We were so excited that Mattison’s was coming to Bradenton. When we pulled up to the restaurant, they definitely “Mattisonized” it so it looked like the Sarasota site. We have eaten at the Sarasota Mattison’s City Grille a few times and also ate at Mattison’s 41 so we thought they would bring the same good food to Bradenton. Were we wrong. None of the food we had was worth our time. For that matter, neither was the drinks.
We were so disappointed. The calamari was fried but it was limp not crisp the way it should be. We didn’t even have time to finish it before they brought out the mains. I had the “bronze salmon” with broccolini and risotto. The burre blanc sauce was very sweet and it shouldn’t be. Mike had the grouper sandwich and there was barely a piece of grouper and it just didn’t look appetizing.
I had the happy hour “boat drink.” It was a grapefruit margarita. I don’t think there was any grapefruit in it. The mojito was so sweet that it was undrinkable. It would have been okay if it was just not made that way because the mint was tasty.
We didn’t bother looking at the desserts.
As an aside, we went there when it was Yachtsea. It wasn’t very good then either. The Riverwalk deserves a good restaurant but Mattison’s isn’t it. We sure hope it gets better.
Pomona Bistro and Wine Bar is a lovely restaurant. It is a wonderful part of the Sarasota restaurant scene. While it sounds like a casual bistro, that is in name only. It is an upscale restaurant with great service from the moment you walk in.
It is located in the Rosemary District and so it is a little off the beaten path unless you have had breakfast, lunch or dinner at the Rosemary. Once you find it, you will wonder why you haven’t gone there before. The restaurant has both inside and outside service.
We were seated in one of the smaller rooms that immediately puts you at ease with calming colors and antique pieces that were placed between some of the tables.
One of the partners took us to our table and explained some of their philosophy about the restaurant. The wine list is very good although we wished the wines by the glass selection was a bit better. We had cocktails that are hand crafted and delicious.
Everything on the menu looked so good we wished we could eat more. They have a charcuterie platter that looked delicious and best of all, they have a wonderful cheese plate.
Mike had the French onion soup. It was simply sublime. The soup, which I typically think as the vehicle for the cheese, was amazing. It was excellent and probably as good as any I have had in Quebec.
I had the bistro salad with beets, goat cheese, orange and orange pomegranate dressing. It was light and delicious.
For our main dish, I had their duck breast with beets. Mike had their seafood pasta and it, too, was delicious.
The dessert was the best. We had their fresh berry Napoleon. It was the best dessert in Sarasota. Many years ago, we lived in Connecticut and there was a French bistro called Bec Fin in Old Greenwich. It closed many, many years ago, but they also made an incredible fresh berry Napoleon dessert and we have been searching for it ever since.
We found it here and we would go back there even if nothing else was good because this is so amazing. Unfortunately, because of it, we couldn’t manage the cheese course so we just have to go back.
The service was excellent from start to finish. We really enjoyed Pomona Bistro and Wine Bar and can’t wait to go back.
Paso Robles is a special place because it is probably what Napa was before it became so commercial. Over the years we visited the area, it was clear many people were finding their way to this wonderful place and enjoying the wines and olive oils that are produced there.
As we continued our exploration of the California wine regions, we drove up toward San Luis Obispo. While not as well known as the Santa Barbara wines, it is worth taking the time to visit San Luis Obispo. There are lots of good restaurants and wineries to enjoy and if you want to go to the beach, Pismo Beach is truly a beachy community that is a throw back in time.
When driving up 101 past Santa Maria, the first place we went to was Laetitia Vineyard.
It is in Arroyo Grande, that is the southern most part of San Luis Obispo. Laetitia grows a number of varietals but they are best known for their Pinot Noir. Their wine is always good and are available at a good price point as well. We belonged to their wine club for a number of years but stopped before we moved to Florida. They have a number of single vineyard Pinots that are just wonderful, full bodied wines but they aren’t usually available outside the winery. Their Laetitia Estate Pinot Noir is readily available and is a good wine to keep around the house for any occasion. They also have a good chardonnay and other wines including a sparkling one. Take the time to visit. It is a beautiful spot to stop.
Talley Vineyards is also a good choice and is located in Arroyo Grande as well. We visited Talley a number of times. It is a beautiful winery with lovely views.
We have also been to Claiborne and Churchill, as well as Baileyana, Chamisal, and Windemere.
San Luis Obispo has a lot to offer visitors. It is known throughout California for being the home of California Polytechnic Institute. It is an amazing university because of all of their offerings including a architecture school and their wonderful school of Agriculture and Natural Resources where the students make cheese and all kinds of foods that are available for sale. They have a cheese making class that is open to the everyday public that I thought about taking but, unfortunately, didn’t get to do it while we lived in California.
The town center has a wonderful downtown with lots of restaurants. It is definitely worth the time to stop and visit if you are in the area. We don’t really know too many hotels in the area but there are two I thought I would talk about.
The first one is the Madonna Inn. It is truly a funny, fantastical, original that only exists in San Luis Obispo.
It is right on the 101 and is worth a stop if not a place to stay for the night.
