The 4th Annual “Savor Sarasota” June 1-14: Restaurant Week and So Much More has been extended at several Sarasota restaurants. Local hot spots will be extending their Restaurant Week offerings through the summer (and some will be extending them into the fall).
Long known as Florida’s cultural capital, Sarasota and Her Islands are also home to the highest concentration of Zagat-rated restaurants in Florida, and that’s likely no coincidence. Taste in art, theater, music and dance is after all, just that: taste.
So it probably should be no surprise that a broad array of genuinely fine dining spots has opened here and that the best of them thrive, offering a striking variety of ethnic, regional and specialty cuisines -- at every price point, most quite casual -- serving residents and visitors who seek out the very best.
That’s why “Savor Sarasota,” the Sarasota Convention and Visitors Bureau’s annual restaurant weeks event attracts people with hard-to-please palates from around Florida and well beyond – not to mention residents who take the occasion to venture into new or previously untried dining rooms when special prix fixe prices make the temptation almost impossible to resist. The price: $25 for three-course dinners, $15 for complete lunches, excluding drinks, tax and tip. (See: www.savorsarasota.com)
This year’s Savor Sarasota ran from June 1-14, but many of the dozens of participating restaurants have extended the celebration for additional weeks so more diners can continue their quest for something new, different, or truly unique.
Zagat has for 30 years been the world’s leading provider of consumer survey-based information on where to eat or drink. Its reviews cover restaurants – and entertainment, lodging and attractions – in more than 100 cities around the globe. (See: www.zagat.com ) Excluding mass-market chain outlets, Sarasota has almost as many rated restaurants as Tampa, a city six times its size, and four times as many listings as St. Petersburg, with a population five times larger.
Good for Business, Great for Diners
Gino Calleja, chef of Mattison’s City Grille in downtown Sarasota, is already psyched, and has virtually completed his menu for the event, which includes many of the most popular dishes already on the popular al fresco dining spot’s bill of fare, but of course at special prices, and including dessert. “Hey, my marketing director is really excited about it already,” he said, “and her enthusiasm is contagious.”
Think: a crispy grouper sandwich with jalapeno tartar sauce for lunch, with French fries or a salad, and maybe a slice of flourless chocolate espresso cake? Dinner? Consider goat cheese bruschetta followed by grilled salmon and maybe a slice of key lime pie.
“I think this year’s event will bring a lot of people downtown, especially to the restaurants, but to the other businesses, too. We’re really looking forward to it.”
Derek Barnes, owner and executive chef of Derek’s Culinary Casual is participating for the third consecutive year. His restaurant will take another tack, creating wholly new dishes for Savor Sarasota visitors, but ones that will be representative of the continually changing menu of updated American regional “comfort foods,” that is the restaurant’s hallmark.
“Our goal? Hey, it’s pretty simple,” he said, “to show more people why they should be eating at Derek’s.”
Tommy Klauber, executive chef and proprietor of both Pattigeorge’s on Longboat Key and the Polo Grill and Bar across the county in Lakewood Ranch, is also a big fan of Savor Sarasota.
“Restaurant weeks are a big success all over the country – and ours brings a lot of people into our restaurants. For us, most of the event customers are locals trying out new places at special prices, so we try to showcase dishes signature to our restaurants,’’ he said. And that means worldwide “coastal” cuisine at Pattigeorge’s, and classic American cooking with a “global soul” at Polo Grill, with a commitment to local, sustainable and organic foods.
Visitors Will Make a Special Trip, So Should Residents
For Executive Chef Aaron Chavarria of Currents Restaurant at the Hyatt Regency Sarasota, the emphasis is on fresh, local Florida fare, with Island and Cuban influences, he said. Think Caribbean shrimp, Cedar Key clams, tempura calamari served with spicy lime aioli… “We’ll be aiming our menu at local people, to get them to try our taste of Florida and enjoy something special at a price that will make them want to come back. They’ll see we’re not a place just for out-of-town hotel guests.
“We have an informal restaurant where people can really feel at home, just relax and experience our kitchen’s creativity. For the June event we’re going to feature light, fresh dishes. We’ll create something new with tropical, refreshing flavors.”
At Lattitude’s restaurant in the Longboat Key Beachfront Resort, Chef Matt Lewis has prepared special lunch and dinner menus for Savor Sarasota, each with four or more appetizer and entrée selections – try the filet mignon with silky bordelaise or planked salmon with tropical fruit chutney -- and a choice of two decadent desserts, like molten chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream, or maybe Florida key lime pie with kiwi-lime drizzle. The hotel is also offering special restaurant weeks room rates for Florida residents.
Of course, visitors coming to Sarasota for the event can’t eat all day – there are too many beautiful beaches, golf courses and charter boats that beckon and state and county parks to explore, not to mention professional and community theater on a dozen stages. For details, check out our constantly updated event listings.
There’s the First Friday Walk along the galleries of Palm Avenue, the Saturday morning Downtown Farmers’ Market, Selby Botanical Gardens, Historic Spanish Point, the John and Mable Ringling Museums …
Hey, one must build up an appetite.
