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Gulf Coast, Florida

Dave Graham
11/ 8/2008

GLORIOUS evening weather, a prime seat outside one of the best restaurants in town and time to watch the wealthy world go by as the huge orange sun dipped low, playing a game of count the Bentley convertibles as a change from the 10-a-penny Mercs.

An aperitif, maybe, then top-class, artfully-presented starters - a spicy, refreshing gazpacho and a perfectly-timed baked brie - followed by glass platters holding ½lb each of fresh crab claws caught just up the coast that day, washed down with an excellent, domestic pinot grigio and followed by featherlight desserts and excellent coffee.

Exemplary service always helps, too, but then came a rewarding feature of the menu you couldn't really expect after splashing out in style at the Crab And Fin, with the exclusive address of St Armands Circle . . . a bill, for two, including a generous tip, for less than £70.

Where's the place to be, then? Well, get the flight socks ready, 'cos it's a fair old way, but it needn't cost more than many fares in Europe to get to the glorious Gulf Coast of Florida.

High-class act

Our choice of base was perhaps the choicest place of all in an area full of quality and variety, with Sarasota a high-class act by any standards, in a market where it really matters to be top - and to stay there.

The trip started at Manchester Airport, sadly with a bit of a delay on our US Airways flight to Philadelphia, but Philly airport was a fine place to wander around and get excellent food and drink while waiting for a connecting service to Tampa.

Our luggage had gone on ahead, so it wasn't too surprising to find that one unaccompanied suitcase had been forced open, then shrink-wrapped tightly closed (!) with an apology by the Transportation Security Administration.

Not too much damage, but then it's something of a consolation to be better safe than sorry.

From Tampa airport, it was a short shuttle-bus ride to the pre-booked Alamo car hire HQ where, after declining an upgrade to a `real' car, the instruction was simply: "Here's the key, sir, just pick which car you want."

Ten minutes later, it was time to roar off to an overnight stay in the nearby Comfort Inn, behind the wheel of a `compact' 2.4 litre Chevrolet Cobalt Sport, with air-con, sunroof, polished alloys, XM46 radio station playing classic rock and that all-important rear spoiler to cope with the heady 40-45mph speed limit on most town roads.

Half price

I never did find out (or even bother) what the fuel consumption was as I toured round the Keys and had the occasional blast after driving down to Sarasota - where we again used a Comfort Inn as base camp - but with petrol costing the equivalent of 30-odd pence a gallon and the locals screaming about how expensive it was, it was never going to make me lose any sleep.

The first time I filled the tank, it cost me about $30 and, as a rough rule of thumb, everything else on offer cost the same in dollars as it would in pounds back here . . . so with the great exchange rate, it was basically half the price!

And when it came to food, it was half the price and double the helpings, with the sheer quantity on offer quite astonishing, especially when it came to steaks.

For a start, it was difficult to find any steak on a menu in less than double-figure ounces, with the largest I saw a staggering 40 (yes, four zero!) ounces, although the restaurant did recommend that perhaps it might be better served for two people.

Food of any kind was a difficult subject to stay away from, particularly when it was so cheap, so plentiful and above all, of such high quality, with Sarasota offering such a vast and varied choice that it was tempting to start planning a trip out for the next meal when you'd barely finished the last.

One thing to remember, though, is that the evening meal is taken earlier than in Europe, sometimes almost counting as afternoon tea - with one signature restaurant, the colourfully-named Barnacle Bill's Seafood, telling us the kitchen had actually shut up shop at 8.45pm as we rolled in, hoping to try some king crab legs of Deadliest Catch fame, freshly flown in from Alaska.

Sensational

We did catch a restaurant serving them a little later and they turned out to be huge - more than a foot long - and quite delicious with a squeeze of lemon juice, a grind of black pepper and a refreshing sauvignon blanc. Not cheap, but then not wincingly expensive, either, and it came with the by-now familiar attentive, friendly and polite service.

And it was noticeable that even in the most upmarket restaurant, the word `burger' was proudly displayed on the menu and there were no sniffy looks if you ordered one and duly struggled to pick it up in both hands and cope with the fries and bottle of ketchup it came with.

But then again, there are burgers and burgers . . . and the restaurant versions were invariably freshly made from top-quality steak, cooked just the way you asked and tasting simply sensational.

Again, even in the glitziest place, anything left on your plate (which often happened, through sheer quantity) prompted an invitation to take it home, carefully packaged in a box or a bag, with no pretence at all that it was destined for the dog.

It would take more than a couple of weeks' holiday to try all the hugely-varied styles of eateries in town - like the excellent Café Americano and Carigiulos, Patrick's Restaurant; Captain Brian's; Marina Jack, and memorably, The Old Salty Dog - even if you went to a different one for lunch and dinner every day. But it's worth the effort, especially when you can wind up the evening with a cocktail on the snow-white sands of the Gulf, watching the sort of sunset you couldn't put a price on.

And then there's the doggy bag when you get back home. Woof, woof!

The Grahams flew with US Airways from Manchester to Philadelphia and on to Tampa, booked via AirlineNetwork.co.uk (check website for up-to-the minute prices) and stayed at the excellent value and convenient Comfort Inn on the Tamiami Trail in Sarasota, booked in advance at www.comfortinn.com.
The scale of Comfort Inns' all-you-can-eat free breakfast is a surprise - with unlimited juice and coffee and even make-yourself waffles.