Category: Restaurants

Granddaughters, Fun & Food

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GOOD TIMES WITH OUR GRANDDAUGHTERS

Our granddaughters, Eleanor and Frances, had not been to Florida since February 2020 just before Covid. That year we celebrated Frances’ March birthday (she would turn 4) super early with a heart-shaped, pink-frosted cake.  The Chief Penguin, aka Grandpa, is the resident baker and works his wonders to create memorable birthday desserts.

This year, the weather was lovely and sunny all but one day, and the girls frolicked for hours, and hours, in the pool. They became quite good swimmers last summer and refreshed their water skills while having oodles of fun.  F dove for rings and swam underwater. Using a pink (what other color is there!) noodle, she created a mini zipline effect on the pool stairs railing.  E jumped in the deep end, swam across the pool, and had timed races with her dad to see how fast she could swim.  

Besides the appeal of the water, there was the matter of food.  F loves strawberries and cherry tomatoes!  She devoured a couple of pints of each.  E, an increasingly accomplished baker and cook, loves all kinds of cheese, and helped with meal preparations and making pancakes, all with the occasional assist from Frances.  It not being Maine, these pancakes were made special with the addition of mini chocolate chips.  

The entire family likes pasta, so noodles and penne were featured in several dinners along with turkey chili, Italian Sunday sauce, and sauteed shrimp.  Going to Tide Tables Restaurant, a cozy spot on the water with inside and outside dining, is a tradition so, one day we braved the crowds to arrive for an early dinner.  Despite what was a packed parking lot, the elapsed time between arriving there, parking, waiting with drinks, and being escorted to a table was just 30 minutes!  The staff deserve credit for efficiently organizing the whole process.  

This is a family all of whom love clams.  Lunch at the Cortez Clam Factory on Saturday fit the bill.  A cousin visiting from Colorado joined us, and we were able to sit outside on the patio.  While only one person ordered clams, the brisket Reuben, Cuban sandwich, shrimp, and fried haddock were very tasty.  A true success!

On the home front, there were several opportunities for tennis, the girls and I kicked around a soccer ball, we did a fish puzzle, and we read books together and silently.  The girls also played with a favorite dollhouse plus blocks, Legos, and Calico Critters.  And we made time for going to Sarasota with a look at the boats in the marina and visits to two shops.

Reading on the stairs
Enjoying a book of jokes!

For the finale, we celebrated Frances’ upcoming 6th birthday with a unicorn-themed cake and cupcakes made by you know who.  It was a magical visit, full of fun for all of us!

Special birthday cake and cupcakes

SARASOTA TREATS

Most of my regular readers know that I am passionate about two stores in downtown Sarasota.  One is Artisan Cheese Company located in the Rosemary District and source of an array of cheddar, Swiss, Camembert, and other delectable cheeses from here and abroad.  The shop also sells distinctive butters and crackers, chocolates, Rancho Gordo beans, and unusual condiments plus homemade soups and delicate feta from Lesbos, Greece.  

My other favorite is Bookstore1Sarasota, a marvelous independent bookstore with a great selection and a very helpful staff.  They are now in a new location on Pineapple St. in The Mark, a new condominium building.  The shop is spacious and attractive with big windows and a colorful tropical flower graphic naming the sections.  From Staff Picks to the latest in fiction and nonfiction plus classics and books for kids, it’s fun to browse.  I always find at least one new title to buy!  There’s also have an upstairs area for events which might include a café at some point.  Both stores are worth the trip!

SOPHISTICATED DINING IN BRADENTON

Chateau 13

Chateau 13, in our opinion, still serves the best, most sophisticated cuisine in the area.  At a recent dinner there, the Chief Penguin and I were re-impressed with the caliber of service (the bread plates even came with a bread-and-butter knife, almost unheard of these days!) and the food.  We indulged in historic Champagne cocktails followed by the charcuterie cheese plate for the Chief Penguin and the French Caesar salad for me.  He then had the salmon rillette salad and the stuffed piquillo pepper appetizer while I savored the salmon en croute.  To top it off, we shared an order of truffle fries, but no dessert.  Everything was delicious!    

Note: Photos ©JWFarrington. Header graphic courtesy localjaw.com

The Local Scene: Culture & Food

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CLASSIC THEATER

Our Town

George, Stage Manager, & Emily (heraldtribune.com)

Most everyone of a certain age has been exposed to Thornton Wilder’s Our Town in junior high or high school.  I recall that we read it in English class and may even have acted out a scene or too.  When we were young, many of us (theater folks included) found the whole business dull.  Therefore, I approached the Asolo Theatre production with skepticism.  To my surprise, I enjoyed it much more than I anticipated. 

