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BTW, anyone that goes out to eat to just about ANY restaurant on Thanksgiving, Christmas, NY's Eve, Mother's Day, Father's day Easter, Valentine's Day, 4th of July,k etc is an idiot.
This ^^^!!! Years and years ago we would occasionally eat out on a holiday and gotta say, NEVER enjoyed it. Too crowded, rushed and bad limited menus, even at places we normally loved. For holidays I splurge on steaks or crablegs and cook at home.
Honestly, for all the restaurants in the Sara/Manatee area, I don't find many that I think are that great. One of our favorites is Pier 22 on the river. The ambiance can't be beat, we get great service and (most) of the food is absolutely delicious. They have great "small plates" for happy hour.
Another nice little gem near Lakewood Ranch is the French restaurant that used to Be C'est La Vie, now called "Mademoiselle de Paris." Combination French Bakery and bistro, serving breakfast lunch and dinner. Love that little place. Near Total Wine. I hope she succeeds, very nice lady and way better than C'est La Vie.
This ^^^!!! Years and years ago we would occasionally eat out on a holiday and gotta say, NEVER enjoyed it. Too crowded, rushed and bad limited menus, even at places we normally loved. For holidays I splurge on steaks or crablegs and cook at home.
Honestly, for all the restaurants in the Sara/Manatee area, I don't find many that I think are that great. One of our favorites is Pier 22 on the river. The ambiance can't be beat, we get great service and (most) of the food is absolutely delicious. They have great "small plates" for happy hour.
Another nice little gem near Lakewood Ranch is the French restaurant that used to Be C'est La Vie, now called "Mademoiselle de Paris." Combination French Bakery and bistro, serving breakfast lunch and dinner. Love that little place. Near Total Wine. I hope she succeeds, very nice lady and way better than C'est La Vie.
Holidays, let's see:
Mom and I had a tradition of going on Christmas Eve to Maureen's Palm Grille on Longboat. Loved that place, but it didn't last long. I was sooo disappointed after I moved here and saw it now -- the Lazy Lobster, with typical coastal kitsch decor. And didn't like my food. But I know it's very popular.
We then started doing Bonefish on Christmas Eve. Very consistently good and I love their martinis.
One Christmas a friend and I went to Yummy House. It was a zoo, super crowded and noisy, and you could see people standing there hoping you'd hurry up and finish so they could have your table.
As I said, one holiday (I think it was Thanksgiving), we went to Michael's on East. It wasn't a zoo, but I wasn't that crazy about whatever I had.
One Christmas Eve, same friend and I went to Ocean Star sushi for Christmas Eve. It was great as usual.
Last Thanksgiving, I went to the Anna Maria Island Beach Cafe for their turkey dinner. I usually love their food but not this time.
Think I'm going to skip the holiday restaurant meals in the future.
OMG I just re-read that. "Follow certain trucks to find quality restaurants." Or even noticing which trucks are delivering to any restaurants. That is certainly a new level of obsessiveness.
Not shocking.
Florida is based on Tourism, at least Southwest FL, and the warmer areas. You have people on vacation and then you have the old folks.
When on vacation you typically don't eat a 50 dollar meal everyday and the old people around here sure like to eat big meals full of fried food, hence you get a bunch of chain restaurants or pub type food. The tourist I see down here are always eating the fried foods and pigging out.
Around here a lot of the old folks are obese and when I see them dinning out they're always eating large meals full of fried food.
Sure you will find fine dinning south of Tampa, but I'm from St. Louis Missouri and up in St. Louis there is much much more better fine dinning options than Southwest FL, better chefs as well.
One problem is down here everything is so transient so finding good chefs who will stay can be tough. Having a revolving door of chefs can quickly kill a place if food quality is inconsistent.
The only thing I like in Southwest Florida is the seafood when it comes to dinning out. Even there I find a few places inconsistent as well.
yea, that's pretty extreme when you have to watch the delivery trucks to see where to eat at!
I worked in transportation for years, so I know the fleets, what they carry, & the type places they deliver to. I went inside their DC's to see how the food was stored, how clean they were, & if they washed out the trucks daily, or not; which is huge for meats/poultry especially.
The larger meat distributors have FDA inspectors right inside their warehouses, full time. The smaller ones are spot checked.
I'd ask my high-end food distributor clients, which restaurants nearest my home bought the highest grade foods (there are 3-5 quality levels). I was told of a nearby Italian place (ATL 'burbs) that was amazing, and not surprisingly, had been in biz 20+ years. Even though they bought the highest grade foods, their prices were not 5-star level...more like 3.5-star.
To this day, I always notice food distribution trucks making deliveries to restaurants. If they're US Foods, or Sysco, I know its likely mid-grade national chain restaurant grade foods. A step up from them is Gordon & Cheney Brothers, (aka C-B-I), who also delivers to chains, but more to regionals & small group restaurants.
