Brick's Smoked Meats: Authentic Texas Barbecue

Before Brick’s was a restaurant, it was a wildly popular stand at the Sarasota Farmers Market, where customers lined up for veteran Pit Master Mark Gabrick’s smoked meats every Saturday morning. “Real Texas barbecue is cooked over oak with a very simple seasoning,” says Gabrick. “It’s not what we put on it, it’s what we don’t put on it that makes it great. It’s about allowing that true beef flavour to shine through with simple smoking methods cooked the old-school way. Really, it’s so simple. It’s just authentic barbecue.” Texas Barbecue Culture is all about craftsmanship, devotion to time-honoured methods, family, being neighbourly and the fun of gathering round the table. Brick’s pays homage to the food of central Texas, and the smoked meat traditions of Central European immigrants, as well as the influence of Mexican cooking. But the restaurant offers more than great barbecue, with sensational side dishes such as Lone Star Caviar made with black beans, black-eyed peas, corn, sweet peppadew peppers , jalapeño and lime vinaigrette, Pit-Smoked Beans with house-smoked bacon, roasted jalapeño, crispy onions and cotija, which is a crumbly Mexican cheese, and delicious Red Bliss Potato Salad with horseradish, crema, red onion, bell pepper, celery, parsley and chives — quite possible the best potato salad I've ever tasted. “Wood. Smoke. Time.” That’s the restaurant’s motto. Simple ingredients and method, flawlessly executed by Mark Gabrick "low and slow." Few things are as American as southern barbecue, and Brick's has hit a 'finger licking good' home run. 

Brick’s has a true Texas vibe, with a pair of longhorns on the wall, exposed brick and fluted corrugated metal, ceiling fans from recycled windmill parts 

Brick's cutlery arrives in a small brown paper bag

Brick's menu highlights Texas-style barbecue and side dishes

Cold Stella Artois 

Brick's famous 14-hour braised Brisket

Pit-Smoked Beans with house-smoked bacon, roasted jalapeño, crispy onions and cotija, 

which is a crumbly Mexican cheese 

Smoked Poblano Slaw

Corn Muffin

Brick's Smoked St Louis Ribs

Red Bliss Potato Salad with horseradish, crema, red onion, bell pepper, celery, parsley and chives

State Street Corn with crema, chipotle, lime, jalapeño and scallions

Bacon Burnt Ends Tacos with Lone Star Caviar of black beans, black-eyed peas, corn, peppadew, jalapeño and lime vinaigrette 

Veteran Pit Master Mark Gabrick

brickssmokedmeats.com

Smoked Poblano Slaw

Serves 6

Recipe courtesy of chef Keith Doherty

2 1/2 cups mayonnaise

1/3 cup amber honey

1/2 cup smoked poblano peppers, julienned

2 tbsp fresh Italian parsley, chopped

2 tbsp celery seeds

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp kosher salt

1 tbsp black pepper, medium ground

3 cups green savoy cabbage, finely shredded

1/2 cup purple cabbage, finely shredded

1/2 cup carrots, julienned

Using a large mixing bowl, combine the mayonnaise, honey, peppers, parsley, celery seeds, garlic powder, salt and black pepper. Using a whisk, incorporate the ingredients until they are equally distributed. Add the cabbage and carrots. Toss to coat and enjoy.

Boca Kitchen Bar: Locally Sourced Florida Cuisine

Boca Kitchen Bar & Market brings delectable flavours of modern American comfort cuisine to downtown Sarasota. Located by the Performing Arts District in the heart of Sarasota, the restaurant has beautiful indoor and outdoor seating with a cozy and comfortable neighbourhood ambiance, and sunny, industrial-chic vibe. Big sidewalk-facing windows, walls of wood and unfinished brick, punctuated by hanging herb gardens emphasize Boca's dedication to fresh, locally sourced ingredients. Executive Chef Matt Mangone is the mastermind behind Boca's creative menu that ranges from sandwiches, salads and soups for lunch, to hearty dishes like Florida Pink Shrimp and Grits, Lobster Pot Pie and Sweet Potato Gnocchi for dinner. For the adventurous diner, some order the Chef’s Meal, which is sourced from the ingredients on hand that night and is never prepared the same way twice. Open every day for lunch and dinner, we arrived one Sunday for their popular Weekend Brunch which our server was pleased to inform us features unlimited Mimosas. If that wasn't impressive enough, the dishes we ordered were delicious. The Spinach Frittata with Tomato, Pear and Radish Salad with Burrata was outstanding, as was the Smoked Corned Beef Hash with eggs, roasted onions, red peppers and potato hash. Coupled with friendly courteous service and reasonable prices, if we lived in Sarasota, Boca would be on our list of restaurants to revisit over and over again.

