Lakeland (Publix Original) ★ 4.1
Lakeland east of Tampa houses Publix's founding 1930 store and a revived downtown lakefront with brunch, craft beer and the original Florida Southern campus.
Sarasota (Fine Dining and Beach) is a food day trips in Tampa.
Sarasota an hour south runs its own Michelin Guide listings with stars at Indigenous, plus the Selva Grill and Owen's Fish Camp on the bayfront.
Lakeland east of Tampa houses Publix's founding 1930 store and a revived downtown lakefront with brunch, craft beer and the original Florida Southern campus.
St Petersburg downtown runs a stronger waterfront restaurant scene than Tampa, with the Pier complex carrying Fresco's, Doc Ford's and Teak waterfront grills.
Tarpon Springs on the Greek sponge docks runs the largest concentration of Greek restaurants in the country, with Hellas, Mykonos and the bakeries.
Dunedin on Pinellas has Tampa Bay's densest craft brewery row, with Dunedin Brewery, 7venth Sun Dunedin and Cueni Brewing in a Scottish-American village.
Plant City east of Tampa is Florida's strawberry capital, with Parkesdale Farm stand and a strawberry festival every March that pulls 500,000 visitors yearly.
Clearwater Beach runs the Tampa Bay grouper sandwich circuit, with Frenchy's Cafe, Crabby's and the Palm Pavilion serving fresh Gulf grouper.