Tag Archives: Florida

One of Sarasota’s Best: Pomona Bistro and Wine Bar

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.

Pomona Bistro and Wine Bar

481 N Orange Ave, Sarasota, FL 34236

Sarasota, Florida

941-706-1677

Grey Salt: A Great Addition to the Tampa Restaurant Scene

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.

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Final, and best, stop: Hawk’s Cay Resort, Duck Key, Florida

Our bike trip came to an end (and a great road trip it was) at Hawk’s Cay Resort. It is a beautiful place located on Duck’s Key. It was a short week ago that we left the car here. They were very gracious and let us leave the car while we went riding.

It is a beautiful property. Between the spa, docks, pools, and scenery, it was just the right place for us to land after staying in some funky places along the way. It is one of the most service oriented places we have stayed in a long time. We were there on a shoulder season so our room price was quite good. It is a fairly expensive place to stay but so worth it.

We rode up to the front of the place and dropped off our bags. Then we went to the parking lot and packed up the bikes before we checked in. The room was lovely and the bathroom had a wonderfully large shower. We both really enjoyed it after our ride and after all of the not so great showers along the way.

It was a bit late for lunch and too early for dinner so we went to the tiki bar for a celebratory drink (okay, we were ready for a drink) and some munchies. We had some chips and salsa and some popcorn shrimp. They were so delicious. The bartenders are fun as well. The drink (mojitos) were good. They held us over for dinner.

Hawks Cay Tiki Bar

We walked around the property just to see what is there. It is a great place for families with lots of interesting pools including one that is not quite a pool but a lagoon that has a sandy bottom and filled with some fish so younger children can experience the sea in a safe environment.

There is lots of adult recreation as well with fishing, diving, kite boarding, paddle boarding, sea kayaking, and any other water sport anyone can think of. There is also lots of places to just sit at the dock of the bay.

hawks Cay dock

I would imagine it would be a great spot for a business meeting although who wants to be in a meeting room when they can be outside for all the things to do. I didn’t see a golf course but it may be there. They have a big tennis area with pros that provide lessons.

We had dinner in Alma (their elegantly informal restaurant). Their wine list is quite good. The service is excellent. We shared with the garlic shrimp as an appetizer.

Hawks Cay garlic shrimp

 

It was just yummy. Basically, we wanted to lick the plate. Mike had the paella and it was very good. I ordered a steak because after all of the seafood and fish we ate, I needed a steak.

Hawks Cay steak

While it was good, it was delivered a little cool. I would have sent it back but I was just too hungry so I let it slide but I did tell the waiter. They took the steak off of our bill which I thought was exceptional since I didn’t send it back. They also called us later that evening to offer a bottle of wine because of the cool steak. We thought they were incredibly gracious. We would go back there again simply because of their service.

We had breakfast the next morning in Ocean that had a very good buffet or you can order off a menu.

We left that morning for home. What a trip. We loved the Florida Keys, our excellent adventure, and hope to return sometime soon especially to Hawk’s Cay.

Hawk Cay front with car

Barnacle Bill’s Bed and Breakfast is a must stay place. It is so much fun and doesn’t take itself seriously.

What can anyone say about Barnacle Bill’s Bed and Breakfast. It is definitely an “off kilter” wonderful place on Big Pine Key. They usually require a two-night stay but we were able to stay for one night. It was very special, very eclectic, quirky, or any other odd name we could call it.

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Santiago’s Bodega, Key West, Florida

On Saturday evening, we had drinks again at our favorite bar, La Te Da, We asked the bartender for recommendations for an early dinner. We didn’t have lunch because we were on our kayaking trip. so we could take advantage of the bar specials.  They recommended Santiago’s Bodega.

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Ordering food in at the B&B: China Garden, Big Pine Key, Florida

Day 3 we were on our way. Since we stayed at a B&B, we either had to ride our bikes to a late lunch or dinner (not a good option) or call for takeout (a better option). We had a choice of Chinese food or pizza. Can anyone out there guess what we did?

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Blue Heaven Restaurant, Key West, Florida

Blue Heaven is very “Key West.” If you dump all of Key West in one place, it would be Blue Heaven. Chickens (rather Roosters), bright colors, and cats appear to characterize the restaurant along with good food and drinks. It is a big courtyard with stages for music and art, a bar, and lots of tables under trees.

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Louie’s Backyard, Key West, Florida

On Friday night, we went to Louie’s Backyard with Cindy, who is a local friend.  The restaurant was a complete surprise. It is a sophisticated, lovely restaurant. I guess we expected a bar-b-que joint.  It was very nice inside but even nicer was the outside seating. We enjoyed the whole experience. It is a romantic restaurant and just hearing the water lapping around us just sets the mood.

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Nine One Five (Duval St.) Key West, Florida

We arrived in Key West the third day! Yahoo, there are some good restaurants for us to enjoy. We were hungry because we didn’t stop for lunch, but we wanted to have a nice dinner. We decided to try Nine One Five on Duval Street.

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The Hideaway, Grassy Key, Florida

For dinner on Day One of our Key West Tour, we went in search of something different.   How about a French restaurant in the keys? We found the Hideaway Café on Grassy Key.  First of all, it is hidden away.

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