Brunch Noble Crust
NOBLE CRUST St. Petersburg; $$ The ItalianSouthern fusion pizza-pasta-etc. hotspot feels just right for brunch. In virtually all weather the best seats are on the 800-square-foot patio with its retractable roof and remote-control windows, but the funky-industrial dining room is also sun-dappled during the day. The brunch menu is the right mix of sweet and savory, breakfast and lunch fare. They offer a free mimosa, but you may have
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to prod your server to reveal this fact. The chicken and waffles rank with the area’s best, with a bewitching bourbon pecan butter and a cup of watermelon salad.
THE OHANA CAFE Dunedin; $ Dunedin, a brunch town, demands its due. It boasts about a dozen places that get swamped on Sundays, and increasingly this is one of them. Vegetarians, vegans, gluten-free-ers and paleo folks will all find solace here. I’m a big fan of owner Teresa Pablo’s loco moco bowls, a classic Hawaiian dish popularized in the 1940s, which is probably why at brunch I was smitten by the Da Kine bowl: brown rice topped with organic black beans, organic scrambled eggs, chopped tomato, avo and cilantro.
Trip's Diner
TRIP’S DINER St. Petersburg, Seminole; $ Gordon Stevenson hit it just right. In 2012, he took over the space vacated by beloved but crusty diner Dave’s, kitted it out with wonderful Burgert Brothers black-and-white historic photos of St. Petersburg and opened this classic nostalgic diner. It was an immediate hit, with sturdy, egg-centric breakfast fare and bottomless coffee. A cozy-booth, jukebox, breakfast-all-day kind of place, where meatloaf and cheese grits are in order and eggs Benedict will set you back just $7.59. Pancakes, called hubcakes because of their hubcap-like size, have been more effective than Lunesta in clinical trials.
French Cafe Largo
THE BLACK PEARL
Dunedin; $$$ What since 1996 was Dunedin’s beloved “continental” datenighter under owners Tony and Kathy LaRoche was bought in 2014 by Zach Feinstein, who seems to have signaled to longtime chef Christopher Artrip that it’s time for the gloves to come off. The room is lovely and intimate, with servers exhibiting deep wine knowledge and nearly anachronistic manners. Plates are pretty enough to pause and appreciate — that goes for a cheese and charcuterie plate showcasing foie gras terrine and a wedge of Humboldt Fog, as well as the No. 1 seller, the white truffle lobster risotto.
CAFE LARGO Largo; $$$ One of a small handful of restaurants to traffic in classical French cuisine, with owner Dominique Christini presiding solo over his monthly Saturday morning cooking classes and a seasonally changing prix-fixe menu for $35. He’s
Parts of Paris
something of a psychologist: Put wild boar or venison chops on the printed menu, no takers. Make it a special, explicated tableside, and folks will bite. He also offers classics like cassoulet (slow-cooked white beans, duck, sausage and other goodies), warming braises like elk stew with cepes and Grand Marnier souffle.
PARTS OF PARIS Safety Harbor; $$ Safety Harbor restaurants have an ace in the hole. Most are set
in lovely, repurposed 1930s bungalows, many with come-hither front porches and tree-canopied front yards. Parts of Paris is the luckiest duck — which they do serve, as confit with braised fennel and a tarragoncashew brown rice. It’s one of Tampa Bay’s date-night stalwarts, with a lineup of classic French fare, from boeuf bourguignon to textbook beef tartare. On a pretty day, brunch cannot be beat, with dishes that go sweet (crepe Suzette) or savory (moules-frites). V I SI TSTP ETECLEARWATER.COM 6 5