August 15, 2025

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Quick Bites – Beer, Wine & Summer

It may be quiet, but we still have a few things going on around town!

🐶The Dog Days… Yes, I’m absolutely certain you’re aware of the signs. School buses are running, but it’s still damn hot. 4PM brings a downpour that gets the streets steaming like a spa. And all eyes are constantly on the Weather Channel.  

The streets are somewhat quiet. They aren’t a river of Midwest license plates. And sidewalks aren’t crowded with folks hunting for the best Grouper Sandwich or Coconut Shrimp basket. Yes, the end of “summer” is so tantalizingly close you can almost feel that first cold front. But it’s still far enough away… The Dog Days. 

Let’s get right to it. There isn’t a ton going on in our Sarasota area restaurant community at this time of year. Some places are offering great menu discounts to draw diners in. Some are getting ready to close for a few weeks of well-deserved R & R or some restaurant sprucing. 

All of this means our time together on this particular Friday will be brief. Here are some Quick Bites… 

🍺 Let’s Raise a Glass. This is the time of year when a cold, locally brewed beer goes down SO easily. If quenching your thirst with a quality Florida brew is your thing, then mark your calendar for THUR AUG 21^ST. That is the date of the 5-Course Florida Avenue Beer Dinner at Fins at Sharky’s. Florida Avenue brews some delicious beer, and the kitchen at Fins turns out some unique and flavorful dishes. This makes for an unbeatable pairing! 

An expert from Florida Avenue will be on hand to personally guide you on your beer excursion. And Fins Head Chef will provide a walkthrough of everything on your plate. This will be a summer fun one. – HERE’S A LINK FOR TIX! 

🙋‍♂️ + 🐟 = ❓We like combos as much as the next person. Maybe even more. No, we’re not talking about a soup and sandwich combo here. (We wrote about those a bit ago. You can READ THAT HERE.) We’re talking about something that takes a little more brain power than just eating half a turkey sandwich. 

How about a Beer and Fish Fry Combo!?  Mark your trivia schedule (if you have one!) for THUR AUG 21^ST. That will be Trivia & Fish Fry Night at Calusa Brewing. Trivia starts at 6:30PM,  but the fish fry part of this twosome runs all day long. 

“B Trivial” with Syd will be dishing out the mind benders, and Pigfish will be serving up the fish and chips. Get a team of your smartest humans together and head on over! 🧠

🍷 Time to Wine Down. We’ve got some wine events to put on your radar this month. It’s the perfect time of year for any type of wine event. It’s an indoor thing! 

TUE AUG 26^TH at Amore Restaurant 📝 YES, this is the place where PǃNK just made a surprise stop complete with an impromptu spin on the piano! They’re hosting an Italian Delight Wine Pairing. It’s a four-course Italian feast with each course accompanied by the perfect wine companion. You’ll need to call the restaurant for a res. 941-383-1111. 

This next one is still a few weeks off, but we’re giving you a heads up because it usually fills up fast. On SAT SEP 6^TH from 1PM to 3PM, Michael’s Wine Cellar is hosting their next Open House Wine Tasting. You’ll get to sample fifty wines and graze through a buffet of savory lite bites. These events are super popular, so it’s best to get your place at the tasting table set. Here, let’s make that easy for you! – OPEN HOUSE WINE TASTING TIX HERE! 

AUG 28^TH at Mademoiselle Paris UTC location, you can sip wines from the Loire Valley wine region of France. Chef Arnaud is planning out a menu of the perfect accompaniments for these great summertime wines. We’ve got a peek at the menu. And now you do too! – HERE’S THE WINE TASTING MENU. And, now that you’re all primed, here’s how you can attend. – WINE TASTING TICKETS 

🍾 Cheers! 

All right. Now you’ve got some indoorsy things to do for the month. We’ll leave it to you to make the choices that suit you best! 

~ LH 

📆 A Little Housekeeping. It’s summer, and we need a little break from the action from time to time too. Of course, we want to keep all of you in the loop. So, here’s what you can expect from us in the next few weeks… 

AUG 22^ND (next week) – OFF! 🎉 

AUG 29^TH – A One Dish Feature 

SEP 5^TH – The LIST, September Edition 

SEP 12^TH – A FIRST LOOK Feature 

Of course, all of this is subject to change. It really all depends on how much fun we’re having! Hey, you’ve got to at least have a plan. Executing, well… 😁  

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🗓️ SARASOTA FOOD INFO🗓️ 

Here is some local food information that we think you might find interesting. We’ve provided you with a link to more info. 

📖 BUY A COPY OF OUR 2025 SARASOTA DINING BOOK! – ORDER HERE 📖 

😋 MICHAEL’S ON EAST – MONTHLY EPICUREAN MENU – New Orleans🌍 

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🧑‍🌾 FARMER’S MARKET INFO ‍🌾 

EVERY SUNDAY – Siesta Key Farmer’s Market – DETAILS 

EVERY SUNDAY – Farmer’s Market at Lakewood Ranch – DETAILS 

EVERY SUNDAY – The Meadows Farmer’s Market – DETAILS 

EVERY WEDNESDAY – The Phillippi Farmhouse Market (Oct-Apr) – DETAILS 

EVERY THURSDAY – Englewood Farmer’s Market (Oct-May) – DETAILS 

EVERY SATURDAY – Sarasota Farmer’s Market – DETAILS  

EVERY SATURDAY – Downtown Bradenton Public Market – DETAILS 

EVERY SATURDAY – Venice Farmer’s Market – DETAILS 

THIRD THURSDAY EVERY MONTH – UTC Night Market – DETAILS 

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Get information on 350+ Sarasota restaurants on the dineSarasota.com website 

Did you miss a story? Here are some of our past Bites – SB ARCHIVE 

Do you love our A Burger A Week pieces? – HERE’S THE FULL ARCHIVE 🍔 

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Wine toasting photo by Kelsey Knight on Unsplash 

JUST IN CASE YOU MISSED SOMETHING…