8 new restaurants opened in Stuart, Vero, Jensen, Port St. Lucie, Port Salerno; 3 closed
Late night sushi bar opens in gas station
This is not “gas station sushi,” said 34-year-old owner Mikko Yamaguchi of Fort Pierce. He makes his sushi fresh daily and offers a $5 basic California roll. The most popular menu item so far has been the Spam musubi. “This is something the city needs because there is no late-night option,” he said. He has a few inside seats, but mostly offers takeout and delivery services through DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub and Beyond Menu.
Bangkok mother-son team serve Thai, sushi
The family moved their popular restaurant from a Key Largo hotel after buying a Treasure Coast restaurant — site unseen without ever having visited here. Thanaporn “Mini” Tangsuwansri, and her son, Sittisak “Chef Moo” Tangsuwansri, are from Bangkok, and his girlfriend, Sansanee Azevedo, is from Thailand. Their most popular menu items so far have been the tuna nachos, super rainbow roll, Christmas roll and loco tuna roll. “We’re trying to survive,” Azevedo said. “We want to last.”
Latin restaurant features Sunday specials
Altagracia Leal has realized her dream to have her culture’s food on the Treasure Coast. She and husband Valerio have opened a Caribbean and Latin American restaurant, where everything is made fresh daily and Sunday-only specials include oxtail and sancocho (beef stew). The most popular item has been the fried fish, which typically is red snapper. “She always had a dream to have a restaurant,” Valerio said of his wife.
Restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and Tex-Mex
Carolina Cuevas Jimenez opened this restaurant with her family, serving an American breakfast and lunch, plus Tex-Mex food options. Authentic tacos are served on homemade tortillas with your choice of meat — pollo asado (grilled chicken), carne asada (grilled steak), pastor (grilled pork), lengua (cow tongue), chorizo (Mexican sausage) or campechana (shrimp cocktail) — as well as lime, onions, cilantro and house salsa.
Food, virtual golf served in iconic, historic spot
It's equally a restaurant with virtual sports and an entertainment venue that serves food, said owner Bob Gruber. Executive Chef Brent Blaha — formerly an executive chef at the Amalfi Grill and the Pelican Yacht Club and sous chef at the Polo Grill — has created an eclectic "soup to nuts" menu, Gruber said, with upscale bar food, salads, sandwiches, tacos, wings, pasta, steak, seafood and American classic comfort food.
Florida seafood includes catfish, alligator, frog legs
Owners David and Naen King based their seafood restaurant's menu on the best-sellers from their food truck, Good Eat See Food. The dishes are inspired by David King's background as a charter fisherman, making him an expert at catching and cooking fish. Naen King is a Thai native whose food has an Asian flair.
20-year-old favorite reopens with same Old Florida vibe
Father-and-son team David Krebs Jr. and David Krebs III, who own Ariel Seafoods, reopened this Treasure Coast favorite. While they aren't changing the menu to a seafood restaurant, they have added fried Gulf shrimp in a po'boy or basket. “Being Old Florida mindset people,” the younger Krebs said, “we try to preserve anything we can of the past."
Cuban Guajiro burger served on plantain bun
This is the first restaurant venture for owners Vivian and Hector Garcia of Port St. Lucie, who moved to the U.S. about 25 years ago and wanted to bring a taste of home to the Treasure Coast. They serve breakfast, Cuban coffee and handhelds for lunch, including a Cuban sandwich, Cuban chicken sandwich and Guajiro burger. Enjoy meat and seafood dinner entrees with wine-based cocktails, including mojitos, mimosas and sangria.
RESTAURANT CLOSINGS
Vero Beach seafood restaurant sold to new owner after family tragedy
Iconic Florida barbecue restaurant closes after 40 years on the Treasure Coast
Eva's Polish Kitchen in Vero Beach closed April 8 after nine years, leaving us only three Polish restaurants.
Laurie K. Blandford is TCPalm's entertainment reporter and columnist dedicated to finding the best things to do on the Treasure Coast. Follow her on Twitter @TCPalmLaurie and Facebook @TCPalmLaurie. Email her at [email protected]. Sign up for her What To Do in 772 weekly newsletter at profile.tcpalm.com/newsletters/manage.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: New restaurants opened in Stuart, Vero, Jensen, Fort Pierce, PSL
