Beech Street Grill
801 Beech St. 904/277-3662
Rick and Elizabeth Erickson have brought new life to timeworn surrounds by introducing local palates to their own version of New World Cuisine, whisking up imaginative and natural sauces, assembling a tempting array of desserts and selecting fine wines. Dinner: $$
Horizons Continental Cuisine
802 Ash St. 904/321-2430
The dynamic mother-daughter duo of Beebe and Courtney Thompson keep a jewel box of treats: tequila-spiked dill gravlax on brie crostinis and Pommery mustard sauce, warm papaya and toasted pecans served on spinach with goat cheese and citrus vinaigrette, blackened snapper Oscar, tuna Napoleon layered with spinach and ginger-wasabi cream, steak Diane and pepper steak. Dinner: $$
Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island
4750 Amelia Island Pkwy. 904/277-1100
Flagship front-runner with impeccaable service and superior cheffing in The Grill and The Cafe with all kinds of cooking seminars, tea parties and wine festivals as extra reasons to check in for a day, week or month. Breakfast, lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch; The Cafe: $$$, The Grill: $$$$
ATLANTIC BEACH
Ragtime Tavern and Seafood Grill
207 Atlantic Blvd. 904/241-7877
The Morton boys, Bill and Tom, keep this beach landmark a magnet with schools of fresh fish fillets flying off the grill to be consumed with a good selection of wines and beers -- straight from their A1A Ale Works in St. Augustine. Lunch and dinner: $$
AVONDALE
Sterling's Cafe
3551 St. Johns Ave. 904/387-0700
Sparkling with yet another elegant upgrade, one with marble entrance, grand staircase leading to the dessert room, martini and piano bar with many wines by the glass, single-malts and small-batch bourbons -- all that plus the good foods that come from an inspired kitchen. Lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch: $$
CEDAR KEY
The Island Room Restaurant at Cedar Cove
352/543-6520
Chef-proprietor Peter Stefani relies on local watery harvests for many of his specialties, here and at his in-town Heron Restaurant on the corner of Second Street and State Road 24. Among the best are the pastry-wrapped shrimp, blue crab stuffed with more blue crab and a shellfish parcel of clams, oysters and bay scallops. Lunch and dinner: $
FLAGLER BEACH
Topaz Cafe and Porch
1224 S. Ocean Shore Blvd. 904/439-3275
The happiest of happenings in a grand old hotel chock-full of fascinating antiques and artifacts. The staff is super-friendly, and the kitchen relies on freshness and imagination to produce an array of New Florida dishes. Desserts are truly decadent! Dinner: $$
GAINESVILLE
The Sovereign Restaurant
12 S.E. Second Ave. 352/378-6307
For 23 years, chef-proprietor Elmo Moser, with wife Lupe and daughters Carmen and Patricia at his side, has been delivering -- in spades! -- on his promise to prepare the best food in town. It's an enviable track record for the Swiss-born Moser who handles the classics with great style. Dinner: $$
JACKSONVILLE
Marker 32
14549 Beach Blvd. 904/223-1534
A dramatic second deck setting overlooking the Intracoastal and marsh grass with a back room that masters the grill and sauté pan when preparing quality seafood, lamb chops and Angus beef. Dinner: $$
Wilfried's 24 Miramar
4446 Hendricks Ave. 904/448-2424
Chef Wilfried Hausy is the star performer in an understated setting and handles his grill with grace and assembles such gustatory glories as a Beggar's Purse filled with shrimp, scallops, salmon and lobster wrapped in thin-thin phyllo and blessed with brandied lobster sauce. Dinner: $$
The Wine Cellar
1314 Prudential Dr., Southbank
904/398-8989
Wines of course are a great strength here but the luncheon salads are superb, as are the jerk-seasoned tuna, tournedos au poivre and rack of lamb bordelaise. Lunch and dinner: $$$
JACKSONVILLE BEACH
Giovanni's
1161 Beach Blvd. 904/249-7787
The father son team of Giovanni and Toni Acireale have the best of both possible worlds, old and new Italian, running the gamut from eggplant parmesan to shrimp tempura and scallopine crowned with crab ravioli and finished with cream. Dinner: $$
PONTE VEDRA BEACH
The Augustine Grille
Marriott at Sawgrass
1000 TPC Blvd. 904/285-7777
Superluxe resort with golf greens galore provide the backdrop for a class dining room with a skilled staff and a back room able to handle the challenges of bringing New World Cuisine and California Cuisine to northeast Florida. Dinner: $$$
ST. AUGUSTINE
A1A Ale Works Brewery & Restaurant
1 King St. 904/829-2977
Sensational capstone creation of the Mortons, responsible for Atlantic Beach's Ragtime Tavern and featuring wrap-around second-deck viewing of famous bridge and the old town. New World, fun-filled menu and on-site shiny brass brewery.
Lunch and dinner: $$
Gypsy Cab Company
828 Anastasia Blvd. 904/829-0055
Cadillac food in a '46 Chevy setting with chef-owner Ned Pollack having fun with Floribbean adaptations and island spices, transcontinental sauces and Pacific Rim Thai inspirations.
Lunch and dinner: $
Le Pavillon
45 San Marco Ave. 904/824-6202
Since April 1977, chef-owner Claude Sinatsch has been serving consistently reliable food at budget-pleasing prices, from crepes and omelets to trout almondine, schnitzels and sauerbraten. Wife Gisela is in charge of the front room filled with Old Country charm and son Claude, recent culinary school grad, helps Dad out back. Lunch and dinner: $
Old City House Inn and Restaurant
115 Cordova St. 904/826-0781
John and Darcy Compton are the terrific twosome in charge of this happy little house with some of the best food on the First Coast, including rack of lamb softened and flavored with a tour in the marinade of garlic-zapped raspberry vinegar, Dijon mustard and rosemary. Dinner: $$
Raintree
102 San Marco Ave. 904/824-7211
Magically transformed Victorian survivor with lush landscaping and an appealingly varied menu which ranges from back bayou jambalaya to the classic steaks and rack of lamb. Solicitous service and good wines. Dinner: $$
Saltwater Cowboy's
299 Dondanville Road 904/471-2332
Rustic hideaway tucked into the marshes, serving good ole boy cracker cuisine, with down-home honesty everywhere around, from the fresh seafood to the finger lickin' good ribs. Dinner: $
YANKEETOWN
The Compleat Angler
Izaak Walton Lodge, One 63rd St. 352/447-2311
The very definition of the word "Hideaway" with a rugged overnight alongside in case you overindulge and a surprise menu that ranges from cajunized oysters and scallops, pepper-encrusted steaks, even Chateaubriand! Dinner: $$