Americano Dinner

Guazetto di pesce misto
Carpaccio di manzo con rucola e parmigiano
Culurgiones
Milanese di pollo con rucola e pomodoro

Finally, the chance for our Protagonist to sample the Sardianian dinner selections at Americano after whetting his appetite for two months reading the flyer while passing on his daily rounds!  His dinner companions this evenings were regulars who ordered their standard fare; they raved about the carpaccio, which will have to be indulged in on another evening.  The point of this dinner was to try the culurgiones, the Sardinian take on ravioli, so the only protein consumed was in the first course, the Guazetto.  This was a stew of "mixed fish" in a tomato broth which was nicely spiced and not too salty.  The seafood was tender, and the portion was just right.  The culurgiones were round rather than square as ravioli, with a rather small pocket of filling in proportion to the size of the pasta.  The impact of the dish is more of a small burst of flavor from the filling in conjunction with the marinara, as opposed to to the filling being the main event in many overstuffed raviolis.

Our Protagonist also tried the Pollo, a pounded and breaded chicken breast, but in this meal nothing rose to the level of the seafood stew at the beginning.  Except for the arugula salad at the end, in a smooth and buttery olive oil dressing.  The choice of olive oil was excellent, and the variety will have to be found out.

The dessert was also of Sardinian origin, sebadas, which are flaky pastries filled with cheese and drizzled with honey.  Variations of this dish can be found in the various Mediterranean cultures, which our Protagonist enjoys sampling each and every one.  The sebadas provided as nice rounding out to the dinner after the great start.  Still not the level of Cafe Epicure, but enjoyable, nonetheless.

Cafe Americano

1409 Main Street
Sarasota, FL 34236
941-365-1026

Station 400

Curry Chicken Salad Wrap
Cucumber Tomato Salad

Today our Protagonist has decided to express his opinion by a free-association of words that came to mind while eating his Curry Chicken Salad Wrap:

smooth...creamy...warm...crispy...melty...gone

This all-too-soon devoured sandwich was a nice combination of apple, creamy curry sauce, chicken, and warm, melted brie.  The accompanying salad was small, but perfectly executed; a wonderful balsamic vinaigrette with kalamata olive tapanade spooned over.  Some dining companions shared some of their fried green tomato club; the corn meal breading had an interesting texture, but it tended to overwhelm the tomato itself which should have had top billing.  Clearly, our Protagonist in this case chose all the wiser.

Station 400
400 North Lemon Avenue
Sarasota, FL 34236
941-906-1400

First Watch

Burrito Vera Cruz
Siesta Key Cocktail

Having walked by the specials chalkboard countless times over the last several months, our Protagonist was curious to see if this chain was all it was cracked up to be.  An invitation to breakfast seemed the perfect opportunity to find out for himself.  Dining just after the doors opened with a regular, he received plenty of suggestions, but settled on the Burrito Vera Cruz, sans wrap.  This was more of a scramble in the end, but was very tasty with fluffy eggs, the spicy kick of chorizo, and the surprisingly good Vera Cruz sauce; not once did our Protagonist regret this being poured over his dish, but, rather, indulged in more.  The Siesta Key Cocktail was the breakfast-of-choice of the dining partner; while it looked tempting, our Protagonist defines breakfast as featuring eggs in some capacity.  Perhaps it can be sampled in the future along with another breakfast offering.

First Watch
1395 Main Street
Sarasota, FL

941-954-1395 

Americano return trip

Burger Brunch
Salsicce Platter

Having been disappointed in his first outing, our Protagonist was accompanied by a regular on his second visit to Americano.  Based on his dining companion's recommendations, he chose the Burger Brunch, a simple dish of a ground beef patty cooked to order (it could have been ground sirloin, and at the very least ground round) which topped sauteed spinach and mushrooms.  The recipe seemed ripped out of the pages of an Atkins Diet cookbook!  The beef was cooked to the proper medium rare as requested by our Protagonist, the spinach was just wilted without turning into the mushy boiled consistency, and the mushrooms and spinach were seasoned nicely.    The portion was quite generous for lunch and provided a protein-packed meal.  However, his nose was piqued by the aromas coming from his dining companion's plate; the savory Salsicce Platter which also looked quite appetizing.  This proved to be one of the companion's go-to lunches at Americano, and our Protagonist noted it for the future.

Cafe Americano

1409 Main Street
Sarasota, FL 34236
941-365-1026

Cafe Americano

Fusilli with Rabbit Ragu

Having heard so much about this restaurant and finding himself constantly perusing the chalkboard specials each day he walked by, our Protagonist looked forward immensely to this first experience.  Alas, if only the hype had been lived up to!  The Fusilli with Rabbit Ragu was one of those tempting specials written on the board that day, which veritably screamed to be ordered.  While the fusilli, itself, was well prepared, sadly the main attraction, the rabbit, was not.  The meat was overdone and chewy, not unlike a well-done pork chop, which would have been much cheaper.  Better than Cafe Epicure?  Our Protagonist thinks not...

