Pictured: Oysters Bienville at GROVE. Photo courtesy of GROVE Restaurant.

Two mainstay kitchens make autumn in Sarasota taste like the Crescent City.

Before Michael's On East, there was Arnaud's. Co-proprietor Michael Klauber once worked the fabled dining room as a manager and wine buyer. New Orleans never left him. “The food is generous, soulful and rooted in tradition,” Klauber said. “Some of my most memorable early experiences in hospitality came from my time there.”

Creole cooking grew out of the city, Cajun from the bayou; the September Epicurean menu honors both. Smoke drifts through the menu: oysters and creamed artichokes with a blistered Parmesan crust; spillway crawfish beignets, fried to a crackle, steamy within. Entrees offer chicken-and-andouille gumbo over jasmine rice, or shrimp-n-grits with a Worcestershire-butter sauce. A doberge torte, the city’s birthday classic, closes the meal with sixteen sweet layers of vanilla sponge, dulce de leche and chocolate ganache.

On October 2nd, the Big Easy comes to Lakewood Ranch. GROVE stages an evening of five courses, fine wines and live jazz from the John Reece Project, the ballroom standing in for Frenchmen Street. The experience begins with a Crémant de Bourgogne rosé alongside Shrimp Arnaud, chilled and dressed in Creole remoulade. Oysters Bienville follow, baked to a bubbling béchamel. 

The dinner is a tribute: General Manager Mark Armato hails from Louisiana, and Chef Greg Campbell shaped the menu around his favorite dishes. “The whole point is to showcase Mark's background and history,” Campbell said.

Grove’s scratch philosophy shines in a redfish meunière, nutty and sharp over jumbo lump crab, then Campbell’s rendition of Louisiana chef John Folse’s stuffed quail, sunk in a roux the color of chicory coffee. “The steps to create this dish are intentional and rather difficult to execute well,” Campbell said. “Well, that’s why it's named ‘Death by Gumbo!’” When the rum flames tableside for bananas foster, the jazz will still be going.

Michael's On East, Tues-Sat 4:30-10 pm, 1212 S East Ave, Sarasota, 941-366-0007, bestfood.com, Epicurean New Orleans Menu, available throughout September; GROVE: “A Taste of New Orleans,” Friday, Oct. 2, 7 pm, GROVE Ballroom, 10670 Boardwalk Loop, Lakewood Ranch, grovelwr.com.

Pictured: Oysters Bienville at GROVE. Photo courtesy of GROVE Restaurant.