Eating is important in Florida - which is hardly surprising given the amount of restaurants and the abundance of wonderful raw ingredients.
There is an amazing variety of restaurants on the island representing every type of food. If you like moderate priced seafood and want to sit on the beach at sunset, then the Sandbar or the Beach House are recommended. The Sun House Restaurant and Bar is just across the street from the Gulf and features “Floribbean Cuisine” which is the fusion of American cooking traditions with Caribbean and Latin American ingredients.
If you want to sit on the bay front, the Waterfront Restaurant at the Bay View Plaza is for you. For wonderful funky fun, take a chance and go to Mr. Bone's in Holmes Beach where you choose your beer from a coffin in the reception area. If it's just a sandwich you crave, then Rudy's in Anna Maria might be perfect (better yet, take it 'to go' and have a picnic on the beach just 1 block away).
Anna Maria has it all, from the famous Duffy's burgers to the ultra elegant meals served at the award winning Beach Bistro, and even Rotten Ralph's at the historic pier in Bradenton Beach, where you can pull up to the dock in your boat and place your order.
Whatever you want, Anna Maria Island has it all. For the best in vacation rentals visit www.annamaria.com to see how affordable real luxury can be.
Tuesday 26 May 2009
Friday 22 May 2009
We're resting easy again
Anna Maria residents are resting easier tonight after Manatee County Sheriff's Office investigators arrested two suspected burglars.
Officers hope the arrests will put an end to a recent rash of break-ins in Anna Maria that has city officials and residents worried. Manatee sheriff's spokesman Dave Bristow said detectives believe two 18-year-old men arrested in the process of breaking into a well-known Anna Maria restaurant Tuesday may have been hitting homes and businesses across all of Anna Maria Island.
Authorities arrested John O'Keefe and Patrick Banker after a short chase when the men fled from the restaurant in the 100 block of South Bay Boulevard.
The Bradenton Herald reports that Bristow said the teens are suspects in at least six other other burglaries in Anna Maria and elsewhere in Manatee County. Bristow said Banker has been cooperative with detectives and has agreed to take deputies on a tour of places the pair has hit.
Bristow said city police departments on Anna Maria Island and Longboat Key are also looking into whether the pair committed burglaries.
Well done officers, we thank you for making our homes and businesses safe once again.
Officers hope the arrests will put an end to a recent rash of break-ins in Anna Maria that has city officials and residents worried. Manatee sheriff's spokesman Dave Bristow said detectives believe two 18-year-old men arrested in the process of breaking into a well-known Anna Maria restaurant Tuesday may have been hitting homes and businesses across all of Anna Maria Island.
Authorities arrested John O'Keefe and Patrick Banker after a short chase when the men fled from the restaurant in the 100 block of South Bay Boulevard.
The Bradenton Herald reports that Bristow said the teens are suspects in at least six other other burglaries in Anna Maria and elsewhere in Manatee County. Bristow said Banker has been cooperative with detectives and has agreed to take deputies on a tour of places the pair has hit.
Bristow said city police departments on Anna Maria Island and Longboat Key are also looking into whether the pair committed burglaries.
Well done officers, we thank you for making our homes and businesses safe once again.
Tuesday 19 May 2009
Read all about it...
Have you caught the latest edition of the Anna Maria Islander? The island newspaper comes out every Wednesday and is completely free. You can pick it up from most of the retail outlets on the island, as well as in the free distribution boxes at such places as the Cafe on the Beach in Holmes Beach.
The latest edition includes a story about the fundraising efforts of walkers in the Anna Maria Island Relay for Life.
The Island Relay for Life took place on Coquina Beach May 16-17 and, with 20 relay teams participating, was expected to generate about $38,000 for the American Cancer Society.
Relay for Life is the organization’s signature activity — hundreds of relays take place across the country with teams gathering for overnight relays on beaches and in parks, stadiums and fields.
Well done to our Anna Maria Island fundraisers, you are the reason why our little island is so special.
If you are coming to Anna Maria Island, you really should stay in the best vacation rental properties the place has to offer. Visit www.annamaria.com for luxury accommodation at a price you can afford.
The latest edition includes a story about the fundraising efforts of walkers in the Anna Maria Island Relay for Life.
The Island Relay for Life took place on Coquina Beach May 16-17 and, with 20 relay teams participating, was expected to generate about $38,000 for the American Cancer Society.
Relay for Life is the organization’s signature activity — hundreds of relays take place across the country with teams gathering for overnight relays on beaches and in parks, stadiums and fields.
Well done to our Anna Maria Island fundraisers, you are the reason why our little island is so special.
If you are coming to Anna Maria Island, you really should stay in the best vacation rental properties the place has to offer. Visit www.annamaria.com for luxury accommodation at a price you can afford.
Sunday 10 May 2009
Bridge too far?
Opinion is divided on Anna Maria Island, if a recent report on Bradenton.com is anything to go by.
The Florida Department of Transportation has just recommended replacing the drawbridge connecting the island to the mainland with a 65ft vertical clearance bridge that would be built south of the existing structure. The estimated cost is $102.5 million.
