Eat This!

Antoine's Restaurant | Goat Cheese Salad
This is one of my favorite salads! Bursting with flavor in every delicious bite! You should really try one.
Hello...
#PREGAME… The clock is ticking. it’s almost game time for our Sarasota restaurant friends. That’s right. In about four or five weeks this place will be even crazier than it is now (if that’s even possible). They’re getting ready to feed the masses. And, we’re wishing them the best on a great 2017 season! Getting a table at your favorite place during the upcoming months will be a challenge. Don’t despair. This is the time for our local restaurants to really step up to the plate and hit it out of the park (baseball reference intentional). This is their time to shine. Folks from all over will be descending on the area. And, of course food is always at the top of the list of things to do. I mean, you have to eat. Lots of new places to try since they were here last and many old favorites to revisit. Here’s hoping that our restaurant community can keep up with the rising tide of hungry visitors!... HOT OFF THE PRESS, Yep, our 2017 Little Sarasota DINING Book is now is local stores!! You can pick up your very own copy at, Bookstore 1 Sarasota, Davidson Drugs, Morton’s Siesta Market, The Village Café and online HERE. They’ll be at our Sarasota Barnes & Noble & Books-a-Million in the next few weeks. Enjoy!... NEW BREW, In the ever-exploding Sarasota/Bradenton craft brew world there is a new player. 3 KEYS BREWING & EATERY just started pouring it’s own brews. Here’s some details… WINE & DINE, Still some opportunities to participate in the upcoming FORKS & CORKS food and wine-a-thon. How about attending a winemaker dinner? There are still some seats left at the PIER 22 dinner. JAN 27th, 6:30PM. Here’s a peek at what you can expect… CULINARY KOREA, All month is a Korean culinary adventure at MICHAEL’S ON EAST. If you’ve never experienced real Korean food, this may be an opportunity not to be missed. Want a menu preview before you commit? OK, we can do that… Well, you’re probably ready for some food news. Here we go…
Sarasota

Restaurant Review: Downtown Sarasota's Lila
Lila is the restaurant we’ve been waiting for. It’s like nothing else in the city—or the region, for that matter. Ryan Boeve and Arthur Lopes, who own the upscale and excellent Pomona Bistro & Wine Bar in the Rosemary District, have now brought us a place that celebrates vegetables and freshness with dazzling creativity.
Restaurant News: Lazy Fork, Spacco Italian Grilll, wine dinners and WBS food
Those hankering for down-home comfort food will enjoy the new Lazy Fork restaurant that serves up southern fare with a Louisiana/Memphis emphasis. The new restaurant, now open for lunch and dinner daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., is located in the former DeMarco's (briefly Isabella's Italian Grill ) in Sarasota at 3131 Clark Road
Chef Talk: Louis Robinson of Spice
Every third Monday evening of the month, independent chef Louis Robinson of Sarasota's Spice hosts a popup restaurant at Baker & Wife. The California-raised Robinson, who draws inspiration from various global cuisines, offers everything from private dinners to home cooking demonstrations and menu planning services through Spice.
Pollo Tropical closer to opening in Sarasota
The Miami-based fast-casual chicken chain has been rapidly expanding throughout the Sunshine State and has been eyeing the site of the former Shell station at Sarasota Crossing for nearly a year. Permits for the filling station's demolition were issued in mid-December and the restaurant chain has planted a "Coming Soon" sign outside the construction zone.
All Hail the Sushi Burrito
An intrepid tipster informed me on Monday about a new offering at Sarasota’s Goichi’s Sushi Cafe: the sushi burrito. The item has been available on the West Coast for years, but to my knowledge, Goichi’s is the first restaurant in our area to begin serving it.
Sarasota Seafood and Music Festival
The 2nd Annual Sarasota Seafood & Music Festival returns to Selby Five Points Park in downtown Sarasota on January 21-22, 2017.
Sarasota County relaxes food truck rules
The Sarasota County Commission voted unanimously to approve the rules Tuesday, ending more than a year of often frustrating and repeatedly delayed negotiations with a major victory for several dozen local truck owners who have supported the changes.
53 Dishes to Eat Right Now
In 2016, Conde Nast Traveler confirmed what locals and longtime visitors already knew. The magazine named Sarasota one of the nation’s 15 Best Food Cities, in the company of such celebrated culinary destinations as San Francisco, New York City and Boston.
The Shore on Longboat Key snags MoZaic chef
Located off Sarasota Bay near the eastern tip of Longbeach Village, the $4 million The Shore restaurant on Longboat Key is starting to take shape.
Acropolis Taverna, California Pizza Kitchen, Plated Modern Kitchen to open in University Park in 2017
To entice shoppers’ appetites, Benderson Development Co. is adding more to the restaurant lineup sandwiched between The Mall at University Town Center and The District at UTC shopping plaza.
The Trivia Stakes are High in Our City's Brainiest Bar
You’re halfway through your third pint, watching scraps of paper being passed back and forth across the wobbly high-top table. You’re surrounded by brilliant minds—professors and attorneys and economists, their faces contorted in concentration, scribbling their theories alongside paper plates littered with pizza crusts. They talk through their thoughts in conspiratorial whispers. The entire evening hinges on this moment.
News

Keurig and AB InBev team up on in-home booze maker
Keurig and Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) are teaming up to build an in-home booze brewer.
Here's What the Average American Spends on Restaurants and Takeout
We all love a good restaurant meal, and there's something to be said about feasting on delicacies without having to do an ounce of cooking or cleanup yourself. But while there's certainly nothing wrong with indulging every so often, it seems as though Americans are taking the concept of eating out to an extreme.
Odds & Ends

Every Flavor of Sabra Hummus, Ranked
How much can you really do with a bunch or smashed-up chickpeas (or garbanzo beans, if that floats your boat) loaded into a container and served with vegetables?
A (Nearly) Foolproof Guide to Ordering at Trendy Restaurants
In an ideal world, every dish you order at a restaurant with a wood-fired grill, a tasting of heritage sunchokes, and twenty-dollar neo-Tiki cocktails served in custom gold cups would be delicious. But most restaurant menus are a mix of dishes that the kitchen thinks you want, dishes the chefs love, and dishes that straight-up make money, and not all of them are great.
How ‘Special Sauce’ Moved From Big Macs to Everywhere
When word got out last month that McDonald’s had applied for a trademark for “Mac Sauce,” food-industry observers started speculating: Could the Big Mac “special sauce” soon be coming to your local grocery store?
How To Do It!

Everything You Need To Know About Cooking With Cast-Iron Pans
Cast-iron pans are basically indestructible. Even if they’re old and rusted, they can be repaired. And if you take good care of cast-iron cookware, it can last you a lifetime! Some people in the Tasty kitchen even have cast-iron cookware that has been passed down to them by their parents or grandparents.
...The Exit
EXTRA STUFF, Only one place deleted since we last talked, Sol’s NYC Deli has closed in the old Appleby’s location on Main St. It’s been widely reported that the restaurant is moving. We’ll keep an ear to the ground. New on the site, LA DOLCE VITA, SUNNYSIDE CAFÉ, CASK & ALE, THE LAZY FORK & CHEFS 2 U. Whew, told you we were going to catch up. Roll that tote board, 356! and counting. We want you to tell your foodie friends about FEASTnews, send them this link so they can check out our past issues and signup! We also have some limited sponsorship opportunities available for future issues of FEASTnews. Drop us an email HERE and we’ll give you all of the juicy details. Thanks for reading! Check TWITTER, FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM for updates. Next issue, 1/30 - ###