Whether you’re into culinary adventure or top-quality basics or trendy ingredients, Sarasota can satisfy your taste. We scoured the town from top to bottom, discovering everything from small gastronomic miracles to ethnic staples and comfort food. Some local emporiums cater to professional chefs and foodies; others to retirees and immigrants craving an authentic taste of home. We sampled them all, and as the TV commercial goes, m-m-m-m-m.

Big Cheese Karl Nelson is six feet, two inches tall and a powerful ambassador for Wisconsin gourmet cheese. He sells 140 varieties, from cheese curds (bits of fresh cheese before they’re pressed in molds to become cheddar, $7.57 per pound), to world-championship-winning Deppeler’s Baby Swiss (8.79 per pound). Greenleaf Wisconsin Cheese, 4521 S. Tamiami Trail (941) 923-9750.

Wok It to Me Noya Brigham unlocks the secrets of Oriental cooking with weekly wok lessons and a store laden with delicacies from kimchi ($2.99) to frozen sushi-grade bluefin tuna ($7.99-$14.99). Drop off recipes with strange-sounding names and she’ll supply ingredients from China, Japan, Korea and more. Oriental Food & Gift Market; 2234 Gulf Gate Drive (941) 924-8066.

Bread Alone Munich ex-pat Nick Bergbauer is an eighth-generation bread baker who provides top local restaurants with exclusive private-label loaves, and consumers with eight heavenly (and mysteriously cholesterol-free) favorites, from nine-whole-grain multi-seed ($2.75) to cranberry walnut sourdough ($4.50). Bavarian Bread, 5900 S. Tamiami Trail (941) 926-2692.

Gourm-aholics Anonymous? Serious gourmands forage the aisles of this hidden treasure, too good to keep secret with 75 irresistible cheeses, more than 100 artisanal wines, Asiago-filled fresh gnocchi ($7.49), bronze-cut Italian pastas, and a bottled pesto so good professional chefs pass it off as their own (Crespi San Remo, $4.59). Casa Italia, 2080 Constitution Ave. (941) 924-1179.

Midnight Sunshine Sarasotans of Scandinavian descent crave the Nordic licorice, pickled herring, jams, cheeses and groceries you’d miss by heading straight for addictive 30-layer Kringle pastries (from $9.75) by O & H Bakery of Racine, Wis. Extolled by the Wall Street Journal last December, the brand is only at Scandinavian Gifts, 2166 Gulf Gate Drive (941) 923-4313.

Perogies in Paradise The Hungarian Csabai sausage ($8.99 a pound) brought tears of joy to a young immigrant’s eyes at this new market, where patrons say everything from Polish pickle soup ($5.58) to a tantalizing assortment of perogies ($5 a dozen) tastes just like home. M & M European Delicatessen, 2805 Proctor Road (941) 922-1221.

EVOOlution Rachael Ray is credited with coining the acronym for extra virgin olive oil, but Kelly Kary is educating Sarasota’s EVOO palates. Check out Italy’s most coveted October 2007 first-press Novello (new) olive oils in her stash, including Sicily’s Olio Verde ($44) and Apulia’s De Carlo ($34). Sarasota Olive Oil Company, 1419 Fifth St. (941) 366-2008.

British Empire Debbie Gypps reigns over a tea parlor and mini-market stocked with everything from Catherine Zeta-Jones’ beloved Branston pickles to every Brit’s favorite gravy mix: Ahh! Bisto. Check out the homemade scones ($1.50), and Queen Mum’s Cake ($23) spiked with dates. Tastefully British, 2236 Gulf Gate Drive (941) 927-2612.

Personable Chef Customers of Lance Thompson’s Sarasota Catering Company clamored for take-home meals, now available at his gourmet market. Now he’ll make anything to order with 24 hours’ notice, plus fresh-daily soups, patés, desserts and entrées like a best-selling grapefruit-marinated flank steak ($11.95 a pound). Chef’s Marketplace, 6552 Superior Ave. (941) 922-3748.

Don’t Forget To…
- Check out Sarasota’s Downtown Farmers’ Market (Saturdays, 7 a.m. to noon) for organic fruits, vegetables, homemade pastas and the fresh catch of the day, with stalls fanning out from Lemon Avenue and Main Street.
- Taste-test everything from artisanal cheese to fat-free chips at the international, natural-foods-touting Whole Foods Market, 1451 First St. (941) 955-8500.
- Grill only world-class knockwurst, bratwurst and bauerwurst made from 100-year-old German recipes at Geier’s Sausage Kitchen, 7447 S. Tamiami Trail (941) 923-3004.
- Sample the amazing selection of Italian charcuterie (there’s more to life than Genoa salami), along with fresh mozzarella made by Claudio Ronchi, co-proprietor of Bologna Café, 5770 S. Tamiami Trail (941) 927-9262.
- Pretend you’re a culinary tour de force with prepared white asparagus and gravlax from the take-out case at French Affair, 2637 Mall Drive (941) 925-3414.

Chocolate Safari
Discover a world of flavor right at home.

Vive Le Chocolat Mireille Guiliano, author of French Women Don’t Get Fat, says you’ll keep fit (and happy) savoring an ounce of intense dark chocolate a day. Scharrfen Berger, one of three American brands she’ll eat, is a hot new artisan chocolate conveniently packed in one-ounce bars ($2.49). Morton’s Gourmet Market, 1924 S. Osprey Ave. (941) 955-9856.

World’s Fairest Winner of gold medals in 1950s Paris and Brussels World’s Fairs, the sinfully delicious white chocolate (coffee buttercream-filled) Manon Café is still Leonidas Chocolates’ best seller. The entire Leonidas collection ($32 per pound; $1 apiece) is shipped weekly from Belgium to La Maison des Chocolates, 1462 Main St. (941) 330-2552.