There is a new breakfast contender on Main Street: Buddha Belly Doughnuts. Located across the street from the Hollywood 20 cinema, Buddha Belly serves breakfast and lunch. The coffee is good and the Bavarian cream doughnut, even better.
Supporting Local and Independent Businesses is good karma.
Established in 1905, the Hernandez Gonzmart family are now in the 4th and 5th generation to be serving fantastic Spanish/Cuban food in the original location in Ybor City.
Originally a community for Spanish, Cuban, and Italian immigrants in the 1800's, Ybor City was the area capital for cigar factories, a tradition that still lives on today. Today it has a mix of cafes, bars, nightclubs, and funky shops - but still retains a strong architectural flavor of it's ethnical past.
We started with a pitcher of Sangria de Cava, 1905 Salad, and some black bean cakes. After our first course, we were treated to a 45 minute flamenco show. The dancers were fantastic and I would highly recommend going if you are in the area. There is a charge of $6 per person for the show, but this is truly a good value for the quality of dancing.
Our main course followed the dancing. I couldn't resist having the Ropa Vieja. My lovely friend Emily, who is from Cuba, will be teaching me how to make this in the upcoming months. I can hardly wait!!!
Complete with a shop to buy sun screen and ice cream...
... and live bait...
For us, the main draw is eating out on the Tikki Deck where they serve yummy Tropical Frozen Cocktails, have a sublime view of the beach, and live music. The night we went there the deck was closed for food due to a wedding.
This was a huge disappointment due to the fact we had driven an hour specifically to eat outside on the beach. We have so many fantastic restaurants nearby that we could have stayed close to home to have good food indoors. Still, we were able to have a cocktail outside while we were waiting for our table, and since we were there had decided to stay. I had the delectable Mango Tango.
We were very happy that we did decide to stay. The inside menu had changed since we were last there, and we thought so did the quality of the food. James had fish and chips, which he was very happy with. I opted for the Coastal Chicken: chicken breast sauteed with mushrooms, spinach, sun dried tomatoes in a white wine and lemon demi-glaze. It was the best thing I've ever had at Sharky's, and I've been going there for more years than I can remember. We were too full to have any of their scrumptious looking desserts.
We finished eating just in time to walk out to the end of the pier to watch the sun set.
This turned out to be a fantastic visit to Sharky's. We will definitely be back, and not only when we have company.
You can order from their extensive Tapas or Entree menus, but I seem to stick to my favorite in the summertime: If eating inside, I always start with a cup of their Spanish Bean Soup. This soup has a ham/chicken broth base and is loaded with Garbanzo beans, diced potatoes, ham, and Chorizo sausage.
Inside our out, I always have their signature "1905 Salad". This is an absolute must as a starter if ordering an entree, or a refreshing, very satisfying main dish salad. On a hot day, there is nothing better than to sit out on their patio and watch the world go by.
While the Columbia are very generous to post some of their recipes on their website and have a cookbook (James - hint, hint) - nothing can duplicate the experience of actually dining at one of the Columbia's seven restaurants.
James and I went one night in early November. It was freakishly cold that night, but with the outside heaters we decided to brave the cold to enjoy the sunset. The outside area has such a great relaxed atmosphere with live music. There was a wedding at their reception pavilion that night, so we were "treated" to their music instead of our own.
The Sandbar have a lovely menu of tropical drinks, perfect for a hot sunny day. My favorite is the Passion Fruit Pina Colada, but I passed as it was too cold that night for a frozen drink. James stayed true to his Sandbar staple, a Bahama Mama.
The Sandbar has two different menus: a Deck Menu and an Inside Menu. As I don't eat seafood, this can prove to be a bit of a challenge. They have an amazing Shrimp salad that I'm able to get with blackened or jerk chicken that is sprinkled with Gorgonzola cheese, fresh mango, and has a passion fruit dressing. Until recently, it had been added to the Deck Menu, but as it was so cold that night, I wasn't in the mood for salad. Once it gets warmer it's back to pleading with my server to have something on the Inside Menu. We had gotten there a little early for the sunset so decided to have a starter. I had their house salad (also with mango and passion fruit dressing) and James opted for a more sensible cup of soup.
We both opted for the Buffalo Burger with Swiss, Mushrooms, and Sauteed Onions as our main course. There is something about a burger on the beach that you just can't beat. It also takes be back to my childhood when it was about the only non-seafood option. The burgers there are huge, and when paired with fries, can definitely be shared by two, which is what we'll do the next time we get a burger there.
Another perk of eating outside before sunset is that your server takes your guess of what time you think the sun will disappear into the gulf. Whoever gets the closest guess to the actual time wins a bottle of sparkling wine. We've yet to win, but have come pretty close.
Whether your looking for somewhere to unwind after a stressful weekday or to have a relaxing dinner on the weekend, The Sandbar is definitely a lovely place to be.
Not only did the have a version of the pizza that we didn't order that night, we think that it may actually even be better! It is a ricotta and spinach pizza with lovely cloves of roasted garlic. We add bacon, and sometimes I like to get tomato on half. Add some red pepper flakes and it's pretty close to perfection.
My first experience there wasn't complete bliss. When I called to order and asked for a spinach pizza, as it's called on the menu, it was returned with, "you mean gourmet pie?". I felt like answering in a language that she could understand: "no, i mean a friggin' gourmet pizza as it's called on your menu", but I could never be so crude to a stranger... so I opted to kill with kindness, "of course, how silly of me to call it that, please forgive my mistake". Come on, take a look at the close up... could you really pass on something this good over the rudeness of someone over the phone. They do hail from Long Island, so you are getting the full on NY experience. To be fair, we've eaten there several times and she's softened up, so maybe she was just having a bad day. However, in this economy, you think that everyone in the public sector would be as nice as can be. Or am I just delusional?
Michelangelo of Long Island! Pizzeria &Italian Restaurant: Lakewood Ranch
Lakewood Ranch Blvd. & State Road 70
Phone: (941) 739-5656
Open Everyday 11-10
This is a lovely place for lunch in downtown Sarasota. The menu consists of quiche, soups, salads, and sandwiches, with several daily specials. The last time I was there I had a goat's cheese salad that was absolute bliss. Strangely, it was under the "Starter" section, not "Salad" but was very substantial. I was headed to a job interview, so opted out on a glass of wine, choosing the fresh squeezed lemonade instead. With the addition of a few squeezed lemon slices, it was to my level of tartness, perfectly complimenting the goat's cheese, leaving me a very happy girl.
