September 4, 2026

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There’s a Lot on the Menu This September!

The LIST gets a shakeup, Masō plans a feast, football meets bingo, and Taste of the Bay returns.

📆 What We’re Celebrating This Month

As usual, we’d like to give you a few things to put on your culinary adventure calendar for the month. Yes, there are some other food holidays. These jumped out! Enjoy ⬇️

🐔 September is National Chicken Month (Yoder’s & Dutch Valley)

🍕 September 5 – National Cheese Pizza Day (Shaner’s & Capo Pazzo)

🥑 September 15 – National Guacamole Day (The Hub & The Grasshopper)

🍔 September 18 – National Cheeseburger Day (Mouthole & Hive Bar)

🍽️ September 22 – National Eat Local Day (Sarasota-Manatee Originals)

🥞 September 26 – National Pancake Day (Village Café & Breakfast House)

📝 If you haven’t seen our A Burger A Week list, it’ll make a nice reference for September 18. So many great cheeseburgers in this town. Our list might not narrow things down for you. But it may give you some new ideas! – BURGER LIST HERE!

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📋 The LIST – SEPTEMBER 2026

Some Rise, Some Fall. We have been keeping track of this stuff for what seems like an eternity. Maybe only for me, but it has been a while!

We published our very first one over ten years ago. That list included the names like The Table Creekside, Michael’s On East, Cosimo’s, The Polo Grill, and Libby’s. Some names have changed. Some have remained remarkably consistent over the past 125 editions of our list. It’s been a ride!

That lands us right here. It’s September 2026, and we’re still churning this thing out. Yes, we have fine-tuned it, A LOT! But the essence is still the same. These are the local Sarasota-area restaurants that YOU have been searching our site for info on.

All right, let’s get to this month…

👀 Some Observations

Kitchen Social stays at No. 1 for the third straight month, but plenty is happening behind it. That’s quite a few months on the top of the heap! Congrats.

Victoria’s Hong Kong Cafe jumps seven spots to No. 2. It’s their highest LIST ranking ever. Five Nine Grill and Tavern makes its LIST debut all the way up at No. 3.

Indigenous also has a big month, climbing eight spots to No. 12. That’s another pretty BIG move.

September gave us three first-time entries: Five Nine Grill and Tavern at No. 3, Delany’s Public House at No. 9, and Divan at No. 18.

📝 This needs mentioning. The Shebeen Irish Pub &  Kitchen has consistently made our Top 10, even after they closed on Siesta to move to their new Gulf Gate home. Once they open (possibly this month), we will add them back in. You guys are still looking for them after all this time!

➡️ SEE THE ENTIRE TOP 25 HERE!

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🧑‍🍳 The Last Supper. We’re always on the lookout for unique food events to put on your radar. Found one! On October 20, Masō will host a “Last Meal Worthy” wine-pairing dinner.

Now, granted, they have been doing stuff at Masō that’s pretty out of the box. But this dinner looks like it could be one for the books.

Not only will it pair uni, live king crab, foie gras, and other delicacies with some spectacular wines, but it will also pair two great local culinary talents. Chef Drew Adams and Master Sommelier Andy McNamara.

This will be an absolutely memorable ten-course feast. You can’t make a res just yet. Tables will be released on September 10 at 9AM. You can reserve via OpenTable Experiences.

Even though you can’t book a table at the moment, we do have some details to share… HERE’S THE MENU!

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🏈 B-I-N-G-O! Football + bingo!? It’s a combo that might not be the first (or even second) combo that your brain puts together. But this is a REAL thing, and it’s going to happen.

Sunday, September 13 is going to be a pigskin bingo kinda night at Fin & Tonic. It will be Cowboys vs. Giants at 8:20PM, and an opportunity for you to take home some nice prizes.

It’s football in a sports bar, so yes, there will be drink specials. This event is being held in the Fin & Tonic “Trophy Room.” We’ll need a report on exactly what type of trophies are on display here. If they have the Lombardi…

This IS NOT full-contact bingo. So no need to bring your equipment. But if you have a bingo marker, it just might come in handy! 😉 – MORE INFO HERE!

📝 Next week we’ve got a lot more football stuff. Where to watch your favorite team. Maybe a few ideas for what to make if you’re hosting a football crowd. You’ll have to tune in and find out!

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😋 You Can Taste the Goodness. The Sarasota-Manatee Originals know how to throw a party. I mean, anyone who’s eaten (and sipped) their way through Forks & Corks knows exactly what I mean.

On Sunday, October 25, Taste of the Bay is back! This may not be F&C, but it’s going to be a fantastic opportunity to sample dishes from some of our best Sarasota restaurants and enjoy our gorgeous Bayfront.

Admission to this event is free. But you will need to purchase food tickets to sample the dishes. Yes, there will be drinks available too. And, of course, live music. I mean, we’ve already established that The Originals know how to put on a great food event!

Taste of the Bay runs from Noon to 3PM at The Bay Park. Interested? Get a group together! Things are always more fun that way. – HERE’S MORE EVENT INFO!

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⚡ LIGHTNING ROUND!

🎤 Swifties Unite! Saturday, January 23 (yes, I know this is a LONG time from now), Cadillac Jack’s Honky-Tonk Saloon is having a night that your favorite Taylor Swift fanatic will go wild for. Bring a bag of friendship bracelets and enjoy Love Story – A Taylor Swift Tribute. If you love Taylor, then you’ll love this! – EVENT INFO HERE

📰 Second to Last. If you haven’t visited our kind of brand-new Sarasota Food News Page, you should do that. We keep it updated with the latest happenings from around our local restaurant, food, and dining community. Here we’ll make it easy for you! – READ SARASOTA FOOD NEWS HERE!

🎶 Last. When we wrote about the burger at Pigfish a couple of weeks back, we left out one important detail. Our friend, Dean Johanesen, plays there the first Friday of every month from 6 to 8:30PM. Hey, that’s today! You should go see Dean, enjoy his music, and have a burger. (Oh yeah, and a beer!)

That’s it. All done. Hope you enjoyed it as much as we did! See you next Friday!

~ LH

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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 2026 SARASOTA DINING BOOK! – ORDER HERE 📖

📰 ALL THE LATEST SARASOTA FOOD NEWS! – OUR NEWS PAGE!

📋 MENU OF THE MONTH!! – Tralia Pizza – MENU HERE!

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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 Florida Farmer’s Market – DETAILS

THIRD THURSDAY EVERY MONTH – UTC Night Market – DETAILS

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