Half your meal is on us
Spend less, drink better
Half your purchase is on us!
See last year's winners.
Clothing and accessories for half off
While I’m working up the chutzpah for a new blog segment where I interview restaurateurs after my review of their establishment hits the paper, for good or ill, I thought I’d throw down some letters about a couple of recent reviews in Sarasota.
I am intrigued and horrified to learn that the Italian Ministry of Health has its own Military Police.
The New Yorker has a great investigation of Italian olive oil forgery, with some fine background about olive oil production.
With all the distrust I have for the government, media and the good intentions of my next-door neighbors, why do I have to start questioning my precious, fruity extra-virgin? There is something to be said for relying solely on the “boca bella” mentioned by biodiesel and olive oil magnate Leonardo Marseglia in the article, but, then again, he may be one of the bad guys.
What’s next? Am I gonna have to start avoiding farmed fish and dog food?
I talked to Chef/Owner Darwin Santa Maria of downtown Sarasota’s Selva Grill this weekend to get the skinny on his new endeavor.
Santa Maria will be taking over the former home of California Bistro Grill on Ringling and replacing the bland sandwiches and soups with casual Peruvian fare like rotisserie meats and, well, different sandwiches. “It’ll be fast food, but high quality,” he said. There will be scooter delivery, a “spicy bar” and more downscale versions of the upscale modern Peruvian-inspired cuisine Santa Maria has made popular at Selva.
“I think Peruvian is going to be the next Mexican,” Santa Maria told me, when I asked him why he thought there was a seemingly disproportionate number of Peruvian joints in town. “There are actually a lot of Peruvian restaurants everywhere.”
Sangria is adding the former home of Grey Flannel Gallery to its Main Street Sarasota location. This expansion will add over 2100 square feet (roughly doubling the space) and should be completed sometime in the Fall. The restaurant will remain open for most of that time, with a short week to two week closure just to complete the renovations.
This comes on the heels of Selva’s expansion (which will not be at the old DJ’s/Munroe’s spot, we have it on good authority) and the oncoming Ceviche juggernaut (scroll to the bottom). Looks like downtown Sarasota is going to be awash with Rioja this winter. Let’s hope the dining public is ready for a tapas glut.
Yeah, the locavore eating trend is hitting its stride, as evidenced by the massive interest in books like Plenty and Animal, Vegetable, Mineral (as well as this piece in the Times).
But, as we all know, eating local takes work. The easiest way to take advantage of our local growing season is by joining an area CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) Farm. If you’re new to CSA’s, here’s how they work: Once a year you purchase a share in the farm. That share entitles you to a selection of free produce every week throughout the growing season. You never know what you’ll get until it shows up in your box.
I wrote about Geraldson Farm a little over a year ago, when the Manatee County-owned CSA project was just getting started. Now, the crops are going into the ground and it’s time to pony up for local produce. This week, Geraldson Farm began taking $50 deposits to reserve one of the 180 shares they have available for the next growing season, with the actual share cost predicted to run between $450-500. From November to May, you can pick up your organically-grown fruits and veggies at the farm in northwest Bradenton, or have them delivered to community pick-up sites in Palmetto, St. Petersburg and Sarasota.
In Tampa, there’s always Sweetwater Organic — a Florida CSA pioneer — where memberships run $615 whole/$315 half, but they fill up quick and you need to pick up at the farm (which, admittedly, is a lot of fun). Down in Punta Gorda is Worden Farm ($600/$350); they deliver to the Downtown Sarasota Farmers’ Market.
The great thing about a CSA is that veggies are forced into your life — fresh, local and organic — and you just have to figure out what to do with them. You’ll have to get creative, but you can always email me for a passel of recipes involving kale.
The latest rumors had Sarasota’s Selva Grill seeking a new location for it’s kick-ass fancy Peruvian cuisine. The truth is so much better.
Selva is negotiating a location for a brand-new restaurant. According to chef/owner Darwin Santa Maria, “we’re working on a whole new concept.” No details until he closes on the property, hopefully next week, but the place will definitely be downtown.
According to Santa Maria, the restaurant could open in as little as a month, which is way too quick if there is going to be much of a remodel. Maybe an existing place? Let’s start the guessing with - the old Munroe’s/DJ’s? Just noticed this morning that there is a Leased sign in the window. That would give us back the clubby upstairs bar area, but likely with a South American twist.
If that’s the case, Selva might need to start worrying about the massive complex St. Pete’s Ceviche will be opening on 1st Street in just a few months.
We broke it open yesterday and here’s The Table’s official press release released today (after the break).
Just confirmed that The Table, one of my favorite restaurants in Sarasota, is planning on giving birth to a twin in downtown St. Pete. The new place will be on the 500 block of Central — although I haven’t yet driven by to see what space they’re taking over.
Anyone not familiar with the “Atlantic rim” cuisine Rafael Manzano and Pedro Flores should check out The Table immediately. For those of you in the Bay area, it’s worth a drive down to SRQ so you can be prepared for The Table’s St. Pete debut in 3-5 months.
I’ve always bristled at the oft-cited frugal tip that eating lunch at a nice place is a good way to get the cuisine at half the price. Maybe it’s just that Bay area and Sarasota lunches never seem to live up to the dinnertime promise of a pricey place.
After the lunch I just had at The Table on Hillview in Sarasota, I’m willing to single them out as an exception. My wife and I (her birthday, hence the Big Lunch) started with ceviche — tuna in a spicy chipotle and tart yuzu dressing, cubed shrimp with poblanos and radish, both served in edible tortilla cones — and small tostadas loaded with the luscious short ribs that are my favorite Table protein. Then came fried black grouper strips atop a brilliant salad of chayote and red onion dressed in citrus juice, nut oil and pungent dried herbs, along with a few crushed plantain patties. (Anyone who watched last night’s Top Chef will immediately realize that The Table’s “fish and chips” will immediately see the revision of classic downscale dish. This would have beaten Howie’s boring-ass pork and slaw hand’s down.) My wife settled on a dainty garden salad dressed with a rich and pungent olive/fig concoction.
All told, the bill came in under $60, including two glasses of wine, and it was as good or better than dinner at most of the nicer restaurants around town, and just about as satisfying as a full dinner at The Table.
Olivier and Laetitia Rose, who brought us Anna Maria’s La Creperie, are putting a French restaurant on Lakewood Ranch’s Main Street. They will, of course, be serving crepes, as well as casual breakfast and lunch and more serious dinners. Slated for the Fall.
