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Sarasota Magazine

February 2026

Best Restaurants 2026

Plus: Is Joe Gruters a nice guy? Your 2026 wedding guide, restaurant reviews, home tours and more.

In this issue:

Arts & Entertainment

Art of the Ark

Joel Sartore’s Images of Endangered Species for the National Geographic Photo Ark May Be Crucial to Saving Wildlife

Sartore will come to Sarasota this month to show some of his images and share stories of his work in a Ringling College Town Hall program at the Van Wezel.

02/07/2026 By Kay Kipling

Final Frame

Sabrina Small Investigates What’s Behind the Mask in Her Drawings, Paintings and Stitchwork

"I’ve always been attracted to the underbelly of human nature and in myself and finding the beauty in the darkness,” Small says

02/01/2026 By Susan Burns

Eat & Drink

Best Restaurants 2026

Giuseppe Del Sole Leads Osteria 500 With a Smile, a Lot of Pasta and Inspiration From His Mother’s Home Cooking

“My mother is 87 and still cooking. She gave me a gift, this love for food.”

02/03/2026 By Lauren Jackson

Best Restaurants 2026

Rich Knowles’ Years of Working in Restaurants Around the World Come Full Circle at enRich Bistro

“I’m the oldest of six kids. I was making fajitas for my siblings around age 10.”

02/03/2026 By Lauren Jackson

Best Restaurants 2026

Chef Chompoonuck “Joy” Dilbert Brings the Flavors of Thailand to Sarasota

“I do love Thai food. But I also dream about when I can eat Cheetos or have carbonara pasta.”

02/03/2026 By Lauren Jackson

Simply the Best

The Best Restaurants in Sarasota

Our list of the 33 most fabulous restaurants in Sarasota and Manatee.

02/03/2026 By Lauren Jackson

Oh La La!

Creative Cocktails Reign at Mimi's Brasserie & Speakeasy

Sneak through the dining room after 5 p.m. for the full speakeasy experience.

02/02/2026 By Lauren Jackson

Taste of the Middle East

Olive Eats Is All About Freshness and a Love of Good Food

Chef Emad Al-Masri manages to make all of his food from scratch with a freshness and flavor that started packing the place with customers as soon as it opened.

02/02/2026 By Isaac Eger

Fashion & Shopping

The New Bride's Checklist

Getting Married This Year? Here’s What You Need to Know.

We pored over industry trends and talked to local experts—from planners to florists to wedding-day content curators—to find out exactly what to know if you’re getting married in Sarasota in 2026.

02/07/2026 By Megan McDonald

Conversation Hearts

All You Need Is Love— and These Five Gifts

Get your partner something they’ll actually want for Valentine’s Day.

02/03/2026 By Megan McDonald

Made in Sarasota

Evan Nicolaides Makes Award-Winning Heirloom Knives in His Sarasota Studio

Every Esnyx knife is made made by hand and based on a design that dates back to the 1700s. "There's a lot of soul to them," he says.

02/03/2026 By Megan McDonald

Health & Fitness

Smoke Signals

Florida's Cannabis Landscape Is Growing Like a Weed

There are nearly 1 million registered cannabis patients throughout the state, and roughly 20,000 in Sarasota County.

02/07/2026 By Kim Doleatto

Home & Real Estate

A New Home With an Old Soul

Home Tour: In Cherokee Park, a Young Family Creates Their Dream Home and Honors the Past

At first, it’s hard to tell whether the house, built in 2024 and named Watersound, is brand-new or simply meticulously kept over the decades.

02/07/2026 By Kim Doleatto

The Rundown

Inside the Sarasota Succulent Society

The society was started by Walter Sparkman, who built his home there in the 1930s.

02/02/2026 By Susan Burns

News & City Life

Flashback

Photo: The Bradentown B’s Baseball Team, ca. 1900

The team, pictured here in front of Braden Castle, was likely one of  several neighborhood groups made up of young people playing in sandlots.

02/05/2026 By Megan McDonald

Farming 101

One of Sarasota County’s Newest Programs, the Farm, Teaches Agricultural Skills and Life Lessons

The Farm’s entire philosophy comes back to using agriculture as a holistic teaching tool.

02/05/2026 By Lauren Jackson

Mr. Nice Guy

Mr. Gruters Goes to Washington

Congenial new RNC chair Joe Gruters juggles Trump, midterms and a fractious Republican Party. How long can he keep smiling?

02/03/2026 By Isaac Eger

In Their Own Words

Attorney Janella Leibovitz Gives Foster Kids a Voice in Court

Leibovitz oversees Legal Aid of Manasota's Legal Lifeline for Youth program, which provides comprehensive legal representation to kids in Sarasota and Manatee counties.

02/03/2026 By Megan McDonald

Did That Really Happen?

Recent You-Can’t-Make-Them-Up Headlines From Sarasota

An alligator eviction, reconsidering the phrase "armed with knowledge," plant theft and wondering if manatees need a side hustle.

02/03/2026 By Staff

A Tale of Tariffs

How Are Tariffs Affecting Sarasota Coffee Shops?

“Tariffs puts everyone in this strange position where you are punished for doing good long-term deals.”

02/02/2026 By Isaac Eger

Travel & Outdoors

Revving Up for a Cause

Guy Hollis’ Motorcycle Passion Supports Thunder by the Bay and Children

The public can view some of Hollis' collection Feb. 13-15 at the Sarasota Fairgrounds.

02/07/2026 By Susan Burrns

At Sarasota Magazine, we celebrate Sarasota’s vibrant culture, rich history, and bright future with award-winning, high-quality content that captures the spirit of our community.

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