the 941

Paul Caragiulo and a few of his siblings are planning to open a new restaurant in the space formerly occupied by 5 One 6 Burns, next to the Burns Court Cinemas. The new spot will be called Owen’s Fish Camp, named after historical Sarasotan  Owen Burns, an avid fisherman who founded the first bank in the area and built the cottage the restaurant will be housed in.

The menu (see it after the break) looks like a straightforward fish house — something the town needs more of, especially since it isn’t dominated by the deep-fried and baked seafood popular at other mid-range joints. Entree prices average around $16-17, and the restaurant is slated to open by the end of the year. That is, of course, if the city doesn’t slow things down, thanks to Paul Caragiulo’s vocal criticism of local government’s anti-business practices during the recent city commission elections.

Menu after the break: (more…)

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After reading through Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn’s Charcuterie a couple years back, I’ve ached to try the complicated task of stuffing meat, fat and seasonings into hog intestines. The book is not only a how-to guide, it’s a love poem to the simple and lost art of making sausage in the home. And Ruhlman’s text is so down-to-earth, it seemed like making my own would be a snap.

Maybe not. On one hand, it’s just a recipe that use meat and seasonings like anything else. But you also need tools, both soft and hard, and a sense of culinary exploration that goes way beyond preparing a typical Sunday night supper.

The Tools:

GRINDER If you have one of those old metal contraptions that clamps onto the counter, it’ll work. If not, you can buy one, but chances are if you’re the type of person who wants to dive into sausage making you likely have a standing mixer. Buy a grinding attachment for your mixer for about $60; it’ll make things a lot easier.

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Walking into a brand-new gas station/convenience store off of State Road 70 in Manatee County near the entrance to the chic suburban community of Lakewood Ranch, just as most folks are stopping for a fill-up and snack after a workday, I feel self-conscious. I’m decked from head to — almost — toe in mottled brown and green camouflage. Plastic mesh cap. Wallet in my front pocket. What will people think?

Apparently, they think I’m a hunter. Before we make it to the counter with our drinks and snacks, one person asks whether we’d been after deer — “Nah, not quite season yet, is it?” replies my companion Scott Hair — while another mentions that she wouldn’t mind us stopping by and dropping off some meat after we get done for the day. We (I mean Scott) shoot the shit about where we’re headed, and where others have been having luck. Now, instead of fearing that I’d be pegged as a rural bumpkin by my white collar peeps, I feel like a poseur. I am not a hunter. At least, that is, until tonight.

Recently, when local food blogger and cookbook author Jaden Hair offered me some wild pig meat shot by her husband, I realized I was suffering from a disconnect that needed to be remedied. I can quote chapter and verse about the maladies of our dysfunctional food supply system, the horrors of factory farming and the joys of local foods, but I know more about the interior of a chicken factory than I do about how Florida hunters ply their trade. Easy solution: Go hunting for wild hog in the Florida badlands with two seasoned hunters.

Plus, I eat meat, but I’ve never been around for the visceral experience of the kill. That seems like cheating.

If you are against hunting, but still eat meat, you’ll need to reassess your logical consistency, especially (more…)

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Daawat Indian Cuisine
3.5 stars
239 S. Links Ave., Sarasota, 366-4433 or daawatcuisine.com

At the beginning of 2009, Sarasota had one Indian restaurant, Tandoor, the only game in town for a very long time. Now, as 2009 is coming to a close, the local Indian cuisine scene is chock-full of options, with two new restaurants open since the end of the summer. Gateway to India — on Hillview in the Southside dining district — featured a surprisingly tasty lunch buffet and capable dinner, different and a bit better than the fare offered at Tandoor.

And now that Daawat is here, in the space formerly occupied by Canvas Café in downtown’s Towles Court art district, it appears that Sarasota has taken another step in the right direction.

Admittedly, the location gives Daawat an edge over its competition. Towles Court is one of downtown’s last unspoiled pieces of old Florida, a group of bungalows and craftsmen houses away from the bustle of the business district. Housed in one of those converted houses, Daawat’s dining room is a tiny shoebox, easily ignored thanks to two wonderful outdoor spaces. Both the front patio and side courtyard are now covered, with plastic walls that can be rolled down to protect against rain or chill, all with views of the pastoral setting.

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The World Series of Beer Pong — “the largest, longest-running organized beer pong (aka Beirut) tournament in the world, created by beer pong players, for beer pong players” according to the WSOBP website — will start in less than two months, on Jan. 1 at the Flamingo Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.

But you knew that, right? You’ve been single-mindedly training since 2008, when team Chauffering the Fat Kid managed to snatch the suds from an all-but-victorious Iron Wizard Coalition by completing an amazing four straight sinks. Cinderella story? Yes. Biggest come-from-behind victory in the history of sports? Probably.

