CUAISR ITNE
A GULFPORT GEM
The Artisan
Art & Food Collective
By Margaret Word Burnside and Aaron R. Fodiman
Tom Golden and Michael Stewart,
who have teamed up to open
dining places such as The Lure
in Tampa and St. Petersburg,
have added The Artisan Art & Food
Collective in Gulfport as their newest
creation. Some may call it a food hall,
but to us it is a great restaurant with a
lot of choices. Once you are seated in
the main dining room, away from the
pool tables and The Port bar, your server
presents you with three menus. One is
for the bar bites and sandwiches that are
available from The Port and are fun to eat
such as a she-crab dip or fried zucchini.
The next menu is from The Lure and
features in their words, “cold, dead fish.”
You probably call it sushi. In addition
to sushi, nigiri and sashimi, there are
specialty rolls like the Bacon-8-Her with
bacon, asparagus and avocado wrapped
in soy paper, or the Vesuvius aka Volcano
of Krab stick, cucumber and cream cheese
topped with avocado, baked dynamite
170 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE | MARCH/APRIL 2019
are. From their cookies to more complex
sweets, each creation will please you.
This multi-menu system requires
servers who care and are willing to make
things work since the food is prepared as
you order it and served tapas style, so the
flow to the table is not traditional. Our
servers were geniuses at bringing plates
for sharing, refilling glasses and making
our dinners appear to be well planned. We
left looking forward to returning to enjoy
some of the house specialties for which
we didn’t have room. There are so many
choices at The Artisan that selecting what
you want takes time. So sit back, relax
and enjoy not having to go to a restaurant
where only some of your group will be
happy. At the Artisan, everyone can find
something extraordinary. 9
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Artisan Art & Food
Collective is in the heart of downtown Gulfport
at 2832 Beach Blvd., (727) 350-5866.
sauce and spicy mayo. There are also
poke bowls such as Slamming Salmon
and Vegan Va-Voom of marinated tofu
that taste delicious. The final menu is
from the Whiskey Grill and includes
various size plates and salads. The
13-ounce charbroiled rib eye soaked in
an orange maple Dijon marinade comes
with two sides. We chose cauliflower
rice and grilled asparagus, and both
were wonderful. Other items such as
Pablo, which has five jumbo shrimp with
mild sausage in a Cajun garlic butter
wine sauce, are too good to describe.
Likewise, their iron skillet-seared salmon
with a lemon thyme beurre-blanc sauce
demonstrates the skill that exists in the
kitchen. Even the sides are spectacular.
The Four Cheese Mac N Cheese with a
crumb crust is among the best we have
ever had.
Once you are ready for dessert, the
bakery takes over and your server will
tell you what the fresh treats of the day
NORRA
Serving food such as this boneless pork chop with apple chutney at
The Artisan works perfectly thanks to great chefs and caring servers.