ROSEMARY BEACH, FLORIDA, USA -- The Florida gulf coast has changed a lot since my college days when we used to drive from Mississippi to the Florida Beaches for spring break. It's gone a lot more upscale.

Today luxurious planned communities like Rosemary Beach are as prevalent as the kitschy and often tacky beach tourist areas used to be. Even the dining has gone upscale. You'd be hard pressed to find the typical beach town fried fish shack type restaurant in these parts today. But you can find some mighty fine fare, paired with good wine, a wide variety of brews and creative cocktails.

Of course, since the vacation rentals at Rosemary Beach come with full kitchens, you may opt to stay in and cook yourself. There are full grocery stores nearby, the Courtyard Wine and Cheese Bar in Rosemary Beach can hook you up with the perfect bottle of wine, and the resort's concierge service can and will accommodate special requests and can even set up catering for you.

When you want to go out, these are some of our favorite places to eat in and near Rosemary Beach:

Summer Kitchen Café
For a hearty breakfast or quick lunch or even an afternoon cappuccino and something sweet, head over to the Summer Kitchen Café. The place is small and casual, but the food is homemade and good (don't miss the cinnamon rolls in the morning). Soups, sandwiches and light entrees are the fare and there's lots of outdoor seating to take advantage of the Rosemary Beach sunshine while dining. The Summer Kitchen Café is within easy walking or biking distance from anywhere in Rosemary Beach.

Onano
On the ground floor of The Pensione, Rosemary Beach's only bed and breakfast inn, lucky diners will find Onano, a small neighborhood café specializing in Northern Italian cuisine. An intimate and romantic spot within easy walking distance of an any of Rosemary Beach's vacation rental cottages and homes, and just 2 doors down from the fabulous Courtyard Wine and Cheese Bar (click for full story), Onano's small interior sports a full bar and indoor and outdoor seating, all lit by candlelight and mood lighting that seems to produce a golden glow about the place.

The food at Onano is fabulous - fresh and flavorful, and artfully prepared and served. The menu changes frequently, depending on the best ingredients in the market, but the quality of the finished dishes is always first rate.

Café Thirty-A
Just a few miles down the road from Rosemary Beach in nearby Santa Rosa Beach, you'll find Café Thirty-A. The restaurant is well worth getting in the car for, and it's simple to find as it's right on the main road that goes to Rosemary Beach.

The café sports a huge menu which makes it difficult to choose. It starts with a dazzling array of pre dinner martinis and cocktails, followed by a dizzying number of appetizers, entrees and desserts. There's also an extensive wine list and a respectable number of wines available by the glass.

Everything we ordered was good, and I dined with a very large party, so Cafe Thirty-A gets extra points there. An impromptu quiz of local residents at the Courtyard Wine and Cheese bar the night before I dined at Café Thirty-A picked the Sesame Crusted Yellow Fin Ttuna served with Crispy Leeks as a favorite dish. To be sure, it was excellent, with a great mixture of textures, flavors and temperatures between the nearly raw tuna, the delicate leeks and pungent sesame seeds. But then everything else we ordered was great too.

Favorite appetizer plates included the Beef Carpaccio and the Steamed Green Neck Mussels and Littleneck Clams. Best of all was the innovative Grilled Georgia Quail served with Creamy Grits and Sage Fritters. Who would have thought about paring quail with grits? The folks at Café Thirty-A. It works beautifully and is a dish that will actually have you craving grits - even folks who claim they don't like grits will probably enjoy this flavorful rendition.

Vegetarians will also find a modest selection if dishes here - especially in the oven-fired pizza and salad departments.

If you're not too full, the desserts here are as creative and delicious as the rest of the menu. There's something for every taste, but for my money you can't beat the delicate fried Banana Beignets served with Macadamia Nut Ice Cream and Caramel Sauce, presented in a gorgeous phyllo basket. It doesn't get any more decadent than that folks, but if you're going to splurge, why not do it right?

Practicalities

The Summer Kitchen Café is located at 50 North Barrett Square in Rosemary Beach, Florida 322413. Call 850-231-6264, .

Onano is located at 78 Main St. in Rosemary Beach, Florida, 32461. Call 850-231-2436. As of this writing (2006) the average appetizer is $9.00, entrees range from $21.00 to $36.00.

You can find Café Thirty-A at 3899 Easy County Hwy. 30-A in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida 32459. Call 850-2166. As of this writing (2006) the average appetizers range from $8.00 to $17.50, entrees range from $21.00 to $37.00.

For more information about visiting Rosemary beach, Florida, contact the Rosemary Beach Cottage Rental Company at 650-278-2030 or toll free 888-855-1551 or click to www.rosemarybeach.com.

Cheri Sicard, in addition to being the editor of FabulousTravel.com and its sister site, Fabulous Foods.com is the author of The Great American Handbook: What You Can Do For Your Country Today and Every Day and The Low Carb Restaurant Guide, and the co-author of US Citizenship for Dummies. To learn more about Cheri, click here.