Restaurants in Saint Petersburg

Chef and owner Jessica Raia-Long graduated from the New England Culinary Institute and has owned the bistro since 2001. Her internationally inspired offerings take cues from jaunts across the Alps and European hikes, feature the local-est of ingredients, and rotate seasonally. Lunches at The NoHo Bistro are more special than finding jelly beans in the pocket of your favorite trench coat. Sandwiches come with the daily side or seasoned kettle chips and include such sophisticated selections as the NoHo muffaletta ($9) with Italian cured meats, rosemary ham, provolone, and olive salad swaddled in focaccia, or the fresh roasted turkey with a cranberry-apple relish and goat-cheese blend on ciabatta ($8). Diners will also discover salads, soups, and a smattering of light bistro fare.

Nurse a cool glass of chardonnay or check a bottle of cabernet's vital signs. Wines are available by the half glass, glass, or bottle and start at $4 for a half glass and $7 for a glass. Oenophiles appreciate offerings from a variety of vintages, appellations, and countries. Expand palates with the Whitehaven sauvignon blanc from New Zealand ($9 per glass) or Chile's MontGras Reserva Carménère ($36 per bottle). To up the social ante, snack on selections from the bistro menu such as a plate of artisanal cheeses or charcuterie ($13 for three selections, $17 for five). Other savory selections include creamy brie baked inside a delicate flaky crust ($15), New Zealand lamb chops ($15 for three), and Atlantic smoked-salmon flatbread ($11).

Mike Diogostine left his high-school job serving hot dogs at Frankies to attend the University of Tampa. While he went after his academic pursuits, he also pursued the same mouthwatering taste of foot-long hot dogs he'd left behind in his hometown of Connecticut—but nothing compared to Frankies. After college, Mike, along with his brother Joe and his roommate Tyson, opened up his own Frankies to ensure that other coeds wouldn’t suffer the same lack of delicious hot dogs that he did.

In the kitchen at Frankies, the cooks top foot-long franks with chili, nacho cheese, bacon, or Chicago-style accoutrements—tomatoes, pickles, celery salt, and peppers. Other handholds include half-pound burgers, fried shrimp po' boys, and chicken-parmesan grinders. On Tuesday evenings, diners can juggle mini corn dogs with wings slathered in housemade garlic butter sauce while they answer questions during in-house trivia tournaments.

Owners Spencer and Sabrina Aird parlay a passion for nourishing vegan fare into Grass Root Organic Restaurant, which CBS Tampa named one of the best veg restaurants in the city. Carmine walls envelop diners in the cozy café space, creating a soothing atmosphere punctuated with vivid abstract paintings hung along the wall. While settled into high-backed wooden chairs, each topped with a lattice design, diners dig into a menu that features cooked vegan dishes as well as raw dishes. Raw vegan pad thai, guacamole, and spinach and basil pesto, among others, star on the restaurant's roster.

The Airds also run a customizable meal delivery system that sends clients fresh meals from a rotating weekly menu several times a week. Sabrina teaches occasional classes on how to replicate her culinary expertise and mimic items on Grass Root's menu by sitting very still on an oversized plate.

Café Dufrain prides itself on its knowledgeable serving staff, which knows the fresh, local food-filled menu better than it knows itself. A server might recommend the Kurobuto pork cheeks to start, paired nicely as they are with fried green tomatoes and smoked-bacon marmalade ($7.50), or the warm confit of organic mushrooms with roasted black-garlic cloves on a grilled baguette ($8). The organic smart chicken is apparently not so smart, as it finds itself fried and accompanied with buttermilk waffles ($20). The hot-and-sour noodles with lotus root and white miso ($18) provide culinary shelter for vegetarians. Finish this gourmet spread with a slice of carrot cake with cream-cheese frosting ($7) or a pineapple right-side-up cake ($7). The staff would be happy to match your meal with any of the custom-tailored American, European, and South American vintages on the expansive wine menu.

Diners discover taste buds they didn't know existed when devouring one of the dinner menu's 16 appetizers. Wrapped in duck-bacon scarves, sliders toboggan toward bellies, and herds of buffalo shrimp lumber into mouths on black-pepper biscuits. One Big Ol' crab cake dressed in Cajun rémoulade helps dads celebrate Father's Day or laundry day in style.