Sarasota - a crowded place over the holidays

A trip to Sarasota is not complete without a visit to the Ringling Museum of Art.

But art is not the only thing you will see at the Ringling Museum. There is also a circus museum and tours are available of the Ringling's beautiful winter home.

We also enjoyed the Selby Botanical Gardens, Jungle Gardens and many fantastic restaurants.

Quick Tips:

If you are visiting Sarasota in the season, either plan to eat early or eat late, as long lines form at all the popular restaurants.

In addition to long lines at restaurants, traffic can be a real problem on the Keys.

While the new bridge to Lido Key has really helped folks wanting to get to St. Armand's Circle, there are still drawbridges leading to Siesta Key and Longboat Key. If you are stopped by a drawbridge, shut your engine off and enjoy the surrounding scenery, because you will be there for a little while.

If you are planning a visit to St. Armand's Circle, grab the first parking place you see and then walk the rest of the way.

On a busy day, parking is almost nonexistent around this popular place.

Best Way To Get Around:

The best way to get around Sarasota is by car, which leads to some terrific traffic jams - especially around St. Armand's Circle.

It is very easy to describe our dining experience at the Columbia - FANTASTIC!!! This was the first restaurant we headed to when we arrived in Sarasota. Even though it was well after noon, there was still a sizeable crowd. We were seated at a table for two, right next to the sidewalk, so we had a ringside seat to watch the people walking around St. Armand's Circle. This was our first visit to the Columbia Restaurant in Sarasota, but not our first visit to a Columbia Restaurant. On previous trips to Florida, we had eaten at the restaurants in Ybor City (the original), St. Petersburg, Clearwater Beach and St. Augustine.

It didn't take us long to make up our minds as to what we wanted. We started with the Columbia's 1905 salad with its world famous salad dressing and Merluza, "Rissian Style." Our server, Nikki, mixed our salad right at our table. The 1905 salad is a mixture of crisp lettuce, with julienne of smoked ham, natural swiss cheese, fresh tomatoes, olives, grated romano cheese and topped off with the restaurant's famous garlic dressing. "Delicious" is the best way to describe the salad, which is served with fresh, hot Cuban bread. Both the Cuban bread and the salad dressing are available for purchase in the gift shop next door.

Our Merluza arrived just as we were finishing up our salads. This dish was created in the 1930's by the restaurant's famed chef, Francisco Pijuan, and is a delicate white fish that is lightly seasoned with Cuban bread crumbs and then pan fried and toppped with lemon butter, chopped egg and parsley. The dish is served with yellow rice, that is also available in the gift shop. This was not the first time for me to have merluza and it will definitely not be the last, as it was just as good or not better than the last time I had it at the St. Augustine location.

The Sarasota location was opened in 1959 and is the oldest restaurant in the city. The restaurant is open 365 days a year and serves lunch and dinner.

For our first breakfast in Sarasota, we decided to try the Hungry Fox and we are glad we did.

It was a beautiful Sunday morning, so we decided to sit on the deck so we could look out over St. Armands Circle. Although it was almost 10 a.m. there were very few dining in the bistro and even fewer on the circle. This is one of the few times during our visit to Sarasota that I saw the circle almost empty of cars.

Our server Jennifer was very friendly and offered us a free Mimosa to sip as we pondered our breakfast choices. It didn't take either of us long to decide that we wanted to try the crab cake benedict with grits. I asked if I could have my eggs fried instead of poached, which was not a problem, and my eggs were fried just the way I like them. Both my wife and I agreed that this had to be one of the best breakfasts we have ever eaten. The crabcake was truly a crab lovers delight with plenty of crab - not Krab. The grits were also delicious and were cooked just right - not soupy like some restaurants tend to cook them.

Jennifer also informed us that the bistro is also now open for dinner with nightly specials. While we never made it back for dinner we did eat our last breakfast at the bistro before departing Sarasota. We were not disappointed as we had the crabcake benedict and it was just as delicious as it had been on our first morning. I wish we had been able to eat lunch or dinner there but things did not work out that way. But you can best believe when we return to Sarasota, we will definitely eat lunch and dinner at the Hungry Fox, as well as crab cake benedict for breakfast.

After dining here it is easy to see why Barnacle Bill's was chosen as Best Seafood Restaurant for 2003 by Sarasota Magazine.

The restaurant, which has three locations, touts itself as having "no waterfront, no view, just great resort style seafood at neighborhood prices." The location, where we ate, is not really much to look at from the outside but what great seafood restaurant ever is? Once inside, we had about a twenty minute wait, as the restaurant was packed. After finishing my dinner I know the reason why.

The food is delicious and our waiter Craig made an excellent suggestion to my wife to try the Seafood Strudel. I had a bite---actually a couple of bites---of this lobster, crab, shrimp and scallops dish that is simmered in a savory seafood veloute and baked in phyllo pastry and garnished with lobster sauce. The dish comes as either a full dinner or a half dinner with my wife settling for a half dinner - which after it was served she was glad she did. The half dinner was more than enough for even those with a very hungry appetite.

Although I was tempted by several other items on the menu, including potato crusted grouper and stuffed grouper Katrina, I settled on the fried oysters and scallops, which were delicious. Looking over the restaurant's menu, one can find everything from fresh Maine lobsters to seafood chowder and everything in between.

We passed by the restaurant's downtown location on Main Street several times and there was always a crowd there too.

It is a good thing I don't live in Sarasota where I could visit this restaurant anytime I wanted to because I would weigh twice as much as I do now. Troyer's is just one of several restaurants located in Pinecraft, the Amish settlement of Sarasota, that features Amish style cooking. While many of the guide books tout the restaurant down the street, Yoder's, it may be because they haven't eaten here.

Like other restaurants in Sarasota, during the season, long lines form at the lunch and dinner hours. However, Troyer's broasted chicken is absolutely delicious and is definitely worth the wait in line. In order to beat the luncheon crowd, we came early and browsed through their gift shop and bakery while waiting for the restaurant to clear the tables from breakfast and get ready to serve lunch.

You also know the food must be good when many of those waiting in line with us were from the local Amish community.

It had been many years since I had eaten broasted chicken and Troyer's was even better than what I had eaten as a youngster. My wife and I ordered the 3 piece dinner--a breast, thigh, and a drumstick--along with two side orders for $7.35. My two side orders were the Amish potato cakes and coleslaw.

The homemade bread is absolutely delicious and I had to tell our waitress, Crystal, to not bring anymore before my chicken came because I would be too filled up on bread to eat my chicken!

While my chicken was delicious, there were several other items on the menu that were tempting, such as the roast beef and mashed potatoes.

Troyer's, like the other Amish restaurants, is open during the week but is closed on Sunday. Breakfast is served at 6 a.m. for any early risers, while lunch begins at 11 a.m. and dinner at 4 p.m., which features an all you can eat buffet.