Americano the Fourth...

Salsiccia saltata con pomodorini e funghi
Insalate tropicale

Again with Americano!  So many lunch meetings here...but at least it was our Protagonist's turn to sample the Salsiccia saltata that had perked his olfactory nerve the last time.  It turned out to be very generous, more like a dinner portion, which justified its higher price than the other lunch offerings.  The sausage was flat rather than in a casing, and had curled up on the edges from cooking rather like bacon (except much larger!)  It was wonderfully spiced and accompanied by sauteed mushrooms and cherry tomatoes.  The only disappointment was when our Protagonist would spear what he thought was a mushroom cap, only to discover it was actually a slice of potato!  As heavy as this dish was, the potatoes could have been forgone altogether to make room for more mushrooms, instead.  The sauce was good enough to require two pieces of bread for supping in order to not leave any behind.  The dining companion had the salad with hearts of palm and avocado, but our Protagonist requires more protein to fulfill the definition of lunch.  Perhaps the salad will find its way into a dinner selection the next time he (inevitably) returns.  Our Protagonist left feeling very full, but high marks were given to the dish, nonetheless; it seems to be a point of consistency at the restaurant, so it is definitely recommended.

Cafe Americano

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

C'est La Vie

Croque Monsieur/Madame
Side Salad
Tart Tatin
Carnot

Our food explorations have brought us to a little piece of France in Sarasota, C'est la Vie.  There were so many good menu choices, but having to start with somewhere, our Protagonist opted for a typical French lunch offering, the Croque Monsieur.  Because our Protagonist is as thrifty as he is adventurous when it comes to food, he opted for the Monsieur version; however, it came out as Madame with the fried egg on top, which meant extra goodness.  The sandwich was delightfully crisp (a propos of its name) and smothered in wonderfully melted cheese.  Not a single crumb was left behind.  The staff was kind enough to only charge for a Monsieur, but future visits will most likely result in springing for the full experience.  The side salad was simple, but had a nice garnish of corn kernels and had a simple yet pleasing balsamic dressing.  The dessert choices were difficult, as a vast array of choices again faced our Protagonist.  In this instance, his dining companion chose the always aesthetically pleasing tart tatin, which never fails to fascinate our Protagonist with its thinly-sliced-and-reassembled apple perched on top.  However this was not to be today's dessert choice; rather, it was the last of its kind, hiding in the back of the pastry case.  He was told it was called a Carnot, but no reference to such a pastry has been found to date.  In any case the taste was just heavenly; a chocolate layer capped by a vanilla cream was finished on top with a meringue and then given a brulee finish.  This pastry alone will guarantee a return trip, and our Protagonist is counting the days...

C'est la Vie
1553 Main Street

Sarasota, FL 34236-5802
941-906-9575

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