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- π¦ A Two-Michelin-Star ReΜsumeΜ Lands in Southside Village
π¦ A Two-Michelin-Star ReΜsumeΜ Lands in Southside Village
Best Things To Do in SRQ: 7/30 - 8/2
Carson B
July 28, 2026
Happy Tuesday!
This week's Spotlight is a quiet showstopper: a chef who cooked in two-Michelin-star kitchens is now firing up paella over live flame in a little Southside Village room, and it might be the most interesting meal in town right now. Everywhere else on the calendar there's plenty to get into, with Celtic music all afternoon on Anna Maria, the Paradise back home for a Saturday-night match, and Tom Arnold doing two nights of stand-up at McCurdy's. Here's the rundown.
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In todayβs edition of the Sarasota Scoop:
Thanks for reading,
Carson
π§ Think You Know Sarasota? Trivia!
As local lore has it, one of our barrier islands was built up in the early 1900s by a man who'd made his fortune off a famous cookie. Which island did Charles Roser β the name tied to the Fig Newton β help develop? |
π° Local Headline Roundup
Sixteen Local Tables Just Picked Up Some Hardware
Sixteen Sarasota-Manatee restaurants earned 2026 Wine Spectator awards for their wine programs, with Michael's On East, Marcello's, The Capital Grille, and CW Prime at The St. Regis taking the second-highest "Best of Award of Excellence." Not bad for a region people still think of as a beach town.
Half a Million Dollars, Spread Around Town
The Community Foundation of Sarasota County handed out $507,255 in grants to 46 local nonprofits, backing everything from hunger relief and housing to literacy and mental health. Habitat for Humanity and St. Vincent de Paul CARES were among the groups getting a lift.
A Downtown Tower That Leaves Room for the Rest of Us
GSP Development's 18-story Saravela project cleared the city planning board, bringing 282 condos downtown β 40 of them set aside as attainable housing β plus ground-floor retail, added public parking, and wider sidewalks. A high-rise that builds in a little breathing room for middle-income neighbors is a rare thing worth noting.
π¦ Spotlight: Alma de EspaΓ±a
Every so often a kitchen opens here with a rΓ©sumΓ© that stops you cold. Alma de EspaΓ±a, tucked into a small Southside Village storefront on Osprey Avenue, is run by Elier Rodriguez, a chef who grew up on his grandfather's tobacco farm in Cuba learning to cook at his grandmother Cacha's side, then trained at Le Cordon Bleu in Atlanta and spent two decades in some of the most rarefied kitchens in the country. The list is a mouthful: the Ritz-Carlton Atlanta, the Fontainebleau in Miami Beach, Le Cirque in Las Vegas, and Picasso, the two-Michelin-star room at the Bellagio. That's the kind of pedigree that usually stays in Vegas and Miami, and now it's cooking on a neighborhood corner in Sarasota.
The concept is "Soul of Spain" β Spanish tapas and a wood-fired grill, with Rodriguez's Cuban roots woven through it. He calls the place a tribute to his past and a love letter to the flavors he grew up with, and the menu backs it up: paella and seared scallops, empanadas and croquettes, slow-cooked oxtail, all leaning on smoked paprika, saffron, and the char of live flame. It landed in the former Ka Papa space, so if you knew that corner, this is a full reinvention rather than a tweak.
Go for dinner and make it a leisurely one β this is a room built for grazing across small plates rather than rushing a single entrΓ©e. The kitchen runs dinner Tuesday through Sunday and adds lunch on Friday and Saturday; reservations are the safe move on a weekend, and there's parking around back. It's the kind of ambitious, easy-to-miss spot that rewards the people who find it early.
The scoop: Alma de EspaΓ±a, Southside Village.
