Don Pablo would not be called "fine dining," nor does it aim for that style, but the design is fun and enterprising. And the same could be said for some other fast food architecture around town.
The new Checkers, on Ringling Boulevard next door to the jail, is
wonderfully cheerful. Its fat red columns, perky red umbrellas and
bright neon accents truly enliven the corner where a grim bail bondsman used to hold forth. An army of workers put the structure up in record time, and it has been busy day and night ever since. It's almost as bracing is the zany Sonic drive-in, on U.S. 41 in Manatee County just south of 60th Street. Spiky columns, red again, support an enormous canopy roof, under which dozens of picnic tables are clustered.
A meal with friends or family, sitting together around a table, is a primary ingredient of civilization. Anything from damask to paper towels, from crystal to plastic, from reverential quiet to bustling bonhomie, from trendy to silly can fit the bill. A note to restaurateurs and architects: Just keep on giving us more choices, please, and make them as unpredictable and satisfying as these.
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