Snow bird coming down in early January for seven days. Any suggestions where to eat, things to do, places to avoid. What temperatures/weather should I expect. I will be staying on the north side of the  island.

Weather can be 40's up to 80's. It is a crap shoot. Where are you staying?

Food: check out Rod and Reel, on the north end
Things to do: Fishing, beach going, boutique shopping, there is more to do on the mainland in Bradenton and Sarasota
Avoid: Bradenton Beach, most of Bradenton
Weather will likely be jeans and light jacket weather

If you stay on the islands (Anna Maria, Longboat key, St. Armands) be prepared to open the wallet for everything.

North end on Gladiolus Street.

Island Ocean Star for sushi, on S Bay St by Galati's Marina...lots of nice Sport Fishing Yachts to check out too.  The Sandbar (also on the N end) has decent food and a great location on the beach, especially for sunset.  There are a few good places on Bridge St in Bradenton Beach to eat.

Get on the main strip and take it south till you hit st armands circle

Sign of the Mermaid good seafood . You can also try Star Fish Market on the Cortez side of the bridge, excellent seafood in galley style kitchen . Communal seating on dock while watching local fishermen fight. Things to do ... Go to St Armand's and watch the tourists.

       


+1

There is some Real Good Eating at St Armands!



 

In January it would be faster to take a boat from Anna Maria to St Armands with the traffic! If you venture down there, Salty Dog is pretty cool on City Island, New Pass Bait Shop has decent lunch for less than $10, the Chart House is really good too for dinner and cocktails. There is Mote Marine aquarium that is cool to see (shark tank, manatees, turtle sanctuary, dolphin rehab etc)

Tag, will answer when sober tomorrow.
The owner of Off the Hook by the cortez bridge is the John Yates going through the USSC over the sorbanes-oxley fish debacle.
beaches, horrid traffic, good fishing, manatees at Palma Sola bay. Dolphins swimming past the beaches ever day, Are you into history? Ft. Desoto and Eggmont key are kewl.
damn, I need to sober up before I can go on...

Salty Dog:  I think is horrible (haven't been there in 10 yrs, so maybe the food has changed)
Mr Bones BBQ:  I love that place, and is one of the better BBQ places down here.

St Armands Circle area:

Columbia's has really good cuban food, but it can be packed at times, and then Blue Dolphin Cafe has the best french toast in the world.  Those are the only two places I eat when I go to the circle.

St Armands circle, a very very nice place to walk about and look at things you will never be able to afford. All sorts of art and other upper crust stuff. The sculptures up and down the street are nice to look at. John Ringling (the circus guy) set all this up decades ago.
Long boat key is mainly residential and quite nice. check out the feral peacocks in the broadway/gulf blvd area. They are just walking about in yards and in the street. Mote Aquarium on city island is worth a visit. It is in walking distance of Salty Dog (overpriced but nice) New Pass Grill is more my speed and is right there by the stoplight. Dolphins are spotted either side of the New Pass drawbridge too. Rod and Reel pier is a bit pricey but the view is worth it.
The beaches are a soft white sand. See if any events are going on while you are there, a couple weeks ago it was the sand sculpture competition on Siesta Key.
Speaking of Siesta key... Maybe 30 minutes away but currently rated best beach in the USA. Wide soft beaches. Plenty of small shells to be found along the water and yes, the water is usually quite clear even if it is cold right now.
A few miles down the road is Robinson Preserve, a nice place for a walk. Miles of trails leading through the mangroves and mud flats. Lots of bicycles and walkers. Kayaking too. Plenty of places to rent one and the canals are very relaxing and easy to paddle. Climb the tower to get a good view of the area.
On the off chance you want to snorkel or even dive the wreck of the Regina is a mere 75 yards off shore just north of where Cortez runs into Gulf blvd. If you have questions the dive shop (Sea Kat? Sea Trek? I can't remember) can help point it out to you.
Anyway, the place is a tourist mecca. And don't worry about crime, basically it doesn't exist there.
Enjoy and feel free to ask if you have anymore questions....

Go to The Waterfront Restaurant.

Order the Shrimp and Grits.

And the Chicken and Waffles.

Have had good food In St Armands at the Columbia, Venizia, Cha Cha Coconuts, Daqueri Deck and LA Malinche Mexican Restaurant.

My $0.02.... The North end of the island is the nicest. The beach on the NW side is one of the best in the country.

To Eat
Duffy's - good no frills burgers
Slims - good Philly and Lobster Mac & Cheese
Anna Maria Donuts - Get a chocolate glazed bacon donut
Rod and Reel Pier - Have a good breakfast while watching people fish
The Sandbar - for a beach side dinner at sunset

Aviod
Ellenton Outlet Mall
I'm going to disagree with others on St. Armands Sq. (it's a tourist trap)
Pretty much anywhere in Bradenton/Palmetto

Florida is a Tourist trap but there is no reason that a person should not be able

to enjoy it anyway.



 

You must be from Sarasota.  Who let you north of University

If he wants to direct traffic away from Palmetto, I am good with that.

If you like craft beers, it should be noted that Motorworks Brewing in Bradenton is actually quite a nice little spot.  Just be sure that you park in their parking lot, and don't go wandering around on foot in that area.

There are three nice little parks worth walking around in the area that most tourists probably don't see: Leffis Key on the southern tip of Anna Maria Island, Robinson Preserve just over the northern bridge into Bradenton (along the Manatee River), and Emerson Point on the tip of the island on the northern side of the Manatee River (have to drive through Palmetto).

Thanks for the suggestions. Leaving in one week for FL (arriving 1/10/15) and will check some of these places out.

So I am back from the trip. Thanks for all who gave suggestions what to do/eat. We stayed on the northern part of the island, about four minutes from the beach and Rod & Reel Pier. Good dinners every where we went: Waterfront (damn good steak), Rod & Reel, Sandbar, Duffy's, Hurricane Hanks, Mr. BBQ, J. Burns (pizza) .  Had  lunch at the New Pass bait shop after visiting Mote Aquarium. Breakfast at Jane E's, Anna Maria Donuts. Beers and watched Ohio State/Oregon at Slims. Ice Cream at Tyler's in Cortez. Did a lot of walking and rented bikes. Had two nice days for the beach. We walked around St. Armand's, lot of jewelry stores if your into that. Longboat Key is a nice area. Stopped in Bartell's one night for a beer. Lot of construction going on - remodeling and new builds. Expensive real estate down there. We may go back next year for two weeks.