Boca Kitchen Bar & Market brings delectable flavours in modern American comfort cuisine to the performing arts district in the heart of downtown Sarasota

Boca's modern industrial-chic interior

Table setting with casual dish towel napkin

The green wall at Boca with seasonal greens growing and used by the kitchen

Open Kitchen with Boca's statement supporting local farmers

By working with local farms and businesses, Executive Chef Matt Mangone is able to create custom, seasonal, and Florida grown dishes

Boca's Brunch menu

Boca Brunch Prosecco with organic blackberry

Endless glasses of Mimosas at Sunday Brunch

Hand stamped recycled cardboard coasters are a great idea reducing the carbon footprint of typical restaurant drink coasters

Fried Green Tomatoes with pimento cheese, tomato jam and Boca bacon

Boca Smoked Corned Beef Hash with eggs, roasted onions, red peppers and potato hash

A light, hot and fluffy Spinach Frittata served in a piping hot cast iron pan

Delicious Tomato, Pear and Radish Salad with Burrata

Brie and Apple Flatbread with roasted air-chilled chicken, brie, granny smith apples, pickled red onions, and sweet aïoli

www.bocasarasota.com

Thai Black Bean-Chili Glazed Grouper with Udon Noodles

Serves 4

Recipe courtesy of chef Matt Mangone

Glazed Grouper:

4 6 oz grouper filets, boneless, skinless

Kosher salt to taste

Cracked white pepper to taste

4 oz olive or vegetable oil

12 oz udon noodles, pre-cooked

8 oz shimeji mushrooms

4 tbsp shallots, peeled and minced

4 tbsp butter, unsalted

8 oz chicken stock

Cilantro leaves for garnish

Black Bean Chili Glaze:

2 cups sweet chili glaze

1 tsp black bean paste

2 tsp sweet soy

1/2 cup ketchup

Season the grouper with salt and pepper. In a sauté pan, heat oil to smoke point. Add the grouper and sear until golden brown on the bottom. Turn over and cook briefly. Top each piece of fish with 1-ounce of the black bean glaze each and place the entire pan under the broiler to finish. In a separate sauté pan, heat the shallots and butter. Sauté the mushrooms and deglaze with chicken stock as needed. Season with salt and white pepper to taste. Heat the udon noodles with the sautéed mushrooms. To plate, place the udon noodles in the centre of the bowl. Place the glazed grouper on top and garnish with cilantro leaves.

Campiello: Tuscan-Inspired Cuisine in Old Naples

Housed in the historic Naples Mercantile Building on beautiful Third Street South and surrounded by the original beach cottages and lovely homes of Old Naples, Campiello is celebrated for its award-winning Italian cuisine inspired by traditional Tuscan country cooking. With an open kitchen with wood-fired pizzas, homemade pastas and rotisserie-grilled specialties, the restaurants Tuscan-inspired menu also features many fine wines from local and global vintners. With a beautiful outdoor courtyard of cascading bougainvillea and original 1930's fountain, Campiello is a Naples dining tradition. Owned by the D’Amico family, Campiello also features its own boutique Empori Campiello, a unique shop stocked with clothing and accessories imported from Italy. Arriving for a leisurely lunch with our dear friend Charles, we were seated at a lovely table in Campiello's gorgeous outdoor courtyard and enjoyed with a delicious chilled bottle of chilled Gavi to celebrate our special lunch. In addition to the regular menu, there are always a selection of special dishes which this day included one of my absolute favourites, a Burrata Caprese Salad with heirloom tomatoes and fresh basil. Charles and my husband shared a generous Affettati Misti of mixed Italian salume and cheese. For entrées we all succumbed to a selection of Campiello's sublime pastas, including Linguine all Vongole infused with garlic, briny clams, white wine, and chili flakes, tasty Orecchiette Primavera and Spaghetti alla Chitarra with marinara sauce and Campiello meatballs. Enjoying a delightful lunch on a perfect sunny afternoon, we took Campiello's sage motto to heart: Eat well, Laugh often, Live long.