Dining room at Madonna Inn (Picture courtesy of J. Chalew for her 50th birthday)
Each room is different and each is an individual. It is kitschy and just plain retro funny. Want to say in a caveman room? How about Flowers and Hearts or a western room complete with a wagon bed? Oh, and what about a toilet sculpture for a fountain? Think about every idea you ever had for a room and give them a call. They probably have it.
The second hotel is The Apple Farm. It is an institution in SLO.
The rooms were pretty funky. They are decorated a la poster beds and a lot of chintz.
There may even be an old fashion rotary phones with (oh horror) circular dials and a dial tone. I guess the kids today would know what to do with them. They don’t have to because it is a stop on the tour buses with a lot of elderly people going to SLO. Breakfasts are good and old fashioned and they have wonderful baked goods to purchase.
Once you have seen enough of SLO (the town), you can cruise over to Pismo Beach. It is also a throwback in time. Lots of motels and funky restaurants. It is a fun place and we always got a kick out of going there but now we are headed to one of our favorite places: Paso Robles.
We don’t drive up to Tampa for dinner very often so since we had to be there for a concert, we took the time to look for one of their great restaurants. The good news is we found Mark Murphy’s new restaurant Grey Salt. It is located inside the Seminole’s Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Tampa.
As we continue the tour of our favorite Santa Barbara Pinot Noir growers, I thought I would take a minute to talk about the times we have ridden our bikes in the area. It is simply a beautiful place to ride and explore because the little towns are welcoming and so are most wineries.
For us, we love the lush mouth feel of the California pinots. We visited the Santa Barbara wine areas many times. Santa Barbara has a number of appellations including Happy Canyon, Santa Ynez Valley, Santa Rita Hills, Ballard Canyon, and a newly created Los Olivos AVA.
I have to admit, Mike and I are unabashed and unrepentant Pinot Noir fans. We love the big, chewy and/or tasty pinots. Unfortunately, many people have only had the fairly lean ones.
What a wonderful lunch! We went to Koi, a delicious Japanese fusion restaurant that takes up almost all of the first floor of the Bryant Park Hotel. This Koi is one of six locations in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Bangkok, and Abu Dhabi.
I have to say, I really like Fins at Sharkey’s. I might like Sharkey’s too but can never get in because the wait is just too long and I am just not patient enough to wait. Maybe we will try again after the season is over.
I was at Fins at least 3 times in the last 2 months for lunch and dinner. The view is just awesome. It is an amazing place to watch the sunset! You can see the sun go down in front of you with the Venice Pier providing a stunning picture. You really feel like you are down in the Caribbean with the wonderful sunsets you see down there.
The most recent time we visited, we were delighted to see a wedding on the beach in front of us and then the wedding party came upstairs for their dinner. Imagine getting married on February 29th. Does that mean, they will celebrate an anniversary every 4 years?
To start, we shared the Strawberry Blush Salad which had fresh strawberries, spring mix, gorgonzola cheese, chili caramel sunflower seeds, with Row Eleven Pinot Noir vinaigrette. It was fairly good but a bit overdressed and the gorgonzola cheese could have been better. It wasn’t really tasty as it might have been.
Many times, we have some of their sushi and it never fails to be fresh. This time wasn’t any different. We had Hamachi two different ways except I had it as sushi and she had it as sashimi. For dinner we simply had a rainbow roll and an Alaskan roll. Fins has lots of sushi and it is good and fresh. They also have fresh oysters that are delicious as well. If you are an oyster fan, by all means go to Fins.
Rainbow roll and hamachi sushiAlaska Roll and hamachi sashimi
During another visit, we tried the lobster roll that is filled with lobster and is quite good. Okay, it isn’t quite the ones we used to have in Maine but is good nonetheless.
Lobster rolls are always a good choice
When it is cold, the Lobster seafood chowder is very good. It is a cup but it is in a big, beautiful presentation. It is delicious and a great choice.
The Lobster seafood chowder is delicious, maybe a bit too thick but delicious nonetheless
The desserts are sometimes good and sometimes not as good. They have a pineapple carrot cake that isn’t very good. I wouldn’t recommend it but they do serve it quite a bit and it is always on the menu so some people do like it. When someone is celebrating a birthday or anniversary, they bring out a dessert with a candle. One of their wonderful desserts is the strawberry shortcake.
Strawberry shortcake is yummy
It is delicious and is a choux pastry filled with Fresh Florida strawberries, vanilla bean gelato and whipped cream over Belgian chocolate fudge.
The hot fudge Sunday is really wonderful and is Bentley’s white chocolate raspberry gelato, Belgian chocolate fudge, whipped cream, honey roasted almonds. I guess you can see we like the chocolate things.
The best dessert is (drum roll) the hot fudge sunday
They have an interestingly eclectic wine list. Some of the wines are just wonderful and some we wondered about but the good news is anyone can find something to enjoy in various price points. Their mixed drinks are good as well.
Their service group is always good. We like to give a shout out when service is excellent because they take care of everyone very well.
You just can’t beat the view and the feeling of being far away on some island when you are visiting Sharkey’s and Fins at Sharkey’s.
