Hopefully, last week's list of the best things to eat at restaurants in Sarasota and Manatee counties left you hungry for more — because we’re back with a second helping of local culinary delights that should inspire you to get off the couch and brave the Florida heat.
To mark the official start of summer on June 20, I compiled a list of 50 dishes I've enjoyed over the past year or so at local restaurants. I focused mostly on places with a fun and casual setting; however, a few dishes were so delicious that I had to make an exception for fancier restaurants. On balance, you'll find an array of casual dining classics.
Presented in alphabetical order by the name of the menu item, here is the next installment of my highly subjective list of the 50 best things to eat at restaurants in Sarasota and Manatee counties, presented as bite-sized reviews. To make the list more manageable, we are sharing 10 new dishes per week for the next five weeks, bringing us to mid-July for the five-part series.
This week's list features dishes ranging from locally sourced seafood to fried chicken sandwiches, along with a salad for anyone craving a lighter bite. To be honest, I rarely recommend salads, but it is summer, and this one is the kind of salad that is essentially an awesome sandwich that someone just decided to serve without the bread.
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Cortez Special at Star Fish Company in Cortez
12306 46th Ave. W., Cortez; 941-794-1243; starfishcompany.com
Named one of the best restaurants in the country this year by our sister publication USA TODAY and nestled along Sarasota Bay in the fishing village of Cortez, Star Fish Company offers exceptional Gulf seafood with a generous serving of Old Florida charm. The best way to experience this ultra-casual cuisine, served dockside in a cardboard box, is with the Cortez Special. Priced at a very reasonable $26.95 (cash only), it comes with Star Fish's irresistible hush puppies, homemade coleslaw, and your choice of fries, broccoli, or cheese grits. Get the grits. Next, you choose any two: shrimp (fried or sautéed), mahi-mahi (grilled or blackened), oysters (fried), scallops (fried or sautéed), grouper (fried, grilled, blackened, or sautéed), crab cake, or clam strips. My go-to order is the grouper (blackened) and scallops (sautéed).
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Curry Dusted Crisps at Molly’s Pub
1560 Main St., Sarasota; eviesonline.com
The Evanoff family has brought many great establishments to Sarasota-Manatee, including their popular Evie's restaurants, but my favorite among their dining and drinking destinations is Molly's Pub . An homage to their Irish heritage, located in the heart of downtown Sarasota, it's one of my go-to spots for enjoying live music, libations, and tasty snacks. I recommend ordering a pint of Guinness and pairing it with their house-made crisps dusted with curry powder, served with a side of malt mayo. Sip your beer, dip your chip, and repeat — it's a glorious experience, especially when accompanied by one of their signature burgers .
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Double Dipped Fried Chicken at Made
1990 Main St., Sarasota; 941-953-2900; maderestaurant.com
Chef Mark Woodruff's inspired take on upscale American comfort food has been thriving for more than a decade on upper Main Street. Made's essential eats include the Double Dipped Fried Chicken, featuring buttermilk and hot sauce-brined chicken with a "hot-n-honey crust," served alongside a tasty buttermilk biscuit and Made's must-try bacon and beer-braised greens. If you're looking to indulge in another "double-dipped" chicken option at Made —and why not? — be sure to try the Chicken & French Toast.
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Fancy Doughnut from Five-O Donut Co.
Multiple locations in Sarasota and Bradenton area; fiveodonutco.com
Christine Nordstrom, a former fine-dining pastry chef whose family operated a doughnut shop in Ohio, made a huge splash in downtown Sarasota seven years ago when she opened Five-O Donut Co. in the spring of 2017. Today, Nordstrom operates multiple locations across Sarasota and Manatee counties, including her original shop near the police station on Ringling Boulevard. Five-O features a variety of doughnuts, including "simple" classics like glazed and chocolate iced, alongside more elaborate "fancy" creations such as the Cookie Monster (blue vanilla buttercream, Oreo bits, cookie dough bites, and Biscoff cookie butter), as well as special and seasonal offerings. Forget counting calories for the day and treat yourself to one of their "fancy" delights.
Fish Tacos at Tide Tables
12507 Cortez Road W., Bradenton; 941-567-6206; tidetablescortez.com
A wonderfully funky waterfront gem on the west end of Cortez fishing village overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway and Anna Maria Island, Tide Tables stands out as one of the best seafood restaurants in the region. It's also my favorite spot for fish tacos. They feature deftly blackened mahi-mahi with coleslaw, cheddar jack cheese, and a show-stopping sesame ginger sauce, all wrapped in soft flour tortillas ideal for soaking up the sweet and savory juices. Life doesn't get much better than enjoying these tacos while seated at the tiki bar with a cold beer, gazing across the Intracoastal at frolicking dolphins — an experience I've cherished more than once at Tide Tables.
