Restaurants
Perq Up
Sometimes I tell Louise, “We gotta get outta here. We need to move the shop to a place with a bit more hustle and bustle, like Miami or Palm Beach.” “No,” she’ll remind me, gently. ”We’ll make Sarasota even better.” This usually elicits some sort of sigh from me as I tap my foot and look idly out the window waiting for the throngs of people that will turn our town from tiny to thriving. Of course, Louise, borrowing Costner’s beloved “If you build it they will come” notion, is right. You don’t just pack up shop and move to where the crowds of nameless people will...
Read MoreEdible Sarasota: ‘Life of Pie’
Sometimes I write for Edible Sarasota, a downright glorious publication (if I do say so myself) that focuses on our local gastronomic community. Chefs and recipes are featured, for sure, but they also highlight unique stories like the power of edible flowers and one-of-a-kind chalkboard menus. Last issue I was burdened with the oh-so-horrible task of eating all of the delicious pizza in Sarasota and her neighboring towns. What a chore! Each pizza joint had something different to offer. Thus, if you’re moody like I am, there’s a pie to suit your every whim. Super cheesy, authentic Neapolitan, pizza by the yard, grilled, baked, or covered...
Read MorePubbelly Miami & PB Steak
A couple of months ago, the man and I went to our favorite Florida city – Miami. Oft portrayed as an ‘oonz, oonz, oonz’ nightclub town, Miami may wield some of its famed Art Deco Miami Vice backdrop, but the sunny city offers much more than the glitz and glam the TV portrays…. We generally skip the late night scene and opt for daylight hours where we bike around town, stopping at hidden spots, downing Acai Bowls at Pura Vida, meandering through vibrant alleys where the smell of Cuban coffee is stronger than the Cuban accents, and jaunts to touristy spots alike – with a must-hit Lincoln Road visit to...
Read MoreParadise Found: Boca Grande
Boca Grande needs no words. Except for these. Last weekend we celebrated our friends’ wedding in a little slice of paradise called Boca Grande. Although I’ve lived in Sarasota for, Jesus, almost five years now – wow, that went by fast – I’ve never made the hour drive south to visit this gorgeous island. Now that I’ve been, I doubt I’ll let five weeks pass before I visit again. Boca Grande is like a mini (very mini) Key West. Tropical, island-y and hot, this beach town is perfect for bike rides and frozen cocktails. Unlike Key West, this town is a bit more wealthy and less drunken boat captain –...
Read MoreShore Restaurant at St. Armand’s
Shore Diner doesn’t even have a website. Well, not really. You can go to shopshore.com if you’d like to see a bit on the diner’s downstair’s uber-cool, surf-inspired boutique, but no real mention of the sharp, swanky restaurant that hovers overhead. If you really want to get a taste of what this eatery is all about, you’ll have to come in for a bite. Here’s a shot, from their site, of Shore boutique (below) and restaurant (above), located on St. Armand’s Circle. If this hip pic doesn’t make you want to wander in, then…umm, I guess you and I have different tastes. I will full on...
Read MoreFrank Stitt’s Southern Table
Mac ‘n cheese, cornbread, creamy grits, fried oysters and just about anything thrown on the grill …no other cuisine can comfort your soul quite like Southern Food. And when that Southern food is served up all fancy like, as it is in Frank Stitt’s delicious cookbook, Southern Table, you’ve got a match made in…I don’t know, what’s something better than heaven? You’ve got a match made in the green room where Tina Fey and Amy Poehler hung out before the Golden Globes. Dinners in my home usually consist of whatever mishmash I find in the fridge and whatever mood I’m in. The usual suspects are often...
Read MoreParadise Valley – Where The Grass Is Dead But It Sure Is Pretty
Growing up on the East Coast of Florida, my version of ‘out West’ usually meant a friend’s house out past the turnpike – a laboriously long voyage at least 15 minutes away. So, when Johnny told me we’d be celebrating Thanksgiving in Paradise Valley, a posh area outside of Scotsdale, Arizona, I excitedly packed my boots and my belt buckles, slathered on an extra layer of moisturizer and giddy’ed on up to the airport. Unfortunately, Johnny told me about the trip in October, so it was slightly awkward when security told me I’d have to wait a month. But hey, if you saw this area, you would have rushed to the...
Read MoreMiami: La Sandwicherie
There is no introduction to an article about Miami that many before me haven’t already said, most of whom have probably said it better. Miami, celebrated for it’s hot weather, hot bodies and hot spots seems to only get better year after year. Beaches, clubs, celebrity hangouts, art galleries, posh boutiques – Miami is overflowing with ‘THE’ places to see and be seen. However, you already know that the only thing I ever show up to the party for is the food. From eateries touting gourmet takes on the latest health food craves, like Pura Vida and their famed acai bowls, to authentic Cuban cuisine in Little...
Read MoreGjelina
We visited family in Orange County, California, last year, who so kindly allowed us to take their maroon minivan to Mexico and back. Not all the way to Mexico. Just San Diego. But still, pretty close. We toured all of LA’s most famous nooks and crannies, including Venice Beach, known for rollerskating drug addicts on the Boardwalk, for sure, but also home to some of the most charming neighborhoods, delicious eateries and hippest boutiques, all piled up on one of the best streets in California – Abbott Kinney. A friend recommended we stroll into Gjelina and for this I shall be forever in his debt. The place was ‘oh-so-cool’...
Read MoreState Bird Provisions
A few days ago, Zagat posted a blog featuring ‘The 10 Hottest Restaurants In The World’ (10 can’t-miss spots from Spain to Singapore that are perfect for any gastro-savvy holiday traveler or just the straight-up restaurant-obsessed) and wouldn’t ya know it, State Bird Provisions made the cut. I was in San Francisco in October and, thank Christ Almighty, my dear friend Charlotte insisted that I go to State Bird as her beloved Andrew Knowlton, Restaurant Editor at Bon Appétit, gave it a phenomenal review and deemed it a ‘must-visit.’ After having a meal there, it is of zero surprise that it has received so much praise. This place is...
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