This block starts with Sylvia’s: Queen of Soul Food (642 22nd St. South). Sylvia’s made its way to St. Pete this year but has been serving up decadent, homey meals since ’62 in Harlem. This is the first upscale soul food restaurant in the ‘Burg’s history. Between the moist slices of corn bread, gravy smothered chicken, honey-cinnamon glazed yams and fluffy waffles beneath crispy fried chicken breast, Sylvia’s plates the kind of food that leaves you smiling and satisfied.

Sylvia’s is the new neighbor to the historic Manhattan Casino. The Casino is a staple in the St. Pete community. In the ‘20’s, it was a dance hall that hosted stars such as James Brown, Louis Armstrong, Nat King Kole, Ray Charles and many more. Today, it stands as a venue for weddings, corporate and non-profit events and private parties.

Next stop is Morean Center for Clay (420 22nd St. South). Housed in the Historic Seaboard Train Station along with St. Pete Clay Co. and Highwater Clays, this brick and mortar institution offers classes for beginners and seasoned sculptors. The acres surrounding the property are covered in stacks of bricks and logs. Welcome to the home of hardcore. A faculty of professionals is there to support you on your journey toward self-expression. Even if you’re working with trembling hands and an inhibited the bucolic energy the center sweats will coerce you into unadulterated creation.

Next is Victoria Arendt’s Fine Art Studio (2149 3rd Ave South). Host of the radio show ‘The Artist Speaks’ and prolific producer of oil paintings that transfix your eyes while grabbing you by gut. Her introspections into human condition and existential aestheticism are overwhelming in her sketches that are drawn in rust and bone form.

If you’ve become parched on the stroll down old 22 you’re in luck, our next stop is 3 Daughters Brewing. With roots running back to Kentucky in 1888, this family brewing company offers a variety of craft beers sure to appease even the most ardent beer geeks pallet. The brews are just the beginning, 3 Daughters offers a life-size Jenga set, ping pong, darts, tabletop shuffleboard and an 18-hole mini golf course to keep you buzzing even when the smell of hops has gone.

Our final stop is just spit off of 22nd St. Located at 2200 2nd Ave S is the Brocante Market. The first weekend of every month this 15,000 sq. ft. warehouse is littered with beautiful, handpicked eccentricities. Brocante, French for “second-hand markets,” is the modern-day remedy for those who have caught the vintage and DIY fever. The Brocante Market is a large bazaar full of rarities from Cigar Box and Kodak Camera lamps, to seafoam green typewriters, to potato sack futons and every obscure ornament inbetween. Not just anyone can display their found treasure within the Brocante Walls. The vendors are carefully selected through an application process, upon acceptance the brocanteurs are given one month to accumulate a collection befitting the only bazaar in town.

*Photo via Brocante Market

Article by Andrew Harlan, Writer/Editor for iLovetheBurg.com

If you like this story, Like Us on Facebook to stay in the know!