Don’t get the wrong impression about beer pong, though: it’s not all about beer consumption. (more…)

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Max McCalman didn’t plan on becoming a cheese guy. While working at the famed restaurant Picholine in New York City, the chef asked for volunteers to help him start a cheese program in the restaurant. It fell to McCalman almost by default. Now, 15 years later, McCalman has written two definitive books on cheese, with the new Mastering Cheese ($40, Random House) his third.

Mastering Cheese is somewhat of a departure from the previous two books, however. Instead of a cheese primer, or an encyclopedia of the world’s region’s and styles, McCalman has put together a fairly exhaustive course of study for readers who want to make the leap from cheese fan to true connoisseur. It’s almost laid out like a modern textbook, with dense text, lots of photographs, informative sidebars, and a bullet point recap at the end of each chapter as study guide. No pop quizzes, thankfully.

McCalman’s smart enough to string together the serious work of understanding cheese with plenty of narrative to keep a reader interested. He’s also passionate about his subject, especially when it comes to taking restrictive food regulations that limit the importation or production methods of raw milk cheeses. He’s preaching to the choir in this book, I imagine.

What makes Mastering Cheese so inherently useful, (more…)

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Taberna El Guaro
3 stars
3626 Webber St., Sarasota, 957-0000 or tabernaelguaro.com

Colombian cuisine has yet to receive widespread appeal. On the whole, that’s a good thing. It means that restaurants like El Guaro are more interested in appealing to the homesick taste buds of Sarasota’s ex-pat Colombians than the expectations of a populace jaded by neutered and sanitized ethnic foods.

The food at El Guaro is so simple, and so evocative of hearty home-cooking, that dining there feels like eating in someone’s old-fashioned dining room, albeit with beer on tap. That house atmosphere is heightened by the remnants of the previous occupants — first a Barnacle Bill’s outpost, then the local chain’s aborted attempt at a new concept with Chef D’s Italian Fisherman. The ceilings are too low, there’s grainy wood everywhere and the tables and chairs seem like remnants from an early ’80s Dinettes R’ Us.

Like the décor, El Guaro’s food is refreshingly uncomplicated. Beans and rice, arepa or tostone, and meat, lots of it, at prices — almost all below $10 — that belie the sheer caloric value of what’s on the plate. (more…)

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Maybe Michelle and Barack Obama were strong-armed into having an organic garden on the White House lawn by tough punks like Alice Waters, but Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack made his without any public opinion campaigns to twist his arm. Yep, there are two governement garden in DC, the second one run by the USDA itself.

On 1,250 square feet a few blocks from the Washington Mall, Vilsack and USDA employees have planted a “People’s Garden“, with the crops all going to local food banks. They’ve even created cooking projects around it. USDA pickles, anyone? Not for sale, though, because that would probably violate some regs. (more…)

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Things are looking up, Sarasota, just in time for season to start filling our empty coffers with filthy tourist luchre. Here are just a few of the new spots that have opened recently, some just in the past week.

Braza Brazillian Steakhouse 1481 Main St., Sarasota, 955-1481 or brazasteakhouse.com
Sarasota’s first churrascaria is finally open, after an extensive remodel of the former of Ritz Camera on Main Street. If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, Braza serves rodizio-style, with servers cruising the restaurant bearing spits of grilled meat which they carve direclty onto your plate. It’s all-you-can eat meat, with some seafood offerings and a big salad bar featuring side dishes.

Blu Smoke Island Grill 149 Avenida Messina, Siesta Key, 346-0738 or blusmokeislandgrill.com
This restaurant  — in the former space of Maximo’s just off the main drag in Siesta Village — features traditional barbecue mixed with interesting open-fire grilling, along with a variety of sides.

Daawat Indian Restaurant 239 S. Links Ave., Sarasota, 366-4433
After six weeks in the old Canvas Cafe space in Towles Court, (more…)

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The Dalmore is a classic name in Scotch — located way up in north Scotland, just past Inverness and the Highlands — but one that has received little credit here in the colonies over the past decade or so. With a change from Jim Beam to a new marketing company, and an alliance with big daddy Southern Wine and Spirits for distribution, The Dalmore is trying to change its image here in the States.

Which is why I found fully-kilted Richard Patterson — Master Blender of The Dalmore’s parent company Whyte & Mackay — in my office, pouring much of The Dalmore’s line. Although most Scotch distilleries try to maintain a “house style” that’s consistent through the years and across different varieties, this was different. Each pour opened up a whole new range of textures and flavors, with a few subtle notes tying the line together.

Here’s the rundown: (more…)

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