ocdhope

While in Sarasota for one night on business last week, I happened to stumble quite accidentally upon an Italian restaurant that is easily one of the best restaurant "finds" I've encountered in many years of travel. It is called "Cuoco Matto" and it's located at 1603 Tamiami Trail N. Sarasota, phone 941-365-0000. This charming trattoria serves up scrumptious food, in a charming setting with excellent service. I've eaten mussles and pasta in many restaurants, and this was one of the best I've ever had, anywhere. The soup was excellent, and dessert was a dream. The place is packed with locals who appreciate great food. Don't miss a visit to this wonderful place next time you're in the Sarasota/Clearwater area.

logandog

Smells like a commercial.

Patrick

This post is so interesting, particularly the second post. It took me a while to figure out what "smells like a commercial" refers to.

I've eaten there many times (at least a dozen in the last three or four years) after the theatre at Asolo, because it is one of the very few restaurants in Sarasota that serves until 11 even during week nights. I used to really like it. The food is generally good and it is amazingly inexpensive.

But the smell has driven me away. Maybe it's because we usually go late, and they are cleaning up, but the place invariable smells like disinfectant! I finally realized that part of the problem is what they wipe the tables down with. If they clean the table next to me, I'm subjected to that horrible antiseptic smell. And one time they started mopping the tile floors in the larger dining room as they were closing it down. The smelly mop water was far too disgusting for me.

But to top this off, last time I had rack of lamb (oddly enough they call it "lamb chop", but it is a full rack of grilled baby lamb that has always been wonderful and costs somthing like $17). This time it was frozen tasting, and was swimming in some sort of horrible mustard sauce unlike the way they had always served it before. Also the side of pasta was simply inedible. It tasted medicinal -- at first I thought it was just the smell of the mop water, but no, it was as if the pasta had been boiled in chlorine or something. Neither of us could eat it at all.

We won't be going back.

So, logandog, you are right. But it isn't the post that "smells like a commercial" -- it is the entire restaurant that smells!! And interestingly enough -- ocdhope is partially right. The place used to be packed with locals. Driving by before the theatre we used to see them lined up at the door at 7:30. But no more. In fact we have noticed recently every time we go by now at that hour, the place looks half empty. Have the locals caught on as well? And is this an attempt to get them back again or now to go after tourists?

I found it amazing that ocdhope has never posted anything on Fodor's before. He or she just registered this name to make this post???? Eating at this restaurant is the only travel experience of his(her) life that has ever been worth posting about????

LilMsFoodie

Hmmmm. First post? Only post? Scram. These kind of self-serving posts do your employer no good.

Sherry

My "radar" went up reading the post when the phone number was supplied. What are the chances that a "traveller" who stumbles across a restaurant, has the establishments' phone number handy? And then yes, the one post only thing really sealed it for me. Thanks Patrick for giving us the "real" goods on this place.

Ann41

"This charming trattoria" is phrase that sealed it for me. Sounds like it came directly from one of those restaurant ads disguised as a review in those city guides you get in hotel rooms.