There’s nothing more satisfying than a holiday meal, especially that elusive perfect bite, which of course is different for everybody. We’ve assembled some out-of-the box festive morsels that will have you clamoring for second helpings all season long, whatever your traditions may be.
What began as a booth at the Sarasota Farmers Market is now a wildly popular storefront in Bradenton. Full Belly Stuffed Burgers is run by brothers Matt Holt and Shane Keinz and their mother, Pinki Goolsby. Chef Shane came up with the concept for a stuffed burger restaurant when he worked at an establishment that featured one on its menu; he recognized the potential for flavor and protein combinations and approached his family with the idea. Matt recounts an obviously oft-repeated tagline for the tight-knit crew of family: “Pinki’s the muscle, Shane’s the talent and Matt’s the brains.” Obviously this combination works because regulars stream through the doors as the talented, and incredibly charming, Chef Shane greets them enthusiastically by name and extolls the virtues of one of his newest creations. There’s a fondue burger making its debut and a wasabi ginger burger staging a comeback. For the holiday lover, Full Belly provides a Thanksgiving Burger for the month of November that consists of a patty made of ground turkey, homemade stuffing, diced carrots and cranberries. The topping is a cranberry apple relish. We suggest you complete this Norman Rockwell portrait of a perfect Thanksgiving meal with a side of sweet potato tater tots and spicy maple syrup. Wash it down with a Strongbow Gold Apple Cider for that apple pie Americana finish.
The Table Creekside will not rest on the laurels of its beautiful surroundings in order to attract customers. Rather, Chef Pedro Flores and his team produce refined global cuisine and hand-crafted cocktails with a culinary artistry that is breathtaking in its execution. The foodie looking to experience an exciting holiday meal would do well to begin with the Fall Spinach Salad followed by the 16-oz. Milk-Fed Organic Veal Chop, paired with an Apple Cinnamon Old Fashioned. The Fall Spinach Salad includes a spiced cranberry jam flavored with a combination of mint, black pepper, ginger, brown sugar and red wine vinegar. The mixture is reduced slowly and cooked with the cranberries so that they absorb the flavors without falling apart. The veal chop is from Colorado and is milk-fed, ensuring the meat is at its most tender. The chop is first marinated in olive oil, garlic, herbs and sea salt before being pan-seared in a cast iron pan and finished in the oven. Chef Pedro recommends you order the chop medium rare or medium to fully appreciate the delicate taste of the meat. There’s nothing like a celebratory cocktail to toast a delicious meal and we think the aforesaid Apple Cinnamon Old Fashioned created by manager Amy Berlin perfectly complements this Fall foodie feast. The Table Creekside’s version begins with a Kentucky bourbon house-infused with apples and cinnamon, muddled with orange zest, then poured into a smoking jar and shaken with an apple smoke.
HOMEMADE BUTTERSCOTCH ICE CREAM IS JUST ONE OF THE FLAVORS AT ORANGE OCTOPUS.
Though there was almost certainly meat consumed at the first Thanksgiving, it was not necessarily turkey. Historical reports claim venison stew, ducks, geese and swans were probably on the menu for those first hungry pilgrims. Culinary historians also believe shellfish played a much larger part in that first celebration than it does today, mostly because the Mayflower landed in New England. For the pescatarian looking to enjoy an historically accurate holiday meal, we recommend a trip to The Lobster Pot on Siesta Key. This family-owned, family-run restaurant originated in Provincetown, Massachusetts and the Medeiros family knows seafood. Patriarch Glen Medeiros still makes the cornbread that comes with each entrée, infusing it with love as well as other top secret ingredients. Begin your sumptuous seafood repast with a Kettle of Mussels and be thankful that, unlike the pilgrims, the Medeiros family has access to butter and, like the pilgrims, plenty of beer and wine. The mussels are sautéed in garlic and a light and tasty wine sauce that highlights the flavor perfectly. Make sure you talk to manager Mark Medeiros about a local craft beer that would pair well with your meal. For the main course, we insist you try the Baked Stuffed Lobster Duchess. This showstopper begins with a fresh whole lobster sliced lengthwise and stuffed with a family recipe mixture of scallops, lobster, shrimp, crab, butter, pepper, mustard and Ritz crackers, then baked to perfection. Cheers!
