Page 11 - Spring/Summer Taste Magazine

Enjoy a terrific Peruvian meal at Inkawasi in Lakewood Ranch
been my experience here
and the inviting and well
designed interior is a pleas-
ure to enjoy a lunch or din-
ner or drink. Comfortable and inviting with fantas-
tic and authentic Peruvian food to match. The food? How about OctopusinAnticuchoSauce -SpanishoctopusgrilledwithPeruvianantic- ucho sauce paired with potatoes and Huancaina cream or Empanadas / Turnovers - turnovers, stuffed with ground beef, chicken in Peruvian Yellow Pepper cream. For ceviche try the Ceviche Inkawasi - fish and shrimp mari- nated with their Peruvian Yellow Pepper ceviche sauce or Ceviche Clásico - Traditional Peruvian dishes made mainly with raw fish, marinated in lime juice, paired with sweet potato, choclo and Peruvian toasted corn. I’ll have to try the Flamed Seafood Salad, a wok-seared seafood mix with a touch of extra virgin olive oil and red peppers over a bed of lettuce and tomatoes and their house made vinaigrette.
Beef entrees feature Tacu Tacu - white rice, pinto beans and Peruvian seasonings mixed and pan fried with Flamed Tenderloin, Steak, Stir Fry sirloin or beef stew. Fish offerings include Snapper, Branzino and Shrimp, Grouper and a Peruvian Seafood Paella amongst some of the choices. They refuse to compromise on quality in their restaurant which is why they source their fresh ingredients from local farmers' markets. Good for them! A global wine and beer list offer some nice choices. Weekly spe- cials include Sundays 12pm-2pm unlimited red sangria for $15, Mondays 6pm to close 50% off select wines by the glass, Tuesdays 50% off wine bot- tles all day, Wednesdays 5pm to close 50% off all beers and live music every weekend.
Inkawasi restaurant is available for prepared food for private events, weddings, business lunches, dinners, cocktail receptions, and more. Give them a call to discuss how to be a part of your next event, or stop in today for an excellent meal.
From Sicily to the Gulf of Mexico, wow! The Santagati family moved from Italy to Florida in 2017. With an extensive background in the hospitality business, they opened their first restaurant – Isola Bella Italian
Eatery in Holmes Beach at 5904 Marina Drive (941-242-5309) – after falling in love with the location. Their traditional and authentic Italian food has been pleasing the palate of both residents and tourists and recently Isola Bella has been awarded “Travelers’ Choice 2020” by TripAdvisor for being in the top 10% of restaurants worldwide! Terrific! Their expanded outdoor dining area is wonderful and so nice to see repeat customers coming here regularly. They are the #1 in Anna Maria Island for Italian restaurant category voted by The Sun readers. Congratulations, well deserved.
In February 2020, they opened a second restaurant on Longboat Key – La Norma, located at 5370 Gulf of Mexico Drive (941- 383-6262) – where they also added Italian-style pizza to their traditional menu. La Norma has quickly become very popular on Longboat Key not only for the quality of their dishes but also for the great atmosphere enhanced by the live music events hosted on a weekly basis (Mondays and Thursdays from 6pm to 9pm) in their beautiful Mediterranean-style patio.
Recently, the Santagatis have expanded their offer by adding a new outlet The Italian Takeout – located right next to La Norma and dedi-
Celebrating 30 Years! Taste Dining & Travel • Spring More online at www.tasteweb.net
11
Isola Bella in Holmes Beach serves authentic, fresh pasta in their outdoor and indoor ristorante.
cated to take-away pizza, deli, fresh produce market, private party catering, delivery and much more.
The family story begins in Sicily at the foothills of Mount Etna, the ever-active volcano that lights up the night sky with its red, scary, majes- tic beauty. This is where the Santagatis comes from: the very center of the Mediterranean Sea, full of blinding sunlight, continuous breezes bringing unique scents and aromas from the past. And this is what they try and bring to your table nightly for dinner. The old family recipes, the deep knowledge of their tradition, the thorough search for the best ingredients and the ability to combine them together with their own passionate touch show that the family and staff really care about what they do.