Category: Restaurants

Suncoast Scene: Pages & Plates

JWF Leave a comment

This week brings you my thoughts on a wonderful novel and a round-up of local restaurants, mostly casual ones.

SERIOUSLY GOOD FICTION

The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck.  I saw an ad for this book in the NY Times’ book review section and then one of my favorite booksellers said she thought it would become as big as All the Light We Cannot See.  That clinched it; I added it to my wish list, received it as a birthday gift, and was not disappointed.  Set in Germany after WWII, it’s about several of the widows of those who resisted Hitler and unsuccessfully plotted his death.

Marianne is the ring leader and organizer, a woman of strong principles and moral clarity, someone who sees the world primarily in black and white.  She rescues and gathers round her in her family’s dilapidated castle, the much younger Benita, widow of Marianne’s dear friend from childhood, Connie, and Benita’s son Martin, as well as Ania and her two boys who have been in a displaced persons camp.  Life is difficult in postwar Germany, food is scarce, and their world views and experiences turn out to be quite different from each other’s.  This leads to tension and misunderstandings.

Shattuck’s novel is compassionate and nuanced and simply beautiful.  She makes it possible to understand and empathize with each of these women and to see ourselves in Marianne’s righteousness and her all too human, knowing and not knowing.  I found the following passage especially moving, as many years later, Marianne reflects on a night when the Russians burned their horse for food:

“The dark uneasy quiet of the castle, the flickering shadows of the fire, and outside, the suspended carcass of Gilda’s body.  She can hear the crackle of sparks and the strange sounds of men’s voices gathering into a low and otherworldly song.  How grateful she had been to have Ania beside her—a fellow adult and human being, connected not through allegiance to any group or party or particular way of thinking but through the reality of the moment, through their shared will to get through the next hours, the next day, and the one afterward and through their shared determination to keep their children safe.

It is the great regret of her life that she lost this—no, that she forsook it.”

This is the best novel I’ve read so far this year.

MAGAZINE NOTE

For fans of Olive Kittredge, the May 1st issue of The New Yorker has a delightful piece about Elizabeth Strout’s attachment to Maine by Ariel Levy.

 

 DINING OUT

BRADENTON BISTRO

The Chief Penguin and I are discovering and re-discovering that Manatee Avenue West has a number of good restaurants.  In previous blogs, I’ve I mentioned Elodie (French) and Habanero’s Mexican Grill and Bar.  Last week we added EnRich Bistro to our list of must-returns.  John and Sue, Penn friends from Maryland, were vacationing in St. Pete and contacted us about getting together.  We met for lunch at EnRich and were delighted with the whole experience. 

We had been here some years ago under its old name, but the dining room was even more attractive than I recalled and very light and bright.  I sampled the salmon Caesar wrap special while the others enjoyed calamari salad, the signature Reuben, and their fish tacos.  The sweet hot wasabi vinaigrette on the salads was a hit.  As a treat, we indulged in a couple slices of their appropriately tart key lime pie.  Service was a tad slow, but wasn’t an issue since we were in relaxed mode with our friends.

SEAFOOD BY THE BAY  

Lately, it seems like every food or cooking magazine I pick up, there’s mention of the Seafood Shack in Cortez.  Soooo…since we’re eating out a lot due to some renovation work, we decided it was time to try it again.  Years ago we ate there and found it undistinguished.  This time we were more impressed.  We began with margaritas (they were part of a special promotion) and crabby nachos.  The nachos were a tasty twist on this standby with blue crab meat, queso fresco and scallions over a generous bed of multi-colored tortilla chips.  The C.P. liked his crab cakes and I found the Caesar salad acceptable, but thought the chicken nuggets on top somewhat lacking in flavor.  Other choices include grouper, burgers, shrimp and even some braised short ribs.  A storm was threatening rain so we took a table by the window.  On nicer days, outside would be preferable.

DOWN VENICE WAY

Sharky’s on the Pier

Sharky’s is an upscale restaurant on the second floor overlooking Venice beach and the Gulf.  The dining room is large and very attractive and, with plenty of window seating, you can watch the roll of the waves and see who’s in the water or on the pier.  

The lamb meatballs on a pita were excellent, our friend devoured every last leaf of his chicken and strawberry salad, and I sampled the shrimp boathouse salad.  I was a bit disappointed that the listed artichokes and feta cheese didn’t have a larger presence midst the greens.  The two shrimp on it were jumbo as stated, but, for the price, I think the salad merited at least three of them.  Overall it was very good with pleasant efficient service.   I’d happily return.

Notes:  All photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved).  Header photo is Venice beach.