YE OLDE DRUMSTICK
Jeremy Croteau is the wizard of oz behind the 12th annual sarasota medieval fair, held each year in the Ringling Woods behind the Sarasota Fairgrounds. Much like Oz himself, Croteau would prefer it if we paid no attention to the man behind the curtain. As owner and president of the Festival, Croteau is responsible for coordinating 250 paid employees and volunteers over the course of months of rehearsals and planning, as well as three exceptionally busy weekends every November. Croteau still remembers when he was a student attending the Renaissance Fair held at The Ringling every year. When that festival became nothing but a misty, water-colored memory, he took it upon himself to resurrect the fun and excitement with his own version, and the Sarasota Medieval Fair was born. Besides the live human chess pieces, jousting, various artisan vendors, tarot card readers and bawdy comedians, one of the biggest draws every year is that historically inaccurate but much-lauded medieval fair food: the turkey leg. Last year, Croteau and his band of merry men and women decided to take on seasoning, steaming, smoking and serving of the turkey legs without the help of their usual outside caterer. Bowls full of lemon, hot sauce, barbeque sauce, and spices were placed in the steamers to infuse the turkey with additional flavor before the boiling and roasting could begin. Some 7,000 turkey legs later, Croteau decided that perhaps it was best to hand the turkey leg reins back over to the professionals; it was a fun endeavor, but seasoning, roasting and serving 10,000 pounds of turkey legs is not an operation to be entered into lightly. No matter who produces the turkey legs, we’re looking forward to eating them this year for many reasons, not the least of which is that besides being delicious, filling, economical and fun to eat, the turkey leg is also good for you! This low-fat, pure-protein meal should keep you going as you take in the sights and sounds of visitors, volunteers and various performers whilst they throw axes, fly through the air, and banter back and forth in the easy manner of people with nothing on their to-do list but to have some fun and maybe take in a joust before heading back to the castle.
OCTO-ICE CREAM
There aren’t many locals (or tourists) that haven’t sung at Captain Curt’s or enjoyed snacks and libations at the outdoor Sniki Tiki bar. The Orange Octopus on South Siesta Key shares a parking lot with these veterans of the Sarasota social scene. Those that haven’t yet wandered over for ice cream are in for a treat. This happy ice cream parlor is hand-churning small batches of ice cream on location “just like grandma made.” Having tried many of the delicious flavors on hand, I can say that if your grandma made Sea Salt Caramel ice cream, Peanut Butter and Jelly ice cream and Kentucky Honey Bourbon ice cream as well as the folks at Orange Octopus make it, then your grandma wins. Husband-and-wife team Moncef and Kim Bennaji, dedicated to sourcing the purest possible ingredients, searched high and low for the best of everything to ensure this ice cream tastes better than anybody else’s. For the seasonal summer flavor Key Lime Pie, the crew used real Key lime juice. For the incredibly popular Fall flavor Pumpkin Pie, they use 100 percent pure pumpkin and cinnamon with no artificial flavorings. Moncef talks passionately about the decisions made just under a year ago to begin making the ice cream on site. When asked how he learned to make the ice cream Moncef chuckles. “Trial and error. It’s like a sport, you can learn the theory and the science behind it but unless you do it over and over again you’re never going to perfect it.” We think that Orange Octopus has hit on the right combination of science and practice, but we’re going to keep going back to check.
The Table Creekside 5365 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, (941) 921-9465. Full Belly Stuffed Burgers, 8742 State Road 70 E, Bradenton. (941) 727-7111. The Lobster Pot 5157 Ocean Blvd, Siesta Key. (941) 349-2323. Sarasota Medieval Fair, Weekend November 7 to November 22; 10am-6pm. Ringling Woods behind the Sarasota Fairgrounds, 3000 Rigling Blvd, Sarasota. sarasotamedievalfair.com
