Anna Maria Island, Florida

So, we're going to take a quick break from the kitchen adventures and instead have a restaurant adventure this post.  A few weeks ago I went on vacation to Anna Maria Island in Florida.  Breakfast and lunch were had at the motel, but the dinners were all at the local restaurants.

The first stop on our food tour is City Pier Restaurant at (surprise, surprise) the Anna Maria City Pier.

I ordered the Fish and Chips and they turned to be pretty average.  In general, Fish and Chips don't exactly get my "food loins" pumping but, I bring up this meal because the coleslaw was an absolute standout.  They added MANGO!!  The coleslaw was amazing, I will go back there just for the coleslaw.

Our next stop brings us to the Sandbar.  The restaurant was located right on the beach.

This time I ordered the Grouper Tacos or, as I would like it to now be called, Heaven in a Tortilla.  The tortillas were hand made and the fish was fresh.  The side was Sandbar Rice, their take on Spanish rice.  The tacos fell apart in my hands and the rice had the perfect amount of heat.  The flavor of the tacos was a sweet citrus. Add in a pitcher of margaritas and the whole meal was just perfect.

Next, we head over to Rod and Reel...

...where I dined on a Mahi sandwich.  I went with blackened mahi and it had (in my opinion) the perfect amount of heat.  Their coleslaw had pineapple.  I'm not sure if I prefer pineapple or mango, I do know that from now on all my coleslaw will include exotic fruit.

Now, let's take a walk over to Cortez...

...for Florida Pompano at Star Fish Company.  OH MY WORD, hands down the best meal of the vacation.  Star Fish Company is both a seafood market and a restaurant.  Much of what they serve is caught and prepped that day.  Something you can easily tell by the quality of your meal.  If you are ever near Cortex or simply in the vicinity of Florida, GO.  RUN don't walk.  It'll be worth it.

Other restaurants that I ate at include Hurricane Hanks, Duffy's, and Lobstahs.  Hurricane Hanks is simply a good place for pub fare.  It's also one of the few places that stay open late.  The island pretty much shuts down by 11:00pm.  Duffy's is nothing but burgers, and they are good burgers.  Make sure you made a stop at the ATM first though, cash only!  Lobstahs, ignoring the fact that the name irks me to no end, had decent food and really cool art on the wall.

Anne Maria, overall, was a great vacation, I'd go back just for the food!