Ten restaurants in Manatee and Sarasota counties have extended "Savor Sarasota," the popular promotion offering fixed-price dinners, partly to offset sluggish sales due to a slow economy.Another restaurant, the four-star Vernona, at the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota, has adapted the idea and is offering a fixed-price $35 per person summer menu through Sept. 28.
"The primary reason we at the Sarasota Convention & Visitors Bureau wanted to create and now sustain a restaurant week in this area was to raise the culinary awareness of our destination," said Erin Duggan, public relations director for the visitors' bureau."Secondly, it was to boost the restaurant business during what can sometimes be a slower time of the year," she said.
This year, "Savor Sarasota" restaurant week lasted from May 27-June 8, and featured 36 restaurants, Duggan said. Each offered fixed-price menus with slightly smaller portions and a choice of appetizer, entree and dessert. Lunch cost $15 per person, and dinner, $25 per person.
However, restaurants extending the program are skipping lunch and offering dinner only at $25 per person.Visitors rank local dining among their favorite aspects of the area, and Ritz-Carlton customers had asked for an extension of the popular fixed-price meals, said Liza Kubik, director of public relations for the hotel.
"We decided to slightly change the 'Savor Sarasota' menu to 'Savor Summer,' but offer a similar menu throughout the rest of summer," said Kubik.Among the reasons diners like the concept is that they are able to try out new restaurants they might otherwise miss without breaking the bank; smaller portions also appeal to many, Duggan added.
At the Ritz, diners may choose from tuna Tartare, crispy squash blossom or famous popcorn bisque with Jonah crab, a northern version of stone crab. Entrees include pan-seared grouper, grilled hangar steak, or vegetable, Kubik said.
For dessert, there's Braden River Farms' carrot cake, molten chocolate cake or a trio of seasonal ice creams and sorbets, Kubik said.One of the sous chefs is proud of his pasta, and the resulting vegetable pappardelle combines organic vegetables and hand-made pasta with a simple sauce, said Greg Howe, Vernona's chef de cuisine.
"Guests are saying they're excited they're getting a three-course meal in a four-star, four-diamond restaurant for $35," he said. "But the thing is, from a culinary side, the menus we've been doing are sort of more playful. . . . If you will, maybe more from the soul of the cook."Sara Kennedy, Herald business reporter, can be reached at (941) 748-0411, ext. 4500.
If you go:
Restaurants extending "Savor Sarasota" or a variation of it:
• Cork & The Bottle Shop, St. Armands Key.
• Currents Restaurant at The Hyatt Regency, downtown Sarasota.
• Franko's Mediterranean Cuisine, downtown Sarasota.
• Mattison's Riverside, downtown Bradenton.
• Mattison's City Grille, downtown Sarasota.
• Mattison's Steakhouse, Longboat Key.
• Mattison's 41, Sarasota.
• Polo Grill & Bar, Lakewood Ranch.
• Siesta Key Oyster Bar, Sarasota.
• The Colony, Longboat Key.
• Vernona Restaurant, downtown Sarasota
- Information supplied by Sarasota and Her Islands Convention & Visitors Bureau. Information, go to www. sarasotafl.org, or call (941) 957-1877.