July 2003: Florida constitutional amendment to ban smoking in the workplace (including restaurants) went into effect. Stand-alone bars and smoking rooms in hotels are exempt. We continue to welcome listings of establishments which get out in front on this, especially if they are exempt.
ALTAMONTE SPRINGS
Amira's Kosher Deli
1349 East Altamonte Drive (SR 436) (407) 831-0999
A real deli. Fantastic food and latkes (potato pancakes) to die for.
This is a real Kosher deli and you won't find a speck of dairy in the
whole place. If you want cream in your coffee, too bad. They are closed
from sundown Friday until sundown Saturday in observance of Jewish
Sabbath. If you are tempted to try the butter-free baked goods, don't
bother. Everything else is wonderful.
sez Fred!
Eastern Pearl Chinese Restaurant
478 East Altamonte Drive (407) 339-8877
Really nice Chinese restaurant, great food,
elegant surroundings and fine service. Wine available
(unusual for a Chinese restaurant) and a variety of desserts
(also unusual).
Maison et Jardin Restaurant
430 South Wymore Road (407) 862-4410
Allows smoking every day but Saturdays and
Wednesdays. Sez our kindly reviewer, "If, like me, you want to breathe and drink
fine wine, go on Saturdays or Wednesdays. Prices are
high and the food is wonderful. Semi-formal to formal.
Excellent wine list."
Thanks Fred!
Silvano's Ristorante Italiano
The Ethan Allen Plaza
249 West Hwy. 436 (407) 862-2511
Very good.
from Team Fred
Straub's Seafood Restaurant
512 East Altamonte Drive (407) 831-2250
Highly rated. Has another location in Orlando.
Toojay's Deli
SR 436
Sez Our Man in Altamonte Springs:
I had a pleasant surprise...I went to a restaurant that
was crowded. We were worried about getting sufficiently far into
non-smoking. You always had to walk through smoking to get to
non-smoking. We were informed...that the
entire restaurant was now non-smoking. They said that the staff had voted on
it late last year. They were packed which refutes the notion that allowing
smoking is necessary for good volume. It was busier than I had ever
seen it.
As for the food: huge sandwiches and good food. They have a bakery in the front. It is
not a real Kosher deli but good if you don't keep Kosher. If you can
get a bacon cheeseburger there, not a deli.
Another Fred find!
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ANNA MARIA ISLAND / HOLMES BEACH
Augie's Restaurant
5366 Gulf Drive 778-4949
Italian cuisine, moderate prices, childrens menu.
Beach Bistro
6600 North Gulf Drive (941) 778-6444
Upscale seafood restaurant with a gorgeous view on Anna Maria Island.
Note, their sister restaurant, Island's End, has a smoking lounge.
Mon-Sun 5:30pm-10pm
Parrot Bay Cafe
5318 Marina Drive 778-1804
Soup and salad bar, omelets and sandwiches. Childrens menu. Inexpensive.
Mon-Sat 7am-8pm
BOCA RATON
Smokefree parks and beaches!
Cigarette smoking was banned (as of mid-July 1999)
at Patch Reef and Sugar Sand parks
and the beach at Red Reef park. This improvement
in public life brought to you by the Greater Boca Raton
Beach and Park District Board, which passed the measure
unanimously. There is no fine for smoking, but the rangers
are supposed to enforce the ban.
Madison Restaurant
8903 Glades Road (561) 477-6921
In the mall across from Boca Lakes.
Lineage from the Madison Restaurant in Manhattan (NYC).
Breakfasts are in the American comfort food tradition
(eggs etc.). Lots of Jewish deli food (pretty good knish).
Interesting cakes in the glass case.
Service is fast, prices are reasonable, the waitresses
have great endurance and intuition. Popular senior citizen
hangout.
Mississippi Sweets BBQ Co.
2399 North Federal Highway (561) 394-6779
Good BBQed chicken, beef and catfish.
Drinks available. Very casual and not too expensive.
Lunch Mon-Sat / Dinner Mon-Sun
Taisho
20423 State Road 7 (Mission Bay Plaza, at Glades Road)
Japanese lunch and dinner. Sushi, sashimi, teriyaki, katsu and tempura.
Bento box dinners. Children's menu.
Mon-Fri 11am-10pm / Sat-Sun 11am-10:30pm
Tesser's Deli Bagel Restaurant
9834 Glades Road (Home Depot Shopping Center) (561) 218-0995
Good sandwiches and the cole slaw is excellent. Cream soda.
All quality-tested by intrepid explorers who braved
the traffic in the mall.
The pickliness of the pickles is restrained, leaning more toward
the original cucumber flavor.
The owners had another location which was, in their words, very smoky,
and they got tired of it and opened this place.
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DAVIE
DiSalvo's
5945 South University Drive (954) 434-1505
Inexpensive, family-owned pizzeria. Take out available. Great food.
Mon-Thu 11am-11pm / Fri-Sat till midnight / Sun 1pm-10pm
thanks Doreen!
Uncle Funny's
Comedy Club
9160 State Road 84 (954) 474-5653
Saturday show at 7pm and Sunday show at 8pm are smokefree.
Taisho
3406 South University Drive (University Park Plaza
between I-595 and Griffin Road)
Japanese lunch and dinner. Sushi, sashimi, teriyaki, katsu and tempura.
Bento box dinners. Children's menu.
Mon-Fri 11am-10pm / Sat-Sun 11am-10:30pm
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DE LAND
"Big Rig" Spring Garden Restaurant
833 North Spring Garden Avenue (386) 736-6791
Truckstop and restaurant. A very good "greasy spoon". The menu says "The Home of
'Grits and
Greens' Southern-Style Cookin'". The menu is standard diner fare.
