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

Tropical Thai

Sexy Man Roll
Pineapple Fried Rice
Chicken Cashew Nuts
Banana Coins with Coconut Ice Cream

Our Protagonist had heard lots of good things about this restaurant, but had never gone.  He finally managed to go with a couple who said it was their favorite restaurant.  When he arrived at the restaurant a bit behind schedule, he found that several things had already been ordered, including some decidedly non-Thai items, so there was to be no curry to be had on this instance.  A shame, really, as our Protagonist goes to Thai restaurants specifically for this purpose.  That, and Green Papaya Salad, but that will have to wait for another instance.  So Chinese and Japanese a la Thai it was!  The special Sexy Man Roll was excellent; good salmon topped with a wonderfully crunchy tempura eel, garnished with red and black roe.  Presented beautifully in a serpentine pattern, with a ribbon of spicy sauce daring you to use your fingers.  This should have been the entire meal, but no, there were things to share; the Pineapple Fried Rice had a nice touch with raisins.  The slightly-oddly-named Chicken Cashew Nuts was very mild, but featured straw mushrooms, a favorite of one of the dining companions.  Banana Coins with Coconut Ice Cream was a nice finish, lightly garnished with honey and sesame seeds.  A forklift was then summoned...not really, but for lunch, this was an insane amount of food.  The portions are very generous, and the prices are very reasonable; sushi, excepting, most things were under $10.  A return trip is in order, and curry MUST be ordered...

Tropical Thai
1420 Main Street
Sarasota, FL 34236
941-364-5775

Caragiulo's

Wild Mushroom and Leek Soup
Open Faced Tuna sandwich with dill, and capers
Tiramisu

Today our Protagonist hit the third of the "Holy Trinity" of downtown Italian resturants; Caragiulos.  Yes, there are others as well, but along with Cafe Americano and Cafe Epicure, Caragiulos is definitely one of the go-to lunch destinations in downtown Sarasota.  Some even refer to Caragiulos as their "second office", and the day's experience provided good reason.

The mushroom soup was loaded with all manner of mushrooms; most wild mushroom recipes seem focus on a single type, calling into question the "wild" moniker.  This one was generous and hearty; a truly great soup.  The sandwich (offered as a special) was good in its simplicity, on perfectly toasted fresh baked Italian loaf cut on the bias, and generously topped with large fronds of dill weed.  The tapanade side of olives and mushrooms was tasty without overpowering the good taste of the tuna.  One dining partner's "Chinese" calamari salad looked and smelled quite interesting, in a ginger dressing and a generous amount of breaded and fried calamari; further investigation may be called for.  The Tiramisu was very light, which was a nice change from typical liqueur-drenched, cloyingly-sweet restaurant incarnations of the dessert.  It was accompanied by berries; unfortunately they appeared to be previously frozen rather than macerated, which was an unfortunate strike against an otherwise fine meal.  

Caragiulo's

69 South Palm Avenue
Sarasota, FL 34236
941-951-0866

Miguel's (Siesta Key)

Coquille St. Jacques
Sopa de Ajo
Vichyssoise
Escalope de Vaue "Oscar"
Salmon Vent
Le Petit Filet Mignon
Chocolate Pecan Tart

A celebration of French food calls for one to participate fully, as the above listing attests.  The Coquille St. Jacques featured tender scallops baked in a bed of mashed potatoes with white wine and cream.  Our Protagonist doesn't make a habit of eating potatoes, but this felt just right to him, somehow; it seemed to have touched the "comfort food" nerve.  The mistake was following this up with the very intense Sopa de Ajo; one should NOT have an appetizer if one is to have this.  This might also be a consideration with La Soupe a L'oignon Gratinee, which is another offering; you won't be able to eat your dinner afterward!  Just like the French Onion soup, the Garlic Soup was prepared with a generous melting of Gruyere on top, which when melted back into the mixture thickened with breadcrumbs, the consistency became not unlike fondue.  Our Protagonist was beginning to question the sanity, the wisdom, notwithstanding, of the Veal that was coming.  The vichyssoise that the dining partners partook of was lovely to taste, and probably would have been a safer following to the appetizer that wasn't shared. 

Veal is always a challenge in terms of the texture, and this one came out a little on the tough side.  The intense lemon of the saute wiped out the flavor of either the crab meat or the Bearnaise sauce.  The accompaniments became the star in this case, including a little vegetable ratatouille that even out-sweet-potatoed the sweet potato whip!  It had been caramelized to perfection, and resembled one of the best tasting baked yams, ever.  The salmon vent was good, but, again, my dining partner raved over the various accompaniments, rather than the dishes itself, and then proceeded to steal them from her husband's plate.  His Petit Filet seemed to hit the spot with no complaints, bedecked in its brandy sauce that seemed to be the house specialty.  Our Protagonist's salad had a maple vinaigrette, which was subtle but good.  In spite of nearly splitting in two from eating too much, he simply had to sample the chocolate pecan tart, for which he was richly rewarded for his previous troubles.  Although, he found himself eying the pineapple upside-down tort for a return visit...

Miguel's
6631 Midnight Pass Road
Sarasota, FL 34242
941-349-4024