Seaside Spirits: Bamboo Beach Bar and Grill

Just imagine… you find yourself at John's Pass after a long afternoon at the beach. Just walking around, trying to get the beautiful Gulf beach sand out of your swimsuit. Maybe you've spent the day doing a little souvenir shopping.

Either way, you're probably hot and thirsty. Now you are faced with a difficult choice—where to cool down with a cold drink? Your options seem to point to stopping at of those big corporate-type places.

You would rather enjoy something a little more—authentic.

If you are facing just that dilemma, then the Bamboo Beach Bar and Grill might be for you.

As one of the "oldest" bars in Florida, the Bamboo has developed a loyal following of locals. To demonstrate, when the Bamboo recently dropped karaoke in favor of nightly live music, some of the local beach bums were outraged. And they were very vocal online.

It's not a huge loss, compared to the beach bar vibe greeting John's Pass visitors and the locals who remain loyal to the Bamboo. Very popular with the beach crowd is the constant flow of frosty drinks from a well-used Island Oasis machine. The Bamboo offers a nice selection of frozen drinks, the best being an extraordinary banana daiquiri.

Yes, Bamboo has all the other trappings—cold beer on tap, a large outdoor seating area surrounded with tiki bars, a brick path for casual walk-by traffic, big-screen TV's (one playing a Univision soap opera?) as well as a couple of large fans cooling the seating area. The fan certainly made up for the lack of an afternoon breeze.

The Bamboo also has a reasonable selection of bar food, including wings and sliders made with chicken, beef or fish. The food sounds good enough, as long as you feel comfortable enough to eat. The outdoor heat can be a little tough. If you're not in the mood for bar food, there is the Thai-Am restaurant next door. It's one of the best old-school Thai places in town.

You can also spend a little time with Bamboo's official mascot, a bull terrier named "Cuervo." They consider him the "privacy policy enforcement officer." On our visit, Cuervo was snoozing in the hot afternoon sun. Maybe he could use a banana daiquiri.

Bamboo Beach Bar and Grill is located at northernmost part of John's Pass at 13025 Village Boulevard, Madeira Beach, (727) 398-5401. Open every day from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; their website is at www.bamboobeachbar.com.