ALL POSTS

Ready for more Sarasota-area restaurant reviews? Then this post is for you – part 2 of my spring restaurant review series! In this week’s post I’ll review two new Japanese sushi restaurants, an old school waterside fish house, a Latin bistro in a strip mall, a “kind of pop up” restaurant at Waterside in Lakewood Ranch, and a quick revisit and update of a small family-owned Italian restaurant. Zoto Zoto restaurant, pork katsudon, and the lobster roll Laurie and I have really c

In this two-part spring edition of my restaurant review series, I have an eclectic mix of offerings for you! They include reviews of three new restaurants, an ice cream shop, a bourbon distillery/restaurant, an upscale bistro, an old school waterside fish house, a Latin bistro in a strip mall, a chain restaurant with over 670 restaurants nationwide, and a revisit and update of a small family-owned Italian restaurant. How’s that for variety? Let’s get started!! enRich Bistro  

Winter is the perfect season to settle in with a nice dram of whiskey for the evening! For me, that means taking my glass out on the lanai to enjoy the cool, humidity-free evenings of winter in a sweatshirt and sipping my whiskey slowly to warm me up a bit. OK, it’s still usually in the low 60’s or upper 50’s but definitely cool enough for the whiskey to take off the chill! Here are four my favorite whiskeys I’m drinking now! I’m using the same approach to learn about whiskey

I love a bit, or sometimes a lot, of spice and herbs in my cocktails. They often help transform a traditional, somewhat pedestrian cocktail into a unique one with unusual but absolutely delicious flavors. Here’s my take on a rum-based drink that makes use of some exotic spices to create a versatile cocktail perfect for any season of the year! One thing I love most about the spirits world is the literally unlimited variation of cocktails available. Choose your base spirit (vod

Laurie and I just spent the past six weeks enjoying another epic holiday season! We are now winding down from the hectic pace and almost non-stop celebrations but also continuing to reflect fondly on an absolutely wonderful holiday season! Here’s a quick recap for you in case you weren’t here to enjoy it all with us! The 2025 holiday season kicked off for us on November 17 th  when Laurie and I decorated the house for the season! We love getting an early start on the festivit

I love anything spicy, and that includes cocktails. But a little bit of spice goes a long way – you want to “feel the burn” but not feel the need to gulp down a tall cold glass of milk to numb the spice. My latest concoction is called the Spicy Mexican Mule, and it’s destined to become a favorite in our household Here’s how to make it! Peruse a cocktail menu at any upscale restaurant and you are guaranteed to find at least one, and often multiple spicy cocktails on the specia

It’s time to review more Sarasota area restaurants! This time we’ll review a mix of new restaurants, as well as others that everyone raves about that Laurie and I decided we had to try based on the positive reviews. Do our reviews reflect what everyone else is saying? Read on to find out! Dining patio at Michaels on East in Sarasota, FL This summer has been usual and unusual in a number of ways. First, the rainy season came again in full force, with 51 inches of rain since th

I love me some whiskey! Settling down with a finger (or two!) of whiskey in the evening while listening to music and reading a book is becoming one of my favorite traditions in retirement! Not every evening of course, but at least a couple of times a week! But given all the choices out there, what are some nice whiskeys to try if this sounds like an enticing idea to you? I’m here to help with this week’s post – let’s talk whiskey! Before we get started, let’s narrow some thin

It’s time for the final installment of my restaurant pet peeves blog series! It has felt really good to get all these pet peeves off my...

Wow! I’m surprising myself with how many restaurant pet peeves I actually have – who knew? Anyway, welcome to the fourth installment of...

There’s a great distillery near our home called Loaded Cannon – they make flavored vodkas, rums, gins, bourbons – you name the spirit,...

20 years ago, this past weekend, Hurricane Katrina made landfall in Louisiana which included a direct hit on the city of New Orleans. The...

It’s time for the third installment of my restaurant pet peeves blog series! In addition to general restaurant pet peeves and restaurant...

It’s time for more restaurant pet peeves, and I have a lot of them! This installment of “My Restaurant Pet Peeves” series will focus on...

OK everybody, it’s time to vent!! How many of you have gone to a nice restaurant and left feeling disappointed and let down by the...

Here we go again! Since my last restaurant review update in April, Laurie and I have visited seven new restaurants that have opened since...

Laurie and I love creating our own cocktails, but we also enjoy the classic cocktails from time to time. Think Cosmopolitan, Negroni,...

This week Laurie and I are celebrating our 4 th  retirement anniversary! I thought this would be a good time to take a quick break from...

The all-time classic bourbon-based drink is the Old Fashioned – it’s simple and sublime! But it’s not my favorite cocktail; that award...

What if you could invite any four famous musicians, deceased or alive, to your dream dinner party? Who would you invite, and what would...