Then there's the high-grade meats & seafood that Halpern's (a spinoff of & Buckhead Beef, an ATL-based distributor that was bought out by Sysco) delivers throughout the Southeast, including our area. You'll see their trucks delivering to Ruth's Chris, & other fine dining establishments, but also a few others that are mid-range eateries...those are the hidden gems.
Food quality & handling is very important to the the final product. Being behind the scenes was eye-opening. Of course, food prep is key too, & that is where the inconsistencies arise. You can see the County inspectors grading results for how well local restaurants handle foods. Some newspapers publish these results weekly. Does our local paper do so?
I could be wrong, but I don't think Halpern's is delivering to any Lakewood Ranch restaurants, but probably to a couple at the nearby UTC Mall; like Capital Grille.
I worked in transportation for years, so I know the fleets, what they carry, & the type places they deliver to. I went inside their DC's to see how the food was stored, how clean they were, & if they washed out the trucks daily, or not; which is huge for meats/poultry especially.
The larger meat distributors have FDA inspectors right inside their warehouses, full time. The smaller ones are spot checked.
I'd ask my high-end food distributor clients, which restaurants nearest my home bought the highest grade foods (there are 3-5 quality levels). I was told of a nearby Italian place (ATL 'burbs) that was amazing, and not surprisingly, had been in biz 20+ years. Even though they bought the highest grade foods, their prices were not 5-star level...more like 3.5-star.
To this day, I always notice food distribution trucks making deliveries to restaurants. If they're US Foods, or Sysco, I know its likely mid-grade national chain restaurant grade foods. A step up from them is Gordon & Cheney Brothers, (aka C-B-I), who also delivers to chains, but more to regionals & small group restaurants.
Then there's the high-grade meats & seafood that Halpern's (a spinoff of & Buckhead Beef, an ATL-based distributor that was bought out by Sysco) delivers throughout the Southeast, including our area. You'll see their trucks delivering to Ruth's Chris, & other fine dining establishments, but also a few others that are mid-range eateries...those are the hidden gems.
Food quality & handling is very important to the the final product. Being behind the scenes was eye-opening. Of course, food prep is key too, & that is where the inconsistencies arise. You can see the County inspectors grading results for how well local restaurants handle foods. Some newspapers publish these results weekly. Does our local paper do so?
I could be wrong, but I don't think Halpern's is delivering to any Lakewood Ranch restaurants, but probably to a couple at the nearby UTC Mall; like Capital Grille.
Just had another example of that last night inconsistent food. I went out to a local Pizza place last night that overall has good food. However once in a blue moon lately the quality is off. I don't mean the type of meats or the quality of the food product, but how it's prepared. The bread sticks were burnt, my meatball wasn't as moist as usual and they even forgot to add the cesar salad dressing on the side to pour on. lately once in awhile they burn the bread sticks and toppings on the pizza. Otherwise the food is great but lately been noticing this stuff. I might try their other place across the bridge. It's been open longer, always slammed. I'm thinking probably better cooks. This is their small, newer location and probably higher turnover.
I'll say in St. Louis the Italian food is top notch and very consistent. There was a 4-5 star place I liked. Didn't serve Pizza and the cheap fried Italian stuff, but steaks, high end fresh fish etc, owner-chef lived and trained in Italy. But the bill for us back then was like $130. Probably $200 to eat there now not including tip for us 3. But the waiters literally one per table in the small place. They literally just sit there and watch you and are on you in a whim if you need something. I have nothing remotely like that even close to me. Everything here is just fried foods. Stuff tourist would typically eat on vacation.
Other than the fresh seafood, I'm less than impressed with the food here in Florida.
Just had another example of that last night inconsistent food. I went out to a local Pizza place last night that overall has good food. However once in a blue moon lately the quality is off. I don't mean the type of meats or the quality of the food product, but how it's prepared. The bread sticks were burnt, my meatball wasn't as moist as usual and they even forgot to add the cesar salad dressing on the side to pour on. lately once in awhile they burn the bread sticks and toppings on the pizza. Otherwise the food is great but lately been noticing this stuff. I might try their other place across the bridge. It's been open longer, always slammed. I'm thinking probably better cooks. This is their small, newer location and probably higher turnover.
I'll say in St. Louis the Italian food is top notch and very consistent. There was a 4-5 star place I liked. Didn't serve Pizza and the cheap fried Italian stuff, but steaks, high end fresh fish etc, owner-chef lived and trained in Italy. But the bill for us back then was like $130. Probably $200 to eat there now not including tip for us 3. But the waiters literally one per table in the small place. They literally just sit there and watch you and are on you in a whim if you need something. I have nothing remotely like that even close to me. Everything here is just fried foods. Stuff tourist would typically eat on vacation.
Other than the fresh seafood, I'm less than impressed with the food here in Florida.