It says: 'Island activist groups such as Save Anna Maria have already said they will fight against the proposal tooth and nail, but feelings on the bridge by residents and business owners runs the gamut.
The idea doesn’t sit well with Allyson Gillies, who lives off Marina Drive in Holmes Beach.
“I want it to stay the way it is,” she said. “We have voted to pass all these ordinances to keep the small town feel here, and this bridge idea would defeat the purpose of all of that. So you have to sit in traffic some. It is small price to pay for what we have here.”
FDOT explored replacing the bridge with another drawbridge, as well as a 45 foot vertical clearance, but said building a fixed bridge would cost $20 to $30 million less than building a drawbridge. FDOT officials said it also costs $9 million-a-year to operate and maintain a drawbridge.
Officials with FDOT also said surveys conducted of island residents showed 83 percent favored replacing the bridge, and 77 percent favored the fixed bridge recommended by FDOT.
Holmes Beach resident Philip Gale said he is all for FDOT’s proposal, saying pulling in tourism dollars is the name of the game for the island.
“Why frustrate everybody that comes here with this traffic. The money is in the tourism so we should do everything we can to make it easy on them,” said Gale. “This place is growing and you can’t stop it.”
Read the whole article here
The Florida Department of Transportation has just recommended replacing the drawbridge connecting the island to the mainland with a 65ft vertical clearance bridge that would be built south of the existing structure. The estimated cost is $102.5 million.
It says: 'Island activist groups such as Save Anna Maria have already said they will fight against the proposal tooth and nail, but feelings on the bridge by residents and business owners runs the gamut.
The idea doesn’t sit well with Allyson Gillies, who lives off Marina Drive in Holmes Beach.
“I want it to stay the way it is,” she said. “We have voted to pass all these ordinances to keep the small town feel here, and this bridge idea would defeat the purpose of all of that. So you have to sit in traffic some. It is small price to pay for what we have here.”
FDOT explored replacing the bridge with another drawbridge, as well as a 45 foot vertical clearance, but said building a fixed bridge would cost $20 to $30 million less than building a drawbridge. FDOT officials said it also costs $9 million-a-year to operate and maintain a drawbridge.
Officials with FDOT also said surveys conducted of island residents showed 83 percent favored replacing the bridge, and 77 percent favored the fixed bridge recommended by FDOT.
Holmes Beach resident Philip Gale said he is all for FDOT’s proposal, saying pulling in tourism dollars is the name of the game for the island.
“Why frustrate everybody that comes here with this traffic. The money is in the tourism so we should do everything we can to make it easy on them,” said Gale. “This place is growing and you can’t stop it.”
Read the whole article here
Friday 1 May 2009
No need to panic just yet
Clearly the global swine flu outbreak is causing a great deal of concern. So far there have been no confirmed cases in Florida, but news yesterday from the Miami Herald suggests we may not be removed from the spread for long.
The Florida Department of Health has sent samples from three flu cases to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for further analysis to see if they are swine flu. It means testing of the samples by state laboratories could not rule out that possibility.
The samples were from Broward, Orange and Lee counties, with none from Miami-Dade, according to Susan Smith, spokeswoman for the state health department.
State labs have received at least 70 possible swine flu samples from several Florida counties, including 20 from Miami-Dade and ''several'' from Broward. It wasn't clear whether the fact that only three cases were sent on to the CDC means the rest have been ruled out as swine flu. Miami-Dade health officials said Thursday they haven't been told whether the 20 Dade cases have been analyzed yet, or when they might get results.
Broward County Health Department spokeswoman Candy Sims said samples from ''several'' possible flu cases had been sent to the Florida Department of Health labs for analysis.
She didn't know when she might get results from the case forwarded to the CDC. And she said she had no further information about the possible Broward case.
At a late-morning briefing Dr. Richard Besser, acting chief of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said swine flu cases in the United States have reached 109, with 10 new cases in South Carolina, bringing the number of affected states to 11. No swine flu cases have been reported in Florida.
Read the whole article here
The Florida Department of Health has sent samples from three flu cases to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for further analysis to see if they are swine flu. It means testing of the samples by state laboratories could not rule out that possibility.
The samples were from Broward, Orange and Lee counties, with none from Miami-Dade, according to Susan Smith, spokeswoman for the state health department.
State labs have received at least 70 possible swine flu samples from several Florida counties, including 20 from Miami-Dade and ''several'' from Broward. It wasn't clear whether the fact that only three cases were sent on to the CDC means the rest have been ruled out as swine flu. Miami-Dade health officials said Thursday they haven't been told whether the 20 Dade cases have been analyzed yet, or when they might get results.
Broward County Health Department spokeswoman Candy Sims said samples from ''several'' possible flu cases had been sent to the Florida Department of Health labs for analysis.
She didn't know when she might get results from the case forwarded to the CDC. And she said she had no further information about the possible Broward case.
At a late-morning briefing Dr. Richard Besser, acting chief of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said swine flu cases in the United States have reached 109, with 10 new cases in South Carolina, bringing the number of affected states to 11. No swine flu cases have been reported in Florida.
Read the whole article here
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