Critic's choice: our food editor dishes on where to eat right now.

Sarasota's legions of diners out have cause for celebration. Despite a slow economy, four impressive new restaurants opened over the past 12 months, and many of our perennial favorites not only survived but tweaked themselves into even better form. Here's a quick survey of just a few of the things local chefs and restaurateurs are doing right, right now.

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NEW PLACES, NEW FACES

Among promising newcomers, the cream of a very good crop, is MoZaic, the Main Street sensation driven by the creativity and passion of chef Dylan Elhajoui and the wine savvy of sommelier Ken Kuiken. The chef's fare is an inspired blend of the cuisines of Southern France and his native Morocco. The wine program is strong and eclectic, an excellent match for the food. You won't go wrong with anything on the menu, but for a good first taste we recommend this tantalizing trio: lamb chops done to a rosy medium rare, roasted duck breast sliced and fanned, and a gleaming white dome of blue crab flan. Like every dish we've tasted here, from appetizers through dessert, the flavors balanced and complemented one another to perfection, and the plate was as pretty as Sunday morning at the beach.

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Another downtowner that opened strong is Hyde Park Steakhouse, part of a high-end chain based in Cleveland. The vibe here is heavy on plush and tradition, with a few twists sprinkled in. The steaks are prime and perfectly cooked, the sides fabulous and huge, and the cocktails first-rate. If you're looking for a deal, show up for $4 martinis and $5 small plates at happy hour. The stars of the several savories on offer definitely are the sliders, billed as mini Kobe burgers. These tasty babies come dressed in caramelized onions, sauteed mushrooms, smoked bacon and chipotle aioli. Heaven on a bun!

A third downtown venture is the newest of the new. Crepe Suzette divides itself into an informal cafe with outdoor seating that's open early to late and a more formal restaurant open only for dinner. The fare is classic French. The chefs pay attention to the details and concentrate on beautiful renditions of the tried and true, from perfectly crisp and light appetizer sweetbreads to swoon-inducing, honest-to-goodness, made-to-order chocolate or Grand Marnier souffles.

In Southside Village, the hallowed space long occupied by Fred's has taken on sparkling new life as Libby's Cafe + Bar. For a first blast of the assertive but thoughtfully balanced flavors that characterize the menu, start at upper left with sumptuous deviled eggs topped with sturgeon caviar farmed by our own Mote Marine entrepreneurs. These are deviled eggs raised to the level of art. Next, skip a little further down the list of cold plates and sample the Asian pear salad, if for no other reason than to savor the Maytag blue cheese beignets that are its crowning glory. The bar scene here is quite lively, too, and the formally dressed sidewalk tables are some of the best seats in town.

MAIN STREET AND BEYOND

Main Street in downtown Sarasota is a treasure. In the blocks running east from the bayfront to Washington Boulevard, you'll find an unbeatable variety of restaurants, bars and cafes, as well as the world-class combo of printer's ink and caffeine that is Sarasota News & Books. Sidewalk tables abound, and the cuisine is as varied and colorful as the pages of an up-to-date atlas. Sushi and tapas, smoothies and doughnuts and fine pastries, designer pizzas, classic bar chow, Vietnamese pho, Peruvian ceviches, Mexican, Italian, and bourgeois French cooking, Greek and French-Moroccan specialties, New American bistro and straight-ahead fresh fish from all over, live music and cigars--it's all to be found on Main Street. Not surprisingly, as we survey a few of our thriving faves broken out by category, we'll touch often on downtown.

MoZaic, 1377 Main St, Sarasota [phone]; Hyde Park Prime Steakhouse, 35 S. Lemon Ave., Sarasota [phone]; Crepe Suzette, 23 N. Lemon Ave., Sarasota [phone]; Libby's Cafe + Bar, 1917 S. Osprey Ave., Sarasota [phone]; Sarasota News & Books 1341 Main St, Sarasota [phone]

FRENCH

Our choices here run quite a gamut, from the Parisian neighborhood feel and taste of the charming C'est La Vie cafe and bakery on Main, where the freshly baked baguette with butter and jam taken with muscular coffee and the morning paper at a sidewalk table can't be beat, to the serenely elegant dining room and impeccable haute cuisine of chef Jose Martinez at Maison Blanche on Longboat Key. While the former is as casual and comfy as your favorite slippers (and, yes, your dog can join you outside), the latter is high theatrical and culinary art. Think interior design that evokes the tranquility of a spa; think wild mushroom raviolis in foie gras sauce with asparagus; think a single dainty hand-cut miniature marshmallow flavored with rose petals. That's Maison Blanche.