Suncoast Scene

JWF Leave a comment

CHAGALL IN THE GARDEN

Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota is celebrating Marc Chagall’s art and his depiction of flowers in it.  Several areas of the outdoor gardens are planted in the French style, the conservatory has stained glass screen reproductions as backdrops for orchids, and Payne Mansion has a handful of some original Chagall paintings.  Selby is worth a visit any time of year, but these displays are especially lovely.  This special exhibit will be up through July.

SERIOUS NONFICTION

No One Cares about Crazy People:  The Chaos and Heartbreak of Mental Illness in America by Ron Powers.  Mr. Powers put off writing this book for ten years, but, ultimately, felt compelled to tell his family’s story and to educate his readers about the history of the treatment and possible causes of mental illness.  As one reviewer stated, it’s really two books in one.  Both of his sons developed schizophrenia and one took his own life.

Powers does not stint in sharing his and his wife’s raw feelings nor how they, like most parents, often put the most positive interpretation on early warning signs and behavior.  The second book, as it were, consists of the interspersed factual, well-researched chapters about how we as a society have treated, ignored and even abused sick individuals.  An important book that deserves to be widely read.

SOUTH OF THE BORDER

Since we did not go to the Yucatan, we had a craving for some good Mexican food.  After reading the online reviews, we decided on Habanero’s in Bradenton on Manatee Ave.  With our always-up-for-adventure friends, Jane and Mark, we went for lunch.  Among us, we sampled chicken enchiladas and beef tacos, the chile relleno, a specialty enchilada, and, of course, the wonderful chunky guacamole.  Along with some beer and a margarita.  Everything was tasty and delicious and we’ll definitely return.  It’s an attractive space, not crowded at that time, and our server was friendly and helpful in the nicest way.  Prices are moderate and a bit less on the lunch menu.  A good addition to our ethnic restaurant repertoire!

Credits:  All photos by JWFarrington (some rights reserved); poppies drawing also colored by this author from Color Me Fearless.

Tidy Potpourri: Books & More

JWF Leave a comment

Here are notes on two beach reads, my thoughts on a difficult play, and a great restaurant find for birthdays or anniversaries.

LEISURE READING

Karen White’s Flight Patterns is an absorbing novel about family secrets and the tortured relationship between two sisters and a good candidate to take to the beach.  Set in New Orleans and Apalachicola, Florida, a coastal town on the panhandle, it’s multi-layered with twists and turns as the complicated relationships between Georgia and her sister, Maisy, and their mentally ill mother, Birdie, play out against Georgia’s return after 10 years away and the hunt for a missing piece of china.  Birdie was distant and in her own world when Georgia and her sister were children so they were raised primarily by their grandfather and by their grandmother when she was still alive.  Grandpa is a beekeeper and Georgia is a fine china expert who comes back with a client to research china he has that is similar to a piece she thinks she has seen before.  I enjoyed the characters and also learning about Haviland Limoges china.

Footnote: Character Georgia’s research prompted me to search online for more information about my great (or great great) grandmother’s Limoges china which I inherited from my mother.  Based on the markings on the back of the pieces, I was able to determine that it was probably made in 1887, but so far I haven’t located any images of the pattern.

Georgia by Dawn Tripp is a well-researched novel about Georgia O’Keeffe’s early career and her relationship with photographer and artist promoter, Alfred Stieglitz.  Decades older than O’Keeffe, Stieglitz gave her flower paintings wide exposure with an exhibit in the gallery he owned.  Seductive, passionate, and domineering, he was mentor, lover, husband, and philanderer who too often tried to control her and her art.  Tripp’s prose is evocative and sensual and portrays Georgia’s struggle to be seen as an artist (not a female artist) and how her appreciation for what Stieglitz could offer becomes warped over time.  This was the book for the April meeting of our island book club, and most everyone liked it.

THEATER

The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity.  Our local repertory company, Asolo, deserves much credit for presenting this challenging play.  Written by Kristoffer Diaz and first presented in 2009, it was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for drama and winner of an Obie Award for Best New American Play.  It’s an exaggerated comedy about professional wrestling, as shown on TV, and we had ringside seats.  Literally!  In the small theater, we were in the first row on the floor (no stage) and right at the edge of the ring when it was pushed out for the second act.  The actors rushed by us carefully, never stepping on our toes!

The main character, Mace, is not a star, but a wrestler paid to lose to the big names like Chad Deity.  Mace and an Indian-American friend convince their bosses to let them fight each other, but they are then marketed as “terrorists.”  With undercurrents of racism and the overriding theme of money, this is a loud play with a strong message.  I found the first act tedious and too long, while the second act had lots of action and revived my interest somewhat.  Overall, not my favorite of the season.

SPECIAL OCCASION DINING

To celebrate my birthday, we tried Maison Blanche on Longboat Key.  It’s located in the Four Winds resort.  The dining room is understated with floor to ceiling white drapes lining the walls, a glass tower topped with a large floral display, and tables with comfortable round back chairs. 

