Tag Archives: fish

Jun24

Ping’s Chinese Cuisine: 5445 Fruitville Rd Sarasota, FL

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I met my dad and my honey here for dinner a few nights ago at my father’s suggestion and was pleasantly surprised. When I first walked in, I found a totally unexciting atmosphere in a strip mall. It looked like a run-of-the-mill coffee shop inside, but did have a very friendly hostess/waitress to show me to my seat.

We sat in a booth and were immediately served ice water and a bowl of VERY crunchy noodles with duck sauce. I find these very hard to resist and must admit that I ate more than I should have. We looked over the menu and decided to share a seafood with mixed vegetables dish and a shrimp with lobster sauce dish. I also tasted a bit of my dad’s wonton soup– and must say that it was better than average. Not too salty, fresh and definitely homemade. The entrees were also very fresh and full of large pieces of lobster, shrimp, scallops and a great assortment of vegetables.

The service was super friendly and fast and had the feel of eating in someone’s home- where they really put attention and love into what they cook. This, along with a few other experiences I have had so far in the area, has already changed my preconceived thoughts about eating ethnic foods in Sarasota. It DOES exist, it does NOT make me miss living in NYC, and it IS a great value and worth a visit.

 

Jun21

Jpan: 8126 Main street, Lakewood Ranch, FL

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AH! Finally, A great place for sushi that isn’t ridiculously overpriced AND has excellent quality fish, creative rolls and great service. The bonus here is that it’s less than 5 minutes from my condo AND they are open for lunch with great deals for around $10.

Gabriel and I went for dinner with another couple here a few nights ago and were really happy to have tried it. We shared a bowl of perfectly cooked edamame, some awesome cold sake (they do not have a full bar which was the one downfall) and 6 different maki rolls. We also ordered some tamago sushi and some scallop sushi. Everything was spot on. This is the first sushi place in the area that I will definitely go back to aside from my current favorite, Ichiban. (https://bigforkinmouth.wordpress.com/2012/05/09/ichiban-2724-stickney-point-rd-sarasota-fl/) This was only slightly more expensive- but we did have drinks here, so I felt that $30 per person for dinner was totally reasonable. I left feeling full and happy 🙂

The service was fantastic and we all really appreciated that no one seemed to mind that we lingered to chat long before we ordered and long after we finished eating.

Hooray Jpan! Just another reason to love living in Lakewood Ranch. Give it a try!

 

Jun21

Libby’s Cafe & Bar: 1917 S Osprey Ave Sarasota, FL

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After I circled around the area for 15 minutes looking for a parking spot, I finally noticed that Morton’s lot is ALSO for Libby’s and has free valet parking. Duh. There’s 15 minutes I’ll never get back. Hooray for valet!

My parents and Gabriel had arrived before me and were comfortably seated an an outdoor table looking over their menus. I joined them and was quickly greeted by our waitress who was ready to go over the specials and take our drink orders. During Savor Sarasota restaurant week (which, apparently, Libby’s will be honoring for the whole summer- YAY!) They offer $15 bottles of wine so we decided to share the white they had. We looked over the $25 prix fix menus and I found myself facing a tough decision- WAY too many appealing choices! I love problems like that. As I often do, I asked the waitress what her favorites were and decided to go with them- the Seoul Kitchen Chicken Lettuce cups for a starter and the  Cedar Wrapped Sustainable Salmon for my entree. The entrée comes with asparagus- not my favorite veggie, and they were happy to substitute green beans when I asked.

What turned out to be the standout for me what served next; a basket of AMAZING parmesan biscuits served with brandied (I think) cherries, butter and roasted garlic. The cheese was caramelized in the baking process and I am not lying when I tell you that these alone are plenty of reason to dine here. I am still hyper salivating thinking about them. YUM.

My appetizer came out quickly and was really delicious. It had a spicy kick from the kimchi, and the BBQ glaze on the chicken was a great combination of sweet and tangy. I love foods that require assembling, so rolling up the little lettuce wraps myself was amusing.

My entrée was described by the waitress as ‘the best salmon she ever had in her life’ so how could I *not* order it? Despite a bunch of other super interesting options on the menu, I trusted her and chose it. I have to say, I was kind of disappointed with it. Yes, the salmon itself was wonderful- cooked perfectly and seasoned lightly, but the fact that the only side were the steamed green beans was a let down. Everyone else at my table had amazing dishes with extravagant presentations, and my boring piece of salmon sitting next to a pile of veggies was totally sad looking. Although it did taste very good, it did not blow me away as tastes of everyone else’s entrees did. Oh well, next time I’ll trust my own instincts and choose something else.

For dessert I ordered the key lime pie- one of my go-to desserts when I don’t feel like chocolate (which is pretty rare). This was a great opportunity to stray from my typical loyalty. It was an excellent slice, adorably topped with gummy bears. Totally delicious, refreshing and somehow both light and rich at the same time.

