SARASOTA – Psst. Hey buddy – wanna get buzzed without a Florida medical marijuana card? Legally? Welcome to Delta-8.
“It sneaks up on you and you realize, wait, you’re not under stress, or constantly thinking about things that bug you,” says Sarasota retailer Sam Schneider. “It affects everybody a little differently, but for me, it’s not euphoria, it’s more like looking out the window on a cold winter day with a cup of cocoa.
“It’s like one drink – not two.”
Schneider’s shop, Rocketman in Gulf Gate, has been stocking its shelves with counterculture consumer trends for 25 years, and caters only to ages 21 and up. And today’s hottest item – a legally available form of marijuana called Delta-8 – is a testament to the ingenuity of neuropharmacologists extracting the biggest bang for the buck from the cannabis plant.
Welcome to our new weekly roundup of the top entertainment stories at ticketsarasota.com, your guide to events and dining in Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties.
Easily the biggest entertainment story of the week, Tripadvisor ranked Siesta No. 17 in its 2021 Top 25 Beaches – United States. Which would have elated most beach communities, except that Siesta Beach is used to higher praise, having been ranked No. 1 last year by Tripadvisor and No. 1 in the U.S. twice by Stephen “Dr. Beach” Leatherman. The Tripadvisor rankings were published less than a week after we ran our story on the 10 best beaches in Sarasota-Manatee.
Fieri brings Flavortown to UTC
As to-go food options remain in high demand during the pandemic, ghost kitchens that don t offer dine-in have grown in popularity. Now a celebrity in the culinary world has launched his own delivery-only concept, including a Sarasota-Manatee location.
Guy Fieri s Flavortown Kitchen, themed around the namesake restaurateur and host of Food Network s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, has opened at University Town Center. The menu offers a variety of comfort food staples, including burgers, sandwiches, wings and more.
According to Eater, the Flavortown locations mostly operate out of the kitchens of restaurants such as Brio Italian Grille, Bravo! Italian Kitchen, Buca di Beppo and Bertucci s. All four of those chains are owned by Robert Earl, who also co-founded the restaurant Chicken Guy! with Fieri and is a founder of Virtual Dining Concepts.
Kojo to open in downtown Sarasota
A new Asian restaurant, featuring the same ownership as a popular Sarasota-Manatee dining destination, will take over a prime location in downtown Sarasota.
Kojo has moved into the 1289 N. Palm Ave. space that formerly housed Lemon Tree Kitchen on Palm Avenue Parking Garage’s ground floor, with hopes to open by late February, said co-owner Natalia Levey. She is also an owner of Speaks Clam Bar, a New York-style Italian clam bar with Lakewood Ranch and St. Armands Circle locations.
Levey said Kojo was inspired by time she spent in Asia as well as traveling with her husband, and will incorporate cuisines from across the continent in its menu.