The staging is spare, and a diverse cast made the residents of Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire, come alive.  The stage manager describes the layout of the town and introduces us to the main characters, then steps in and out of the drama to move things along or to go back in time.

Yes, the play is dated.  It is set in the early 20th century when milk was still delivered by a horse-drawn wagon, and mothers focused on preparing meals and raising children.  But the themes of love, duty, and death it explores are universal.  The last act, set in the cemetery with the dead talking to one another, delivers a gentle punch to the gut.

Unlike the stilted, formal presentations of this character I remember, Kenn E. Head imbues the stage manager with humor, verve and a bit of sass.  He makes the role, and by extension the play, memorable!  Performances continue through March 26.

BOOK OF THE WEEK

The Rent Collector by Camron Wright

Camron Wright (amazon.com)

I’m currently reading The Rent Collector, a novel for our local book group.  It’s by an author I hadn’t known.  Like the nonfiction work, Beyond the Beautiful Forevers, set in a trash dump near the Mumbai airport, the setting here is also a dump, but in Cambodia.  People live in shacks constructed out of paper and cardboard, and they pick through the trash for items to sell or recycle.  This is a more hopeful work and is also based on real people.  

Sang Ly, the main character is learning to read, and she and her husband Ki Lim and their sickly son Nisay eke out their existence midst this challenging environment.  Winner of several book awards, this is an absorbing and uplifting novel.  (~JWFarrington)

EATING OUT

BOUTIQUE RESTAURANT IN SARASOTA

A Sprig of Thyme

Interior (tripadvisor.com)

This cozy restaurant close to Sarasota Memorial Hospital offers an appealing menu of seafood and meat entrees which should tempt and satisfy any palate.  Friends introduced us, and we were very pleased with our choices.  I ordered Scallops and Shrimp Taulere on a creamy parmesan risotto with a chardonnay wine sauce.  The scallops were large, the shrimp perfectly cooked, and the whole dish saucy in a good way.  The Chief Penguin opted for Saltimbocca of Scallops (sea scallops) being a saltimbocca kind of guy.  

Our friends each ordered the Mediterranean Shipwreck which was a grouper paillard, three jumbo shrimp, and a diver scallop all broiled on a cedar plank.  Most entrees came with asparagus and yellow pepper strips plus a choice of the risotto or mashed potatoes.  Other menu items range from a selection of salads to beef, lamb, duck, veal, and chicken entrees.  Service was both professional and friendly.  We’ll go back!

CASUAL LUNCH FARE IN BRADENTON

Central Café

It was several years ago when we last dined at Central Café.  In the interim, they have expanded their dining room and still serve a great variety of salads, sandwiches, and fries to die for!

Plate of fries (sarasotamagazine.com)

We were there with friends and shared a heap of skinny fries.  Two of us had the Caesar salad with either shrimp or tuna while others ordered the beet salad and the Californication sandwich (made of ahi tuna, bacon, and condiments).  We arrived before noon, and within about fifteen minutes, the place was full!  A perfect place for as much lunch as you’d like.

Tidy Tidbits: Music & Food

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LIVE MUSIC

Sarah Hicks (datebook.sfchronicle.com)

Last week for the first time in two years, we attended a symphony concert.  It was such a joy to hear the music in person and not be glued to a small screen!  This was the Sarasota Orchestra’s Be Mine concert, part of their Great Escapes series.  Guest conductor Sarah Hicks was a lively and informative presence on the podium, and in honor of Valentine’s Day, the musical theme was love.  We heard Gershwin’s Overture from Girl Crazy, two selections from Carmen, and Mendelssohn’s Wedding March, along with several other works.  This was a short concert, just an hour, and perfect for the pre-dinner hour.  

ENGAGING DRAMA

The Gilded Age (HBO Max)

Marian & Peggy (smithsonianmag.com)

The reviews of Julian Fellowes’ latest series have been mixed. But, I like historical drama and am especially fond of the 19th century so, I decided to subscribe to HBO Max to see The Gilded Age.  It’s set in New York City in the 1880’s and is rife with snobbery, social climbing, and meanness, coupled with large fortunes.  Newcomers, albeit wealthy ones, are not well received unless blessed by the formidable Mrs. Astor. 