I should also point out that while I didn’t totally agree with our waitress’ choice of entrees, she was an excellent server; very attentive, knowledgable and personable.

Overall, I thought that Libby’s was one of the best dining experiences I’ve had so far in Sarasota- and even faintly reminded me of my all time favorite restaurant; ABC Kitchen in NYC. (And that is a VERY high compliment) I will definitely be back- especially knowing that the prix fix deal is going on all summer long! $15 for a 3 course lunch? Yes, please!

Jun20

Matsuri Sushi: 8209 Nature’s Way #111 Bradenton, FL

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On a quest to find out if there’s anywhere else worthwhile, (aside from Ichiban’s awesome all-you-can-eat sushi for $20)  Gabriel and I decided to have dinner at Matsuri a few nights ago. It’s literally one mile from our condo- which is pretty darn convenient, and because of that, paired with the fact that there were lots of good reviews online, we thought we’d check it out. I should mention that we’d stopped in once before when we were heading to a wine tasting across from the restaurant, but we left because it had a very off-putting smell of sulphur. Staying true to my “I’ll try anything twice” motto, we gave it a second chance and were pleased to walk in this time and find no such returning offensive odor.

We sat immediately in a comfortable booth and the waitress brought our menus and water. We ordered a salad to share, a steamed gyoza appetizer, some assorted rolls and my standard, tamago sushi. In a sushi class I took a long time ago, I was taught that one of the true marks of a good sushi chef is well-cooked tamago. This basically means that there are no brown striations through it, and that it is fluffy and seasoned just right. In the same way that I choose a plain slice of pizza when I sample a new pizza place, or a pad thai when I try a new Thai place, I always get tamago when I go for sushi.

The salad and gyoza were both about average. The salad was not just a pile of boring iceberg lettuce, but actually nice dark mixed greens and other veggies. The dressing was not the classic ginger/carrot one that usually comes at Japanese restaurants, but a more unusual sweet and tangy vinegar based one. The gyoza was super fresh and really delicious, filled with fresh meat and veggies- it was different than what restaurants often serve, presumably right out of the freezer.

The rolls were pretty good but nothing to write home about. While the ingredients did seem fresh, the seaweed didn’t have the tell-tale fresh snap to it, and the rice seemed a bit too compressed and overcooked. The tamago, however, was awesome and done perfectly. I could have eaten about 4 more of those.

This was a decent amount of food for a decent price- but when it comes down to it, unless it’s blow-me-away good quality, I will have a hard time letting anything win out over Ichiban’s amazing deal. $20 for all you can eat AND the choices are creative, varied and numerous. Yup. That’s still the local winner for me.

 

Jun13

Dry Dock Waterfront Grill: 412 Gulf of Mexico Dr. Longboat Key, FL 34228

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Dry Dock Waterfront Grill has been one of my favorite places to have lunch for a long time. It’s right near where my mother lives, and is pretty unbeatable in terms of the view. If it’s too hot to eat outside by the docks, you can go upstairs to have the same beautiful gulf view while you dine.

It’s best to come here at ‘off’ times as it can get extremely crowded, but you can call ahead to get on the wait list if you are so inclined to come at a busy hour. The food is always fresh, the pesto/olive oil dip for the bread is always awesome, and the service has always been friendly as fast.

I tend to get the same few things when I come here, and today was no different. I ordered the garden salad with grilled shrimp and blue cheese dressing (which has great big chunks of cheese) on the side. As always, the huge shrimp were perfect and I finished my lunch feeling satisfied but not overly full.

Again- the view is definitely the noteworthy element of Dry Dock. Once when I was here with my mother we saw a whole bunch of manatees swimming around and today, my honey and I were lucky enough to see a dolphin repeatedly surfacing. There are always pelicans- galore and the gorgeous blue water to look at should you be there on a marine mammal quiet day.

Enjoy!

May27

Pacific Rim: 1859 Hillview St. Sarasota, FL

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Gabriel and I celebrated our one year anniversary on Thursday so we decided to go have sushi for dinner, in honor of our first date which was also for sushi. There are only a few sushi places in the area that get great reviews, so we decided to try Pacific Rim since it was often talked about as having the best atmosphere of all of them. It is said that you eat with your eyes first, which I absolutely agree with, but beautiful presentation and a nice atmosphere does not make for a great meal in my book, and the food here was definitely lacking. I should also mention, even though I don’t like to judge people if I can help it, that the clientele here were on the tacky/Miami side. Many of them dressed in midriff-baring tops, way-too-tight pants and sky-high heels. Definitely not the type that Gabriel and I really like to hang with. Sorry. Maybe not very nice, but I’m just being honest.

We were seated, as requested, outside on the pretty side porch. It was really cool later when it started storming and little trickles of water came down the walls like a mini waterfall. Inside was very air conditioned and loud, so we were happy to be outside. The chairs were unusually low but the friendly waitress happily brought out a couple of pillows for us and that made a big difference.

We looked over the menus and ordered some edamame, shrimp lettuce wraps and a bottle of unfiltered Nigori sake to start. I must comment that this was the FIRST sake I’ve ever liked. It was much sweeter than those I have tasted in the past and I was surprised to find that It was very enjoyable for me. The lettuce wraps and edamame came out soon and we noticed the big clump of salt centered on our edamame. The waitress explained that we were to use the extra bowl to cover them and shake them up, but even after doing that it was hard to get the salt to evenly coat the other pods. The lettuce wraps were plated beautifully, but totally over-sauced and the flavor and texture of the shrimp, pear and mushrooms kind of just mushed up together.

For our sushi we chose an assortment including; tempura spicy tuna in shitake caps, scallop and avocado handrolls, tamago, shrimp, eel/ cucumber/avocado rolls, salmon sashimi and salmon roe. The tamago, roe and salmon sashimi were  excellent but aside from that, I thought the quality was very mediocre and quite pricey. This restaurant clearly goes for appearances first and taste second and as far as I’m concerned, that’s not enough to impress me. For 1/4 of the total price we could have gone back to Ichiban for all-you-can-eat sushi and next time, that’s most definitely what we will do.

May9

Ichiban: 2724: Stickney Point Rd. Sarasota, FL

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My new job is about 3 minutes from Ichiban and when I saw that they offer all-you-can-eat sushi for under $20 (if you pay cash. It’s $23 with credit cards) I couldn’t wait to check it out.

Gabriel picked me up from work yesterday and we headed straight over. We were seated right away and given paper check lists on which to make our choices. One menu included teriyaki and tempura options and the other was all sushi, maki rolls and hand rolls. There were 5 specials also included on the list and the waiter also informed us that we could also add salad and or soup. Wow. I was already impressed. The lists were very extensive. We are used to AYCE sushi in NYC that has only the most simple and basic choices and were really excited to see how far our $20 was going to go here.

We both started with a salad. The dressing was awesome, but the iceberg (blah, boring) lettuce was not fresh– brown pieces everywhere. We were both happy enough with the dressing that we ate it anyway, and I would quickly come to see that this first course was the ONLY negative thing about the whole meal.

Next, the waiter brought out our tempura and teriyaki choices. The tempura was pretty good- though not super light and flaky like it should be…but it was hot and fresh and the flavor of the sauce was perfect. The teriyaki beef was surprisingly good- tender meat with tons of sweet and tangy flavor. It’s cool that when you order from that hot cooked food list, you order by the bite sized piece, so it’s perfect for just having little taste samples of whatever sounds good without committing to huge portions.

Next we got our first plate of sushi. (I actually completely and totally forgot to photograph round 2 of our teriyaki, tempura and sushi choices..OOPS!) We had about 10 total rolls and 5 pieces each of very tasty fish. Some of the standouts were the scallop roll, the Sarasota roll (tempura shrimp topped with lobster and eel sauce, YUM. This was my favorite) and the alaska roll. The sushi here is very good. It is not the ultimate, top quality fish you find at some restaurants, but it IS definitely fresh and very very good. If you want to spend triple the amount for fresher fish, than by all means go for it. I’d personally MUCH rather spend $20 for ridiculous quantities of very good quality fish here.

When we were full-as-can be, we got our check and realized that we didn’t bring enough cash. My bad. So, we got one of the $19.95 deals but had to pay $22.95 for the one we used a credit card. Including tax & tip, we spent around $50 for this awesome meal, and calculated that we’d most likely eaten WELL over $100 worth.

We will definitely, positively, absolutely and certainly be going back. Frequently. Soon. Yay! BRAVO.

 

Apr25

MacAllisters Grill & Tavern: 8110 Lakewood Main St. Lakewood Ranch, FL

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Gabriel was teaching yoga until pretty late last night so we’d decided to go out for dinner when he got back. We had a $10 coupon to MacAllisters since we’d moved to Lakewood about a week ago and the info/welcome center gave us our choice of restaurant gift certificates. We’d heard it was one of the only places close by that serves dinner until 10pm, so this was the perfect opportunity to try it.

We were seated right away and were surprised to see that it was fairly crowded. Apparently, Tuesday night is trivia night and a bunch of people were there to play and drink $1.99 beers.

We noticed right away that they also offer $3.99 martinis (!!!) so we decided to have a toast to our new Florida Driver’s Licenses and our 11 month-i-versary. I ordered a dirty martini with extra olives and I must say, it was excellent. The olives were gigantic and delicious and the martini was super dirty, just like I like it.

Our waiter Chris was extremely personable and friendly and we enjoyed chatting with him throughout the meal. He made some recommendations and took our orders and then our rolls and salads were brought out quickly.

I ordered the chicken marsala which came with mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli and a side salad with blue cheese to start with. The dressing was SO good with a little spicy kick to it that’s unusual in blue cheese. The rolls were warm and fresh- but we found it odd that they only brought 3 of them for the 2 of us.

I asked for more broccoli and less mashed potatoes so as not to have the carb-loaded side tempting me. He happily took care of that for me and the portions were perfect. The chicken was cooked nicely, tender and very flavorful in it’s marsala sauce, but I would have like a few more mushrooms.

Overall, for about $15 I had a hearty and filling meal and a great cocktail. Add that to the friendly service and late hours and we will surely be back soon.

Apr22

Lucky Pelican: 6239 Lake Osprey Dr. Sarasota, FL

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Last night, Gabriel and I joined 2 other couples for dinner at the Lucky Pelican. I’d heard about this restaurant a bunch of times already from my parents and their friends. Apparently, it’s one of the best seafood places around and people will gladly wait up to an hour for a table. The woman who organized the dinner was smart enough to call ahead (they do not take reservations but you can call to get on the list) to tell them the 6 of us would be there at 6:30 when our meeting time was really 7, so we only had to wait a few minutes before being seated. Awesome.

Our menus and drink orders were taken right away by our waiter, who seemed a bit ‘off’. Perhaps tired, perhaps overworked, perhaps completely and totally drunk. Hmmm.

I ordered a mojito and a water with lemon, both of which were brought out shortly and the waiter asked us if we wanted to order any apps. We hadn’t really looked over the menu yet, so we asked for a few more minutes to decide. He came back about 1 minute later and we still weren’t ready so when he left, I commented that since we’d just turned him away twice, he probably wouldn’t be back for 20 minutes the next time. Unfortunately, I was correct. When he did finally come back, we ordered the calamari and shrimp starters and happily received the bread and butter he’d brought with him. We also put in our entree orders at this time, during which, it became rather clear that he was in fact, drunkity drunk drunk. “I’d like the seared scallop salad please”, “ok, one ceasar salad”. Ummm no.

About 10 minutes later a busboy brought us our entrees. Huh? What happened to our apps? “Oh, you ordered apps?”

Oh boy. He also forgot 2 of the women’s sodas and Gabriel’s avocado. Ooookay. Maybe a pen and a pad of paper would be a good investment for this guy.

So, our entrees (and my mojito) were REALLY excellent. My scallops were cooked to perfection with a golden sear and light seasoning. The arugula, mangos and toasted almonds made a great combination with the scallops. The dressing was a  light, sweet vinaigrette and it was summery and delicious. I totally cleaned my plate. My friends, who eat here frequently, said they’d NEVER had a problem like this with the service and we all actually found it quite laughable….plus we saved money on the apps that never came.

We decided to skip dessert, although the choices sounded great. I will definitely be back since the menu had tons of appealing options, reasonable prices, excellent food and it’s about 3 minutes from my house…I’ll just be sure to sit in a different section next time in hopes of having a sober person to take our order.

 

 

 

 

Apr16

Salute!: 23 N Lemon Ave, Sarasota, FL

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My family and I went here for dinner tonight after our first attempt had an hour long wait and our 2nd attempt was closed. Salute has a great outdoor eating area with available tables and we were seated right away. Our waiter came over with menus and went over the specials. None of us wanted to order cocktails so we just asked for flat water. I also asked if, when he had a moment, he’d bring over some lemon for the water. When he came back to take our orders and to bring us bread and dipping olive oil, I again reminded him that I wanted some lemon. When he came back a third time to bring us our appetizers, I asked him for a third time for some lemon. Finally, he came back with 3 slices of lemon (for our table of 4. Hmmm) and my water glass was, by then, empty. Big fail. The bus boy overheard me complaining about the timing of this and re-filled my glass. Ok. Better late than never.

For my app, I shared an arugula, endive, radicchio salad with Gabriel. It came with a creamy balsamic dressing and shaved parmesan. Very nice and fresh, but kind of on the boring side.

For my entree, at the suggestion of our waiter, I ordered the chicken parmesan with penne. It was a great portion sized- very manageable and not overwhelmingly large which I appreciated. The chicken, however was totally overcooked, stringy, dry and unimpressive. The sauce and cheese on top were mediocre at best. I’ve had better chicken parm at a diner.

For the prices here, I would not return. Just a few nights earlier, we went to Cafe Baci for the same price and MUCH better food. I guess you’re really just paying for the lovely outdoor seating here and not much more.

Oh well, they can’t all be winners.