First Street Chop House Lunch

Shrimp Tomato Bisque
Lobster Tacos
Roasted Pear Salad
Chocolate-Raspberry Bread Pudding

Our Protagonist, having burned much midnight oil while driving, not to mention his mouth on cheap-but-strong gas station coffee, arrived at lunch full of willing spirit, but unable to taste anything.  However, the zesty flavors of the Shrimp Tomato Bisque were enough to shine through this impediment.   Unfortunately, this was not the case of the Roasted Pear Salad, something that sounded delicious on paper, but lacked the punch to to reach the numbed, deadened taste buds.  Coupled with the fact that the Lobster Tacos came with their own salad, this menu choice became all the more superfluous.  The tacos were quite tasty, and would have made an excellent light lunch unto themselves; the whole grain shells had a satisfying crunch, and the lobster meat was generously apportioned.  To the many thanks of the numbed tongue, the Chocolate-Raspberry Bread Pudding proved to be a wonderful ending for this meal.  The raspberry sauce sang through the chocolate, and the bread pudding, itself, was far above average, being more about the chunky white chocolate taste and texture than the typical soggy version shows for itself.  All in all a very nice lunch; the jury is still out on whether or not to try that particular salad again, though.

First Street Chop House

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

First Watch, Second Breakfast

Roma Frittata

Sometimes it's not about where you go; it's about what you spend.  Today, our Protagonist had a free breakfast coming to him, and having had a good experience, previously, with First Watch, he was happy to share himself with the staff at their expense.  The frittata was fine; think eggs with a side of marinara, and you've pretty much got it.  However, the service was the star this particular morning.  Having not grown up having potatoes for breakfast, our Protagonist asked to switch these out, as well as the toast, which he reserves for special occasions and/or jam.  At no extra charge, out came three fruit cups, one that originally came with the dish, plus two more to substitute for the other items.  How many times has our Protagonist tried to get this very arrangement at other breakfasts to find that he would either be charged extra, or the same when he simply asked for less food.  A nice tip was left to thank the server for her attentiveness to someone who could have been so miserly as to have left no money at all.  Too bad birthdays only come once a year...will have to keep reading the specials board in the meantime.

First Watch
1395 Main Street
Sarasota, FL

941-954-1395

Ceviche

Camarones Aguacate
Tortilla
Pulpo de Gallega
Chorizo al Brandy
Crema Catalana

The first thing one discovers upon opening the menu at Ceviche is that it is staggeringly large.  Not that your table will collapse, but you may go blind from the tiny print describing the, quite literally, hundred-or-so items that march across the page.  One should do their homework before going.  Our Protagonist, unfortunately, had not.  One could return for months, years even, and never work through the menu!  A possible suggestion to management; a sushi bar-style checklist might be in order for the tapas selections. 

Excellent bread began the evening, with lovely outside crispness giving way to a nice, chewy inside.  And not a bad pesto dipping sauce, to boot.  The "creamy" shrimp salad was just that; it proved the answer to the question, "what would potato salad taste like with shrimp instead of potatoes?"  Our Protagonist was expecting a stuffed avocado with a small lump of shrimp, not the other way around.  The Tortilla was exellent potato and onion omelet; served with greens only dressed with a few olives, this could be a vegetarian breakfast or lunch by itself.  As an exploratory gesture to octopus, the Pulpo was chewy but tasty, placed over sliced potatoes with a paprika schmear.  Said potatoes were extremely underdone; these were only eaten in order to get to the paprika flavor.  As was mentioned previously, research should be done in advance; as the Chorizo arrived, and only then was it discovered that it was the THIRD entree to involve potatoes, but clearly the best of all.  At this point our Protagonist began to wish not to have eaten either the potatoes with the pulpo, or the aguacate.  This was because of the extreme fillingness of the brandy sauce the potatoes were prepared in that accompanied the chorizo.  Between the addictiveness of the crispy bread and these potatoes, the stuffing level was at its peak.  While the sausage, itself, was nice, the potatoes were clearly the star of this dish; one should order this and then see if you want anything afterward.

Dessert then became the fun challenge for our Protagonist of what wouldn't simply kill him, a la Monty Python's Meaning of Life.  The Crema Catalana was a nice finish, but nearly did him in; this take on creme brulee was in a crisp chocolate shell for that "extra touch", or, more correctly, the straw that broke the camel's back.  Four pounds later, our Protagonist thinks fondly on the meal altogether, appreciating the inherent dangers of the exploratory process.

Ceviche
1216 1st Street
Sarasota, FL 34236
941-952-1036

First Street Chop House return

Duck Sliders
Grilled Salmon with Maple Glaze and Blueberry Compote
Vegetable Saute
Lobster Gemelli
Grilled Grouper with Pistachios
Deconstructed Triple Chocolate Brownie Sundae
Peach Melba

Our Protagonist returned desiring to cut a deeper swath through the menu to get a better sense of the dinner selection, and at this task he was quite successful.  The duck sliders were quite generous in portion; they could easily have made a light dinner unto themselves (hence their appearance on the lunch menu).  The meat was quite tasty; an almost creamy consistency to the patty.  The Lobster Gemelli deftly treaded the fine line of over-indulgent and flavorful, yet retained some subtlety as well.  The Grilled Salmon was delightful highlight of this meal; gone was the sweet, thick glaze such as the cherry sauce over ham remembered from holidays at Grandma's house.  Rather, the salmon was just kissed with the blueberry compote, a true lesson in less is more, and the barely caramelized outside crust from the maple glaze gave the fish just a hint of crispness.  The Grouper that his dining companion enjoyed was nice, but the Salmon was superior in terms of overall flavor, and at its price proved an excellent choice.  The vegetable saute was serviceable; nothing earth shattering here.  However, the much-touted brownie was just that; moist in all the right ways of the word, chewy in all its possible goodness, and perfectly balanced sweetness to not turn into the usual sugar rush a brownie-based dessert entails.  Lovingly graced with caramel, this was the perfect ending to the meal.  The Peach Melba the dining companion selected had a lovely tang, but our Protagonist was quite satisfied with the choice of chocolate.  Time to dig up more of those gift certificates...there is an "Awesome" Bucco yet to be experienced!

First Street Chop House

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