Seafood Shack, 4110 127th Street W, Sarasota, 941-794-1235.

I recently had the pleasure of accompanying my friend Christa Leonard, operations manager of Geraldson Community Farm, to dinner at Seafood Shack in Cortez. Seafood Shack has been a fixture since 1971, but Chef Gerard Jesse has infused both the menu and the staff with a new passion for innovative and elevated seafood dishes that celebrate all things seasonal and abundant. Chef Gerard wowed us with a baked oyster bread pudding studded with vegetables from Christa’s farm that had us almost in tears as we savored each morsel. The next dish, a perfectly cooked piece of salmon in a delicately spiced curry beurre blanc, cemented Chef Gerard as one of my favorite chefs in Sarasota. The atmosphere at Seafood Shack is laidback, the servers are friendly and engaging, and the food keeps getting better.

Seafood Shack, 4110 127th Street W, Sarasota, 941-794-1235.