My
Girfriend said "This food is really good. It is good to be able to taste
it." The waitresses wear T-shirts that say "got grits". Delivery
to a
limited area is coming soon.
thanks Fred!
Mr. Bill's Bakery & Sandwiches
138 North Woodland Boulevard (386) 943-8616
A good typical sandwich shop. Fresh donuts.
"Home of the baker's dozen"
The Perfect Spot
1600 Flight Line Boulevard (386) 734-0088
Restaurant. Totally non-smoking inside, but allow it on their
patio. Good, reasonably priced food and you can watch skydivers landing
during the day - it's right by the airport.
Thanks Fred!
Tom's Pizza
140 East Rich Avenue (386) 738-2511
A very good pizza place. The waitress asked us if we had ever been there
before. When we said that we had, but not for a long time, she assured
us that the pizza was still the same. It comes in 4"x4" pieces with a
very thin crust. They also have sandwiches.
a find from Fred
Top's China
109 East Plymouth Avenue (386) 734-9947
Above-average Chinese food. They do mainly take out,
but now have a larger restaurant (no table service).
They are open late for DeLand,
10:30 and 11:00 on Friday and Saturday. A
pparently hasn't hurt business, as they have moved to
bigger quarters.
DE LEON SPRINGS
Karling's Inn Restaurant
4640 N. US Highway 17 (386) 985-5535
Started by a German master chef in 1981 and still in the family.
Highly-rated continental cuisine; extensive wine list.
They have now gone completely non-smoking.
Tu-Sat 5pm-9pm
Las Palma Mexican Restaurant
4850 North Highway 17 (386) 985-1888
A very good Mexican restaurant. I got the spinach and mushroom
quesadillas. They took a long time to come out. The chef explained that they had run out of mushrooms and they had run to the grocery down the
street. They used fresh spinach. They were worth the wait. My girlfriend
got cheese enchiladas that were very good. She also got a chile relleno
that was not made out of the advertised pepper. Maybe that will be fixed
later on when they have been opened for a while. They opened 6/17/02.
It is entirely smoke-free. It was very good. They still need to work out the kinks of a new business.
thanks Fred!
Old Spanish Sugar Mill
At the DeLeon Springs State Park (386) 985-5644
It is mainly a breakfast place. They also serve lunch. The tables have
griddles in the middle of them. They bring you pitchers of pancake
batter (white or whole wheat) and things like bananas and blueberries to
put in them. You cook the pancakes yourself. A friend from out-of-town
joked, "If you pay extra, they let you do the dishes." The restaurant
also includes a small store that sells health food. Their bread is
wonderful. Go on a weekday. On the weekends, the wait can be very long.
They do not take reservations.
thanks Fred!
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THE FLORIDA KEYS
Hurricane Grille
Mile Marker 49, Marathon
Restaurant and Bar, with live music
Only smoking is outside -- in an outdoor patio. The inside bar, dance floor, restaurant, etc. is all smoke-free, one of the few in the Florida Keys! Reasonable prices. Friendly atmosphere. Very casual. Live entertainment every weekend and sometimes on weeknights.
Thanks to Dick "Conch" Conklin, keysy.com, Entertainment and Restaurant reviewer for the Weekly Newspaper Group, Florida Keys.
PLANTATION
Cancun Grill
1835 North Pine Island (954) 473-5351
See review above and salivate.
Mon-Sun 11:30am-10pm
Kiko
The Fountains
801 South University Drive J-101 (954) 473-0077
Good sushi and other Japanese dishes. I was willing to put up with poor smoking separation to eat there. I went early to have better luck. I asked for a table as far away from smoking as possible. I was told that they were now entirely smoke free. They also have the prettiest menu of any restaurant I have ever seen. They even have an American sushi chef that apprenticed in Japan. He can guide a novice very effectively.
Thanks Fred!
Padrino's
The Fountains
801 South University Drive (954) 476-5777
Excellent Cuban food. They have a lunch buffet. Their Lechon Asado
(roast pork) is the best I have ever had. Good plantanos and rice. I
have some friends that say everything is good. The pork is so good that it is the only thing I ever order. They are closed Mondays. They have other locations in Hallandale and Boca Raton.
Smoking policy unknown.
Thanks Fred!
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TAMPA
Brunchery Restaurant
3225 South Macdill Avenue (813) 839-4686
Hearty breakfasts. They have an extensive menu of each type of
breakfast. I had "stuffed french toast". It is like regular french toast
stuffed with cream cheese. Yummy.
A FredGram
Oystercatcher's
6200 West Courtney Campbell Causeway (in hotel) (813) 281-9116
Wonderful but very expensive. Worth every penny but you are warned! Sunday brunch.
another Fred find
Star of India Restaurant
11154 North 30th Street (813) 977-7827
Evening buffet. Beer and wine available.
Open Tu-Sun 11:30am-2:30pm / 5pm-10pm
Wrights Gourmet House
1200 South Dale Mabry Highway (813) 253-3838
A very good place for lunch. They have gotten very institutional over
the past few years. They are very popular for a good reason. I remember
this place 30+ years ago. They were just as good then. The grandson of
the original owners has it now. They are a bit pricy compared to other
places. The Beef Martini sandwich is very good. It is hot roast beef,
marinated mushrooms, and garlic butter. They have a ham & cheese &
pinapple sandwich. It is a lot better than it sounds. I hear their
coconut cake is excellent.
A FredGram
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THORNTON PARK
Dexter's Wine Bar Cafe
808 East Washington Street (407) 648-2777
They have another (also smokefree) location in Winter Park.
Thanks C. J. Drake!
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