Tropics is a restaurant and  bar that caters to the
gay crowd but is straight friendly and in the evenings has live music. It is
primarily made up of 4 rooms with a covered patio for smokers next to a relaxed
informal dining room where the bar is with each room having about 10 tables. 
There is a center section which concentrates on the piano bar and then the
formal dining room.

What makes the lunch so
special is an elaborate salad bar that offers 2-3 soups, all the makings of a
salad, various desserts and a slew of specialty items such as cold cuts, sliced
cheeses, lox, bagels, Oriental noodles, peeled shrimp, seafood salad, cole slaw, stuffed grape leaves,
etc.

The complete salad bar accompanies any main course
that you order and there are dozens of them ranging in price from $6.99 to
$9.99. The salad bar by itself costs $8.95. Some of the main courses offered are
burgers, club and BLT sandwiches, fish and chips, a 'hangover omelet', meatloaf,
etc. The portions are large, so large in fact that many people, after partaking
of the salad bar can't finish or even eat part of their main course and take it
home for another meal.

Though the rule is only
one trip to the salad bar, (being an ex-waiter I can carry 3-4 plates at a
time!!! LOL), no one is policing the
policy and certainly don't give you dirty looks for that extra trip for
dessert.

During the day the atmosphere is slow paced and
quiet with excellent service, attentive waiters and a far bar clientele. In  the
evening it is a different story as the place is usually packed from 5 PM on with
every table taken. The service, though good, is a little rushed and the noise
level is high making conversation difficult. Between the bar crowd, the dining
crowd, the piano bar customers and the always crowded bar you don't come here
for 'romantic' evenings.

The food, the atmosphere is not one of fine dining
or gourmet proportions but more of a comfortable place to relax where everyone
is friendly and the food is more than okay.

Tropics does take, and
honors, reservations for their evening and Sunday brunch sittings. The latter is
a feast taking up all the indoor rooms for a very reasonable price and a perfect
place for the 'morning/day' after the night before and all that implies!