A meal at Marcel DW, an intimate European bistro on Main Street, is one that is likely to stick with the diner. For within the walls of Marcel DW—owned and operated by best friends Jeremy Duclut and Jonathan Warfield—is more than just an ornately lit dining room. It’s a transportive experience, one with the power to take the diner outside of Sarasota and into a world of French-inspired cuisine.

Duclut and Warfield purchased the space, then home to Melange and the connected speakeasy Pangea Alchemy Lab in the spring of 2023, with a shared goal: to create an intimate, 30-40 seat restaurant where they could express full culinary control over every dish that left the kitchen. “I have run a lot of places for a lot of other people, but this is my first endeavor as an owner,” says Warfield. “Being able to do it with my best friend of over 20 years is an absolutely perfect scenario for me—I don’t have anybody else to answer to and we have the freedom to create and do what we want to do, how we want to do them. I couldn’t ask for anything else.”

The meal starts off with an unexpected bang in the form of charred green beans, cooked down in an amaretto-brown butter sauce. The dish, Warfield’s take on the French almondine, could challenge even the most devout green bean naysayers to not lick the plate clean. Slivered almonds find their way throughout the pile of charred green beans, bringing a different type of crunch to the plate. Flecks of bright yellow lemon pepper and fresh parsley anoint the dish with pops of color and flavor. While the menu at Marcel has changed with the seasons, this green bean appetizer has not. The dish is more than just an appetizer, however, it is a sign of what is to come—that every plate that comes out of the kitchen has been handled with a delicate touch.

That delicate touch extends to the sea scallops with cauliflower puree, English peas, mushrooms and truffle. The scallops—pan seared to perfection—are just one of the components of sweetness in the dish. Warfield constructed the plate to build upon layers of flavor and texture, the heartiness of the English peas holding up to the tender scallops and the silky smooth cauliflower puree. “The sweetness of the peas goes with the sweetness of the scallops and the cauliflower puree. They are all levels of sweetness that get cut with the richness of the truffles, truffle oil and the butter and cream in the puree,” says Warfield. “It’s all building and layering into something more than the individual parts.”

Marcel DW, Monday-Sunday: 4:30pm-9:30pm, 1568 Main Street, Sarasota. 

Provided photo.

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We’ve been invited “back home” to Comida, the beautiful new restaurant now open in our former Rise Up Cafe space at 1534 State Street in downtown Sarasota. On Monday, January 5 and Tuesday, January 6, Comida is generously donating 15% of all sales to Inclusion Revolution. A bunch of our former Rise Up Cafe team members will be in the house as greeters, maitre d’s, and helpers – welcoming guests, supporting the Comida staff, and no doubt reminiscing about their Rise Up days in that very space. Come enjoy a great meal, say hello to our Inclusion Crew, and help fuel more jobs, inclusion, and dignity for adults with IDD in our community. Make Plans to Dine at Comida. Call or text for reservations, 941-324-5985, or book online. 

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The start of a new year is the perfect time to try something new, set fresh intentions, and find ways to feel your best. That’s why we’ve teamed up with amazing local fitness instructors to bring you a day full of energizing, empowering, and inspiring classes—all completely FREE!

Saturday, January 3, 10am-3pm,The Bazaar Courtyard | 821 Apricot Ave, Sarasota, Free & Open to the Public.

Florida Studio Theatre (FST) is thrilled to announce that its opening Winter Mainstage production, Lucky Stiff, has been extended for a final time through January 11, 2026. With Book and Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and Music by Stephen Flaherty – the Tony-winning duo behind Ragtime and Seussical – this fast-paced and funny musical misadventure has audiences demanding more. See Lucky Stiff and three more Mainstage productions for as little as $19.75 per show when you subscribe. For more information, visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org or call (941) 366-9000. 

he Suncoast Black Arts Collaborative (SBAC) will launch its 2026 Affinity Circle Membership Drive with a public fundraising event on Friday, January 9, featuring an art sale from 3-4 p.m., followed by a membership drive and reception from 4 to 5:30 p.m., at Gulf Coast Community Foundation Philanthropy Center, 1549 State Street, Sarasota. The event invites community members to support SBAC’s continued work amplifying artists of African descent and BIPOC cultures through exhibitions, partnerships, and artist development initiatives across the Suncoast. The event is free, but registration is required at SuncoastBlackArtsCollaborative.org.  

From January 7-February 8, Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe (WBTT) will present the jazz-infused drama, "Paradise Blue. The play is part of  American playwright and actor Dominique Morisseau’s cycle of plays that explore African American identity and the erasure of Black culture and history. Longtime WBTT resident director Chuck Smith returns to Sarasota to direct.  

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