For the Birds

Binoculars? Check. Nature journal? Check. Lindsay carefully packed her bag before our first trip to the Celery Fields in Sarasota, a spot much loved by local birdwatchers for the variety of winged creatures found there.

 

We strolled along a boardwalk to a gazebo overlooking the restored wetlands at this former agricultural area, which now serves as a storm-water collection site for Sarasota County. All of the aquatic plants and trees put in here during the restoration have helped to attract some 200 (and counting) species of birds to the park.

 

A bird naturalist from the Sarasota Audubon Society pointed out the different birds that were out and about during our visit, like anhingas, turkey vultures, egrets, and pied-billed grebes. Lindsay peered at them through her binoculars, then whipped out her nature journal to take notes and draw pictures. Handy checklists of birds found in Sarasota County available on-site offer another way to keep track of what you might spot.

 

Though busy Interstate 75 is in sight, that doesn’t stop the feathered visitors from swooping in and out, or take away from the park’s peaceful atmosphere. It’s a great place to slow down and reconnect with the area’s wild side. And the next time we visit, we plan on tackling the trails leading to the top of the park’s 85-foot, manmade mound (a byproduct of the wetlands restoration) for a totally different perspective of the Celery Fields.

Parent-Pleasing Meals

Did you hear about the controversy surrounding a couple who took their eight-month-old to an ultra-high-end, Michelin-three-star restaurant in Chicago? I’m all in favor of going out and about with kids—and of taking them places besides just McDonald’s and playgrounds—but I draw the line at things like taking a baby to the movies or a toddler to a super-swanky restaurant. When you go to a restaurant or museum or wherever, there should be opportunity for everyone in your party to enjoy the experience—Mom, Dad, and any little ones in tow. And I know that I enjoy a pricey meal much more when I don’t have to cut anyone else’s food or make sure that no drinks spill.

To be fair to those parents, their babysitter cancelled and the restaurant had a complex, months-in-advance, prepaid and nonrefundable reservation policy. And while their case may be extreme, almost every parent from time to time has taken a kiddo to a restaurant that may have been less than thrilled to have them, in search of a meal that didn’t come out of a deep fryer or that wasn’t available at every suburban mall in America.

With that in mind, here are some Sarasota County restaurants where little guys and gals are welcome and Mom and Dad can have a grown-up meal that goes beyond simple sustenance. And as long as the kiddos aren’t complete terrors, no one should take to Twitter about your presence.

Caragiulos has been an institution in downtown Sarasota since 1989. Kids can keep busy by making their own personal-sized pizzas; adults can sip a glass of wine while enjoying a specialty pie or one of the restaurant’s many pasta dishes.  

Owned by the same folks behind Caragiulos, Owen’s Fish Camp occupies a historic Sarasota cottage tucked under a banyan tree and oozing with down-home charm. Its Southern-tinged menu serves up simple but satisfying seafood dishes, and the atmosphere is anything but stuffy.

 

Gold Rush BBQ in Venice is ultra-casual and perpetually bustling. Tasty barbecued chicken, pork, and beef are served up quickly in a variety of forms and combinations and in portions big enough to handle even the most adult-sized appetite.

Don’t let the white tablecloths and wineglasses scare you away: The staff at Columbia on St. Armands Circle in Sarasota has no problem adding a high chair to the table. There’s tapas and sangria mixed tableside for Mom and Dad and a reasonably priced kids’ menu for the little ones.

Three area locations of Mi Pueblo serve up tart margaritas and spicy Mexican fare and sometimes offer kid-friendly entertainment like magicians, face painters, and balloon artists. Visit on a night when the mariachi band is in the house and no one will notice if Junior throws a tantrum.

 

The Tommy Bahama Restaurant & Bar on St. Armands Circle in Sarasota is surprisingly welcoming of kids. The menu’s not cheap, but the tropical, get-away-from-it-all vibe provides a relaxing setting for a family meal.

