseum.org) and Great Explorations Children's Museum (1925 Fourth St. N, greatexplorations.com) to name just three great museums (surrounded by restaurants) in the heart of downtown St. Petersburg. For a full list of museums and art galleries in Downtown St. Petersburg, check out cltampa.com/arts.
OR…
If all this high art and fine dining makes you long for Tacky Olde Florida, then you need a… FAKEcation
This article appears in May 12-18, 2011.