You should not use a blanket term like that. Florida is a huge state, and food varies greatly by region. The food in my area (Lakeland and surround) is superb. Several high end places, medium places, ethnic diversity but of course there are also the ubiquitous chains. There is a high end Italian place like you describe here almost to the T. It is called "Scarpa's." We have a number of regular (independent) Italian/pizza places as well. There was even a write-up last year about Lakeland being a "foodie city." And it is.
Too many places in Sarasota/Bradenton are just tourist traps. They cater to that clientele and the senior set who like all those fried food places and tiki bars. When year after year places like "Anna Maria Oyster Bar" and "Primos" get voted "best seafood" and "best Italian", that should tell you all you need to know. Most of that food is just garbage sorry to say. One other problem these days is inflation, plus the enormous cost of doing business in that area. Restaurants just cannot survive. I am glad we left. We do enjoy coming back for the couple of places I mentioned earlier in this thread.
You should not use a blanket term like that. Florida is a huge state, and food varies greatly by region. The food in my area (Lakeland and surround) is superb. Several high end places, medium places, ethnic diversity but of course there are also the ubiquitous chains. There is a high end Italian place like you describe here almost to the T. It is called "Scarpa's." We have a number of regular (independent) Italian/pizza places as well. There was even a write-up last year about Lakeland being a "foodie city." And it is.
Too many places in Sarasota/Bradenton are just tourist traps. They cater to that clientele and the senior set who like all those fried food places and tiki bars. When year after year places like "Anna Maria Oyster Bar" and "Primos" get voted "best seafood" and "best Italian", that should tell you all you need to know. Most of that food is just garbage sorry to say. One other problem these days is inflation, plus the enormous cost of doing business in that area. Restaurants just cannot survive. I am glad we left. We do enjoy coming back for the couple of places I mentioned earlier in this thread.
That's what I mean. SWFL places are that fried stuff, tourist traps and then some chains thrown in. Stuff you'd typically eat on vacation, Fried foods and beer. Not nicer dining stuff. Englewood, Punta Gorda, Ft. Myers Beach, Sarasota no different. Friend foods, beer, chicken wing stuff. Seafood is good by the beach, but otherwise all fried stuff being it's a tourist region of the state they're catering to people on vacation, especially closer to the coast.
I suspect Tampa has some better dinning options due to being a major city and more stable population.
Correct too. SO many restaurants go under down here. Sure many pop up then go under in a few years and then you see all these vacant restaurant locations for lease stay empty for awhile.
Hey, "foodie" people who have been here awhile. What is your opinion of Walt's Fish Market? I remember seeing some supposedly gourmet fan interviewed in Sarasota Mag and he said his favorite was Walt's. I went there, had a dinner of scallops, I think, and honestly it was OK but it didn't blow me over. Think this guy was part of the crowd that votes Anna Maria Oyster Bar as Best Restaurant, or is there something I'm missing about Walt's?
As for me, I know you hate people who move down here then say the pizza up north is better, BUT, I am flying up to Philly tomorrow and I CANNOT WAIT to go to my favorite pizza place! My mouth is WATERING. If I could bring one back on the plane, I would. In fact, a friend of mine actually did that once, put the pizza up in the overhead bin, LOL. The other passengers didn't seem thrilled.
Hey, "foodie" people who have been here awhile. What is your opinion of Walt's Fish Market? I remember seeing some supposedly gourmet fan interviewed in Sarasota Mag and he said his favorite was Walt's. I went there, had a dinner of scallops, I think, and honestly it was OK but it didn't blow me over. Think this guy was part of the crowd that votes Anna Maria Oyster Bar as Best Restaurant, or is there something I'm missing about Walt's?
As for me, I know you hate people who move down here then say the pizza up north is better, BUT, I am flying up to Philly tomorrow and I CANNOT WAIT to go to my favorite pizza place! My mouth is WATERING. If I could bring one back on the plane, I would. In fact, a friend of mine actually did that once, put the pizza up in the overhead bin, LOL. The other passengers didn't seem thrilled.
WALT'S ?? lol
Yeah it was damn good when the father (Walt) owned and ran the original Walt's, which had a market, sit down bar, and restaurant at the 500 Block of North Washington, in Sarasota, just barely north of Fruitville on the east side of the street.
It was outstanding..but hell that was in the 80s to early 90s !
The son runs the "new" Walt's on south Trail....that place is MARGINAL and has become a tourist trap during the season and beyond.
Anna Maria Oyster Bar is a seasonal joke - either location - doesn't matter.
Pizza? who cares, it's not most folk's true dining options, not really.
You might want to try a locally owned spot named Mean Dean's in Manatee County on 26th in an unassuming plaza. Note: The restaurant is not in the City of Bradenton, it's in a local area commonly referred to as Bayshore Gardens
I've known Dean for several years. He owned Cedar Reef. He's now in the process of even expanding the restaurant next door to include liquor sales. I haven't had a bad meal.
Another locally owned Italian place is Scarpino's also in Manatee County.
Skip Carmen's on sr64 and 27th in The City of Bradenton.
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