Restaurants in Bradenton

Stelios Migdakis had long dreamt of moving his family from New York to Florida’s sun-drenched shores, jumping at the chance to open an eatery in Tarpon Springs’ Greek Town. He draws from the Old World recipes of his kin in Crete and his wife's relatives in Lesvos to compose a menu consisting of delicately battered seafood and slow-roasted lamb and beef. Within the elegant eatery, murals of serene Greek isles and grazing herds of Trojan horses punctuate the pale-marble walls as Greek music spills out onto the adjoining patio.

Chef Will Greenwood’s dishes have graced many important meals, from Julia Child’s and Robert Mondavi’s 80th birthday parties to the Head of State luncheons at NATO’s 50th-anniversary celebration. In the '90s, he was even asked by the Clintons to audition to be the White House chef. Today, Greenwood’s Caribbean-Latin fusion recipes inform festive meals at Catch Twenty-Three. Certified fresh seafood and aged steaks cook over a pecan-wood grill while elsewhere in the kitchen, chefs prepare signature dishes such as macadamia-crusted Chilean sea bass and Cuban-style ribs basted in guava barbecue sauce. In private cooking classes, Catch Twenty-Three’s team members gladly share their culinary techniques and anecdotes about that time they heroically wrested a spatula from the grip of an angry lobster.

The menu has pasta, chicken, veal, and seafood entrees made from fresh ingredients with homemade sauces. Traditional pastas, such as three-cheese meat lasagna ($12), spaghetti and meatballs ($9), and chicken penne alfredo ($13), are ascents to celestial peaks of skillfully cooked and superbly seasoned tomato, noodle, and cheese mountains. Try veal, mushrooms, onions, and a hint of tomato in a Marsala wine reduction ($18), and add a house salad and two garlic knots for $2.50. Specialty dishes include salmon piccata (pan-seared, sautéed in a lemon wine sauce, topped with capers, and served on a bed of spinach, $15) and seafood pescatore (shrimp, mussels, calamari, and fresh clams sautéed in either marinara or fra diavolo sauce on top of linguine, $19). Bellisimo also serves New York–style pizza ($10.75 for a medium cheese) and hot/cold sub sandwiches ($7 for a meatball parmigiana sub, up to $9.25 for a veal parm or Philly cheesesteak).

House of Brews pours 38 draft ales, lagers, and stouts at its Oldsmar location, while its Lutz venue stockpiles more than 50 domestic and imported bottle beers. Down a strong pint of Cigar City Jai Alai IPA ($6), or sample House of Brews’ rotating beer of the month ($3). Brew’s drunken cheesy garlic bread slurs its toppings with tomatoes, olives, fragrant garlic, and a cocktail of melted provolone, cheddar, and blue cheese crumbles ($8.99). House-made sloppy joes ($7.99), jumbo hot dogs ($6.99), and platters of baked-to-order wings ($7.99) chaperone pints to tables, ensuring that they reach their destinations with undisturbed heads.

Located in the Sherwood Forest Shopping Center, Old World Cheese Shop, a longtime staple of the area, forges freshly sliced feasts from food and folklore. The Robin Hood cold sandwich ($6.75) robs from the kitchen and gives to the stomach with delicious ham and turkey, crisp bacon, cheese, and golden dressing stacked between three slices of pumpernickel bread, while the Sir Galahad steamed sandwich ($6.75) is a gallant warrior of roast pork, cheese, and sweet-pepper jelly served hot on an onion roll. Those hungry for tie-dye-tinted trips into the subconscious may opt for the Pita Fhonda pita ($5.95), featuring Old World Cheese Shop's acclaimed tuna salad.

Proponents of dry rub can be found across the Midwest—Oklahoma’s barbecue joints are an especially good bet. If you ask any of these die-hards, they’ll say that what dry-rubbed meats lack in sauce, they make up for in the delicately balanced flavors of their spices. Rib Crib BBQ & Grill captures these flavors and brings them to its cozy Lakeland restaurant, where guests can feast on chicken, ribs, and briskets smoked onsite over hickory chips. In addition to pit choices, Rib Crib dishes out Southern¬-style sides such as corn on the cob, mac ‘n’ cheese, and slow-cooked cowboy beans that guests can lasso individually with a tiny rope of floss.:m]]