Diversions 06.27.13

Diversions YourObserver.com

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The Finn’s Banyan is growing strong.

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THURSDAY, June 27, 2013

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by Mallory Gnaegy | A&E Editor

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State Street Eating House + Cocktails lead bartender Billy Weber prepares a Pimm’s Cup the goodold fashioned way. You can find the recipe inside.

Bar carts roll back in style State Street Eating House + Cocktails recommends how to add a little spirit(s) to your next summer party, using a well-stocked, portable bar cart.

FOOD&COOKING COVER STORY CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

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THURSDAY, JUNE 27, 2013

// Arts&Entertainment: Under the Banyan

by Mallory Gnaegy | A&E Editor

Growing the Banyan Trunk Jerry and Terri Finn discuss the roots of their summer theater company and how it has grown into the full-fledged Banyan Theater Company.

Mallory Gnaegy

Terri and Jerry Finn celebrated their 69th-wedding anniversary June 13 and will celebrate the 12th season of Banyan Theater company when it opens July 27. “There are things that happen that are unexpected and there are different challenges every year,” says Jerry Finn of his theater company. “You think that after all these years you would have faced and solved all the problems.”

Before Jerry and Terri Finn “bred” Banyan Theater Company in 2002, they bred champion Doberman Pinschers — including a Canadian Kennel Club champion and three American Kennel Club champions.

In 2000, the Finns and three Dobermans moved into a nice waterfront home in Indian Beach.

These days, they no longer breed show dogs, but have one as a pet, Spree. She’s an attention hog who nudges your side with her muzzle if you stop petting her.

Spree is doing just this, as the Finns talk about their history and what led them to found the three-production, summer theater company 11 years ago: “Or was it 11 years ago?” Jerry Finn ponders to himself. “No, it was 12 years ago.”

“Grab the scrapbook!” his wife, Terri Finn, tells him.

He heads to the living room’s attached library where he pulls a scrapbook his wife of 59 years has been updating since the inception of the theater. Contents, such as old newspaper clippings of successful reviews, programs of previous seasons and photos from galas and Banyan’s 10-year anniversary, confirm this summer is season 12. Aside from being co-founders of the theater company, Jerry Finn is the executive director and Terri Finn is the director of operations.

Before moving to Sarasota, Jerry Finn explains they lived in New Jersey, where he was a partner at a law firm for 40 years. The trained actor had gone into law because he didn’t think working as an actor would support his wife and three children. But his more than 100-play performance experience came in handy in the courtroom.

“Many lawyers were very good in the office, but when it came up to getting in front of an audience, or jury, couldn’t do it,” Finn says with a laugh. Finn could charm an audience.

Terri Finn was equally involved in the arts as a concert-pianist-turned-arts-writer for the New Jersey section of The New York Times. For more than a decade, she wrote about every artist coming to New Jersey.

“I never sent out an article without Jerry reading it first,” she says looking toward her husband with a smile.

“I was her in-house editor,” he says, grinning at her.

But when they moved to Sarasota, Finn decided there was no financial need for him to continue working as a lawyer. Instead, he went back to doing what he loved and performed in a production at the Lemon Bay Playhouse in Englewood and another at the Anna Maria Island Players. He had one complaint about the performing arts scene: the summer was dead.

“We just fell in love with the cultural environment of Sarasota,” Jerry Finn says. “But there was virtually nothing going on in the summer.”

“As you said back then,” Terri Finn says in response, “‘They rolled up the sidewalks!’”

One night, Jerry Finn went out to dinner with some of his actor friends with the Asolo Rep’s company at the time and shared his frustration. He found out the feeling was mutual.

“They worked really hard at the Asolo (in season), but when the contract was over, their careers were on hold,” Jerry Finn says.

“So, we founded Banyan Theater Company.”

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// Arts&Entertainment

if you go Banyan Theater Company’s summer 2013 season breakdown: ‘Painting Churches’

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All performances take place at FSU Center for the Performing Arts, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. Single tickets are $28.50. Call 351-2808 or visit banyantheatercompany.com for more information.

“Well was it?” she repeats. She knows the answer already.

“It’s better than playing golf!” he says with a laugh. “This is challenging and creative.

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He flips through a few pages in the scrapbook to show a black-and-white photograph of the five friends together and smiles.

“I worked like hell to find an appropriate name for the theater company,” Jerry Finn says. He thought the Banyan would be perfect because it starts out as a seed and can grow into an enormous trunk reaching up to three-quarters of a mile.

“We were going to start out as a bunch of actors, and create something that would grow into an important part of this community,” he says.

And he thinks they’ve grown into a big tree, and the roots of his Banyan are growing even stronger, at least — that’s what the patrons tell the Finns.

