The Place: Ocean Blues, 1936 Hillview St., Sarasota, (941) 366-3010.
The Fare: A newish blues bar and restaurant in the redesigned space once occupied by New York New York serves bar food and main course dishes, many with a Cajun accent.
The Bottom Line: We’re recommending a seat at the bar and a trio of superior Chicago Stockyard sliders on little brioche buns with grilled onions and nearly miraculous housemade pickles for $8.50, washed down with a modest martini for $5. The gumbo garnished with fried okra is a good fallback at $5.50 the cup or $7.50 the bowl. If you’re nice, maybe they’ll even toss in a chunk of their really good cornbread.