Best of Sarasota 2024

Thirty-four reasons to love living here. Plus, our Best of Sarasota readers’ poll, annual Top Doctors list, an in-depth look at the last tumultuous year at New College of Florida, restaurant reviews, home tours and more.

In this issue:

Arts & Entertainment

Lost in Space

A New Exhibition at Sarasota Art Museum Takes Visitors on a Trip to the Stars

"The Truth of the Night Sky" is a collaboration between visual artist Anne Patterson and composer Patrick Harlin.

05/06/2024 By Kay Kipling

Best of Sarasota

The Best of Sarasota 2024: Readers' Poll

We polled our readers about their favorite shops, services and more. Here’s what you had to say.

05/01/2024

Best of Sarasota

The Best of Sarasota 2024: Editors' Picks

Here are our favorite new finds from a year full of them.

05/01/2024 By The Editors

Best of Sarasota

The Best of Sarasota 2024

Sarasota is booming, and we're flush with exciting new restaurants, shops, services, attractions and more, in addition to our longtime favorites.

05/01/2024

Eat & Drink

Restaurant Review

Just Like the Car It’s Named After, Osteria 500 Is Bright, Shiny and Delightful

The restaurant combines dependability and panache, with a dining experience that blends old favorites and new dishes that are executed with finesse.

05/06/2024 By Lauren Jackson

Health & Fitness

Ruth's Story

A Journey Through Dementia

Dementia is an insidious malady that robs people of most of their mental faculties, personality and health. So it is with writer Bob McGinn's wife Ruth.

05/17/2024 By Bob McGinn

Say 'Ahhhh'

The Ritz-Carlton's Spa Gets a Long-Planned Update

The 20,000-square-foot spa was renovated for the first time since the hotel opened in 2001.

05/01/2024 By Megan McDonald

Home & Real Estate

Botanical Bliss

How to Make Your Own Terrarium

Bottle up the outdoors and bring it inside with a glass terrarium.

06/04/2024 By Tisha Leung

House Warming

This Anna Maria House Is Packed With Sustainable Style

The recently finished home is dotted with cozy nooks and spaces that showcase an obsession with being outside.

02/23/2024 By Kim Doleatto

News & City Life

Year One

Inside New College of Florida’s Radical Transformation

New College's first full academic year under its new Board of Trustees is almost over. Elizabeth Djinis looks at how the institution has changed, and what the future might hold.

05/08/2024 By Elizabeth Djinis Illustrations by Michael Byers

Only in Sarasota

Selby Gardens' Lily Pond and Welcome Center Usher in a New Era

As you enter the gardens, take in views of the welcome center’s metal branch-like breams and the pond, a stunning rectangular basin filled with water lilies.

05/06/2024 Illustrations by John Pirman

To Infinity and Beyond

In a Tiny Battery-Powered Plane, a Local Pilot Is Shattering World Records in Electric Aviation

Miguel Iturmendi, the founder of Helios Horizon, wants to bring clean aviation to the masses.

01/04/2024 By Kim Doleatto