Food & Drink in Ruskin

Apollo's Bistro warmly embraces clans in a casual, chic eatery tantalizing taste buds with an eclectic medley of fresh, upscale cuisine doled out by amiable servers. Surf Mediterranean swells of flavor flooding the spinach and artichoke pizza, a 7-inch pie peppered with recently reaped veggies and mozzarella swirling in a tempest of white sauce ($7.99, add crab for $2), or opt to savor an 8-ounce prime burger ($7.99), which serenades lonely diners recently abandoned by balloon animal pets. Steeped in a fruity marinade, the spicy mango shrimp cooks over an open flame before bestowing bellies with seasonal veggies, a side item, and a side salad ($14.99). Diners dive into these eats amidst taupe walls and ebony booths awash in streams of natural sunlight and stream-of-consciousness short stories.

The sports-centric atmosphere at The Mulligan’s Pub lures big game-revelers with sports-beaming TVs and a menu of classic grill favorites. Kick off an ocular sports feast with appetizers such as homemade fried pickles battered, fried, and shot out of a T-shirt cannon onto plates ($6). The nurturing hoosier strom coddles ground beef, pepperoni, and saucy Italian marinara inside a doughy sleeping bag ($7), and juicy prime-rib sandwiches travel mouthward via hoagie-roll palanquin ($9). The Mr. October, a lemon-pepper-rubbed haddock hoagie, transforms stomach rumblings into nearly inaudible whimpers and takes its name from the famed inventor of Halloween ($9). Before going toe-to-toe with hearty entrees, and after thumb-wrestling with to-go boxes for possession of leftovers, patrons tipple draft brews from a collection of 16 domestic beers.

At East Coast Pizza we pride ourselves in our commitment to quality products and service. Delivering a hand tossed "New York Style Brick Oven Pizza", and we do it the best using the freshest ingredients possible. We make all of our dough and Sauce fresh daily and use only 100% of the finest mozzarella cheese.

The Experience

Inside a building in St. Petersburg, works of art from around the world gather like good friends. Georgia O'Keeffe's Poppy hangs not far from Paul Cézanne's A Corner of the Woods, Pointoise. Claude Monet's Houses of Parliament gives a glimpse of faraway lands, while Thomas Moran's Florida Landscape stays closer to home.

With a range of permanent and rotating exhibitions, the Museum of Fine Arts seeks to engage visitors with art while preserving the pieces in its care. Much of the collection resides in an original 1960s building, but an adjacent modern gallery draws in visitors with special exhibitions, an art library, and interactive educational facilities—ensuring they have plenty of ways to experience art or at least overcome a fear of informational plaques.

The Highlights

• Permanent collection houses pieces from Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, as well as classical and modern American art
• Daily events include docent-led tours, hands-on workshops, classical concerts, and lectures
• MFA Café overlooks the waterfront

Who They Are

Even before the Museum of Fine Arts opened to the public in 1965, founder Margaret Acheson Stuart saw its galleries as a space where diverse audiences could explore art "from antiquity to the present." Architect John Volk had designed the original museum wing to instill visitors with a feeling of solidness and permanence. Decades later, the museum sought to expand, and conducted a nationwide search for a worthy architect. They were rewarded with designer Yann Weymouth, who completed a second building in 2008—a two-story, modern glass conservatory.

The brick walls of Jane Aberro's pizzeria are covered with autographed photos of celebrities such as Robert De Niro and Samuel L. Jackson, each scrawled with lines of encouragement for the restaurant Aberro opened in her hometown of St. Petersburg. After working in show business in Los Angeles, Aberro decided to return home and open a pizzeria with partners, eventually taking the helm herself.

Inside, the manager gathers orders from customers, joking with a light Texas drawl while carefully monitoring the pizza, sandwiches, and soups. Behind the counter, cooks knead dough made from scratch, pour on house-made sauces, chopped herbs, and custom toppings, then fire pies in the oven until the crusts become golden and crisp. Aberro believes that what sets her pizza apart is the quality of her hand-selected ingredients, especially when it comes to her favorite component, cheese. She said the calzones are one of her favorite dishes because of the amount of cheese in each bite, noting, "even if you are used to eating cheese out of a can, you can taste the difference that the fresh cheese makes."

Aberro's attention to detail led to her personally designing the store's logo, hanging up the eatery's photograph of the Brooklyn Bridge, and following up with her customers. Open until 3 a.m., the pizzeria transforms from a cozy lunch spot into a well-oiled machine, rapidly producing slices for the late-night customers who line up around the block after leaving a nearby concert venue.