ALL POSTS

Santa was very good to me this past Christmas. It’s hard to pick my favorite gift, but if forced to do so, I’d have to choose the vertical wine tasting kit that Laurie got me, along with a full bottle of the same wine from Daou Vineyards. Here’s a quick recap of my tasting of these beautiful wines! There are many different ways to taste wines, but one of my favorite options is to conduct what’s known as a vertical tasting. These tastings include samples of the same wine from

In addition to looking forward to eating great food, I also look forward to perusing the wine lists at the restaurants we visit. But truth be told, the wine list is often either an afterthought for the restaurant, or an overthought, ridiculous tome with an overwhelming number of choices. To fix this problem, I’ve developed the necessary characteristics for the perfect restaurant wine list! Wine is a critical component to a great meal. When paired well with a dish, wine enhanc

I look forward to a lot of events in Sarasota that occur throughout the year, but my favorite by far is the annual Forks & Corks Food and Wine Festival that takes place on the last full weekend in January every year! It’s like the planners sat down in a room and said, “What event can we plan that spans an entire weekend, and that Mark Geis would love the most?” I’m pretty sure that’s not how this event came to be, but they nailed it nonetheless! Here’s my report on the 2026 F

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

Thanksgiving is almost here, which means it’s time to plan for Thanksgiving dinner and in particular, what wines you plan to serve with your Thanksgiving feast! Here are four fantastic wines that will pair well with almost any Thanksgiving dish!   While Christmas is my all-time favorite holiday, I also love Thanksgiving and the fact that it’s a holiday built around a huge feast to be enjoyed with family and friends! Laurie and I adhere to the traditional Thanksgiving menu – n

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

Is there anything better than sharing a nice glass of wine with friends? The answer is definitely – the one thing better than that is...

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...

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...

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...

Our niece Sara, and her husband Andy came down to Sarasota to visit us a couple of weeks ago. What better way to celebrate their visit...

Last week’s blog covered the basics of blind wine tastings, and how to plan and host your own. This week, I’ll share my two most...

Do you think you could tell a Chardonnay from a Sauvignon Blanc without knowing which glass held which wine? How about a Pinot Noir from...

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

Laurie and I are having a difficult time keeping up with all the new restaurants opening in and around Sarasota – what a great problem to...