Beachfront Eats (Port Charlotte, North Port, Venice: buying, restaurant, prices)

[grandmallie]

Ok the DH and I have been to one, Sharkys in Venice, would like other alterinatives,sharkys was kind of pricey.
we are in North Port , but we go out to the shore all the time, I know all of you have some insight on good restaruants,would love to go at sunset and watch the pelicans and the people.
thanks in advance.
SoFlaGal did you see my post La Casa got hit with a funnel cloud and did damage to 3 places across the lake from us?thank goodness it wasnt on our side

[FLBob]

For an inexpensive waterfront restaurant, try Stump Pass Grill. It's a tiki hut on Lemon Bay.
Another nice restaurant on the gulf is South Beach on Gasparilla Island. South Beach is near the southern end of the island. The LockandKey or the Gulf View Grill are across the street from Englewood Beach. Try Rum Bay on palm island, you need a boat or you can take the ferry from Johnny Leverocks.

[grandmallie]

your a peach, we will have to check those out.another question?
we are looking for a good set of used bikes,for the DH and I know of anywhere to find those, that aren't outrageous

[SoFLGal]

Originally Posted by grandmallie

Ok the DH and I have been to one, Sharkys in Venice, would like other alterinatives,sharkys was kind of pricey.
we are in North Port , but we go out to the shore all the time, I know all of you have some insight on good restaruants,would love to go at sunset and watch the pelicans and the people.
thanks in advance.
SoFlaGal did you see my post La Casa got hit with a funnel cloud and did damage to 3 places across the lake from us?thank goodness it wasnt on our side

I would suggest Rum Bay as well-nice restaurant. Also the Crow's Nest in Venice, on the island, is a good place to eat.

No, I hadn't heard of the funnel cloud in LaCasa. I usually watch the news in the evening but on DirecTV I don't get any of the local news. If I have a few seconds in the morning I try to check out the Herald Tribune online but I've been pretty slammed lately and haven't had time to do that. Thank goodness your place wasn't hit. I'll have to Google it and see if I can find a story.

Are you two down here now? We should go grab lunch somewhere.

[Big House]

Originally Posted by FLBob

For an inexpensive waterfront restaurant, try Stump Pass Grill. It's a tiki hut on Lemon Bay.
Another nice restaurant on the gulf is South Beach on Gasparilla Island. South Beach is near the southern end of the island. The LockandKey or the Gulf View Grill are across the street from Englewood Beach. Try Rum Bay on palm island, you need a boat or you can take the ferry from Johnny Leverocks.

South Beach is a nice spot, you can hang out at the beach there, and walk up to the restaurant and have a nice dinner and a drink. I was going to recommend that. Bob - you beat me to it.

[grandmallie]

we were down at th connecticut shore today, and I was looking at all the beach umbrella's, which reminded me, we will need one down there, but here lies the problem, I looked at walmart when I was down last september to no avail, is there somewhere you can get beach umbrella's cheap out of season? I saw a neet little table that went on the pole of the umbrella too.
help me with will you, and anyone come up with anyplace to find used bikes at a decent price? I know im asking alot sorry.p.s.
SoFlaGal it was in the Sun newspaper, north port section on line, it might be in last weeks archive

[imagardener]

We like Johnny Leverock's in Placida. It's on the water (intracoastal) not the beach but the food and the view is great. And if you can get there before 6 (I think) they have early bird sunset dinners for $8-9. I love the steak and shrimp dinner and would pay more if I had to it's that good.

Lock and Key at Englewood Beach is OK but the food is average. Great location across from the beach though.

[Big House]

Originally Posted by grandmallie

we were down at th connecticut shore today, and I was looking at all the beach umbrella's, which reminded me, we will need one down there, but here lies the problem, I looked at walmart when I was down last september to no avail, is there somewhere you can get beach umbrella's cheap out of season? I saw a neet little table that went on the pole of the umbrella too.
help me with will you, and anyone come up with anyplace to find used bikes at a decent price? I know im asking alot sorry.p.s.
SoFlaGal it was in the Sun newspaper, north port section on line, it might be in last weeks archive

There are lots of beach shops where you can buy umbrellas. I would say spend a couple extra dollars on this, and make sure that it has a good wind vent in it. That will save it, because there are some good windy days at the beach and without the vent, the umbrella will blow-out. Also make sure it has a strong pole, so you can get it pushed down deep in the sand.

[Vanwilder]

To add to Bighouse's statements: Some hints in buying an umbrella. Look at the SPF rating of the umbrella. They will be anywhere from SPF 45 to SPF 100. The higher the rating the better protection from the sun you will have.

You can also get what they call Sand Grabbers. There are several different styles of these devices made out of PVC or Metal. We prefer the metal ones as they are more durable and preform better. These sand Grabbers will have a coil like a spring or cork screw that dig into the sand and will hold your umbrella in place during those windy days. Cost of the sand grabbers are around $7-$8 bucks at Wal-Mart. Well worth the investment.

We bought ours last September at Wal-Mart in Venice. North Port Wal-Mart did not have much as far as beach stuff at the time. You have 3 Wal-Marts Port Charlotte, North Port or Venice with in 30 mins of each other, to our surprise stock and prices differ from store to store.

[pedsdoc]

I like the Casey Key Fish House. It is on the intercoastal though.