Recent Articles for Sarasota Magazine

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Restaurant Reviews & Comment, July/August 2008

Good Deal Special: Enjoy summer savings with prix fixe menus.

     This summer is shaping up as a budget-conscious season for just about everybody I know, regardless of tax bracket. Still, the soul and the belly demand to be fed, so what's a diner accustomed to the best to do? Here's our advice, wrapped up in a thrifty package we're calling our Summer of 2008 Good Deal Special Edition. [ full text ]

Restaurant Reviews & Comment, June 2008

Jackpot!: Tasty treasure at Pino's, plus the new Lido Beach Grille, hot Ceviche and Good Deal.

     Pino's in downtown Sarasota is more than a good restaurant. It's a treasure. It's named for its chef and owner, Giuseppe (Pino) Luongo, who hails from Ischia, an island in the Bay of Naples not far from Capri. From the delights he serves here it's obvious that from the cradle he was steeped in the culinary ethos that demands nothing less than the finest ingredients cooked with a clairvoyant's timing and sauced with an artfulness verging on the alchemical. [ full text ]

Restaurant Reviews & Comment, May 2008

Comfort and Joy: Two new and tasty Lakewood Ranch ventures + What I'm Drinking and Good Deal.

     La Tosca in Osprey has, in less than two years, established itself as a local favorite. Now chef Gianluca Di Costanzo is sharing the love with a second La Tosca, this one way north in a Lakewood Ranch shopping center. It's a welcome addition to the emerging dining scene in this thriving made-from-scratch suburb.
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Restaurant Reviews & Comment, April 2008

Second Life: Familiar Fred's gets a fresh new focus and a budding Arosa + What I'm Drinking, Ask John and Good Deal.

     The original Fred's, its nameplate retooled to read Fred's Restaurant & Bar, has returned to Sarasota's Southside Village. It's not the same old Fred's we knew and loved for years, but its return under new ownership and management still is cause for celebration. [ full text ]

Restaurant Reviews & Comment, March 2008

Curtain Up: Dining with drama at Maison Blanche, applauding Peruvian power at El Warike + What I'm Drinking and Ask John.

     I like Maison Blanche on Longboat Key almost as much for the theater of the place as for the ambrosial haute cuisine it serves so beautifully six evenings a week. [ full text ]

Restaurant Reviews & Comment, February 2008

Winning Numbers: Southern comfort at 5-One-6 Burns and a successful open for Paul Mattison's 41 + What I'm Drinking and Ask John.

     If you haven't visited 5-One-6 Burns in downtown Sarasota since last fall, go now. You have a treat in store. [ full text ]

Restaurant Reviews & Comment, January 2008

Gifts from the Sea: Fine views and fine dining at Marina Jack and sushi to die for at Ocean Star + What I'm Drinking and Ask John.

     Marina Jack has always been about the view. In fact, it sometimes feels as if the Sarasota bayfront fixture has been around as long as Sarasota Bay itself. [ full text ]

Feature for Visitor's Annual, December 2007

On the Waterfront: Where to find Sarasota's best restaurant views -- and what to order when you get there.

     Water, water everywhere -- and plenty of agreeable spots to sit, sip and drink in the view.
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Restaurant Reviews & Comment, November 2007

Nice and Easy: Everything's fine at Fred's at Lakewood Ranch; the new scene at Horse Feathers + What I'm Drinking and Ask John.

     I've always thought of Epicurean Life's collection of markets and deluxe watering holes in Sarasota's Southside Village as a sort of theme park for food and wine fanatics. [ full text ]

Restaurant Reviews & Comment, October 2007

Downtown Delights: Canvas Cafe paints a picture to savor, while C'est la Vie est magnifique + settling the great martini debate and Ask John.

     It's a question of balance: local or exotic, sweet or tart, luxe or casual. [ full text ]

Feature for magazine's Platinum Annual, August 2007

Taste Maker: Cooking teacher & cookbook author savors the flavors.

     What surprised me was the plastic salad spinner in a lower cupboard of the sleek cook's kitchen Giuliano Hazan designed for his Sarasota home.
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Restaurant Reviews & Comment, July 2007

Upstairs, Downstairs: Double your dining pleasure at Cork and The Bottle Shop and summer Sunday brunch at Ooh La La! Continental Bistro + What I'm Drinking and Ask John.

     At Cork and The Bottle Shop, the first grace note sounds soon after you're seated. [ full text ]