After spotlighting local restaurants and their cocktails for a Set the Bar week in October, the Sarasota-Manatee Originals will soon hold a similar days-long celebration for their food dishes.
The organization comprising more than 60 independently owned area restaurants will hold the inaugural Original Eats from Friday to Jan. 31, with Sarasota-based, national deli company Boar s Head serving as sponsor. The event is set to feature around 30 restaurants highlighting signature dishes, with several offering discounts and/or dish pairings.
Sarasota-Manatee Originals shifted Set the Bar from a cocktail competition night to a weeklong event at several restaurants last year due to the pandemic. The organization also presents the annual Forks & Corks Food and Wine Festival, which was moved to April and May this year as it determines the best way to hold events.
Sam Woolf
Singer-songwriter Sam Woolf, who reached the finals on the 13th season of American Idol while a senior at Braden River High School, will return to the area for a show at Sarasota venue The Blue Rooster. Woolf continued to pursue a musical career after American Idol, recently releasing the mellow pop single Ease My Mind and multiple collaborations with duo The Como Brothers. He s also stayed busy during the pandemic performing livestream concerts, including a 360-degree show using virtual reality headsets. 7 p.m. today; The Blue Rooster, 1525 Fourth St., Sarasota; $10; 941-388-7539; blueroostersrq.com
Big Al and the Heavyweights