In Tampa, a great food stop is the Columbia Restaurant, decorated with thousands of hand-painted terra cotta tiles and known as Florida's oldest restaurant. Founded in 1905, the restaurant has been family-owned and -operated for five generations.

The "1905" Salad is mixed at your table; the Paella "a la Valenciana" is a family recipe and the restaurant's signature dish. My favorite is the Ybor City Devil Crab Croquettes.

To experience a bit of Asia, plan your trip to include a Sunday visit to Wat Mongkolratanaram, or Wat Tampa for short. Enjoy an open-air riverfront brunch that you build yourself with items from the dozens of Thai food vendors at this Buddhist temple's 30-year-old weekly market. Arrive early to grab a picnic table and to avoid the lines for pad thai, fried bananas and mango sticky rice.