First Street Chop House Brings Prime Steak Back to Downtown Sarasota

SARASOTA -- When I moved to Sarasota from New York a decade ago, I was shocked to find that while the restaurant scene was quite impressive, steak was definitely not a favored theme. While there were quite a few local restaurants to offer a good cut, including the perfect prime rib at Michael's on East and the exquisite pepper steak at Euphemia Haye, the only ”steakhouses“ to be found were off the interstate and largely of the inedible, Steak and Ale/Lonestar/Longhorn variety.

That's why I was thrilled when Zak's Prime finally gave downtown SRQ a genuine steakhouse (though upscale chains like Fleming's and Ruth's Chris had since opened in south county and Ohio-based Hyde Park would follow). Zak's was a very good restaurant with excellent steak, good ambiance and a rich, creamy au gratin potato that was to die for. Unfortunately, it fell victim to the recession economics that took no less than five Sarasota fine-dining eateries with it and shuttered last year.

Alas, the First Street Chop House has emerged, again providing the area with a bona fide, local steak-slinger in the heart of the scenic downtown. Housed in the beautiful ivory-clad building adjacent to the recently-renovated Sarasota Opera House, the First Street Chop House provides an atmosphere on par with the best restaurants of any major city – and the meat to match.

We ate in the upstairs section, which is a bit less formal than the downstairs dining room and comes with the additional bonus of live piano bar music starting at 7 p.m. (Wed. through Sat.). Piano/vocalist Bill Carrera is quite good and is often joined by the singing bartender, John Russo, who impressively belts out baritone ballads while he mixes cocktails behind the bar.

The New York Strip was a perfectly choice cut and the rare came with a truly cool and pink center, just as I'd specified. My friends who'd had a ”Pittsburged“ (charred-rare) New York strip and filet mignon were equally impressed, while my son raved over the duck burger sliders (available as an appetizer).

First Street Chop House offers a small, but competent and reasonably priced wine list and has a complete menu of specialty martini's. The dessert menu had several interesting offerings, but the limoncello lava cake is a must-try. We found our service to be very good – attentive, yet not smothering and the overall value of the meal was quite impressive, easily the best price for a true fine-dining experience in that particular area.

The location has been a difficult one to overcome for other ventures, so I was encouraged to find a packed house upstairs and down on a recent Saturday night. I'd last eaten there when it was Munroe's, another excellent restaurant that I was also sad to see go. It has had several failed tenants since. Across the street from the venerable Bijou Cafe, truly one of the best eateries in the area, I predict it will draw well from Bijou regulars who see it in passing and give it a shot – such fans of fine dining are sure to be impressed and I suspect you will too.

First Street Chop House
1296 First Street
Sarasota
email for reservations

Lunch: 11:30 a.m.- 2 p.m. Monday – Saturday
Dinner: 4 p.m. - 10 p.m. Monday-Thursday
5 p.m. - 11 p.m. Friday & Saturday,
Sunday: Brunch 11:30 a.m. - 2.pm.; dinner 5 p.m. - 9 p.m.