Saturday, December 10, 2011

Sarasota Eats Round Up

When J. and I stayed in Sarasota [blog entry link], we had our share of good eats. I’m not going to document every meal but figured this would be a good reference for future visits. The best food I’ve had were recommendations from friends who lived in the area. So drop your Yelp reviews and ask the locals!

Three Favorites

//Columbia in St. Armand's circle
http://www.columbiarestaurant.com/sarasota.asp
beautiful restaurant and fantastic food. my friend S. brought her baby daughter G. along and we had a great time catching up during lunch. the restaurant offers outdoor and indoor seating. since it’s right on the circle, be sure to check out the cool shops/galleries and a million home made ice cream places. oh, and Lido beach is just a short walk away. 

1905 salad is a must.
appetizers: we tried black bean cakes and croquets de pollo. 
entree: i got the mahi mahi cubano. S. ordered chicken with yellow rice which was excellent. definitely have to come back to try more dishes.  

//Joto on Siesta Key
http://www.jotosteakhouse.com/siesta_key.html
dinner to catch up with my friends A. and C. who I haven’t seen in ages. We opted for the dining section instead of hibachi grill section (nice call, since the sound/smell from the grill was quite overwhelming). I was surprised by the Japanese pickles that C. ordered. Surprisingly good! Otherwise I didn’t order anything too wild, just some yellow tail and salmon sashimi which were tasty. When I read the menu online I was more interested in trying their sukiyaki but ended up not getting it. I suppose it’s more appropriate for the winter and Sarasota just doesn’t get cold enough, even in Dec. A.’s chicken tempura plate was nice too. I tried some of the other rolls C. and J. ordered, including Philly roll (I still don’t get the cream cheese) and Eel roll (sweet!).

//Broken Egg on Siesta Key
http://www.thebrokenegg.com/
J. and I came here after biking up the beach. I like the idea of restaurant/gallery setup. we took a table outside and ordered brunch food (on a week day, but we’re on vacation, so it’s fine).
my plate: don’s fiesta skillet with eggs sunny side up. the mix of potato and onion and peppers was done so well I wish I had been closer to this brunch place. usually I eat my toast with the runny egg but this time also put some potatoes on the toast to make it even more awesome. definitely a much needed food break after biking in the sun.

The Rest
//firehouse subs in Sarasota (with coke freestyle)
http://www.firehousesubs.com/
I had a hook and ladder and shared an orange coke with J. Coca Cola, if you’re reading this, make canned orange coke available in the U.S. please? How come the U.K. gets coca cola orange earlier?

//orange octopus
http://mustseesarasota.com/listing/orange-octopus/
ice cream, breakfast, coffees, and more. the logo design is so cute i thought the t-shirt would be a great souvenir for kids.

//Turtle bay pub
i had the craving for pub food and we came to this pub which was a quick drive from where we were staying. tried the shock top beer which was summery and liked the hot wings. was a bit sad they ran out of gators. i think i should have ordered chips with the chili.

//Javier’s
http://javiersrestaurant.com/
I liked the duck but J. didn’t find the food to agree with him. We tried the Lockdown which was a light brew.

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