“Many of them tell us that they go to theater all the time,” Jerry says. “Not just in Sarasota, but in New York, Chicago and elsewhere, and this is the best theater they see all year.” “‘I’ve been a subscriber since the beginning,’” Terri Finn mimics a patron saying what she most often hears.

Terri Finn says she has always been impressed with it herself: “I remember after it was going for a while, saying, ‘How do you know how to do this?’” She never fathomed that her husband could run a successful company when she knew of so many that had gone belly-up. Jerry Finn thinks it’s his background in law that gives him a business edge. And, the fact that he reads almost 75 plays a year to handpick the perfect selection.

Keeping parameters has been important to its success, too: Three significant yet versatile plays that run for two-and-a-half weeks and performing in an intimate space.

The Cooka Theatre holds 161 seats. It’s been a good run so far, and the Finns plan for it to continue to be so.

Terri Finn falls into her old journalist ways without realizing it, and interviews her husband.

“So in the final analysis now, Jerry, Was it a good thing to retire to this?” she asks.

Jerry Finn looks pensive for a moment.

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THURSDAY, JUNE 27, 2013

// FOOD&COOKING: Vintage Gourmet

by Mallory Gnaegy | A&E Editor (continued from page 1)

Bar Carts roll back in style State Street Eating House + Cocktails recommends how to add a little spirit(s) to your next summer party, using a well-stocked, portable-bar cart.

LIKE THEY USED TO MAKE To help guests who want to participate in the creative and crafty fun, you can have a few recipe cards on hand. Here are a couple State Street uses:

Moscow Mule

2 oz. vodka ½ oz. lime juice Pour it into a copper glass, cover with shaved ice and top it off with a ginger beer.

Pimm’s Cup

2 oz. Pimm’s No. 1 cup ½ oz. simple syrup 1 oz. lemon juice Shake the ingredients with ice (25 times at least), and strain into a glass with shaved ice, garnish with cucumber and top it off with ginger beer.

“Certainly, the selection of alcohol on their back bar,” Hershman says.

You won’t find a visible array of Bombay Sapphire or Jack Daniels at State Street (although, it does keep it under the bar for the people that prefer only those brands).

Weber nods his head in agreement that top-shelf selection is a priority before chiming in: “If you go into a mechanic shop and there’s stuff lying everywhere, it makes you a little nervous,” he says. “Where are all these extra parts from?”

A real craft bar keeps it clean and simple.

The serious craft-cocktail bartender will pay close attention to detail, carefully honing the drink via trial and error, using the right amount of ice, shaking it the perfect number of times and paying attention to measurements. (Of course, you can use these tips for your own bar cart.)

Although a knowledgeable and personable bartender with a well-honed palate is necessary for a quality establishment, he’s not necessary for your bar-cart.

“But I’ll tell you the secret,” Hershman says. “The half-one-two.”

It’s as if a magician has just given away all the tricks. This is the standard formula used for most craft drinks — there should be a half-ounce simple syrup, one ounce of

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Craft bartenders don’t make drinks in one minute. It takes care and time to create drinks the old-fashioned way. For instance, Billy Weber shakes each drink 25 or more times. acid (typically lemon juice) and two ounces of booze.

Now, ice is another factor. Hershman lives in Bradenton nearby Metro Manatee Ice House, where he picks up blocks of ice for the restaurant, which they pick down to fit into scotch glasses and drinks like Tom Collinses. State Street also invested in a shaved ice machine, a Flaker ice machine

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The State Street Eating House + Cocktails’ waitstaff is clothed in variations of blue gingham shirts, aside from bartender Billy Weber, who wears a retro short-sleeved button-down with a vest and bow tie.

Weber squeezes fresh lemons, as The Chords shoop-shoop in the background about how “life could be a dream, sweetheart.”

At any moment, Don Draper could walk into the bar and, true to form, would be served a cocktail straight out of the 1950s.

State Street makes high-caliber craft cocktails just as history would call for — there’s no cranberry juice concentrate, Smirnoff or Red Bull involved.

And because State Street’s focus is postWorld War II, it knows all about the “bar cart.” The portable, well-stocked bar has been making a resurgence, and it has proved to be a summer essential for any trend-setting host or hostess.

Part “Mad-Man,” part boozey-connoisseur Chef/Proprietor Christian Hershman sits down at the bar to discuss craft cocktails and summer bar carts with lead bartender Billy Weber — he, too, is donning a bow tie.

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THURSDAY, JUNE 27, 2013

// FOOD&COOKING

STOCKING THE PARTY Here’s a State Street-recommended shopping list for stocking your bar-cart party: Hershman keeps a bag of tools under his bar. These are great investments for any entertainer.

