We took a long weekend to visit Sarasota for the 4th of July weekend. We found this jewel of a restaurant that is called, coincidentally, Bijoux Garden Café (French for jewel). Walking towards the restaurant situated on the corner of 2 converging narrow streets downtown Sarasota, Bijoux looks like a very quaint charming litt’l neighborhood abode with tons of French windows. But it’s not a French restaurant – it is more like a gastronomic United Nations International venue. Upon entering the lobby, an elegant décor warmly welcomes you into three bright dining areas. We were early to our reservation, so we sat at the bar enjoying some exotic elixir specials carefully prepared by Lisa.

At our appointment hour, the Maitre’D, Donny, came to us to tell us our table was ready. He noticed that we hadn’t finished our drinks. Without applying any pressure on us, he suggested that we either take our drinks to the table or simply finish them at the bar assuring us that our table will be waiting for us. We finished our drinks, settled with Lisa and went to our table. Grayson, our server introduced himself, presented us the menu, and explained each dish with great enthusiasm (Grayson has been serving Bijoux’s patrons for 22 years, so he told us during serving). After the menu recital, we asked him about the special. He proudly replied with an assured smile “Every single item on our menu is SPECIAL”. In my mind, it was the correct answer. And boy was he right. We started off with a gazpacho soup like no other: a composition of freshly roasted tomatillo, cucumber, and avocado slightly elevated with apple cider. The fragrance was exhilarating and the taste was sweetly divine: a roasted artichoke Mediterranean salad was the perfect intermezzo to lead us to our entrees. A perfectly broiled NY strip, medium tender and moist, with pomme frites ( French fries), and a boneless pork chop prepared to perfection and topped with peach chutney with sautéed fennel and onions. We were too stuffed for dessert.

We live in Fort Lauderdale and we need a Bijoux in our town too.