You rang???
I
was premium, let it lapse. Didn't get anything out of the "private" section, and the ads aren't all that bad.
I've only been here 43 years, so I'm not sure I can help you out any . . . . .
Near the college, you've got . . . . Burger King. Not much else. Other fast food places would be encountered along 23rd street going east from the college. Unique lunch-ish stuff would best be served by going east on 98 from the college, then south on Beck Avenue, into the area known as St. Andrews. You'll find Hunt's Oyster Bar down there, as well as the Captain's Table. A bit more upscale, maybe dinner-ish, is Uncle Ernie's, and a bit more yet is the Shrimp Boat. There are other good places for lunch, but probably not close enough to do in time if you're only given an hour or so.
For dinner, do Uncle Ernie's or the Shrimp Boat, or you could go a ways across the bridge, which is officially Panama City Beach, you'll find Angelo's Steak Pit and Capt. Anderson's, both well-established well-known restaurants. Angelo's does, um, steaks, and Capt. Anderson's is seafood. I'd prefer seafood between the two. Other places on the beach (anything west of the bridge where US98 crosses the bay is "the beach" and anything east is "town") include Mikato's (pretty good Japanese,) Pompano's, the Boar's Head, which is a bit further out ("out" being "west") and numerous local little places like Schooner's, Montego Bay, or Flamingo Joe's. There's also one of those "outdoor mall' places a bit further out (not as far as Boar's Head, though) called Pier Park. LOTS of good food out there, including Italian, Mexican, Caribbean, German, etc, along with Stuff To Do.
In town runs more into chain stuff like Dead Lobster, Outback, Olive Garden, Chile's, Applebee's, TGI Friday's, blah blah blah.
If you're coming in the next few weeks, expect to run into a
lot of old people in restaurants on the beach. Many Canadians spend January and February and into March down here. I think when they fail the winter driving test up there they send them here.
As for stuff to do, it depends. It's our "off" season, we're a summer town. Lots of stuff remains open, though, like a Ripley's museum, silly stuff like that. If it's clubbing and loud music, LaVela is a HUGE place. They could have 10 live bands playing different rooms, and no one would know anything about any of them other than the one they can see.
If you get out of your activities while it's still light, get to the beach to view the sunset over the Gulf. The beach runs enough north of west that the sun sets over the water, and once in a while it's well worth seeing!
If you have some free time during daylight consider just wandering the beach, or visiting the state park at the east end of Thomas Drive. The state park is a few square miles of this place as it was put here by Mother Nature, and is a truly refreshing place to visit. Even if you do run into one of these once in a while . . . . (Yes, those are my pics, and no, there was no fence . . .)