Original 1930s fountain in the flowering courtyard of Campiello Ristorante

The scenic outdoor courtyard overlooks Third Street South in Old Naples

Campiello's debossed leather menu of award-winning cuisine, featuring dry and fresh pasta, wood-roasted and rotisserie-grilled specialties, decadent dolci and wine from local and global vintners

Warm fresh baked baguette

Campiello server presenting our 2013 Tenuta La Marchesa White Label Gavi

Light straw yellow in colour with aromas of ripe apples and tree fruits, 

the Tenuta Marchesa Gavi was cold, crisp and delicious

Burrata Caprese Salad with heirloom tomatoes and basil 

Affettati Misti of mixed Italian salume and cheese

Linguine Fini with Clams, White Wine and Garlic

Orecchiette Primavera

Spaghetti alla Chitarra with Marinara Sauce and Campiello Meatballs

Campiello almond toffee profiterole with wild blueberry gelato

Chef Michael Dalton of Campiello in Old Naples

Chef Dalton's famous Tajarin Egg Pasta with shaved white truffles from Alba, a pasta specialty of Piedmont

campiello.damico.com

Campiello's Balsamic Glazed Beef Short Ribs 
Serves 6
Recipe courtesy of chef Michael Dalton, Campiello

Beef Short Ribs:
6 pieces beef shortribs, 2 bone cut 2.5" thick
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 celery ribs, coarsley chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 package fresh rosemary
1 package fresh thyme
2 bottles white wine
1 tbsp black pepper
2 tbsp kosher salt
olive oil for browning

Balsamic Glaze:
6 garlic bulbs, split horizontally
1/2 cup brown sugar
5 sprigs of rosemary
4 cups balsamic vinegar
7 cups chicken stock 
4 cups veal or beef stock 
1 stick butter


Generously salt and pepper the meat. Heat olive oil in a large pan to nearly smoking and add the ribs. Turn the heat down slightly and carefully brown the meat on both sides, abut avoid scorching. Remove meat and place in a pan large enough to hold meat and vegetables. After the ribs are cooked, deglaze pan with white wine and reduce, scraping up the brown bits. Pour the deglazing liquid in the braising pan with the ribs, and add the chopped vegetables and herbs. Sprinkle a little more salt over the ribs and mirepoix. Cover tightly with foil. Place in 350°F oven and bake for 3 hours until the meat is fork tender. Start checking the ribs after 2 hours, making sure too much liquid has not been lost, if so add chicken stock so it doesn't dry out. 

While ribs are cooking, begin making a glaze. In a large sauce pan over med-high heat, melt the butter. When it begins to foam, sprinkle the sugar over entire pan surface, then place the garlic cut side down on top of sugar, then add the rosemary. Cook until the sugar begins to caramelize, about 10-12 minutes. Once the garlic and sugar have browned nicely, add the balsalmic vinegar, increase heat and reduce by 80% — the fumes might be "a little much". After the vinegar has reduced, add the chicken stock, and reduce by half; then add the veal or beef stock, reduce by 70% or until the sauce is starting to tighten up a bit. 

When the ribs are fork tender, remove and cool. Strain the liquid, discard the vegetables, and skim the fat from the reserved braising liquid. In a large sauce pan, add the ribs, one ladle of reserved braising liquid, 2 ladles of reduced glaze, and 2 sprigs of rosemary, then pour the reduced liquid around the ribs until nicely glazed. Adjust for seasoning. Swirl in a couple of tablespoons of unsalted butter to add extra richness, if desired. Chef Dalton serves this dish with Spaghetti tossed with smoked tomatoes and Sicilian onions.

Venezia: Classic Italian Bistro on St Armands

Venezia is a charming family-run Italian bistro located on St. Armands Circle, just a short walk from the crystal-blue waters of Lido Beach and the bustling centre of Sarasota. Although it opened in 2009, Venezia's history goes back further than that. Since 1966, Rafael Miccio’s family has owned a successful Italian restaurant, also called Venezia in Mar del Plata, Argentina, a resort-style town on the beach very similar to the Sarasota area. So it's no wonder the family fell in the love with this part of Florida and decided to call it home. Today, Miccio’s father and uncle continue to operate the restaurant in Argentina, while Miccio carries on the family tradition on St Armand's Circle with much of the staff being family members and many of the recipes coming straight from the kitchen of Miccio's Nonna. “The lasagna is the same as my grandma made,” says Miccio. Known for their excellent homemade pastas and light and crispy Calamari Fritti with zucchini and roasted peppers, the Napoletana-style thin crust pizzas are always a popular choice at Venezia, with over 15 selections from which to choose. Cooked at a high heat in a gas-fired pizza oven and brought to the table perched on top of enormous empty plum tomato cans, we generally order a classic Margherita, but the Pizza ai Funghi is also delicious, with one large enough for two people to share.

Venezia menu 

Stella Artois beer

Lightly fried calamari, zucchini and roasted peppers with marinara sauce and Venezia dressing

Pizza ai Funghi with tomato sauce, mozzarella and cremini mushrooms 

www.venezia-1966.com