Florida Food

Wrapping up ABF's and my quick trip to Florida--we stopped one night at Cosimo's Grill, a favorite of the Parkers. Dad & Bobbie raved about the Cobb salad, so after browsing the huuuuge menu, I decided on that myself. This salad is HUGE! Huge! And delicious! Crazygooddelicious.

ABF settled on the pizza with meatballs, red peppers and ricotta and I didn't say anything at the time, but I thought 'wow! risktaker!' I mean come on...we come from NYC. Ordering pizza anywhere but, say, Italy, is a bit of a risk. However, he LOVED it, and was searching for Cosimo's in our area as soon as we got home. :)

Our last night in Florida, we went to Pineapple's, a new restaurant that had opened up in Sarasota. Isn't that an adorable light? Made me think of Psych, too. :)

The menu is chock-full of Caribbean-inspired flavors, from mango to jerk chicken to sweet and spicy bbq. I opted for the mango-marinated chicken and veggie kabobs, thinking it would be tasty and maybe 2-3 cubes of chicken. Um..this sucker was HUGE. Big, ripe chunks of pineapple were between crisp peppers, grilled mushrooms, and tangy onions. I gave plenty to ABF and was still stuffed.

ABF ordered the cheeseburger that came with a slice of fresh pineapple AND spicy bbq sauce. This was even yummier than it looks! And yes, that slab o' something under the bacon is the super-sweet, fresh pineapple!

The whole reason I ordered the healthier dish was to save room and calories for dessert! I was in Florida and I wanted a slice of Key Lime pie! This pie, sadly, wasn't great. Good, not great. Then again, it's tough to come even closer after you've had the best key lime pie ever, I mean, EVER.

ABF opted for another sundae, and it was quite tasty. Yes, I had order envy yet again. Not a bad way to wrap up a sunny, delightful trip to Florida!

Favorite Flavor

I absolutely love, love, love black raspberry ice cream. I think it's a decidedly New England flavor, as it's tough to find elsewhere. It's definitely getting better, but still not an easy find. I found it in Florida, of all places, when ABF, Dad, Bobbie & I hit Bentley's Homemade Ice Cream in Nokomis, Florida---just over the bridge from Casey Key. Apparently the owner makes all of his own ice cream and gelato flavors--you could even buy pints of it.

I tried a flavor of gelato before deciding on what I knew all along I really wanted: BLACK RASPBERRY!

ABF opted on an ice cream sundae with chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, chocolate syrup and chopped peanuts. This was yummy, too, but I did not have order envy this go-round.

My ice cream? Totally worth it. And in a sugar cone? Well, I might as well be a kid on the beach in Cape Cod all over again. And for a few minutes, it kind of felt like I was.

Upper Crust Bakery & Café

ABF & I were visiting my dad and stepmom in Florida, and they took us on a tour of downtown Venice on our first full day there. After stopping at the beach, where the gorgeous blue sky was almost too pretty to be believed, we stopped in for lunch at a place they'd meant to try for a while, Upper Crust Bakery and Café. They had pretty little seats and tables outside, but it was 200 percent humidity and ABF & I were melting, so, um, NO. Inside we went!

The decor is sort of mixed--very high, industrial-looking ceilings, beat-up floor, but kitschy little pieces on the walls along with ornate lighting fixtures. It was a bright, airy space, and seemed quite packed while we were there.

I ordered the meat-lovers' quiche (ham, bacon, and sausage oh yeah), which came with a side salad and a fresh mini-croissant. Holy moley..that's a lotta food, and I darn near ate all of it. The quiche was a SUPER-sized portion, so thankfully ABF helped me out with that. I devoured the salad, every bite of it (except the radicchio--why are you looking at me like that?), used only a drop of two of the wonderful vinaigrette, and the croissant did not last long on my plate. It was dreeeeenched in butter, but I ate it anyway. I would actually rather NOT have the melted butter on top, and if I went back, I'd request they leave out that step.

ABF has been on a bit of an onion ring kick lately--these were pretty good. Better than the ones we had at Pat LaFrieda's outpost at LaGuardia airport (post coming soon!) He also got the chicken club type sandwich--it was delicious, and it was a whole huge chicken breast in there!

We were stuuuuffed from lunch, and there was no room for dessert. The display is pretty basic and didn't photograph well, but I heard people saying good things (ganache-covered brownies? Holy chocoholic!) about the sweets and treats. I will have to ask Dad & Bobbie to do some 'research' for me and send an update!

Upper Crust Organic Cafe & Bakery

213 W Venice Ave

Venice, FL 34285

(941) 244-0430

Madfish Grill

ABF & I headed down to Florida for a quick weekend visit with my dad and stepmom, whom he had yet to meet. Our first night there, they took us to Madfish Grill in Sarasota for dinner.

They brought out some bread for the table, as well as olive oil. The restaurant also has its own brand of dipping spices, which you can sprinkle into the olive oil. These were good--salty and flavorful.

I ordered the broiled whitefish with broccoli and mango gazpacho. I wasn't sure what to think of the gazpacho..it took some getting used to as it was a little sweet. Overall, it was tasty, but I don't think I'd order it again. The fish and the broccoli were delicious, and healthy--bonus! I'm not a fan of tartar sauce, so I pretty much left that stuff alone.

ABF (Awesome Boyfriend) ordered a pasta dish I had my eye on--scallops, lobster meat, shrimp and more in a vodka sauce, with plenty of freshly-grated cheese on top. This was soooo yummy, but I only took two bites. I definitely wanted more of this!

I think everyone really enjoyed their food (I didn't subject my family members to food photos--only the ever-patient and cooperative ABF). Service was great, too--a delicious start to our visit in steamy, sunny Florida.

Madfish Grill

4059 Cattlemen Road

Sarasota, FL 34233

(941) 377-3474