Duval's Fresh Local Seafood in Sarasota

 

Located in the heart of downtown Sarasota, Duval’s is consistently voted the best seafood restaurant in the area ten years in a row. With a focus on the freshest seafood and a desire to support the local community, Duval's sources only the finest ingredients from Sarasota’s local fishermen and farmers. With a selection of innovative seafood and non-seafood dishes that are artfully and thoughtfully created, Duval's showcase the vast range of flavours of both land and sea. Together with gracious and attentive staff, an elegant interior and inspired menu, dining at Duval's is a pleasure each and every time.

Stella Artois Beer

Duval's seafood menu

Fish and Chips with homemade tartare sauce

Shrimp and Crab Cakes with spicy mayonnaise and coleslaw

Chef Nils Tatarnik

www.duvalsfreshlocalseafood.com

Spiced Goldentile with Shoestring Veg & Crispy Cellophane Noodles

Serves 1

Recipe courtesy of chef Nils Tarantik

Goldentile:

1-2 Goldentile filets

3 tsp olive oil

Blackening spices (salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, red pepper flakes, thyme, cayenne & sugar)

1/2 cup cellophane noodles for garnish

1/4 Napa cabbage, grated for garnish

Sautéed Vegetables: 

1 oz zucchini, cut lengthwise into pieces

1 oz red pepper, cut lengthwise into pieces

1 oz carrot, cut lengthwise into pieces

1 oz jicama, cut lengthwise into pieces

Salt and pepper to taste

Sweet Soy Glaze:

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup soy sauce

Heat oil in a frying pan over medium-high. Add the mixed vegetables and season with salt and pepper to taste, and sauté for 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside for plating. 

Next, drizzle the fish with olive oil and rub with blackening seasoning. Grill 1-2 minutes on each side until the edges are golden brown. Deep fry the cellophane noodles for use as a garnish. To plate, arrange some grated Napa cabbage in the centre of the plate, and top with the shoestring vegetables. Top with the grilled fish and drizzle with sweet soy glaze, and garnish with cellophane noodles.  

Blu Kouzina Greek Cuisine on St Armands Circle

 

One of my favourite restaurants on St Armands Circle is Blu Kouzina, a lovely Greek taverna run by owners Chef Effie and Denise Tsakris, that was born out of the founders' love of sharing a hearty meal with friends, spiced with quality olive oil and accompanied with good wine. The Tskarises are of Greek descent, but were born and grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa, and then moved to Singapore where the couple ran a very successful restaurant also called Blu Kouzina. One day, when Effie and her mother saw an empty space on St. Armands Circle, she thought it would be nice to open a place here, so in March 2015, Effie and Dennis opened Blu Kouzina, bringing their signature, wholesome Greek cooking to Florida.

Fresh quality ingredients, mostly grown organically, and sourced from well established, local producers are used in dishes that are both traditional and creatively contemporary with uniquely Greek flavours with ingredients like dried oregano, seafood and wine that are especially flown from Greece, including the family's own olive oil, which comes from their own trees that are more than 500 years old. The interior, drawn from the traditional blue and white palette of a beach taverna, is detailed with whitewashed furniture, nautical accents and beautiful honey-coloured stone tile flooring. Blu Kouzina serves traditional and modern Greek recipes with the freshest of ingredients, such as Moussaka, homemade Baklava and lighter tapas-style dishes like the roasted red peppers stuffed with tangy, melty, spicy feta cheese to fresh grilled Greek sardines and octopus. By marrying their passion for the food of their native Greece, their warm welcoming hospitality and personalized service, Blu Kouzina is like a bold breeze off the Aegean Sea — a little gem on Sarasotas's culinary scene.

Greek Amalaia Brut Sparkling Prosecco

Blu Kouzina open kitchen

Spanakopita filled with spinach, feta cheese and herbs

Ktima Biblia Chora Ovilos Semillion Assyrtiko red wine

Greek Lamb Chops

Traditional Greek Orange Cake with Baklava

blukouzina.com

St Pete's: Dale Chihuly Collection & Bonu Italian

 

The first custom-designed building to showcase the works of Dale Chihuly is a wonderland of glass and light. Presented by the Morean Arts Center in St. Pete's, the Museum is a stunning, permanent collection of world-renowned artist Dale Chihuly's unique glass artwork housed in a magnificent 10,000 square foot setting designed by award-winning architect Albert Alfonso. Marked at the entrance by an iconic 20-foot sculpture created especially for the site, the Chihuly Collection includes the artist's spectacular large-scale installations such as Ruby Red Icicle Chandelier created for the collection and also featuring 18 installations spanning several of the artist’s most popular series including the impressive Mille Fiori. In addition to the collection, there is a small theatre that runs a loop of interviews and information about the artist with some of his more well-known installations around the world. Absolutely well worth a visit.

