Tampa: How to enjoy the host city for the GOP convention
— -- Road warrior Nancy Walters thinks the Tampa Bay area — home to this week's Republican National Convention— is the only place in the world greater than Venice, Italy.
Tampa "is an affordable destination with the best beaches in the USA, culture, fabulous restaurants, great sports teams, a wonderful airport and friendly people," says Walters of Rancho Bernardo, Calif., who runs a marketing company.
Such attributes can only make the convention more memorable for the 50,000 visitors expected this week. Many may be looking to squeeze the most out of their free time when not at the convention hall, the Tampa Bay Times Forum, or after the political festivities have concluded.
For those and other visitors, USA TODAY assembled a guide with helpful travel tips. The guide is based on recommendations from food guidebook publisher Zagat, Moon Travel Guides, TripAdvisor and our panel of road warriors — some of the world's most frequent business travelers who voluntarily provide information.
They include road warrior Coy Stout of Moss Beach, Calif., who takes a yearly business trip to Tampa and says the highlight is always dinner at the "incomparable" Bern's Steak House on South Howard Avenue.
"From the vintage decor and top-notch service to a bone-in strip steak, I always make a point to visit Bern's," says Stout, a biotech executive. "Between dinner in one of the main dining rooms and dessert in the dessert room where you can request a song via an in-house telephone, be sure to ask for a tour of the extensive wine cellar and the kitchen where they dry-age their beef."
Restaurants
Zagat gives Bern's the highest food score of any steak house — 27 of a possible 30 — but the area has other top choices for succulent beef, including Grille One Sixteen, The Palm and Ruth's Chris, which each have a 26 food score.
Grille One Sixteen is the "trendiest spot," a New American restaurant in Carrollwood with "stunning, cosmopolitan décor" that "looks like something out of James Bond," Zagat and its reviewers say. The menu is "known for prime steaks," but "don't miss the signature house-made donuts."
Other highly recommended eateries for New American cuisine are Mise en Place, The Refinery and Café Ponte.
Beach Bistro, a beachfront bistro on Anna Maria Island, offers "exciting, sophisticated exquisitely prepared Floridian cuisine" and receives Zagat's highest food score — 28 — of any Tampa Bay-area restaurant.
Diners are "waited on hand and foot" and are advised to get a table outside "for more breathing room and the most glorious view of the water, especially at sunset, Zagat and its reviewers say.
Other Zagat recommendations:
•For Italian food, Donatello has "excellent" pastas and osso buco. Dine at Columbia for Cuban-Spanish food, Restaurant BT for French-Vietnamese fare, and Cassis American Brasserie for American-French food.
•For a quick bite, go to Burger 21 for burgers, Datz for giant sandwiches and numerous beers on tap, and Pane Rustica for artisan breads, thin-crust pizzas and sandwiches.
•For a lively bar scene, go to the Fly Bar's rooftop bar or 717 South, "a perfect place for celebration or romance."
Attractions
Tampa Theatre, a local landmark that was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, is the highest-rated attraction among millions of travelers, according to TripAdvisor.
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