Breathe – A Sarasota Weekend

Last week I wrote “A Pandemic and Furloughed”, a post that gave some suggestions on how to weather the tides of being furloughed/unemployed. One of the key tips in that post was to make sure you take time to breathe. In other words, make time for self-care. This past weekend I did just that with a quick trip down to Sarasota with a couple friends.

As you can imagine, every beach town has it’s own distinct personality – whether it’s sleepy like Mexico Beach located in the Florida Panhandle, or vibrant like South Beach located in Miami. Rest assured, there’s a beach for everyone in Florida that will tick all your boxes for a successful beach trip; it’s all in what you’re looking for. And if you’re like me, that could change from day-to-day based on your mood.

The Plan

One of the greatest benefits of living in the Tampa Bay area is that there are so many different beaches within driving distance. For this trip we set out to the Sarasota area, about an hour and fifteen minute drive from Tampa. Our plans included a trip to the museum, great food, and finishing it out with a beach day. Unfortunately, mother nature had different plans, so we weren’t able to enjoy the beach as long as we wanted (more on that later).

The three memorable stops that we made during our getaway were at the Ringling Museum, Speaks Clam Bar, and Siesta Beach. Even after only visiting Sarasota once, all three are on my must-see list for Sarasota if you’re visiting the area.

THE RINGLING

By far the most memorable part of our visit to Sarasota. To be honest, I was blown away with quite a few things about this museum:

1. The campus is huge. Spread across 20+ acres, the Ringling includes multiple gardens and courtyards, the Ca’ d’Zan, the Museum of Art, the Circus Museum, and the historic Asolo Theater.

   

   

   

2. The mansion has been painstakingly restored. At a cost of $1.5 million to build in 1924, and $15 million to restore in 2002, the mansion, known as Ca’ d’Zan, is an expansive estate that includes 36,000 square feet spread across 41 rooms and 15 bathrooms.

   

   

   

   

   

   

3. An incredible art collection. Once in the art museum, it’s incomprehensible that the collection was once private. Built after the completion of the Ca’ d’Zan, the Museum of Art was built to house John Ringling’s private art collection. The collection even includes the interiors of the salon and library once in the Astor Mansion in New York City.
4. A unique view of circus life. What would The Ringling be without a museum dedicated to the circus? The museum provides a glimpse into the circus life complete with a 44,000- piece display depicting the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey shows.

SPEAKS CLAM BAR

I think the first rule thumb in order to classify as a “foodie” is that you must take pictures of all your food. I’m only assuming this is so you can blast it out all over social media in order to make your friends jealous that they’re missing out. Since I rarely remember to take pictures of my food, I suppose I’m not a foodie – just someone that enjoys good food, especially food that I didn’t have to cook myself, but I digress. 

After our very full day at the Ringling Museum we had the pleasure of eating dinner at Speaks Clam Bar in Sarasota. First things first, do they have clams? Of course. Are they more than just a clam bar? You bet. Do they have more than just seafood? Absolutely.

Speaks is an award-winning restaurant specializing in house-made pasta, and seafood dishes. Additionally, the chef is a nutritionist and has created a well-balanced menu. There’s something for everyone. Best of all, they celebrate the end of prohibition every day. We couldn’t have been more pleased with our selections that evening.

What’s the best way to start off a dinner? With a great cocktail of course! For me, I chose the “Penicillin”. A cocktail made with Scotch, lemon, honey, and ginger (candied and a syrup). Perhaps the name and ingredients are a nod to the “Hot Toddy”, but all I know is that it’s probably in my top cocktails of all time now. I highly recommend.

For my starter, I shared an Arancini Shrimp dish. For those unfamiliar, arancini is risotto, only deliciously fried to perfection. In this case, chunks of shrimp were throughout this fried treat. Dinner was light, a spinach salad accompanied with a hot tarragon salad dressing and blackened grouper.

I highly recommend a visit to Speaks, if only for the drinks – but the food is equally great. I will happily return again. Fortunately for me, in addition to their two locations (Sarasota, and Lakewood Ranch), they’re currently planning a third location in St. Petersburg at the Central Park Food Hall, expected to open in 2021. Hopefully I’ll get a personal invite for their grand opening.

Siesta Beach

Unfortunately, our visit to Siesta Beach was memorable for the wrong reason – mother nature. Sometimes she just has to rain on everyone’s beach day. And rain she did. Fortunately we did get a good couple hours in (and a few pictures) before we were forced to clutch our umbrella, hoping to avoid becoming drown rats…no dice.  

We’ll return to Siesta Beach again to give it another go one day.

All-in-all, even being rained out during our attempted beach day, Sarasota was great, and I look forward to our next visit.

Have you been fortunate to visit the Sarasota area? What are your must-see spots and places to eat and drink in the area? Leave me some suggestions to check out during my next visit.