Smack dab on Venice Beach, Sharky’s on the Pier draws locals and visitors for tropical drinks and seafood served surfside. Kids’ meals come with ice cream, and the shark-centric decor and giant fish tank offer plenty for young diners to look at if the water views don’t hold their attention.

Take in the action of downtown Sarasota from an outdoor table at Mattison’s City Grille. Dine on award-winning chef Paul Mattison’s casual yet sophisticated fare (including a kids’ side salad you’ll want to dig into yourself), then browse Main Street’s shops or stroll to Bay Front Park.

 

Venice newcomer Darrell’s Restaurant features a menu full of Southern favorites like fried chicken and pulled pork. Sit outside so the kids can stretch their legs in the adjoining courtyard while you polish off your plate, and make sure to end the meal with a generously sized Mason jar filled with “dirt” (aka chocolate pudding and crushed Oreos).

To the Rescue

If you’ve got a little animal lover or environmentalist on your hands, plan a trip to the Visitor Education Center at the Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW) in Sanibel, Florida.

 

For years CROW has been rescuing and treating injured animals in the Sanibel area. Its hospital facilities are off-limits to the general public, but the education center gives visitors young and old a glimpse of the important work the organization is doing.

 

Kids get plenty of opportunities to play vet as they make their way through the site’s interactive exhibits. Actual case files are used to show what happens after an animal gets hit by a car or swallows something it shouldn’t. (Some of the photos can be a little gruesome, so you might want to preview them first if you have a sensitive or easily grossed-out kiddo.) Young ones can assess injuries, check out the tools used to treat them, and see if they would have made the same calls the doctors did.

 

Live video feeds, frequent talks, and a new Animal Ambassador program help further connect visitors with the work done at the clinic and the animals who are there temporarily or, in some cases, permanently due to injuries that are too severe for release back into the wild. Guests also learn what they can do to protect the local animal population from those kinds of injuries in the first place.

 

Sanibel, in general, is a great place to take little nature lovers for the day or weekend. The conservation-minded island is home to many parks and preserves, great beaches, and outfitters who can help people explore Sanibel’s wild side. Read more about ways kids can enjoy and learn about the great outdoors on Sanibel and neighboring Captiva Island in this story I wrote for Times of the Islands magazine.

I'll Drink to That

I love it when kids’ meals include a beverage in the price. I know that doesn’t seem like a big deal, but when some restaurants charge almost $3 for a child’s drink, even a reasonably priced kids’ meal quickly starts pushing $10.

Priced at just $5.95, the kids’ meals at Columbia come with a beverage. And not just some kind of soda—kids can also opt for milk and several types of juices.

That’s just one reason why Columbia is a great place to take kids. But it’s also a restaurant where young diners can try lots of different kinds of foods and learn about a piece of Florida’s history.

Though there are now several Columbia locations throughout the Sunshine State, the original restaurant opened in 1905 in Tampa’s Ybor City area. It was started by a Cuban immigrant and soon became a popular spot with the multiethnic workforce at the city’s nearby cigar factories. That original location still draws lots of diners today, who come to soak in its Old World charm and enjoy its much-lauded menu of Spanish cuisine (much of it offered in tapas-sized portions).

A trip to the original Columbia can be combined with other kid-friendly activities, like a ride aboard Tampa’s TECO Line Streetcar System and a visit to the Ybor City Museum State Park, which is housed in a former bakery and details the neighborhood’s history.

 

Or visit the location on Sarasota’s St. Armands Circle, a great spot for people-watching and a post-meal stroll. There are a slew of ice-cream shops and other dessert places on the circle for little ones in search of sweets, along with a handful of retailers (Fresh Produce, Crazy Shirts, Little Bo-tique) that carry kid-sized clothing and other items. Read more about my experience dining at Sarasota’s Columbia location with a kiddo in tow in the Whine and Dine column of the January/February 2014 issue of Mommy Magazine.