Muse at The Ringling, 5401 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota, 941-360-7390

Tableseide Restaurant Group’s Muse has replaced Treviso as The Ringling Museum’s in-house restaurant. The space is artfully attired in mauve, magenta and violet, echoing the heavy smudges of deep purple in the stunning abstract painting displayed to the left of the newly lilac spiral staircase. The menu is as composed and fanciful as the interior, with Executive Chef Francis Casciato’s signature satirical sensibility occupying center stage. I’m intrigued by the inclusion of several complex vegan and vegetarian options such as the Heirloom Carrot Wellington, which is tastier than any Beef version I’ve tried, while the Raw Summer Vegetable Salad includes “art-is-in” greens, fresh watermelon, and a masterful citrus-feta vinaigrette. The Smoked Trout appetizer is presented with the attendant drama of an amusingly pretentious bar snack, with our server removing a smoke-filled glass from the stack of trout with a flourish. This may be my new favorite appetizer with its crispy potato skins, crème fraiche, and smoked salmon roe. There’s an earthy, comfortable elegance to the dish that speaks to me on a visceral level – as my friend Ryan Hill said, “I want to put my face in this.”

Muse at The Ringling, 5401 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota, 941-360-7390