Sometimes in Florida, you're driving right across an island and you don't even realize it. Coon Key is one example of such, and Phillippi Island on the Tamiami Trail in Sarasota is another.
Bounded by the wide Phillippi Creek on all sides, the island was one of those moments in modern engineering, fortunate or unfortunate, where instead of sending the road around the creek and the island, someone said "eh, let's just build the highway goin' right through it."
Though the unfortunate part is that the highway covers nearly a third of the island, the fortunate part is that it led to the founding of one my favorite restaurants, Phillippi Creek Oyster Bar. I've actually only been there twice, but I'm hankerin' to make my rounder's path there again. Fan-riffic Bloody Marys and a fried soft-shell crab sandwich that'll make your pants too small.
(There's also another eatery on the island, called The Table, but I can't imagine going to Phillippi Island and not going to the oyster bar. Maybe someday.)
We love this place too. It's fun to see an aerial pic. Thanks for jogging our memory about The Phillipi Creek Oyster bar - we need to go back as well.
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