Weekend Cooking- Louies Modern in Sarasota, Florida

This post is part of Beth Fish Reads' Weekend Cooking.  If you have anything related to food, cookbook reviews, novel or non-fiction book reviews, recipes, movie reviews, etc., head over to Beth Fish Reads and add your post. Or, if you want to read food related posts, head over to read what some interesting people have to say about food.

We visited friends in Sarasota, Florida a few weeks ago and we went to dinner at a wonderful restaurant in the lovely downtown area,  Louies Modern.

First we made a stop at Bookstore 1, which is a wonderful place to find a good read. The store is welcoming, and their organization and displays are carefully thought out and curated. I could have spent hours browsing there. The staff was very helpful and friendly too. If you ever find yourselves in downtown Sarasota, stop by Bookstore 1.

Bookstore 1 (Photo from website)

Then it was on to dinner at Louies Modern. You walk into a large welcoming bar area on the left, with a wall opposite the bar filled with tons of bottles of wine. They have an extensive wine and cocktail menu, something for everyone's taste.

Bar area of Louie Modern (photo from website)

The dining room is huge, which is very different form most Manhattan restaurants. It's a very open area, with high ceilings and the kitchen is open all along the far wall. If you like watching the action in the kitchen, get a table close to it.

The kitchen area is on the right (photo from website)

I liked the menu, it was inventive without being too precious. They had a special Savor Sarasota menu, with three courses for just $29, and I chose from that one. I started with the Louis 1289 Salad, which was organic greens and hearts of palm with strawberries, shaved heirloom carrots and goji berry vinaigrette. It was delicious and I never would have thought to combine carrots and strawberries. The dressing was refreshing and light.

For my entree, I chose the Rotisserie All Natural Chicken, glazed with agave honey, and served on top of a poblano romesco sauce. Again, not a combination I thought would work, but it was fantastic. I'm not a big romesco sauce fan either, but the sweetness of the glaze and the spice of the poblano romesco sauce complimented each other so well.

The hit of the meal was the side serving of carmelized mashed cauliflower. I have never had mashed cauliflower, but this was so incredibly tasty, I could have eaten an entire meal of it. I will definitely be on the prowl for a good cauliflower mash recipe that I can substitute for mashed potatoes when I cook.

My husband and I shared the Peruvian Chocolate Gateaux, served with an anglaise sauce, which was a fine end to the meal.

Our dining companion had the Burrata for an appetizer, which is served with a local tomato salad, pickled cippolini, and a foccacia stick, all served on a salt plate. This is one of Louie Modern's signature dishes, and it has such an creative plating.

Burrata served on a salt plate (photo from website)

Our trip to downtown Sarasota was a quick one, but I would love to return when I have more time to explore this lovely area.

Louie Modern's website is here.