Downtown Sarasota has a ton of restaurants that I was not aware of. When I was invited out to dinner I had to decide about where to go. After looking at several menu’s online I narrowed it down to Boca Kitchen.
It is a small restaurant inside but with the lighting and high ceilings it felt much larger.
They had a full bar and a large wine selection. I kept it simple and just went for a vodka tonic. It was refreshing while I looked over the menu.
The table started off with the cheese and charcuterie board. It was an assortment of cheeses that included bleu cheese, parmesan, and feta. The homemade meats included two different salamis, chorizo, and sausage.
It was great to eat the meat and cheese by themselves. However, they also served some jalapeno peppers, tomatoes, pickles, and pickled onions on the side.
They also brought out toasted bread and pretzel bread, mustard, and a fruit jam. These were perfect to spread onto the bread and layer on cheese and meat. The jam was my favorite and I loved eating it with the bleu cheese. The tangy taste of the cheese complemented the sweetness of the jam.
The appetizer that we ordered was the fried green tomatoes. I have not had these in years. It is hard to find them when you are not in the South. These tart tomatoes were sliced slightly thick, breaded, and fried up till crispy. Then they layered on pimento cheese, tomato jam, and bacon.
The toppings were amazing. I would have never thought that these three unique flavors would go well together, but they absolutely do. The cheese was salty, the tomato jam was slightly sour and sweet, and the bacon added crunch with a hint of smoke. These flavors accented the tangy tomato perfectly. These were nice to share but they could have been eaten as a meal.
For my dinner I ordered the Yellowfin Tuna. The tuna was cooked to a nice medium, where is was still punk on the inside. The tuna came on top of a kimchi purple rice, baby bok choy, coconut broth, and a sweet soy sauce reduction.
The tuna had a light crust on it that had chorizo mixed in with the breading. It gave each bite a nice spicy crunch. The purple rice was sweet and crunchy. It was unique but full of flavor from the coconut broth and soy sauce. The bok choy added some crunchy freshness.
As a side for the table we did order the maple and bacon glazed Brussels sprouts. While the sweet and salty flavor was great, the Brussel sprouts were sautéed and had a slight amount of char on them to give some crispiness. The maple syrup that they used added a pleasant sweetness. The bacon added crunch.
The dishes that I tried at Boca Kitchen were delicious. I really enjoyed my visit. I would definitely want to go back. Check out their menu at www.bocasarasota.com
Enjoy!
T
