A Burger A Week – Knick’s Tavern & Grill
Where everybody knows your name…
Most towns/cities have a “Knick’s.” A place that is owned by longtime residents and serves a very local eating population on the whole. It’s a lunchtime home to lots of doctors, nurses, firefighters, and Sarasota area law enforcement. Sure, they have their share of seasonal traffic at this Southside Village favorite. But it’s the locals that give Knick’s Tavern & Grill its “flavor.”
When they opened their doors in 2002, Knick’s was a genuine family business. Owned and operated by Knick Barger and his daughter, Knickole, they made every person who walked through the front door feel like they were part of their family.
Fast forward 20 years later, and not much has changed. Knick has left the management of the restaurant to Knickole, but the feel of the place is a constant. And that’s a good thing. Especially now, when it seems restaurants are frantically chasing the next big thing. The “BIG Thing” here are the people! Both the people that work here and the people that eat here.
I’ve been eating lunches (and an occasional dinner) here pretty much since they opened. The menu hasn’t changed a whole lot. They serve a delicious roast duck for dinner, and their salads are overflowing the plate or bowl that they’re served on. Salads are great, but you know what we’re here for?… YES, the burger! 🍔
Today’s burger stop is going to be a first. Today marks our very first Burger Ride Along. Let’s just say that this is going to be a work in progress. Interesting and fun, but a work in progress. I was a little nervous about finding out if this was as good an idea as I thought. 😯
Agreeing to break the “Ride Along” ice is Tim Yocum. Tim’s been around Sarasota for a while. First in the telecommunication business and now as a Coldwell Banker Realtor. If you’d like some more info on what he’s all about, HERE’S A LINK.
OH, also, if you’ve had any association with high school football in Sarasota, you’ll probably know his name from all of the years of involvement as a HS football coach.
Tim’s is no stranger to Knick’s either. He’s been coming here since it was opened too. So I figured he would be the perfect person to help me ease into this two-person approach to burger tasting. I was right!
Let’s take talk about our Knick’s burger experience…
RESTAURANT: KNICK’S TAVERN & GRILL (1818 S. Osprey Ave. (941) 955-7761)
DATE OF VISIT: AUGUST 31, 2022
STOP #: 7 OF 52
BURGER TASTED: CHIPOTLE CRUMBLED BLEU CHEESE BURGER
📒 OUR TASTING NOTES
🍔 This burger is served as listed on the menu: Spicy and smokey chipotle sauce & crumbled bleu cheese. ($15).
This burger was different than any of the ones that came before it. Maybe different really isn’t the right word. I think unique might be better. This burger has character!
Tim said, “I’ve been here a thousand times and never had this burger. The combination really works!”
I’ll back that up. The bleu cheese flavor was forward. You know how some bleus can be a little “wimpy”? Not this one! If you’re a bleu cheese lover, this will put you in your happy place. 😊
The chipotle sauce was the perfect complement to the cheese. A great partnership!
It doesn’t specify this on the menu, but this burger is also served with lettuce, tomato, and red onion. Ours came in two parts. It makes it easier if you don’t want all the extra toppings.
Of course, we ate our burgers with ALL of the toppings. One observation that Taster Tim made was how fresh and crisp the veggies were. It can be hard to find a tomato with any taste in the state of Florida. Knick’s has found these tomatoes somewhere.
The Fries! We ordered waffle fries for our side. They stood up well with the bold flavors of the burger. Tim left no survivors!
Let’s check out how all of this looked when we ordered it…
BURGER TAKEAWAYS: You will feel like one of the family at Knicks • They were the winner of the Best Local Burger in Best of SRQ 2022. There’s a reason for that! • If you want a burger that has a character all its own, this one is it • At $15, it won’t break your burger budget 💵 • Take a friend. It’s fun!
👀 SNEAK PEEK: We’re headed out to Siesta Key next week to a spot that uses a very special and creative cooking process to make their delicious burgers. You won’t want to miss this! Stay tuned…
💥ONE LAST THING – Knick’s Tavern & Grill is giving one of our readers the chance to have a Knick’s burger tasting on them! THANKS! We’ve got a gift card to give away that will cover your burger. Here’s a link to enter. Let us know why you’d like to be treated to a Knick’s burger. ENTER HERE!❎
We want to hear about your Sarasota burger experience. So much so, in fact, that we’ve started up a special Facebook Group just for this A Burger A Week series. So, feel free to share your Sarasota burger experiences, photos, and anything else burger related you’d like others to know about.
JOIN SARASOTA’S BEST BURGERS FACEBOOK GROUP HERE!
✅ Did you miss a week? No worries. Here’s a link to our A BURGER A WEEK SERIES ARCHIVE!🍔
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