Cafe Americano

1409 Main Street
Sarasota, FL 34236
941-365-1026

Two Senoritas

Marinated Chicken Burrito
Dulce de leche Ice Cream in Tortilla bowl

Our Protagonist arrived here for lunch as part of a coworker's first farewell lunch (of two)  First, the salsa was excellent; the texture and color were apparent from the moment the bowl was set down.  The taste was just as rewarding; a good spicy kick and nice blend of flavors.  The marinated chicken burrito was small; it was dominated on the plate by the customary rice and beans.  It was fine, not particularly special, wrapped in a flour tortilla and covered with queso sauce.  The generous dessert of Dulce de leche ice cream drizzled with Dulce de leche sauce and served in a cinnamon-sugared tortilla bowl was as good as it sounds.  It wasn't house-made as advertised, but the ice cream was good quality.  A fellow diner enjoyed a salmon salad in a honey-jalepeno vinagrette, and the Aguacate Relleno of shrimp and crab served in a California avocado sounded quite tempting.  Both were probably better choices than the burrito, even though it purposes to be one of the most popular lunch selections.  More exploration is in order to better pin down this restaurant...

Two Senoritas

1355 Main Street
Sarasota, FL 34236-5616
941-366-1618

 

Main Bar

Gazpacho
Jerk Chicken soup
Main Bar Special

Our Protagonist's dining partner thought the gazpacho was the worst she had tasted; "Of all the Gazpachos in all the places in Sarasota..." she quipped. The jerk chicken soup was reasonably spiced, if not nodding slightly toward the more "gringo" of tastes.  The Main Bar Special is the classic Italian on a pita, so it was definitely lighter.  The olive tapanade and Italian dressing were a good complement to the meats and cheeses.  The dessert course was forgone, as nothing, alas, was made in-shop.  A tip was made, however, to the Caribbean Pie Company just next door; another long walk was definitely in order.

Main Bar
1944 Main Street
Sarasota, FL 34236-5915
941-955-8733

First Street Chop House

Bone in Ribeye
Bison Short Ribs
Asparagus
sauteed mixed vegetables
house salad with orange vinegrette
strawberry napoleon
mango berry sundae

Dinner was served in the upstairs dining area with the unusual entertainment of a singing bartender accompanied by a keyboardist.  At first he was playing guitar music.  On his keyboard, using guitar sound.  Different, but interesting, and a not unpleasant sound for the rather intimate room.  The steak was well prepared.  The bison was tender, if a bit thick with the sauce.  Asparagus was good, not overcooked (the mortal sin of asparagus),  the vegetables were ordinary.  The house salad was a good size, very flavorful; nice dressing without being overpowering.  For dessert, the Napoleon was an artistically created strawberry shortcake with puff pastry instead of biscuits; light, good finish.  The Mango berry sundae had fresh berries and came with warm wild blueberry compote.  A little thick to pour over, but a nice touch, regardless.  A little pricey, but the chalkboard signage beckons a return trip.

First Street Chop House

1296 1st Street
Sarasota, FL 34236
941-554-4375

Cafe Epicure

Penne with prosciutto and endive
Sweet potato and goat cheese ravioli with sage butter
Mixed green salad

This was our Protagonist's first Italian encounter in Sarasota, and it was great start!  He and his dining companion both ordered off of the daily specials board, and having one taste of the house-made sweet potato and goat cheese ravioli made him covet his neighbor's dish.  However, the penne, with its window-pane of Parmesan gently laid on top was also wonderful.  The endive turned nice and creamy in the perfectly seasoned sauce; pure eating bliss.  Even the salad was good; for the price it was a full sized bowl of mixed vegetables, with oil and vinegar brought to the table to dress to one's pleasure.  Our Protagonist hears that the gelato in next-door Jolly is something to experience, and he must make a point of returning...

Cafe Epicure

1298 North Palm Avenue # A
Sarasota, FL 34236-5604
941-366-5648

The Culinary Journey of a new Downtowner

In an attempt to keep track of his new experiences in a new city, our Protagonist has chosen to write about his dining adventures in and around Sarasota.  From the undisclosed location of his downtown office, he has discovered, with delight, that many culinary adventures await.  From unexplored cuisines, to finding out just where is the best Mexican restaurant in town, he sallies forth to conduct his Noble Experiment.  We join him in the midst of his Voyage of Discovery...