You might want to check if Butterfly World is open. Last time I drove by that way, I know Tradewinds Park itself was still closed.

What type of restaurants and price range? The King Tut exhibit is close to Las Olas Blvd., where you can find just about every "touristy" restaurant.

Two places that I enjoy a lot, but nothing 4 star "elegant like" are.
Southport Raw Bar and Zona Fresca, neither of which are all that far from the King Tut exhibit.

The service can be somewhat questionable, the food is pretty good, BUT the view is OUTSTANDING is 15th Street Fisheries.

If you enjoy "nightlife" with all kinds of live music and such, Seminole Hard Rock is a pretty good choice.

Islamorada FIsh company near Griffin & 95 is fun and so is the fishing hall of fame next door and Bass OUtdoor world...you could kill the whole afternoon!

I went to the Seminole Hard Rock for a concert last Thursday, it was my first visit. It is a very neet place. The casino and the hotel are the center of the thing but you can walk around all of these restaurants and shops and enjoy various live music. I got a real kick out of that place. Due to traffic we never got to try one of the restaurants before the show but there was a huge variety. Asian, Mexican, sports bars, jazz bars. I would NOT recommend the pizza at the food court in the casino :-O

I never even knew we had a casino in FL! The fountain in front of the place is beautiful.

JoanM,
You tried that cardboard with tomato sauce on top too, huh????

I don't see the reason for the food court in the casino anyway. All they really need is another coffee/soda/sandwich shop like the Constant Grind over by Blue Plate.

My opinion is they wanted plenty of room for a quick remodel when they do get "real" gambing. The food court, the night club and the theatre could all be gone quickly for casino expansion and nothing is lost because all that exists elsewhere anyway.

I'll tell you why they have a food court! Because when you go after 6 pm on a Saturday night, all the restaurants seem to have a 3-4 hour wait time (One place told me if I sat at the bar, they might be able to get me in sooner!) :)

Yeah that pizza was bad but we had concert tickets for 8:00 and it was 7:15 and I was sooo hungry. It was really really bad :-(

I will probably wind up taking company down there since we get so many visitors in FL. I'm thinking that a few of those restaurants have to be decent. I really enjoy the live music as you wander around eating ice cream.

cool thanks for the info! i'm sure we don't want 4 star, my DH would never dress for that LOL. but i am concerned because we are going down there on his spring break from teaching middle school and his college classes, march 11-13 or 14. i'm wondering if by eating dinner in some nicer places that we might be able to avoid the teenage spring breakers & bad crowds?

i don't particularly care about service, i do want great food thou. i can get all the chain restaurants here so i'd like some local flavors. i could live w/ the wait time if we ran over to Bass outdoor world, my DH would love that and that would calm him down LOL!

i will call butterfly world just to make sure (thanks for the tip!) i had a friend whose neighbor just went last weekend so i think it's open. looks like sat afternnon we'll drive down catch dinner & something else (maybe bass world LOL), sunday King Tut, early monday butterfly world, hopefully get home by 5 pm to p/u my furbabies from their vet vacation :-) ~ liz

You have probably been and gone by this time!
But for future reference there is a lovely little Cafe (Pelican Bar) on the intacoastal just north the 17th St. Bridge. It overlooks the 15th Street Fisheries. Its part of the Hyatt Hotel complex. Going east on 17th St, enter the Hyatt entrance keeping the the left lane on 17th Street. Turn left at the entrance, pick up a parking card which the Pelican Bar will 'stamp' so you dont pay parking. Drive to the north west corner and walk along the water westwards, turning north (right) at the end of the pathway. (You'll be walking past all the huge moored boats). The little cafe is at the northern end of the ramp. If you go any further you'll be swimming! Right on the water, quiet and in the evening, you are never 'rushed'. Music on Friday and Saturday evenings. Check their closing time. If you have a dingy, you can tie up on the north side of the cafe. Its called a 'bar' but its really a 'cafe'. Outdoor seating, very, very casual and of course the view is delightful! Our very favourite place in all of Ft. L.