Cooper Levey-Baker has written about food, politics, civic issues, the arts, and music in Southwest Florida for 15 years. His work has won multiple awards from the Florida Magazine Association and the Florida Society of Professional Journalists, as well as an honorable mention from the Julia Child Foundation. Follow him on Twitter: @LeveyBaker.

Naan Stop

10 Bucks Or Less: Gateway to India

Gateway to India's lunch buffet converts non-believers into naan believers.

07/12/2016 By Cooper Levey-Baker

Pigging Out

10 Bucks or Less: Drunken Poet

A new selection of $9 street food items includes some potent pork.

07/06/2016 By Cooper Levey-Baker

The Road Not Taken

10 Bucks Or Less: Daily Eats

Ciccio Restaurant Group offers up two distinct choices in the Cooper Creek shopping plaza. I avoid the healthy one.

06/29/2016 Photography by Cooper Levey-Baker

Trailer Made

10 Bucks Or Less: El Carrito Grill

A gas station food truck that excels at crafting South American sandwiches.

06/22/2016 By Cooper Levey-Baker

Take the Cake

How a Dispute at a Gulf Gate Bakery Ended Up on National TV

James Plocharsky, owner of Jim's Small Batch Bakery, filed a small claims complaint and ended up on The People's Court.

06/22/2016 By Cooper Levey-Baker

Rapper's Delight

Venice Musician Dick Hyman Has Serious Hip Hop Cred

Hyman's work has been sampled in songs by Kendrick Lamar, Busta Rhymes, De La Soul and Kanye West, among others.

06/22/2016 By Cooper Levey-Baker

Convention Wisdom

Inside This Month's Republican National Convention

Each congressional district in Florida is sending three delegates to the Republican National Convention in Cleveland July 18-21.

06/22/2016 By Cooper Levey-Baker

We Shall Overcome

Hundreds Gather at Five Points Park to Mourn, Remember, Speak Out

Speakers on Monday evening called for solidarity, encouraged fearlessness and memorialized Eddie Sotomayor, the Sarasota native killed in Orlando on Sunday.

06/15/2016 By Cooper Levey-Baker