Young Marian Brook comes from Pennsylvania to live with her aunts, Agnes van Rhijn and Ada Brook, after the death of her father.  She has no resources of her own, and in her directness and naivete, questions and challenges the ways of society.  One fascinating aspect of this series is its inclusion of educated affluent Blacks.  They are exemplified in Peggy Scott and her parents.  Peggy befriends Marian and is hired as secretary to Aunt Agnes.  

Overall, it’s a darker drama than Downton Abbey.  Denee Benton as Peggy is very well played, and it is fun to watch Christine Baranski as the acerbic, dictatorial Aunt Agnes.  There are four episodes, and it’s already been renewed for a second season. I’m hooked!

LOCAL EATERY

Pesto

I’m slightly reluctant to blog about Pesto since this neighborhood restaurant has become very popular!  We dined there twice in the past two weeks, once with visiting family, and it’s now a favorite.   There are three dining areas (the one in the back has a bar) plus tables and heaters outside.   The food is Italian, and there’s a wide variety of pasta and meat selections.  

We enjoyed the veal and chicken Milanese preparations and their veal scaloppini and have sampled the shrimp-cargot and several of the salads.  The wine list is extensive, and several beers are also available.  Prices are moderate, portions are substantial, and the food is good! 

Note: Header photos of foursome dining out from istock.com.

Tidy Tidbits: Motherhood on Page & Screen

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READING

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell

O’Farrell (irishtimes.com)

In Hamnet, O’Farrell has created the world of William Shakespeare’s son, Hamnet, at the time of the bubonic plague.  While 11-year-old Hamnet is present in the early chapters, he haunts the remainder of the novel after his death.  In many ways, the novel is a story of motherhood, marriage, and grief with a focus on the mother.  Agnes, Hamnet’s mother, is a creature of the woods, a skilled herbalist, yet unconventional and socially inept.  She chafes under her mother-in-law’s strictures, misses her husband whom she sent to London to get him away from his abusive father, and mightily grieves for her son, seeking and seeing him everywhere.  

The descriptions of the environs are so graphic one can easily picture town life in Stratford and life on the farm where Agnes grew up.  O’Farrell lists, annotates, categorizes, and catalogs the implements of home life and the branches, leaves and blossoms in the wood; at times, the writing is staccato-like.  It’s a beautifully written book about a horrible pandemic—timely and richly deserving of its several literary awards.  Highly recommended! (~JWFarrington)

WATCHING

The Lost Daughter (Netflix)

Colman as Leda (polygon.com)

I am not familiar with the novel by Elena Ferrante that inspired The Lost Daughter, but I’m a big admirer of Oliva Colman and would see her in almost anything.  Here, she is a comparative literature professor on a beach vacation in Greece.  Leda is alone and prepared to work, but she becomes fixated on watching a young mother, Nina, and Elena, her little girl, romp and play on the shore.  Leda exchanges brief pleasantries with Nina and her aunt and interacts with Lyle, the apartment caretaker, and Will, an engaging college student.  In flashbacks, she begins reflecting on her own experiences decades ago as an ambitious academic with two young daughters and a busy husband.  As she said to Nina earlier, “motherhood is a crushing responsibility.”

When Nina’s daughter goes missing, the extended family and friends fan out to search for her.  Leda finds Elena with her doll.  What happens afterward is puzzling and strange with an even stranger, more mystifying ending.  I wondered whether Leda was truly unbalanced and what state we find her in in the last scene.  

It’s a slowly paced film with sparse dialogue, yet the camera lingers on the physical:  limbs, breasts, and bodies. Colman is superb as 48-year old Leda while Jessie Buckley is marvelous as Leda, the young mother. The depiction of motherhood is both joyous and wrenching with greater emphasis on the demands of being a mother.  Painful to watch at points, this may be film fare for a more selective audience. (~JWFarrington)

DINING 

Whitney’s

Located on the northern end of Longboat Key, Whitney’s is a former gas station turned into a casual restaurant.  Seating includes tables on the gravel outside as well as booths and tables inside.  Open for lunch and dinner on a first come, first-served basis, it’s a welcome addition to the LBK dining options. 

A friend and I ate at a small round table outside.  Our waitress was friendly in the nicest way, and we enjoyed shrimp Louie and the mixed greens salad with tiny cubes of manchego and a choice of dressing and protein.  I opted for the salad with champagne vinaigrette and grilled shrimp.  Both dishes were excellent.  Whitney’s also serves burgers, fish tacos, crab cakes, tuna tartare, and other fish entrees.  Wine and beer are also available.  Several days a week there is live music, so you might want to plan accordingly.  

Note: Header drawing of a harried mother is from Time Magazine (time.com).