Quick Bites – Oyster Anniversary, Top 10, and Time Travel
Lots of February doings in SRQ. We’ve got some Quick Bites!
📆 Food Holidays to Celebrate!
❤️ February 14 – Valentine’s Day (If you don’t have plans, you may need to scramble)
🍹February 22 – National Margarita Day! (The Hub & The Grasshopper)
🍲 February 25 – National Clam Chowder Day (Capt. Curt’s & Walt’s)
🥣 February 26 – National Chili Day (Morton’s Market & Gecko’s)
📋 The LIST – February 2026
Here we go. I think we may have finally found a good place for this each month. 🤞
Masō rockets to the top of the Top 25 this month. It’s a “Supper Club Reimagined” with a touch of “Speakeasy” thrown in. Their official grand opening is WED FEB 18th! They’ll offer a super-upscale, limited menu. It also spans a pretty wide range. Iberian Pork Secreto AND Mac n’ Cheese share the same carte. Dining space is also VERY limited, making this an intimate dining experience. Pretty impressive that SO many of you were searching for info on Masō before they have actually opened their doors! – FULL MASŌ MENU HERE!
The new Ringside at the Cirque de St. Armands Hotel hangs in there at #2. Last month, we promised a FIRST LOOK at the restaurant for this month! We’re working on it. You’ll want to tune in for that.
There’s still a little buzzing about Little Saigon Bistro (I’ll aways think of this place as the Sunrise Cafe). The options for Vietnamese cuisine have gotten SO much better here in Sarasota over the years. I remember back when Pho Cali opened. I needed the new owners (and Judi Gallagher!) to give me a bit of a quick tutorial. That seems like a million years ago…
💭 The Memory Bank
I was sorting through some old website stuff, hoping to clean up and streamline things around here. After twenty-four years, my dineSarasota computer folder has the feel of a kitchen junk drawer. (Do I really need four cheese graters?! 😄)
I honestly tried to weed through and pitch a few things. Really I did.
Since I couldn’t hit the delete button on a lot of this, I figured, why not have some fun with it? 😃
OK, Sherman, buckle up. Get ready for your trip in the Wayback Machine. 💾
Any of these look vaguely familiar?…
WOW! A real blast from the not-too-distant past. I have to say, I do remember all of those. ✅ Cognitive test passed!
How many of these places do you recognize, and how many of them did you actually dine at?
We want your stories! If we print them, we’ll even toss in a brand spanking new 2026 Little Sarasota DINING Book for you! That seems fair. (Click the link below to share your story.)
TELL US YOUR STORY (LONG OR SHORT). WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR IT!
All right. As long as we’ve gone this far, we should probably take the next step…
Let’s have a look at The LIST from February 2006. That’s 20 years ago! Yes, we’ve been keeping track of our Top Ten for that long! I don’t want to make anyone feel old or anything, but here goes…
Astoundingly, six out of the Top Ten are still open and serving hungry Sarasota diners! That is quite a feat. Let’s give those half dozen a nice round of applause. 👏
📝 Here’s a quick look at what The LIST page on dineSarasota looked like back then!
🍸Bottoms Up!
Yes, we love our cocktails. And yes, we have SO many choices when it comes to quenching your thirst. Every now and then, one of our Sarasota restaurants will roll out a special drink menu. Turns out that “now and then” is now!
Arts & Central is sporting a special February-themed cocktail menu. And as you would expect (if you had thought about it for more than a second), it’s Valentine’s Day themed.
These are all LTO (limited-time-only. Their acronym, not mine). So, if you want to sample a dessert cocktail, you had better get it in gear! – HERE’S THE FULL COCKTAIL MENU!
🦪 Happy Oyster-Versary!
One year sprints by. At least that’s how it feels to me. And probably for the good folks over at Lefty’s Oyster & Seafood Bar. It sure doesn’t feel like it’s been 365 since the first one was slurped over at their Rosemary District location. But, yes, it has been.
Now it’s time for an oyster party! No, it’s not too late to get in on the action. THUR FEB 19th, from 6:30PM – 8:30PM, you can join the fun. If you’ve never been to a “Coastal-Inspired Cocktail Party” or an oyster and wine pairing, then you want to seize the day! Or at the very least, put it on your calendar.
$64.78pp (That’s $55pp plus tax) gets you a flight of 3oz wine pours expertly paired with cold water oysters. Then select your favorite from the samples and get a full dozen plus a full glass of your favorite vino. Sounds like a shucking good time! 😆
🎫 LEFTY’S ANNIVERSARY TICKETS HERE!
That’s it. Happy Valentine’s Day to all who celebrate. Stay safe out there. Season is nearly upon us! ❤️
~ LH
📝 END NOTES –
(a) When I first set out to write this piece, I really didn’t intend it to be a nostalgic one. But I thought it was SO interesting that 60% of the restaurants in our Top 10 from 20 years ago were still in business. The national average lifespan for an independent restaurant is five years. And the 20-year survival rate is between 10-20%. That shows just how strong our independent restaurant community is here in Sarasota!
(b) Masō is part of Sarasota restaurateur Broc Smith’s trio of restaurants in the Merchant’s Pointe Plaza (Clark & Swift). The others are Hive Bar and Doughboy Swift.
(c) Back in the 18th and 19th centuries, oysters were considered “food for the people” because of their abundance. They were so plentiful and cheap that they were enjoyed by the masses.
🗓️ 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 2026 SARASOTA DINING BOOK! – ORDER HERE 📖
📋 MENU OF THE MONTH!! – Mirna’s Cuban Cuisine – MENU HERE!
🧑🌾 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 Florida Farmer’s Market – DETAILS
THIRD THURSDAY EVERY MONTH – UTC Night Market – DETAILS
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Cover Photo by Thomas John on Unsplash
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