Karlson’s Gold vodka | Small’s gin Pimm’s No. 1 cup Kronan Swedish Punsch Breuckelen 77 whiskey | Aperol Red: Bennett Lane “Maximus” (Napa) White: Four Graces pinot gris Bubbly: Prosecco State Street makes most of its mixers in-house, but if you’re not feeling up to the creative challenge of preparing your own, any brand of the following will do just fine.

Mixers: Tonic water | Soda water Ginger beer | Simple syrup Bitters (orange or other citrus) Fresh fruit | Fresh herbs | Cucumber that produces crushed ice.

Because ice is important to craft drinks, Hershman recommends at least tracking down a block of ice for the bar cart that you could cover with a few towels (and don’t forget the ice pick). He also says you could try your hand at finding a handheld ice shaver at a thrift or second-hand store.

But if you remember anything for your bar cart, Hershman says, “Keep it simple.”

Photos by Mallory Gnaegy

Mason jars are great for all-purpose containers, because they are very “in” right now. Koop glasses and small rocks glasses are a must, but you can get a few copper cups, too, to really out-do your bar-cart.

Stem and glassware:

Mason jars | Koop glasses Small rocks glass | Copper cup If you find yourself getting overwhelmed, stick to the basics. When in doubt, use the old half-one-two trick.

Let your guests have fun creating their own drinks, and perhaps prepare a few for those who might be intimidated by the process. Be sure to keep some wine and beer on hand. And here’s one last piece of advice the two “Mad Men” suggest: You can never go wrong with a good gin and tonic.

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Spirits and other alcohol:

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Eventually State Street hopes to distribute some of these spirits, but these can be found online and at most liquor stores.

Tools: Mixing glass and shaker | Jigger Bar spoon Hawthorne strainer Hand-held juicer Knife and cutting board Ice pick | Shaver

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THURSDAY, JUNE 27, 2013

// HOME&GARDEN by Robert Plunket | Contributing Writer

THINGS Summer Fun Sarasota used to be a winter vacation mecca. But all that’s rapidly changing as our summer season continues to blossom.

With so much going on, even the locals are developing a whole new attitude toward the warmer months of the year. No more hibernating indoors. Now we’re out enjoying the new sports events and activities that are popping up everywhere. Here are three Sarasota homes currently on the market that celebrate Sarasota’s new attitude toward summer fun.

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For many people, summer means the country. It’s time to get back to our nation’s rural past, to pay a visit to the old family farm. Though we doubt the family farm was ever as elaborate as this elegant version in Myakka Valley Ranches. Designed with a Southwest theme, it sits on more than seven acres of beautifully treed land, complete with a state-of-the-art, eight-stall barn, and direct access to miles of riding trails. The home features a 3,500 square foot pool deck with a two-story cage and summer kitchen. There’s even a saloon, complete with bar. With four bedrooms and four baths, there is plenty of room for everybody, and the home received a complete makeover in 2010. And that other summer staple — the beach — is just 30 minutes away.

Priced at $895,000. For more information, call Paul Wolbers of Coldwell Banker at 941-350-4527.

Photos courtesy of Coldwell Banker

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// HOME&GARDEN

2. Beach and Boating Even pricey Longboat Key has its informal side, as shown by this beautifully renovated 2 bedroom, 2 bath elevated cottage home in a pleasant, Old Floridastyle neighborhood. With the beach a short walk away and a 37-foot dock — no bridges to the bay — it’s got all the classic summer amenities. (There’s also a pool and spa overlooking the canal.)

The home has an open plan with a large

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kitchen and a balcony/deck. There’s a downstairs bonus room and a two-car garage. With wood floors, a metal roof and a tropical Key West feeling inside and out, this charming, nicely landscaped home has a timeless vacation vibe — summer or winter.

Priced at $675,000. For more information, call Sharon Freeman of Michael Saunders at 941-545-0899.

Photos courtesy of Premier Sotheby’s

3. The Ultimate For the ultimate in summer luxury, it’s hard to beat this Gulf-front estate in Siesta Key’s exclusive Sanderling Club. With more than 8,300 square feet of living area — four bedrooms and six baths — there’s plenty of room for family and guests. The spectacular two-story living room offers beautiful views of the water, plus a fireplace and a unique second story “bridge” to the guest wing. The beachfront-pool and spa area is particularly elaborate,

Photos courtesy of Michael Saunders & Co.

7902 Sanderling Road and there’s even a tiki bar complete with thatched roof. The 1.5-acre property also borders on Heron Lagoon, with a dock for exploring the pristine mangroves in a kayak. You’ll also enjoy the security of the gated Sanderling Club, with its social activities and famous Paul Rudolph-designed beach cabanas.

Priced at $7,945,000. For more information call Joel Schemmel of Premier Sotheby’s at 941-587-4894.

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THURSDAY, JUNE 27, 2013

// BLACK TIE: Camera ready

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