To be honest, I was having withdrawal. After four years of living within walking distance of Mandola’s Italian Market and Bakery in Austin, it was a shock to discover there was no Italian market nor Italian bakery in Bradenton. We even asked at an Italian restaurant if there was a place to get just a fresh loaf of Italian bread and the owner admitted he bought his daily supply from Publix. So you can imagine my delight when we were in the Gulfgate area of Sarasota and there in its gleaming glory was Il Panificio just waiting to be explored.
Il Panificio literally means "bakery" but this treasure of a destination in Gulfgate is so much more. If the day is pleasantly warm, portions of the exterior walls open to provide al fresco dining. What could be more inviting than not even having to open a door to partake of beautiful food! It’s hard to know what to order first here.
Had we not been full of beer and fries from Sarasota Brewing Company across the street we certainly would have tried several different slices of pizza that looked and smelled fabulous. There are long deli cases of meats and cheeses, olives and salads. You can order sandwiches and entrees, beer, wine or coffee. And then there are the desserts…oh my.
We settled on cappuccino and espresso and a couple of chocolate-dipped butter cookies. Excellent choice. You can get a cappuccino just about anywhere these days but there is nothing that matches real espresso from an Italian market while sitting in the January sun. We watched as people browsed and left with boxes of cakes, tortes, cookies and exquisite, hand-tossed thin crust pizzas. You know you’re some place fabulous when you can’t decide whether to have the pizza or the cookies first.
Our barista and cookie wrangler was Roberto “Bob” Alvarez, who seems to wear many hats at Il Panificio, including offering Italian language classes, some of which meet right there at the restaurant for breakfast. Brilliant! We chatted briefly as I took photographs and Jamie noticed from our table that Bob turned on the million dollar smile for the photograph that would go in the blog. I bet those language classes fill up fast! http://www.learnitalian.us/li/
Il Panficio has another location in downtown Sarasota that will surely be a destination the next time we hit the Farmers Market or need something exotic from Whole Foods. For now, you can bet our next trip to Gulfgate will surely begin or end with a visit to Il Panificio.
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