Impressive Florida Rose Crystal Tower by Dale Chihuly stands outside the Museum

Chihuly 'Carnival' Chandelier

Azul de Medianoche Chandelier

Selection of Dale Chihuly drawings

Ruby Red Icicle Chandelier, 2010, installed 2017

Chihuly 'Float Boat' 2007 

Morean 'White Seafoam' set

Mille Fiori, 2010, installed 2017

Persian ceiling overhangs passage through Chihuly Glass Museum

Bonu Taverna Italiana in St Pete's

Bonu Taverna with beautiful bougainvillea

Bonu Italiana menu

'Love' neon sign art on green moss wall

Fresh flowers on table

Stella Artois Beer in Peroni glass

Glass of Chianti Reserva

Crispy Arancini made with riso carnaroli, beef ragu, peas, mozzarell and saffron

Hot and crisp

Delightfully gooey and delicious

Pasta Puttanesca with capers, black olives, anchovies, tomato sauce and red chili

Pasta al Limone with lemon cream sauce, basil and lemon zest

www.bonutaverna.online

The Waterfront Restaurant on Anna Maria

 

The Waterfront Restaurant on Anna Maria Island is a lovely escape to a simpler time — tropical, laid-back Florida the way it used to be. Lush foliage, warm wood paneling and an expansive open air patio with picturesque views of the emerald green waters of Tampa Bay, provide the perfect atmosphere for enjoying the island charm of Anna Maria. A popular spot to enjoy a delicious lunch overlooking Anna Maria's sugar-white beaches and the island's historic pier, The Waterfront Restaurant has been praised by locals and out-of-town visitors alike for its inspired New American style of cuisine and impeccably curated beer and wine list. But it’s not until recently that fans of the restaurant have begun to see the Waterfront’s quietly sustainable side. As it turns out, this longstanding Island favourite was eco-friendly before eco-friendly was 'cool' and this focus on being as low-impact and environmentally conscious as possible has played a big part in elevating its exquisitely adventurous fare.

Almost everything on the menu is prepared entirely on-site: the kitchen team do their own butchering, make their own stocks, bake their own breads, and even smoke their own salmon. This way they can ensure that every aspect of their cuisine lives up to their very high standards. Local seafood vendors stop by to deliver their freshest catch, while produce vendors come by frequently with an array of fresh, seasonal produce. Not only does this sourcing system help support the local economy and ensure that customers are getting the freshest and tastiest foods available, it serves as an inspiration for the Waterfront’s kitchen team. The passion for sourcing and creating only the finest ingredients comes across in every bite, and now in every sip. The Waterfront Restaurant doesn’t just provide a great view and a warm community atmosphere — it also serves some of the finest sustainable cuisine that Florida has to offer.

The Waterfront beachside menu

Waterfront Restaurant Owner Jason Suzor 

Small cacti on each table

Stella Artois Beer in Waterfront glass

Waterfront Signature Hamburger with Angus Beef, Pimento Cheese and Bacon Jam, 

and House Pickles on a Toasted Brioche Bun with frites

Sensational Lightly Blackened Grouper Tacos on Grilled Flour Tortillas with Jicama Slaw,

Jack Cheddar Jack and Pico de Gallo with Waterfront Pineapple Coleslaw

Waterfront signature Pineapple Coleslaw

thewaterfrontrestaurant.net

Shrimp ’n’ Grits

Serves 2

Recipe courtesy of chef Justin Hibberts

Grit cake:

2 1/2 cups milk

1 1/3 cups of grits

4 cups water or stock

4 oz butter

2 oz Bulliard’s hot sauce

Salt and pepper

Sauté:

2 Andouille sausage link, cooked fully and cut into strips

12 to 14 16/20 shrimp, skinned and deveined

8 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice

3 cups white wine

6 oz vegetable or chicken stock

12 oz heavy cream

6 oz Parmesan, grated

Bring stock and milk to a slow boil. Whisk in the grits slowly, and keep whisking for two to three minutes to ensure a smooth texture. Allow the grits to fully set, then add butter and hot sauce. Pour onto a tray to set in refrigerator, and portion into desired shapes. Batter and deep fry for creamy inside and crispy crust. Yields 9 to 10 grit cakes.

Heat a 9 or 12-inch sauté pan on medium-high heat for 1 to 2 minutes. Start with half-ounces of canola oil, and swirl the oil to cover the pan. Add the sausage and let the it render and start to crisp. Then add the shrimp. When they start to turn pink, add the red peppers, lemon, wine and stock. At this point, pull the shrimp from the pan to prevent overcooking. Let the sauce reduce until less than an ounce of liquid is left. Add the cream, bring to a boil, and reduce. When the cream is reduced, add Parmesan cheeses and let the sauce thicken, placing the shrimp back into the pan. Pour over crispy grit cake and serve.

Another option, Shrimp over Grits