If you're looking for a hot beach scene, go elsewhere. Gulfport Beach is small and the bottom more silt than sand, but it's quiet, the waters calm, and families love it.

You could get lucky and hook a bucketful of small fry off the fishing pier, but it's also a decent place to watch the dolphins that play in the bay, and for pretty views of sunsets over the water.

The pink-lady Don CeSar Resort towers on the horizon, sailboats bob in the bay, and the small adjacent park is a popular place for card playing, dog walking, and dancing (live bands and solo musicians often play here and in Art Village).

CARE TO DANCE?

But everyone knows that the serious dancing takes place at the restored 1920s-style Casino Ballroom. Dancing four nights a week, all ages welcome, free lessons and a full bar make it a popular come-as-you-are, come-who-you-are party.

That same anyone-welcome, anything-goes atmosphere is also a hallmark of the Gulfport bar scene. O'Maddy's is always thick with exuberant partiers and all-day drinkers.

On the flip side, there's nearly hidden and sleek Bellini's tapas bar, tucked into an outdoor courtyard garden, and the lush and decidedly upscale Palm Terrace. And, while a short pub crawl is a fun way to tune into Gulfport's easy-going vibe, it's not just the nightlife that's bringing visitors in and locals out of their homes at night.

The city's growing buzz is due in large part to its burgeoning culinary scene. We always hit beachfront Backfin Blue Café for crab cakes; that's a given.

But then we have to choose: La Fogata, (an upscale Brazilian steakhouse), Elements Global Cuisine (try the sea bass ponzu), Pia's Trattoria (traditional Italian), or do we splurge at Six Tables (offering an intimate, one-seating, six-course dinner)?

On our last visit, we stopped in the flip-flop casual Pia's for breakfast to share French croissants and marmalade, an Italian antipasti breakfast platter, and pfannkuchen (thick crepes) stuffed with asparagus, grilled chicken and cheese.

It was 8:30 a.m. Two men were already claiming stools at O'Maddy's. A young boy was dangling a fishing line off the pier. We waved back to a couple walking a pair of coiffed poodles on the beachfront boulevard, and watched the rising sun shine over Boca Ciega Bay.

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