Applause, applause for Mattison's Forty One by Jack Winner Correspondent, Photo by Rob Mattson

SARASOTA --

Local restaurateur Paul Mattison recently expanded into southern Sarasota with
the opening of the eponymous Mattison's Forty One, on U.S. 41 just south of
Clark Road.

As in his other operations, Mattison styles the food and atmosphere in what
might be called the culinary version of dressy casual, mixing cooking with
live entertainment and making the bar area a central feature. It is a formula
that works if the weekday crowd at the newly opened Mattison's Forty One is
any indication. With its debut barely a week old the night I was there, the
restaurant is physically still a work in progress. In fact, a painter was
working on a wall mural as we ate. A large bar area dominates the center of
the room, with a section for those enjoying drinks on one side, where an
entertainer performed, and a separate quieter section behind the bar.

If the finishing touches are still being put on physical aspects of the
restaurant, operations in the kitchen and dining room are obviously completed.
Having both worked and eaten in newly opened restaurants, I was highly
impressed by how smoothly everything ran. The waitstaff is well trained,
communications between the dining room and kitchen clear, and all dishes
arrived promptly.

As for the menu, regulars of Mattison's other eateries will recognize the
approach here. Possibilities run from having just a snack like a sandwich or
pizza to sitting down to a full meal. There is also a strong inclination
toward Mediterranean fare, with an emphasis on fusion, and a good
representation of seafood.

Thus, of the eight appetizers on the menu, six feature seafood, with such
familiar ones as Calamari ($7.95), fried and served with several different
sauces, and Crab Cakes ($12.95), here with a habanero-mandarin rémoulade.
Others like the Escargots and Mushrooms ($8.95) stray more from the beaten
path. Artichokes Esther Style ($8.95) dresses the vegetables with a tomato,
lemon, and caper butter and finishes them with grated Parmesan. Keeping this
dish simple works. The artichokes offer a refreshing change from the usual
choice of appetizers, and the dressing points up their taste, with the capers
providing a little tang. Hoison Duck Spring Rolls ($10.95) were admirably
crisp, and the vegetables fresh, but the taste of the duck itself was elusive,
being more easily identified by the eye than the tongue.

Among main courses, the Jumbo "Boston" Scallops ($22.95) made an impressive
appearance. The scallops are indeed jumbo, but they don't lose any of the
subtlety of their taste, as sometimes happens with super-sized food.
Pleasantly crusty, the scallops came with smoked oyster mushrooms, which
accented the flavor already present in the pancetta-flavored potato hash.
Having tried the Pesto Crusted Rainbow Trout ($19.95) at another of Mattison's
restaurants, I thought I would give it one more try and was left with my
original impression that the pesto tends to overwhelm the delicate trout
flavor more than to enhance it.

Diners looking for dishes other than seafood have any number of choices. For
beef, there is a N.Y. Strip ($31.95), a Steak Blue ($28.95), with Gorgonzola,
or the Filet Forty One ($32.95), which is a tenderloin. There is also New
Zealand Rack of Lamb ($27.95) and Roast Duck ($22.95), among others. Desserts
at Mattison's Forty One still need fine-tuning. The Milk & Honey Crème Brûlée
($7.95) is described as having a "hint" of wild flower honey, but it actually
had a substantial amount, making it much too sweet. And the berries in the
Fresh Berry Cobbler ($7.95) appeared to have gone missing in the one I was
served.

As mentioned above, service was smooth and professional.