895 22nd Ave. South 727/823-7018
St. Petersburg
You won't be putting on the Ritz in this 41-year-old veteran, but you'll be filling your face with soul food to swoon by, wood-fired barbecued birds slathered with sauces to cry for, finger-lickin' ribs and the likes of curried baby goat and chitterlings, sweet potato pie and peach cobbler, all at prices to stretch your budget from here to Birmingham. Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily.
Billy's Tap Room & Grill
58 E. Granada Blvd. 904/672-1910
Ormond Beach
This solid sentinel goes all the way back to 1922 when the Rockefellers were the big news in town and living next door at The Casements. Billy's, an English pub in spirit and substance with a fine bird's eye maple bar and cozy booths, was in the same family, the MacDonalds, for 63 years. Today it's the proud treasure of local native Monk Noell, who keeps the memories vibrant and the prices right with pocket-pleasing 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.complete dinners, 12 of them pegged from $6.95 to $12.95, introduced by special brewed-fresh-out-back soups and climaxed with a super-tempting dessert, framing the likes of fried shrimp, chicken breast a l'orange or marsala, a half slab of baby back ribs, charbroiled chopped steak, center cut pork chop or seafood au gratin, which is a gathering together in a casserole of shrimp and scallops, crab and coldwater whitefish laced with sherry and crowned with cheddar cheese. The beef bounty ranges from a $15.95 petite cut filet mignon to Billy's cut and the New York strip for $17.95. Larger cave man cuts are available by special order, but more popular is the fresh fish of the day prepared 20 different ways, including time on the grill, under the broiler, fried or in a skillet being punished by the blackening process. Lunch, great salads and burgers the specialties, Monday through Friday; dinner, entrees $13 to $24, Monday through Saturday.
Biscayne Cafeteria
147 Miracle Mile 305/444-9005
Coral Gables
In the heart of the Gables with all its good, great and glorious restaurants, this steady survivor has been more than holding its own for the past 54 years, defying the cross-cultural culinary invasions and all the Floribbean fuss with solid servings of liver and onions, roast turkey and flank steak, accompanied by homemade soups and breads, presented in a no-nonsense setting with $2.75 to $3.95 prices not to be believed. There's takeout, of course, and also an active catering department. Lunch and dinner daily.
Coney Island Sandwich Shop
250 Ninth St. North 727/822-4493
St. Petersburg
Calvin Coolidge was in the White House when this simple little storefront served its first sandwich back in 1926, and today it's a reverse-chic kind of hideaway, one in which the chili is spooned atop the ever-popular hot dog and one of the most expensive items on the menu is a $2.50 milk shake. Lunch and dinner Monday through Friday; doors close at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Julian's Dining Room and Lounge
88 S. Atlantic Ave. 904/677-6767
Ormond Beach
Around the corner from Billy's and close to my two other local favorites: the 15-year-old European Cafe & Schnitzel Haus (210 S. Atlantic Ave.) and Frappes North (123 W. Granada Blvd.). Both are chef-driven -- one by the Swiss-born George Obadal who features no fewer than 15 schnitzels along with the best of the wurst; the other by Bobby Frapier, who takes a mod-mod New Florida approach with wonderful veggie burritos, pesto risotto, cracked pepper-coated smoked turkey breast and special veals.
Julian's specializes in charbroiled slabs of prime western beef along with thick lamb and pork chops, ham steaks, half chickens, and liver and onions, at prices very kind to family budgets. Nine of the 17 land-locked entrees are under $10. The seafood side of the menu is more expensive and from waters near and far there's a full harvest, everything from Alaskan salmon and king crab to red snapper amandine, soft shell crabs and lobsters from Florida, Maine and South Africa. Prices range from $8 for a pair of deviled crabs to $24 for lobster thermidor and $26 for a set of the South African imports, when available. Always on the menu is Julian's $9 Special Chicken a la Supreme, "Not Fried -- Not Broiled -- Not Baked -- Not Stewed -- But Delicious." It's a real winner, especially when introduced with some of the best Cuban black bean soup to be found for miles. The Julian Lopez family must be doing something right: They've been in business here since 1967, serving dinner nightly.
Norwood's Seafood Restaurant and Wine Shop
400 2nd Ave., South Causeway 904/428-4621 New Smyrna Beach
The origins go back to 1929 when the building served as gas station and general store, then as piggy bank factory and real estate office until 1946 when Earl Norwood opened a place to serve locally caught seafood. Nearly 40 years later the building was remodeled and upgraded by new owner Donald Simmons, who works mightily to stay in the forefront, installing a coquina rock facade and two-story glass wall in a new dining room, modernizing the kitchen and opening a wine shop on the premises, backed up by a 40-page wine list and special winemaker dinners. Simmons also added to the kitchen, now offering certified Angus Beef hand-cut daily and a special menu to create your own Surf and Turf entree, eight selections from the sea and seven from land, at combined prices of $18 to $33.50. For budget-stretchers there are sunset savings 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. every night but Saturday, with 11 choices ranging from $8.59 for charbroiled chicken teriyaki crowned with smoked turkey and Swiss cheese to $12 for grilled Angus prime rib smothered with sautéed mushrooms and onions. Yet another menu, served all night long, caters to those with small appetites by offering 10 entrees for less than $10. The six-ounce Angus filet mignon is $15. Lunch and dinner daily.
Ted Peters' Famous Smoked Fish
1350 Pasadena Ave. 727/381-7931
St. Petersburg
The name is no idle boast: It's arguably the first commercial restaurant serving smoked fish in the country, and it has been building a reputation for single-focus success and an absolutely spotless kitchen and front room ever since it opened in May 1951. Along side at the smokehouse, another neat as the proverbial pin place, you can witness the butterflied mullet being bronzed. But smoked fish is not the only draw at this perennially packed little cottage with inviting porch noon or night. The German potato salad is also outstanding, but if you want to take it out, you almost have to sign an affidavit that you will be eating it within a couple of hours, so concerned are they for proper food handling and hygiene -- otherwise you'll get it cold and do your own reheating. I always order it along with some of their superb Manhattan clam chowder, not easy to find these days, and a burger, a third-of-a-pound perfect burger, presented with a perfect slice of white onion on top of the roll. Ted Peters -- and he's still around -- is a phenomenon. Lunch and dinner every day but Tuesday.