Food and Spirits This Labor Day Weekend

Got your Largo groove on? Gentle goes the summer, but with no ebb in the heat, it's time to expand your indoor menu of where to eat, drink and party around the hood. Share your best bets with your neighbors (wisernan@aol.com) and laissez le bon temps roulez. Don’t forget downtown Largo’s First Friday celebration this week and mark your calendars for the upcoming I Like It Hot Festival Sept. 10-11.

Dancing Queens:  Open 3 till the cows come home, this hip Vegas-style lounge features flat screens, cool neon, smoking deejays, live bands and even a VIP room and bottle service. Labor Day weekend rocks, with the Bus Stop Band and $4 Absolut on Friday, delectable Marc Anthony $3 Jameson on Saturday and the awesome Hunks of Funk and $4 Malibu on Sunday. Daily drink specials sweeten the experience, with 2 for 1 Monday, $1 domestic draft Tuesday, $1 Pinnacle drinks, wells and domestic draft Wednesday and on Thursday, Ladies drink free; be sure to strut your LBD.

• Mako’s On The Rocks, 14450 Walsingham Rd. (727) 595-6236

Toujours Provence: Maybe you are a connoisseur of the bistro’s fab French cuisine and Dominique’s awesome cooking classes, but did you know that you can enjoy complimentary petit hors d’oeuvres and half price house wine in the Courtyard every Friday and Saturday from 5-7 p.m.? Linger for the blue crab consommé finished with Absinthe and if you’re really hungry, the chateaubriand for two. Open 5-10p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. 

• Café Largo, The Galleria Plaza, 12551 Indian Rocks Road #18 (727) 596-6282

Sports & Slice: NFL games go best with Mike’s hand-tossed pizzas both gourmet (BBQ chicken, Margarita) or traditional (meat lovers or veggie). For $5, you get two XXL pepperoni slices at lunch. Expanding soon to the building up front (another ice-cold beer bar) and with a glorious outdoor patio, there’s a dish for everyone—stromboli, calzone, meatball hoagies, wings Asian or hot, blackened chicken wraps and Greek salad or Cajun chicken Caesar.

• Michael’s Pizza & Pub, 14479 Walsingham Rd. (727) 724-4100

Edible Delights: What’s a barbecue without sauce? Sizzle your backyard fiesta with All About Beans’ special seasonings such as Vermont Kitchen’s maple chipotle grill sauce or Korean BBQ sauce and marinade, best served on top of the gourmet steaks and burger from Surf & Turf.  Stay tuned for the Sept. 14 cooking class with Bella Vino at All About Beans.

• All About Beans, 100-G Indian Rocks Rd. (727) 588-3303
• Surf & Turf, 2900 West Bay Dr. (727)-585-8781

The Spirited Life:  Need a drink? Sip for free every Friday  5-8 p.m. at this delightful boutique purveying fine wines, cigar, microbrews from IPAs to stouts as well as enophile gifts (the indestructible Rabbit wine opener, or blown glass wine stoppers).  Bring home a bottle of Ferrari Carano Fume Blanc or whatever you heard about on Bay News 9’s Vino Vino this week.

• , 14590 Walsingham Rd. (727) 596-8902