IL Panificio

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.

Gulf Gate on Dwellable

Gulf Gate Gastronomy

photo from http://cookerycourses.blogspot.com/

 As so often happens, it was all because of pork pies.  Knowing that nothing makes Mr. Pearson happier than a good pork pie, I had been trolling the internet for British markets in the area where I might find him pies to rival the exquisite visions made by Lewis & Cooper back in the Yorkshire village of Northallerton where the Grands live.  I was delighted to find a little shop with a tea room in the Gulf Gate Village area of Sarasota that looked promising.  I also did a search for oriental markets as it’s hard to find rice noodles for me in the grocery stores and son of a gun if it wasn’t next door to the British shop.  That was a done deal for us.  We grabbed the cooler and hit I-75 for the easy journey south.

Drive past the shopping mall at the head of Gulf Gate off the Tamiami Trail and you will find a treasure trove of bakeries, pubs and specialty shops along with the ubiquitous nail salons and dog grooming parlors.  The British shop was, to be honest, a disappointment. The prices were a bit too dear and the selection of goods wasn’t especially inspiring, though we did leave with a little tin of John West Dressed Crabmeat.  Happily, the visit next door to Oriental Food and Gifts was a jackpot.

This place is packed to the ceiling with just about any foodstuff from the far east you could need.  We left with tofu, gyoza, fish sauce, miso soup, cumin, noodles, soft ginger candies, chrysanthemum tea, shrimp crackers, hoisin sauce, coconut milk,  Chinese herbal medicine for my cough and other items Jamie uses in his Thai and Indian dishes.  On Saturdays they offer fresh Korean sushi and the place was packed!

 I realize that what I love most about shopping in markets full of items from other countries is the packaging. Given the choice between a bottle of soy sauce with a photo of some lo mein and one with a drawing of a panda eating bamboo, I’m going to buy the panda every time.  For us, there is something satisfying about opening the cupboard to see foreign alphabets and languages on brightly colored packages, a way of traveling via food to places you want to explore.  Brilliant!

We were also in the Gulf Gate area to visit the Sarasota Brewing Company brew pub but not before being lured into Ooh-La-La French Bakery and Creperie. Step through the door and you are greeted by pastry that qualifies as art.  I was so excited I forgot to take photos so visit their Facebook page for delectible pix . Such a beautiful assortment of deliciousness awaits you that it’s hard to make a choice but we did.  Jamie ordered an espresso for then and a raisin croissant for later.  I selected a small lemon tart that we’ll have for pudding tonight perhaps with fresh strawberries from O’Brien Family Farms not far from us. (Yes, finally strawberries with taste!)

From espresso to beer is not such a big leap if you’re a Yorkshireman (or married to one!) so we walked just a block and sat ourselves down at Sarasota Brewing Company.  The pub is full of tankards and televisions and nice staff, though it’s really dark inside and hard to read the menu.  It’s clear the place has a lot of regulars judging by the personalize jugs everywhere.  Tables and bars are tucked around the brewing equipment. Jamie had two pints of their current IPA that he totally enjoyed. I tried the Sequoia Amber Lager which was quite yummy, though the waitress brought a full pint when I had only wanted a half.  Fortunately, Mr. Pearson is a champion of beers in distress and finished the glass for me.  While Jamie loved the beer, I don’t know that I’d bother to go back to Sarasota Brewing, not when there are many more places to explore or known fabulous spots like Dunedin Brewery north of Tampa which come to think of it, we’ll visit again and write about!

Our final stop on this day was Il Panificio, an Italian bakery/market that was so delicious it deserves its own entry. Thanks for visiting Gulf Gate with us and see you at the Il Panificio blog above just as soon as I write it!

Condiment Confidential

If variety is the spice of life then spices mark the variety of life.  We came to that profound observation when we opened the cupboards and fridge in search of a snack only to find a mere handful of things to actually eat. What we do have is a staggering assortment of sauces and spices.  I don't just mean a few jars of this and that.  Have a look.

