DECEMBER 11, 2016

IF YOU VISIT SELBY GARDENS ONCE A YEAR......NOW IS THE TIME


 

Lights in Bloom illuminates Friday

This annual light display begins Friday 6pm for its 13th year with nearly one million lights.  Outside of the University Park Benderson extravaganza, there is nothing to compare to Selby's Lights in Bloom presentation.  Nightly entertainment adds to the festivities.  You can go for the lights or stay for a  Selby Experience ticket that includes open bar, buffet and reserved parking.   Catering is now provided by Michael's.  Need I say more?  For Selby hours and additional information please click here.

Colleen L writes this week about a Sarasota gem,  BOOKER HIGH SCHOOL,  home to some of the most talented youngsters in the country .  The school has a monthly calendar of weekend presentations;  Colleen saw their Vaudeville Show which closed yesterday.  BUT, there is one more show this week before the school goes on winter break.  Their Billboard Music Concert runs 7pm Friday and Saturday.  Tunes from The Beatles, Frankie Valli and Usher will be covered.  Also included are many of  your holiday favorites.

Tickets are $10- $15 and can be purchased at the door 3201 North Orange.  For more information call 941-355-2967. 

 Between now and the end of the year, I hope to review several restaurants which are either new or traditional to Sarasota.  The new follows, while the traditional is just a few stories down.

  Since opening its doors last year, WHEATandWATER,  7303 52nd Place E., Bradenton, has become a go-to restaurant for good and inexpensive Italian.  My best advice is to book ahead, since they take reservations. Their number is 941-216-3562.

Buddy Kaufman writes, "We had sausage with peppers and onions as an appetizer.  Wonderful!!! Enough for 3 people. I had pork chop.  Excellent!  Linda had shrimp scampi.  All very good.  Entrees came with salad, soup or pasta.  Everything was fabulous, but we ordered too much.  By the way the salads were large and great....."

Joan Blum also writes, "...the food is excellent in this wonderful neighborhood Italian restaurant.  If you enjoy unpretentious "real Italian style" cooking, this is the place.  The chicken with goat cheese and pork chop are very yummy!  Wonderful veal dishes and several pastas along with pizza  are on their large menu.  Plenty to eat along with warm sour dough bread.  Keep going back, and never disappointed."



Opening this week at Florida Studio Theatre is the latest from JoeDiPietro,  Clever Little LIES.  If you're a regular, then you will remember The Last Romance, Over The River and Through the Woods, I Love You, You're Perfect, now Change...all from his magic pen.  His latest is a story of long-term love and marriage...for better...and for worse!!!  To purchase tickets call 941-366-9000.

Still going strong and extended at least through January 1st is the enthusiastically received  Million Dollar Quartet.  I haven't heard one negative about this one; even from those who saw it on Broadway several years ago.

 I am going Friday and then seeing Guys and Dolls at Asolo Rep the following night.  This one definitely closes on the 1st to make way for the plays to follow.  Good tickets can still be had at the box office; not on line however.  And if you have a AAA membership 10% comes off the ticket price.  Call 941-351-8000 for additional information.


Hadn't been to TOOJAY'S  in several months.  Went a few weeks ago for lunch.  Outstanding!!!  If you're in the mood for deli and crave hot corned beef piled high on almost perfect rye bread, then this is the place.  Served with sides ranging from cole slaw to potato salad, french fries or a pickle you can't go wrong.  Add a cup or bowl of chicken soup with noodles or matzoh ball you'll be in heaven.

Joe Marsh wrote this morning about a deli STAPLE forgotten above..CHOPPED LIVER.  Great with sliced tomato and a slice of onion on that "almost perfect rye bread."

TooJay's, open daily 8am-9pm, recently updated their menu for all meals.   So many choices from brisket, to chicken, to huge salads to bagels and lox.  For those unfamiliar, their location is in  Westfield-Southgate 3501 S. Tamiami Trail.

On the way out, take a look at their delicatessen counter where along with chicken salad, tuna salad, cole slaw and potato salads are their famous pastries.


Two interesting comments from readers this week.  

In response to last week's rant regarding the new sports bar under construction on University, Pacy Oletsky writes:

"You'll be glad to hear that DUFFY'S is great!  It's the best sports bar in FL featuring at least 40 TV's showing every sporting event in the country, great prices, good food and unbelievable daily specials.  Remember when you go to get your DUFFY'S card."

And from a disgruntled reader who unsubscribed with this reason...."I don't like the author's snide remarks about restaurants that aren't posh enough for his standards.  Don't need to read junk like this."  What can I say???  



JIM'S RANT.....Traffic on our major streets has become a nightmare.  Almost no one follows speed limits or yellow lights or stop signs.  A day doesn't go by when I don't see one or more accidents.  My advice is to stay off the main roads, and take the side ones.  Much safer that way.  Cooper Creek at University solved their congestion problems  Saturday with a policeman hand changing the signals!  Short term solution for an ongoing problem.





Thanks, as always for reading.....until next week when it will be one week until......