Michael’s on East has laid a prix-fixe table for restaurant week since the start. “When Savor Sarasota began in 2006, we were proud to be among the first restaurants to participate,” says co-proprietor Michael Klauber. He calls it an honor to support “this celebration of Sarasota’s vibrant dining scene.” For Savor’s 21st year, the beloved restaurant extends its three-course menu through the end of June.
First, the mood. Think classy supper club. Cognac leather chairs pull up to black linen tables. A palm mural sweeps one wall, a Deco-swirled carpet underfoot. A shaded table lamp casts a sultry glow. Your server can riff on the menu, trade in banter and still know when to recede. Courses arrive ideally timed, leaving space for patter and powder. Old-school in the best sense.
The Savor lineup tours Michael’s monthly Epicurean menus, each devoted to a country for “a unique culinary experience,” Klauber says. “They’ve become a signature tradition.” This journey spans China to Jamaica. First, bread service: a wedge of country Italian nestles a brown raisin bread and an Indian papadum, blistered and golden. Then there’s octopus, braised Galician-style till it surrenders its chew, the pieces finished hot then tossed with chorizo, roasted fennel and a cohesive chipotle aioli. Diners after a different route can look to Mexico: Azteca soup with roasted chicken and guajillo-tomato…