-two types of mayonaise   olive oil and regular

-three types of mustard   hot, spicy brown, and sweet german

-four types of salt    sea salt from Maine, sea salt from Cornwall, kosher salt and Jane's

-four types of vinegar  (down from six!)  rice wine, apple cider, balsamic, malt pub

For chinese, indian, mexican and thai cooking

-two types of soy sauce    with and without wheat

-tamarind paste

-beef madras spices for curry sent specially from England

-fish sauce, hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, mirin, sesame oil

-mustard seeds, cumin seeds, sesame seeds, poppy seeds

-taco spices, chili powder, paprika

-dried chiles, coriander

The standards for italian cookery

-two types of olive oil

-basil, oregano, sage, pepper, garlic, anise seed

Baking supplies

-cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, nutmeg

-vanilla, almond, lemon, orange extracts

-three types of chocolate

Mr Pearson staples

-two types of HP Sauce and a bottle of Daddy's

-maple syrup

-two types of honey     wildflower (from India??) and orange blossom (from Zolfo Springs)

-three kinds of hot sauce  (one home made)

What's in your cupboards?



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A Proper Pie

Any time we see a British flag advertising something we immediately become curious. But if there is a British flag and the words "British Groceries" that's enough for slamming on the brakes and doing a quick U-turn. That is unless you are barreling down Route 27 in central Florida at eight in the evening trying to keep with the people who have all your worldly possessions in a cargo trailer as they careen towards their home in Sebring, Florida.  I don't know how Jamie clocked that sign in the gloaming but he did and some several weeks later we went back up Rt. 27 in search of it.

It turns out The Proper Pie Company is located 50 miles north of Sebring in Davenport, Florida. We made our third pilgrimage there last week and as ever, it was worth the drive.  Being married to an Englishman, the name Proper Pie Company immediately made me chuckle.  I'm told that prospective travellers to America of the British persuasion are often concerned that while on holiday here they won't be able to get "a proper pint, a proper pie or proper cup of tea."  Well there's no worries about the pies, mate, I assure you. While "pie" typically means a sweet filling here in the States, for a Yorkshireman it immediately brings to mind fillings like 'steak and kidney' and 'steak and Guinness'.  The Proper Pie Company has those and more.

When you walk through the door it's hard to know where to look first.  Straight ahead is the counter and a glass domed cake plate full of fresh scones. Behind the scones is the kitchen where at any given time you will see pastries in all stages of production, including the blissful view of pies and pasties just coming out of the oven.  There is no way you cannot want something in this place.  To the right of the scones is a display cooler full of pastries ready to go home with you.  Cornish pasties.  Banger rolls. Scotch eggs.  And the pies. Steak and Guinness.  Steak and Mushroom.  Vegetable.  Chicken Curry.  Chicken and Asparagus and other savory combinations. Fruit pies, too.  And as if there isn't enough on the first two shelves to tempt you, the bottom shelf has different types of soda, like Tango and Vimto, as well as the American standards, and boxes of Mr. Kipling's Cherry Bakewells, Battenburgs, French Fancies and Viennese Whirls.

There's a whole selection of frozen options to put in the cooler--from fish fingers to Yorkshire puddings, back bacon and English bangers.  We couldn't resist the sausages nor the bacon so we got both as a house warming present for ourselves, even though we had two of the sausages yesterday for breakfast and we don't start moving until tomorrow.  The bangers are fantastic and reminded us instantly of the sausages we had for breakfast at the Edward Lear Hotel in London the morning of our fiancee visa interview at the US Embassy.

The rest of the shop is given over to decidedly British groceries.  Pots of jams and curds.  Jars of sauces.  Tins of Heinz beans and tomato soup.  PG Tips tea.  Readybrek, Weetabix and Porage. Boxes and boxes of Cadbury chocolate concoctions. Bags and bags of crisps (potato chips) and packets of McVities digestives. It's enough to make us both swoon and start piling things on the counter. To top it all off, the couple that runs The Proper Pie Company, Derek and Beverly Gibson, are just plain lovely to visit with. Here's a great article on them.

http://www.83degreesmedia.com/features/pies020811.aspx       

On our first visit, Beverly said to be sure and give them a call if we were heading up again and wanted a fresh pie as she would be happy to put one in the oven so it would be hot when we got there. When we told them last week that it would probably be our last visit for a while because of the move to Bradenton, they told us they have a booth at the soon to be nearby St. Petersburg Saturday Morning Market starting up in October and to be sure and give a call or send an email if we would like them to bring any groceries from the shop.  What treasures!  The Proper Pie Shop is one of our happiest finds in Florida.

Visit The Proper Pie Company online at http://www.theproperpiecompany.com/ for a look at their menu and mercantile and for directions to the shop plus a listing of the Farmers Markets where you can find them in several spots across Florida.  Have pies will travel!

Davenport on Dwellable