Think small-town Florida doesn't exist in the sprawl of the Bay area? Just visit Dunedin.
On a short stretch of Main Street (yep, it's even called Main Street) from the Mease Dunedin Hospital to the Gulf, you'll find a tightly packed few blocks of casual but profoundly satisfying dining. Downtown Dunedin is just steps away from crashing waves, sandy beaches and the Pinellas Trail, and just far enough from Tampa and St. Pete to qualify as a getaway for city-dwellers.
And while other areas have a clientele that often fits a mold, Dunedin is oddly diverse. Vacationers are plentiful, even this time of year, but you'll also find wealthy aging hippies, yuppie couples, young singles and middle-class beach bums. It's a cornucopia of Florida's coastal wild life, with restaurants to match.
If seaside seafood is your desire, you'll find it at almost every restaurant on this strip, but Sea Sea Riders is the obvious spot to stop. The restaurant churns out incredibly tender grouper cheeks in a variety of ways — from paella to pasta — along with a classic surf-and-turf Florida menu.
A block away, in storefronts hugging the commercial district of Main Street, are a few places that aspire to fancier fare. Award-winning Black Pearl has long been a destination spot for Dunedin, and their cozy dining room is often lumped into "Most Romantic" lists. The food isn't surprising, but there is the occasional flash of eclectic imagination.
There's an odd but tasty mishmash of New Orleans, Florida, Italy and Greek at Café Alfresco, but traditionalists can stick with the stuffy but familiar classic Italian fare at Bellini's, complete with faux plaster on the walls, murals and a gorgeously lit patio area. Mexico is represented by the spicy and lively food of Casa Tina, where the aging hippies congregate and vegetarians are catered to.
Then there's Kelly's. What can I say about this sprawling mess of a place that manages to serve tasty food from sun-up past sundown? At any time of day you'll likely find representatives from all of Dunedin's social groups noshing in the hipster décor of Kelly's, lounging in the giant backyard patio or sucking down mojitos and martinis from the Chica-Boom-Room. It's a crazy place that manages to be the unexpected heart and soul of Downtown Dunedin.
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This article appears in Jun 13-19, 2007.