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Community Corner

10 Of Our Favorite New Restaurants to Open in 2010

Many of the new businesses are located in the downtown and Gulf Gate areas.

Sarasota Patch looks at 10 businesses we were happy opened in 2010. Some of these restaurants are more fine dining while others are just a great place to sit down to eat during your lunch break. 

Square 1 Burgers & Bar - 1737 South Tamiami Trail

Billing itself as the "Fleming's of Burgers", Square 1 Burgers & Bar opened recently on US 41 near Hillview Street. The upscale burger restaurant has a huge selection of burgers, including buffalo, turkey, ostrich, tuna and kobe beef. There are also many vegetarian options, which include a portabello burger and a vegan veggie burger. In addition to burgers, they also serve chicken sandwiches, soups and salads. The restaurant also has a private room in the back that can seat up to 40 people for meetings or special events. 

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Owen's Fish Camp - 516 Burns Lane

Owen's Fish Camp is named for Sarasota visionary, real estate magnate and avid fisherman, Owen Burns. The restaurant looks like an early 1900's fish camp and is located under an amazing banyan tree, serves a wide variety of southern-style food, including traditional fried baskets of fish and chips and fried oysters and shrimp. Owen's also offers a selection of entrees including steamed mussels, cornmeal crusted catfish and steak frites. They also serve salads, soups and sandwiches.

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Mr. Beery's - 2645 Mall Drive

Owner Mark Tuchman describes his intimate, craft beer bar, Mr. Beery's, which opened last January in  Gulf Gate Village, "Cheers with good beer". The bar, which does not allow smoking, has at any given time 24 microbrews on tap and 25 in bottles. This selection is rotated constantly and the bar has expanded recently to include a pool table, with plans for another and a foosball table, and a room with stadium seating and a large projector-screen tv that is used for sporting events, weekly movie nights and can be rented out for corporate meetings or special events.

The Pita Pit - 6500 Superior Avenue

The Pita Pit has been a welcome addition to Gulf Gate Village since opening last January. The restaurant serves a large selection of breakfast, meat and veggie pitas and also has salads. The signature dish at The Pita Pit is the Gyro and if you're hungry for breakfast at 3pm, you're in luck since breakfast is served all-day (and night) long.

Media On Main - 1341 Main Street

According to owner, Raff Perna, Media On Main, is where "tradition meets technology". Open since March 2010, Media On Main is a café, a bookstore and an Apple products reseller and repair center all under the same roof.  Located at the corner of Main Street and Palm Avenue, Media On Main is a great place to relax, have an espresso and read a book or newspaper.

Retropolitan - 437 Burns Court

Retropolitan, located in Burns Court, opened last July and calls itself a GastroPub. The restaurant serves an eclectic mix of gourmet southern-style dishes including fried green tomatoes, chicken livers and meatloaf. Manager, Kristin Morgan, says that all of the herbs are grown onsite and that they use local farmers and grocers as much as possible.

Veg -  2164 Gulf Gate Drive

Veg, located in the Gulf Gate Village, specializes in vegetarian and seafood dishes. The restaurant, which opened last February, offers a wide selection of healthy, freshly-prepared food, including the popular  Portabello Volcano.  Veg also has many vegan, low-sodium and gluten-free items on the menu. According to owners Marty and Maggie Glucklich, "Our cooking is back to basics. We want you to really taste the ingredients in everything we prepare."

The Blue Owl - 1507 Main Street

The Blue Owl, which opened on Main Street in September, is a new addition Sarasota's live music scene. The bar currently offers live music 3 nights a week and has an open mic night on Tuesday nights. In addition to serving beer and wine, they also serve coffee and espressos and have a limited menu of appetizers, sandwiches and desserts.

Braza - 1481 Main Street Sarasota

Braza, which opened in late 2009, is definitely a restaurant not to be left off of our list. The Brazilian steakhouse offers all you can eat grilled steak, chicken, pork and lamb with every meal and they also have a salad bar with over 40 hot and cold items. The meat is carved at your table by Brazilian chefs and while you're there you have to try the delicious, Caipirinha, a Brazilian cocktail that is made of Brazilian rum, sugar and lime.

Michelle's Brown Bag Cafe - 32 South Osprey Avenue

Michelle's Brown Bag Cafe has been serving up gourmet sandwiches, salads and soups since opening in March. The café is located in downtown Sarasota and already has a loyal following. The owner, Michelle Connor, opened the café after leaving Bar Harbor, Maine, where she ran Maine's busiest restaurant 6 months a year. "I really wanted to have a restaurant that was open year-round and my staff from Maine also works here, which is great." The café offers catering and free downtown delivery.  

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