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Flatbread at Jennings Downtown Provisions
417 Old Main St., Bradenton; 941-896-5450; facebook.com
Located in the front of the Jennings Arcade Building in the heart of downtown Bradenton, Jennings Provisions is where the Cripes welcome folks for clever, chef-prepared comfort foods to pair with their family's nationally acclaimed Lola wine from Napa Valley. While I'm a big fan of their jerk chicken wings, pork tacos, chicken salad sandwich, and various quesadillas, I'm perhaps most fond of Jennings' flatbread specials, which feature a cracker-like crust smothered in a gooey mix of mozzarella and provolone. This past Friday, for instance, I feasted on the Bacon Tomato Flatbread, a highly addictive, open-faced B.L.T. replete with crispy slices of bacon, shards of Romaine lettuce, slices of garden-fresh tomatoes, and a dynamic cream drizzle for the win.
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Fried Grouper Sandwich at Annie's Bait & Tackle
4334 127th St. W., Cortez; 941-794-3580; anniesbaitandtackle.com
An Old Florida hidden gem nestled along the Intracoastal Waterway at the northeastern base of the Cortez Bridge, Annie's boasts a rich history as a bait shop dating back to the 1950s, still catering to boaters and fishermen with fuel and supplies. Indoors, you'll find a couple of tables serving fisherman-approved seafood, burgers, and more, complemented by a cozy beer and wine bar. My favorite spot, though, is the covered waterfront patio. At Annie's, every fresh catch is fried to perfection.
Their brilliantly seasoned fried grouper sandwich, topped with iceberg lettuce, tomato, and a thick swipe of tartar sauce, always brings a smile to my face as I alternate between bites, sips of ice-cold beer, and watching the boaters stop by to refuel.
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Fully Loaded Salty Dog at The Old Salty Dog
Siesta Key Village, City Island in Sarasota, and island of Venice; theoldsaltydog.com
Few things are more satisfying in life than a beer and a hot dog, and no place in Sarasota County offers a better pairing than The Old Salty Dog , which has its original location in Siesta Key Village as well as waterfront ones on Sarasota's City Island and the island of Venice. The restaurant's signature Salty Dog is a quarter-pounder made by Geier's Sausage Kitchen (yes, even though their storefront is out of business due to a fire earlier this year), dipped in batter and fried to a golden brown just like a very well-made piece of cod for fish 'n' chips. The Salty Dog is excellent with just some white onions, relish, and good ol' yellow mustard, but there is another option.
At least once in your life, every Sarasotan must try The Fully Loaded Salty Dog, just like the one Adam Richman happily devoured during a great episode of “Man v. Food.” This past Saturday at the City Island location, it had been about three years since I had made the attempt . The quarter-pound, deep-fried hot dog comes topped with generous slices of bacon, sauerkraut, grilled onions and mushrooms, and American, cheddar, pepper jack, and Swiss cheese, over a bed of French fries. I didn't come close to finishing that beautiful beast — but it sure was fun trying again!
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Gallo Diablo at Brewster’s Gastropub
1454 Main St., Sarasota; 941-343-2380; brewsterstavern.com
At most places, you’ll be lucky to find one legit fried chicken sandwich on the menu. Brewster’s in downtown Sarasota offers two of the best around. The Blazing Rooster features a buttermilk Cajun chicken breast that’s flash-fried and topped with perky pickles and a subtle garlic aioli, served on a toasted bun. It should definitely satisfy even the most discerning fried chicken enthusiast.
However, there’s an even better option at Brewster’s called the Gallo Diablo. This delectable devil rooster takes the Blazing Rooster to the next level with firecracker sauce, a layer of melted pepper jack cheese, and their addictive jalapeño ranch. It costs a dollar more, but it’s worth every single cent
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Half and Half Combo of Cuban and '1905' Salad at Columbia Restaurant
411 St. Armands Circle, Sarasota; 941-388-3987; columbiarestaurant.com
Sandwich and salad combos have traditionally been the prosaic province of boring businessman lunches. However, that's not the case at Columbia Restaurant , where, for a very reasonable $15, patrons can pair half of their famous Cuban sandwich with half of their equally renowned Original “1905” Salad.
For those unfamiliar with these two culinary gems served at the Columbia, open on St. Armands Circle since 1959, the sandwich features thinly sliced ham, Genoa salami, mojo-marinated roast pork, and Swiss cheese with pickle and mustard, all placed on freshly baked Cuban bread that's buttered and pressed to a crispy finish. Earlier this year, the readers of Southern Living magazine voted Columbia Restaurant for Florida's best Cuban sandwich and, in 2021, Food & Wine named Columbia's Cubano the best sandwich in Florida .
Columbia’s iconic salad, tossed tableside, contains crisp iceberg lettuce with julienne of baked ham, natural Swiss cheese, tomato, olives, grated Romano cheese, Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce, and the restaurant's irresistible garlic dressing. I love the salad as much as the sandwich and chose it as one of the selections for my "last meal" interview with Axios .
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Wade Tatangelo is Ticket Editor for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, and Florida Regional Dining and Entertainment Editor for the USA TODAY Network. Follow him on Twitter , Facebook and Instagram . He can be reached by email at wade.tatangelo@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism by subscribing .
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Restaurant reviews: 10 best things to eat in Sarasota, Bradenton, Venice, part 2 of 5
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