Eating further afield

Some Florida Chains we like:

Columbia Restaurants are found in several cities in Florida.  http://www.columbiarestaurant.com/menu.asp  Great Cuban food! Tampa and St Petersburg and St Augustine are the closest ones.

Bonefish Grille-excellent seafood and other fare plus a good wine selection.  We like to order appetisers for a tapas type dinner.  Salads feature heart of palm.  http://www.bonefishgrill.com/ Ocala and Gainesville


Macaronni Grille-good selections and decent wine.  You can ask for the "make your own" pasta dish menu.  It has grown less expansive in the past year, but you can ask for anything they have to be put on your pasta.  This is my favorite option. http://www.macaronigrill.com/Home/Default.aspx Gainesville

Sonny's BBQ-I already mentioned in a previous blog post.  Good BBQ-no alcohol. http://www.sonnysbbq.com/ Ocala, Gainesville and beyond


Applebees-designed to be the American equivalent of the neighborhood pub.  More like America's chain restaurant.  Not bad food.  I adore the Oriental Chicken Salad-greens including cabbage with crunchy noodles and almonds and pieces of fried chicken with a sweet (actually, too sweet-get it on the side) dressing.  It's all about texture.  http://www.applebees.com/ Ocala and Gainesville and beyond