Eat & Drink: Foot Stompin’ Eats

By Rick Dakan

There are a lot of advantages to living in a tourist town. Yeah, yeah, we all complain about the traffic, but in addition to all the economic benefit stuff there’s a more tangible benefit: way more entertainment and dining options than most cities of our size. Sarasota is swimming in live music, especially in the more touristy areas, and there are also a ton of terrific venues with great food and great bands.

The Blue Rooster

1525 Fourth Street, Sarasota

941.388.7539

Monday: Closed

Tuesday & Wednesday: 5:00 PM – 10:30 PM

Thursday: 5:00 PM – 11:00 PM

Friday: 5:00 PM – 11:30 PM

Saturday: 5:00 PM –11:30 PM

Sunday: 11:15 AM – 2:30 PM

The Blue Rooster was designed from inception as a music venue, and the restaurant’s event calendar is packed with live acts every night they’re open. The southern cuisine inspired menu reflects the rock, blues, jazz, and gospel acts that fill the space to the rafters with music. There’s a hearty gumbo and Brunswick stew for the spoon-fed inclined, and for the knife and fork crowd there’s fried chicken & waffle, and cornmeal coated catfish with collard greens (why would I order anything else?). Regular acts at The Blue Rooster include some well-established Sarasota favorites. The Al Fuller Band takes over every Wednesday evening for their boisterous Blues Jam. Local Grateful Dead tribute band Ship of Fools are also frequent performers, bringing their full panoply of Dead head favorites and deep cuts to the stage.

For a truly inspiring and filling entertainment extravaganza, you have to wait for Sunday and you better make reservations. The Blue Rooster’s Sunday Gospel Brunch is an experience not to be missed. It features Truality, a tremendous, award-winning gospel band under the music direction of Dennis Clove, who started the group with some members of his church’s choir. Their uplifting, family-friendly gospel music accompanies a feast of brunch buffet goodness: biscuits and gravy, waffles, eggs, bacon, fried chicken, catfish, Brunswick stew, fried green tomatoes, and more and more. Held every Sunday from 11:15 AM to 2:00 PM, it costs $24.95 for adults, $12 for kids 6 to 12, and children under 6 eat free.

Mattison’s City Grille

1 North Lemon Ave, Sarasota

941.330.0440

Sunday and Monday: 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM

Tues to Thursday: 11:00 AM – 11:00 PM

Friday: 11:00 AM – 12:00 AM

Saturday: 9:30 AM – 12:00 AM

Does anyone else remember The Depot? A literal hole in the wall with a liquor license and a sad little stage-like platform. No roof, no real seating, no food. Just a booze hole and some place a band might play. Mattison’s City Grille, still al fresco, built out a huge bar, a large roof, and installed plenty of fans. The result is a downtown landmark—an open-air stage with great sound and great acts.

Every Saturday, the Lisa Ridings band takes the stage and delivers their high-energy set-list of rock, blues, Motown, and soul hits. Thursdays are just a little more chill (just a little), with The Venturas bringing their jazz, blues, rock, and country. Mattison’s menu is full of mildly upscale crowd pleasers, including a Cucumber & Avocado Gazpacho soup that will keep things cool if you’re rocking out on a summer’s eve. Along with a tasty variety of brick oven pizzas, seafood, and salads, there’s a lot of meat on the menu: lamb, meatloaf, ribeye, filet, pork ribeye, half chicken, burgers, and bolognese—all from humanely raised sources like Niman Ranch.

Fogartyville

525 Kumquat Court, Sarasota

941.894.6469

Check wslr.org/event for dates and times.

Fogartyville is a unique and wonderful venue in Sarasota, with a completely different vibe than most of the other live music venues in town. Attached to and part of WSLR community radio, it carries the communitarian ethos out of the radio studio and into a funky facility they call “Sarasota’s premier listening room.” The space is also host to cultural, educational, and community events, but the eclectic and entertaining variety of music acts that come through Fogartyville are a special delight that all local music lovers should pay attention to.

One of the highlights of the Fogartyville calendar has always been Very Merry Jerry Day, a daylong family-friendly celebration of the music of the Grateful Dead, which takes full advantage of Fogartyvilles spacious outdoor area as well as the indoor seating. The only downside of the event in past years was its August date, which has gotten just too hot. But this year the event is Sunday, November 3, which should be a whole lot nicer.

Chef Richard’s Kumquat Kitchen Food Truck provides much needed sustenance at Fogartyville shows, parked just outside the front door. As with many food trucks, the menu may vary, but there’s something fun and inspired going on inside the mobile kitchen. As befits the Fogartyville demographic, there are plenty of vegetarian, vegan, and gluten options, including vegetarian chili and naan bread served with spinach and grilled vegetables. The carnivores are well-served too, with beef, chicken, and seafood options always available.