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Thursday, July 30
Summer Circus Spectacular
π Historic Asolo Theater at The Ringling, 5401 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota
π¦ 11:00 AM & 2:00 PM (through Aug 8)
π The Ringling
Dog Mom (Closing Weekend)
π Florida Studio Theatre, Keating Theatre, 1241 N Palm Ave, Sarasota
π¦ 7:00 PM (through Aug 3)
π Florida Studio Theatre
Public Art Dedication: "Swing" by Michael DiCarlo
π Payne Park Tennis Center Courtyard, 2050 Adams Ln, Sarasota
π¦ 11:00 AM (free)
π Sarasota Arts
Laser Light Nights: Laser Motown
π Bishop Museum of Science and Nature, 201 10th St W, Bradenton
π¦ 6:00 PM (doors 5:30 PM)
π Bishop Museum
Friday, July 31
Head Over Heels
π Venice Theatre, 140 W Tampa Ave, Venice
π¦ 7:30 PM (also Sat; through Aug 8)
π Venice Theatre
Tom Arnold: My Crazy X-Wife Tour
π McCurdy's Comedy Theatre, 1923 Ringling Blvd, Sarasota
π¦ 6:30 PM & 8:50 PM (also Sat)
π McCurdy's Comedy
Classic Movies at the Opera House: Gigi (1958)
π Sarasota Opera House, 61 N Pineapple Ave, Sarasota
π¦ 7:00 PM
π Sarasota Arts
Jazz Cabaret Night
π Downtown Wellen Park, 19745 Wellen Park Blvd, Venice
π¦ 7:00 PM β 10:00 PM
π Wellen Park
Smell & Paint: Floral Art and Aromatherapy Experience
π Gaze Gallery, 320 Central Ave, Sarasota
π¦ 2:00 PM
π Eventbrite
The Amazing Purple Martin
π North Port Library, 13800 Tamiami Trail, North Port
π¦ 2:00 PM β 3:30 PM (free)
π Sarasota Libraries
Randy McNeeley Band
π Motorworks Brewing, 1014 9th St W, Bradenton
π¦ 7:00 PM
π Motorworks Brewing
Saturday, August 1
Celtic Summer Jam (4th Annual)
π Freckled Fin Irish Pub, 5337 Gulf Dr, Holmes Beach
π¦ 1:00 PM β 10:30 PM (free)
π Freckled Fin
Sarasota Paradise vs. FC Naples
π Premier Sports Campus, 5895 Post Blvd, Lakewood Ranch
π¦ 7:30 PM
π Lakewood Ranch
Bubbles Under the Banyans: Spheres Bubble Show
π Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, 1534 Mound St, Sarasota
π¦ 10:00 AM β 12:00 PM
π Selby Gardens
A Taste of the Ranch
π Waterside Place, 7500 Island Cove Terrace, Lakewood Ranch
π¦ All day (final day; participating restaurant hours)
π Lakewood Ranch
Tree Fort Toasts: Champagne Tasting + Some Like It Hot
π Tree Fort Productions, 3501 S Tamiami Trail, Suite 136, Sarasota
π¦ 6:00 PM β 9:00 PM
π Eventbrite
Laser Light Nights: The Laser Upside Down (Stranger Things)
π Bishop Museum of Science and Nature, 201 10th St W, Bradenton
π¦ 6:00 PM
π Bishop Museum
The Smokin' Pineapples
π Pop's Sunset Grill, 112 Circuit Rd, Nokomis
π¦ 6:00 PM
π Pop's Sunset Grill
Tavo Tiki Tunes
π Sharky's on the Pier, 1600 Harbor Dr S, Venice
π¦ 7:00 PM
π Sharky's on the Pier
Sunday, August 2
Doug Deming & The Jewel Tones: Blues Brunch
π Mattison's Riverwalk, Bradenton
π¦ 11:00 AM
π Mattison's
Vital Groove
π Pop's Sunset Grill, 112 Circuit Rd, Nokomis
π¦ 6:00 PM
π Pop's Sunset Grill
Dave Signs
π Sharky's on the Pier, 1600 Harbor Dr S, Venice
π¦ 5:30 PM β 9:30 PM
π Sharky's on the Pier
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