If you like your meals spicy, chances are you have your favorite hot sauce or spicy pepper combination. Sriracha may have become the ubiquitous choice for home cooks and professional chefs alike, but enthusiasts are always on the lookout for the next heat wave of flavor. Sarasota and Bradenton are blessed with a plethora of global chefs and dining options. The latest contender for Sriracha dethronement on the international food scene can be found on menus from fine dining restaurants to beer gardens, igniting a heated debate along the way. Harissa is a spicy and fragrant paste made from various hot chili peppers, garlic, olive oil and different smoky aromatic spices. Used widely in North Africa and the Middle East, the versatility of this condiment is evident in its many applications as a marinade, dip or a flavor enhancer.  

FRIED PICKLE CHIPS WITH HARISSA RANCH DIPPING SAUCE AT MANDEVILLE BEER GARDEN. PHOTOS BY WYATT KOSTYGAN.

Mozaic Restaurant, helmed by Chef Dylan Elhajoui, recently took diners on an eight-week culinary tour of the Western Mediterranean. The flavors of Northern Africa, Italy, Spain and France are always on display in Chef Dylan’s exquisite creations and a perennial favorite is the Charbroiled Lamb Merguez Sausage with Spiced Harissa. This dish consists of a bowl full of the merguez sausages, which are also popular in North African cuisine, and a small dish of spicy, oily, aromatic harissa. This combination of earthy lamb and smoky chili is so spot on that each component of the dish is elevated by the other until it’s impossible to think of one without the other. This simple side dish with its layers of complex flavor is sure to satisfy your umami cravings and spur you on to search Middle Eastern markets for your own jar of harissa or brave the internet to work on a recipe of your own. 

MOZAIC’S CHARBROILED LAMB MERGUEZ SAUSAGE WITH SPICED HARISSA.

Chef Guy Cannata of Ortygia, in the Village of the Arts in Bradenton, uses a mild, house-made Tunisian harissa to flavor his grilled lamb chop appetizer. The dish is served with a side of piquant eggplant caponata and a rustic black beluga lentil salad. Chef Guy pays homage to the Arab, Greek, Spanish, and North African flavors found in Sicilian cuisine and each dish is thoughtfully composed and designed to showcase the simple, fresh ingredients of his heritage. 

CHEF GUY CANNATA OF ORTYGIA, IN THE VILLAGE OF THE ARTS IN BRADENTON, USES A MILD, HOUSE-MADE TUNISIAN HARISSA TO FLAVOR HIS GRILLED LAMB CHOP APPETIZER.

When a trendy downtown beer garden mixes harissa with ranch as a dipping sauce for pickle chips you can be sure that the spicy interloper is on the tipping point of edging out Sriracha in the condiment cult club. Rebecca Mandeville of Mandeville Beer Garden says that people clamor for the Fried Pickle Chips with Harissa Ranch Dipping Sauce. “When we were formulating the menu somebody made the suggestion and we just thought it sounded great.”  Rebecca has high praise for the cultured palates of her loyal customers “Nobody really asks what harissa is; they’re educated about what they’re eating and they’re enjoying it.” Don’t be afraid to try this pretender to the Sriracha throne—you can ease into at Mandeville, explore it further at Ortygia and cement your new addiction at Mozaic. After that, we encourage you to try this at home.