Take a trip with me down south on I-75 near Bradenton,FL.
At this time of the year a lot of us are making trips up and down that stretch of 75 in Florida, coming and going to art shows along the lower west coast (think, Ft. myers, Bonita Springs, Naples, et al).
I got just the place for you to stop and have a leisurely grouper sandwich at lunch while gazing upon the Manatee River. Also the Roo is open late enough on Sunday nites to get a good cheap bite. Interested, read on.
Located right off the exit on 75 for the Ellenton Outlet malls, on the north side of the Manatee River just above bradenton. There are plenty of signs indicating the Outlet Mall so you wont easily miss the exit.
Whether exiting off 75 from the north or the south, go slightly west on the main road the exit pours you onto. Turn at the first traffic lite and head towards the river which is south of the road. Take the access road back east for less than a quartermile and you will run into Woodys. It sits right on the river--it is an oldtime Florida institution river bar/restaurant. You can Google or Yelp it too. If all else fails, go to the first gas station and ask where Woodys is, everybody knows.
Now lets get down to the good stuff--food and booze, and not necessarily in that order.
The Roo is an old style comfortable river bar that is fast disappearing off the Florida landscape.
As a kid growing up in the Tampa Bay area there were literally hundreds of places like the Roo. Now it is an anomoly (good word to use in Online Scrabble) . Land on water is so expensive so that you don't see many Mom and Poppers left anymore--they all sell out and take the money and run.
The restaurant has inside seating but most people sit outside. It has a u-shaped covered bar, then there are loads of picnic tables all under nice umbrellas. Then to top it off, take a short walk on a narrow path onto the river and there is another bar under a Chickee hut right on the water. Lordie Mis Claudie! Bring me some tequila shooters to go with them hushpuppies. Oh, and give me a fresh grouper, lightly blackened with all the trimmings. Oh yeah I will take the onion rings too. Oh, brings me some tangy wings while we wait, better bring an order of calamari too. You get the picture.
The portions are ample and they are not expensive. They do great golden margaritas and have lots of beers.
Weekends finds a live band playing outside on a cool decorated stage. It is Florida casual here. You'll see oldsters mixing it up with bikers, kids having a hell of a time, and everybody happy. My kind of place.
So take a break from the journey and mellow out on the river--they aint making anymore places like this.
Comments
Sounds like just the place. Once, only once, we did a show on Marco and stayed in Goodland - oh my, talk about Old Florida. This was, hopefully still is, a little backwater with trailers and marine supplies stuck into the Everglades -- great seafood. Ever been there?
Thanks for the review. It's nice to have a great review about some other things that we shouldn't miss on a trip to the area.
Jacki B
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