Libby's
Libby’s Café + Bar opened in 2008 in the popular dining destination that is Southside Village and has remained a perennial favorite for ladies who lunch, families who brunch, and friends who happy hour. In 2019 Libby’s underwent a quiet renaissance and became Libby’s Neighborhood Brasserie with a seamless facelift that would make any plastic surgeon proud. There’s a gorgeous new bar and extended patio, and the menu underwent some tweaks that added more fresh and local ingredients.
If you lived in Sarasota back when Libby’s first burst onto the scene, then you know that the legendary Stephen Seidensticker was the man behind the original concept. Stephen’s son Joe took over the reins at Libby’s when his father passed and he’s still very much a part of his father’s legacy, but I was surprised to learn that there’s a new Joe in town and that he has been an integral part of the new and improved Libby’s. Chef Joe Guli is Joe Seidensticker’s business partner, serving as CEO and culinary director. His quiet intelligence and collaborative spirit are evident in the atmosphere at the restaurant as well as the new menu changes that will be coming this fall.
We’ll discuss the new and, in some cases, merely improved menu items in just a moment but first I’d like to talk about the culture at Libby’s Neighborhood Brasserie, in both Southside Village and Lakewood Ranch, and at their sister restaurant Circo.
“We’re all about keeping our employees engaged,” says Joe. “We want to develop them. We keep our managers working reasonable hours and we have monthly meetings in which we listen to the feedback of our team. There’s no value in burning people out.”
When I ask Chef Joe about the direction for the menu, he is visibly excited about the opportunity to play with the concept of elevated comfort food. “We’re working with a lot more local, sustainable ingredients and farms.” I ask Chef Joe what his favorite addition is to the menu, and he grins and says “Cacio e Pepe. I was a picky eater as a child, I really loved pasta with butter, so it makes sense that as an adult I enjoy the grown-up version of that dish.” This adult version of buttered pasta consists of spaghetti, black pepper, butter, and black truffle burrata. I can’t imagine anyone who wouldn’t enjoy that dish.
I’m excited for the Blue Crab and Shrimp Lollipops, the Porcini Crusted Ribeye, and the Arancini. Chef Joe and I are both excited about the bread service option for the dinner menu. “We will be baking Parker House Milk Bread from scratch every night for dinner service. We’re going to serve it with local honey truffle butter. First come, first served—when we run out, we’ll be out until the next day.” Talk about an incentive to run out and grab dinner at Libby’s!