With both a 3-course prix fixe menu for $65 and a la carte selections, there is something to appeal to every palate.  I enjoyed the tomato tart to start followed by the sautéed halibut special over pureed spinach with scattered chanterelle mushrooms and then the cheese course.  Actually we shared the cheese course and my spouse’s apple tart dessert.  He had the octopus salad and the red snapper.  This was the best food we’ve eaten in this area and the service was impeccable!

Credits:  Georgia O’Keeffe photo by Bella Orr (ThingLink); all other photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved).

North Carolina Spring: The Triangle to the Piedmont

JWF Leave a comment

GARDENS

The greens are different in North Carolina and spring is softer than Florida.  We were in Chapel Hill and Greensboro over the Easter weekend visiting my two sisters and their families.  Lots of laughter, plenty of good food, and a chance to wander in several gardens.  All the trees had leafed out, but the shade was between the yellow green (lime) of early spring and the robust hunter green of high summer.  The azaleas were in full flower, iris too, with only the late variety tulips still hanging on.  On our way to Winston-Salem, we stopped in the small town of Kernersville and explored the Paul J. Ciener Botanical Gardens, a small public garden with lots of potential.  The visitors’ center is closed on weekends (strange, we thought), but we’d been told there were still tulips in bloom.  The first beds we came upon were disappointing, but then on another side of the property were beds and beds of tulips still upright and mostly intact.  A pleasing array of color.  In Winston-Salem, we wandered around the Reynolda Gardens, on the former estate of R. J. Reynolds.  Aside from the trailing wisteria, there was more to see inside the conservatory than outside. I was particularly struck by the bold gerbera daisies.

 
  

EATING AND SHOPPING

It was a family tradition for many years that every Hancock Reunion (held in the summertime) included a ham dinner.  That was roast ham served with scalloped potatoes, a vegetable such as green beans or corn, and, most likely, a green salad.  For dinner with my sisters, their husbands and my niece and her husband one night, it was potluck style.  Ham provided by the hosts was the centerpiece (Honey-baked), along with a salad of greens and herbs from one sister’s garden, and a porcini mushroom rice dish from my niece and nephew, followed by brownies and lemon squares for dessert.  Times do evolve; the previous generation would not have related to those mushrooms!

In Kernersville after the Ciener garden, we had lunch at a small place called Bistro B.  Their claim to fame seems to be specialty wine dinners with a set menu and also a nice selection of tapas.  Our lunch was simpler fare, but very satisfying.  I had their grilled chicken panini while others enjoyed a classic Reuben and a Cubano sandwich.   All were enhanced with beer from their wide range of choices.

Pittsboro is a very small town south of Chapel Hill.  Founded in 1787, it’s the county seat for Chatham County.  Along with some attractive historic buildings, it boasts a street of arty shops and an old-timey soda shop.  It was the S & T Soda Shoppe that drew us back for our third or fourth visit.  Re-created to look old fashioned, it has a wooden counter and a series of booths and tables.  Menu items are mostly sandwiches and burgers and a host of ice cream flavors.  Their tuna melt on sunflower bread is consistently good as are the hot dog and the cheeseburger (my choice).  We were there on Good Friday and followed our post working life rule of “always be early.”  Arriving at 11:30 we had our choice of booths.  Half an hour later, the place was packed with family groups waiting.

After lunch, we did the shops—that is, my sister and I.  The men mostly sat on one of the several benches on main street.  Several shops include artists’ note cards and other gift items along with painting and sculpture.  French Connections is a treasure trove of French fabrics and table linens, statues and art work from Africa, lawn art, and baskets, while Circle City Books Music, ostensibly a used bookstore, had more new books than one would expect.  

I’ve touted this other bookstore in the past, but it’s such a great store, I have to mention it again.  It’s McIntyre Books in Fearrington Village (a bit south of Chapel Hill) and it’s a wonderfully well-stocked independent bookseller.  We spent a good hour browsing and then, of course, buying!  I picked up several paperback novels for myself, a children’s book for my granddaughter as well as several note cards.  Simply heaven!

On our last evening in North Carolina, we were back in the Triangle area and enjoyed a lovely dinner at a small French restaurant, Rue Cler, in downtown Durham.  We had the place mostly to ourselves and appreciated host Ryan’s warm welcome and friendly, efficient service.  The black North Carolina sea bass entrée I had was superb!  The fish was sautéed and served on a bed of spinach and capers with roasted potato cubes crusted with grainy mustard.  Equally pleasing were the scallops of salmon with béarnaise sauce and the beef.  To start, some of us had the house green salad, while others liked the frisee with French fries and the onion soup.

Images:  All photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved)