S.W AND RICH HERMANSEN
Staff Writers
wine@lbknews.com
The somber fall of 2024 on Longboat Key and its devastating Hurricanes
seemed a distant memory as residents of the Sarasota area welcomed the Kiwanis Lawn Party by the Bay.
Except for last year, this annual event has raised tens of thousands of dollars to help kids in need. Led by the Event Chair, Michael Garey, co-owner of the Lazy Lobster restaurant on LBK, and staffed by a legion of volunteers, the Lawn Party provided a showcase for the hospitality industry on Longboat Key and its Sarasota and Manatee County neighbors.
This year the weather broke favorably for the event: pleasantly cool and dry sea breezes lightly overcast in the Ken Thompson Park on the end of City Island that juts out between two sides of Sarasota Bay. Restaurants and beverage distributors/importers brought ample quantities of samples of their popular offerings. Those attending received trays along with wrist bands. The trays held multiple food samples and a beverage glass. Some, including ours, had food samples stacked on one another.
The number and variety of food samples challenged our best efforts to evaluate all of them. One of the first volunteers to open close to the front gate, Pascone’s Ristorante, served a primo piatto of Orecchiette, and ear-shaped pasta from the Puglia region on the Adriatic side of Italy. This perfect first course had a light olive oil sauce flecked with bitter green herbs. Close by, the Resort at Longboat Key served an appetizing jerk-spiced Ahi Tuna on a bed of Edamame and Mango Relish. The Old Salty Dog on City Island served plump Coconut Shrimp with a raspberry sauce lightly spiked with jalapeño. Crab and Fin added ceviche tasting spoons, and Viento Kitchen at the Zoto Resort contributed a Maine Lobster Bisque. Ocean Prime in Sarasota plied us with another Ahi Tuna Tartare, this one with avocado, pickled ginger, and wontons, as did Tsunami Sushi with its Ahi Tuna Tower with crab, avocado, sauces and Masago. Michael Helmer of Winebow distributors poured what he described as an old for a white wine 2016 Cascinetta Muscato d’Ásti from the Piedmont region of Italy. This peaches and apricot sweet and low alcohol wine had over its years developed dried fruit and sherry flavors. It paired oddly but well with the meaty tuna, shellfish, olive, herbs, and tropical fruit flavors in this first course.
A second course of the shell and fin fish favored on the islands began with Daiquiri Deck Escabeche of Poached Shrimp, Scallops, and Lump Crab in citrus=tomato broth presented by Chef Jeremy Thayer, Lynn Veronica’s Spinach and Artichoke dip from Mean Deans in Bradenton, Harry’s Continental Kitchens’ Crabcake with Remoulade on Baby Arugula and Corn Salad, Lo’Key Seafood Chowder, and an authentic Seafood and Andouille Gumbo from Kacey’s Seafood and More. The Paella de Mariscos from Alma de España deserves mention as well. Salad courses to refresh the palate, the popular 1905 salad from the Columbia Restaurant, the Mediterranean Seafood Salad by Ringside at Cirque St. Armands Beachside, and the White Bean Hummus with roasted pine nuts from the Drift Kitchen and Bar at the Lido Beach Resort. To pair with these seafood dishes, Al Purpura of Vino Veritas Importers suggested the luscious 2023 Collefrisio white wines, blends of Pecorino, Trebbiano, and Falanghina grapes from Central Italy, and for more robust and meaty dishes the Sicilian 2020 Fueda Disisa Vuaria Nero D’Ávola red wine.
In a display of versatility, the Lazy Lobster on LBK prepared a savory braised rib with an Asian Glaze and Toasted Sesame Seeds on Smoked Gouda Grits. Nearby, the Café on St. Armands served Kefta, beef and lamb meatballs with saffron rice, pickled red onions, spicy feta, and tzatziki drizzle, Sara’s Italian Kitchen provided Meatballs in Marinara and Del Campo sauces, Gnocchi topped with Sausage, Mushrooms, Gorgonzola, Garlic, Olive Oil, and Cream. The Nero D’Avola matches up to these dishes, while the Lola Pinot Noir from California poured by that vineyard’s Florida Sales Manager Jordan Brewer paired well with the Stonewood Grill and Tavern Boursin Pork Chop with Pear Chutney and Fig Balsamic.
The next annual lawn party promises to bring another large sample of food and beverage selections in the Sarasota and Bradenton counties. Don’t miss these culinary and the chance to join in a good cause.
S. W. Hermansen has used his expertise in econometrics, data science and epidemiology to help develop research databases for the Pentagon, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Agriculture, and Health Resources and Services. He has visited premier vineyards and taste wines from major appellations in California, Oregon, New York State, and internationally from Tuscany and the Piedmont in Italy, the Ribera del Duero in Spain, the Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale in Australia, and the Otego Valley in New Zealand. Currently he splits time between residences in Chevy Chase, Maryland and St. Armand’s Circle in Florida.
Rich Hermansen selected has first wine list for a restaurant shortly after graduating from college with a degree in Mathematics. He has extensive service and management experience in the food and wine industry. Family and friends rate him as their favorite chef, bartender, and wine steward. He lives in Severna Park, Maryland.
