From the Momentarily Tidy Desk of Bonnie Boots

You know how Wily E. Coyote looks after the Acme bomb explodes in his face? That's the way I look right now as I come to the end of a marathon session of file cabinet cleaning and office reorganization. I am, by nature, a pack rat, driven to squirrel away every piece of information that falls into my furry little paws. Some of it, like serious research reports, has lasting value in my work as a writer. The bulk of what I save, however, is clippings; utterly useless, but completely fascinating clippings like "Cannibals Order Pizza -- Then EAT Deliveryman!" "It was all a horrible misunderstanding," says British anthropologist Ian Treilsman (Weekly World News, May 9, 2000). This huge pile of priceless information surrounds me constantly, like some vast Sargasso Sea of paper flotsam and jetsam. Trying to put order into it was quite a task, one I only took on because my career is changing course, bringing with it vast new islands of information that demand their own space. So I've been forced to wade into my mess, sort it, label it, file it, and box it, even -- Gasp! -- throw some of it away. (Though, this morning, I did go Dumpster diving to retrieve a few soggy files I'd had second thoughts about abandoning.) Finally, after much frenzy, the floor is still deep, but my desktop is pristine. All that remains are these few notes from restaurants I've visited recently and won't have a chance to fully review: Sharon O'Gradney consistently strives for quality at her bistro and delivers it. Nonetheless, too many folks have driven right by the former O'Gradney's Bistro in its nondescript shopping strip location, thinking it an Irish pub. Now, a new name, O Bistro, and an eye-catching black-and-white awning make the place more noticeable, while a new chef in the kitchen, Tyson Grant, formerly of The Grill at Feather Sound, has made the place newsworthy. My favorite dishes so far are a retro Italian-American meatloaf stuffed with mozzarella and fresh basil, and bathed in a smoked tomato demi-glaze ($12.95); and an especially fragrant and flavorful pasta dish made Southwestern with smoked chicken, black beans, roasted red peppers and a roasted corn-chipotle cream tossed with spinach fettuccini ($13.95).

Tyson introduced me to a dessert combination worth saving room for, creme brulee sweetened with lavender honey, served with a glass of ice wine. Before tasting it, I thought the combination would be too saccharine for my taste, but quite the opposite -- each one flattered the other in a sensuous pairing that left my excited tongue feeling like it had just licked the sweat off Brad Pitt. What a sexy finish to a fine meal.

The chance to be surprised by pairings you wouldn't think to make yourself -- that's the value of wine tastings. Last October, at Native Seafood's wine tasting, one of the best of the year, I had a plate of spicy chili and chicken quesadillas faced off against four glasses of white wine. The wine I expected best results from bombed. The one I expected to be a bore, Fetzer Sundial Chardonnay, surprised me when it turned out to be the perfect pairing. I've always loved Native Seafood, and now it's even better, with a new Moroccan chef and a new menu that's truly mouthwatering.

There's a great selection of hot and cold tapas, like fresh rolls (not fried, like egg rolls) stuffed with lobster, noodles, thinly sliced veggies and fresh herbs, with a spicy sweet dipping sauce ($6). Or try oysters Osceola, five fresh, wood-fire-roasted oysters topped with callaloo (a sort of Caribbean gumbo), sweet onion, garlic, chorizo sausage and Spanish manchego cheese ($7.50).

Finfish are always superbly fresh here. Just ask and they'll bring the fish to your table for inspection before it's cooked. Try the outstanding Chilean salmon, basted with Key lime juice, roasted on a wood-fired grill and served with a watercress dill sauce ($17) or one of the best grouper sandwiches in the Bay, a full half-pound of wood-roasted black grouper, served with fries and slaw ($10). The crab cakes are better than ever, a combination of peppers, herbs, spices and crabmeat, delicately fried, then served with smoky chipotle aioli and fruit salsa ($15.50). If seafood ain't your thang, try the half-chicken, basted with sweet island barbecue sauce and roasted over a wood fire, then topped with goat cheese and served with a house salad and garlic mashed potatoes ($11.50). Yum!

A place I truly regret not having time to review in depth is the Sea Grill, inside the Four Points Sheraton in Palm Harbor. The setting is lovely, with floor to ceiling glass walls overlooking a large, quiet pond; the servers are well trained, and the food is surprisingly good. I say surprisingly because hotel food, by its nature, must appeal to the masses, so hotels are not usually a place I look to for outspoken flavors.

But at Sea Grill, Chef Christopher Knowles serves up a sea full of fresh fish, from grouper, mahi and sea bass to rare delights like hog snapper and monkfish, in a variety of delicious dishes with forthright flavors. My favorite? Calamari. But forget those fried rubber bands with tomato sauce. These are tender, delicate squid, stuffed with Mediterranean flavors and lightly grilled, then drizzled with basil oil and garlic dressing. Two yums up for this appetizer ($8).

Another best is the grilled, rum-glazed grouper served over a warm spinach salad with plantain mash and jerk shrimp ($25). Chris says his own favorite is grilled salmon over summer corn ragout served with jumbo lump crab croquettes. And don't miss the soups, from asparagus crab to a rich bouillabaisse -- so good you have to take off your shoes because your toes will to be wiggling with delight. The Sea Grill is well worth a trip. Check the Wine List calendar for it's upcoming wine dinner. Then check it out.