This month is more than just a time for romance in the Tampa Bay area. It is an amazing time to be a Floridian, and to live on the Pinellas Suncoast. February 15th is the start of the height of season when your favorite dining places can seat you before 5 or after 9. Inside this issue you will find some hints to make your height of season more pleasant. The swelling of the populace also brings the height of education and entertainment to the area, and those who read their Paradise NEWS carefully and take good notes will be rewarded by finding something they love, if they just take the time to look.
If you like to dig deeper into things online, we recommend the current issue “flipping book,” prominently displayed on our website paradisenewsfl.com. Online, most all the web links are active so you can jump to the venue’s site or ticket page directly. While there, enter your email address to receive our Thursday afternoon electronic newsletter with the five top things to do that weekend, and more.
Paradise News has been published on “Island Time” for 25 years. Our goal is to be online and at the printer by the first of each month. The printer takes a week and the post office up to a week, so 25,000 copies hit mailboxes between the 12th and the 16th of the month.
We try to include info from the first for the people who run to see the new issue online when it first comes out. We also try to include at least half of the following month’s info since we know the next issue won’t come in the mail until then. So, each issue has six weeks or more of information. Unfortunately, not everyone plans far enough in advance for us to be perfect, but we do our best.
We must be doing pretty well, because I get recognized and thanked by readers frequently. On a Saturday night in January, a Silver Sands resident recognized Renee and I at the Marquise Café’, on the Causeway next door to Lou’s Florist near Looks and Company, which is now serving dinners on weekends, and thanked us for introducing them to this lovely new venue that is off the beaten path and reminds us of a trip to France. Other great hints for surviving the height of season are:
- Plan to eat on the off hours. Places on the beach still offer early bird specials in the height of season in St. Pete Beach.
- Meet Odise’ at the Mediterranean Produce & Deli and peruse his menu of Gyros, salads and subs.
- Check out Barracuda’s Deli for breakfast and lunch, with some of the best sandwiches and Cuban/Mexican fusion entrees and bowls. Best pulled pork and Cubans in the area too.
- Vito and Michaels is a great family Italian spot for dine-in and takeout. If they are busy, check across the street or next door. They are all good and pretty competitive.
There’s are a lot more information in the next 67 pages, so read carefully. We hope Valentine’s month is as special for you as it is for us.
Peter & Renee Roos