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C'est La Vie, 1553 Main St., Sarasota [phone]; Maison Blanche, 2605 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Longboat Key [phone]

ITALIAN

There's a lot of good Italian cooking around, but with limited space we'll make three very different exemplars of the form stand for the whole.

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Once again on Main, we like Mediterraneo for a host of reasons, from its wood-fired oven and the authentic pizza pies it produces to its celestial finochi salad of fennel and oranges to its risotto with saffron and asparagus to the supercool Eurostyle eyeglasses and Fellini-esque neckties sported by some waiters. This place is hip to the max, but the emphasis is exactly where it should be, on food and service.

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In the thick of things at Five Points downtown is Pino's 100 Central. This restaurant is as quiet and understated as Mediterraneo is brash. It's also a treasure, from its warm front door to the limoncello ice cream that's as addictive as crack but perfectly legal. Whether it's tortelloni stuffed with mushrooms and sauced in butter, sage and Parmesan or duck breast and leg confit in a dreamy merlot sauce with brandy and demi glace, chef Pino Luongo cooks with a perfectionist's zeal and sauces all with an artistry that borders on the alchemical. Both restaurants offer sidewalk tables, too.

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A few miles north, in a colorful cottage in Bradenton's Village of the Arts, chef Gaetano Cannata presides with cheerful enthusiasm over the kitchen and cozy dining rooms of Ortygia. Much of his habit-forming cooking is based on recipes passed to him by his Sicilian mother and father, who must have been fabulous cooks. A must here is the timballo di penne, its namesake pasta dome stuffed with meatballs, eggs, mozzarella, provolone, tomato sauce and roasted peppers between pasta layers moist with the Italian white sauce called balsamella and Parmigiano. And here's the kicker: This extravaganza will set you back less then 10 bucks!

Mediterraneo, 1970 Main St., Sarasota [phone]; Pino's 100 Central, 100 Central Ave., Sarasota [phone]; Ortygia, 1418 13th St. W., Bradenton [phone]

FISH, SHELLFISH & SUSHI

We'll start on Main again, with chef Darwin Santa Maria's superb Selva Grill, where a Peruvian-inspired menu features some of the best ceviches we've ever tasted anywhere. Take a seat at the bar and sample a few with a mojito worthy of the legendary name. A bit further east on Main is Barnacle Bill's Seafood, a classic fish house. From an ever-changing medley of oysters and crabs to whatever is biting on a given day in the world's far-flung oceans, it's the terrific variety of offerings at good prices we really value here.

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For seafood with a view, it's Marina Jack on the downtown bayfront, where you'll find everything from up-to-the-minute chargrilled certified wild salmon or blackened rare tuna to that old standby, Captain Jack's Fried Seafood Platter. The glass-walled dining room upstairs gives everybody a ringside seat for Technicolor sunsets over Sarasota Bay. For a casual lunch or cocktails, try the open-air Portside Patio Bar at dock level.

On St. Armands Circle, Crab & Fin serves up fresh fish and shellfish with style, inside or at its madly popular sidewalk tables. Two of our favorites are the day's selection of flown-in coldwater oysters and Charley's Chowder, a rich Mediterranean fish soup that dates to the restaurant's earlier incarnation as Charley's Crab.

For sushi, we'll cite two extremes. At the glam end of the spectrum, a place complete with trendy martini bar and patrons wishing to see and be seen, is Pacific Rim on Hillview's restaurant row. The setting is playfully chic and the menu extensive, offering everything from grilled steak to pineapple curry, but it's the sushi bar that rules. Our faves include the spicy tuna and the yellowtail, as well as a zingy monster of a handroll called Red Dragon, in which spicy salmon, cucumber and gorgeous raw red tuna feature prominently.

At the no-frills end of the rainbow, in Holmes Beach, is Ocean Star Japanese Restaurant. We eat there often and have pretty much worked our way through the entire sushi list, on which there is not a clinker to be found. The flying fish roe, which explodes in your mouth like Pop Rocks, the buttery escolar and the firm but never chewy conch are among our favorite nigiri selections. For dessert, we like the black dragon maki roll, a fearsome creature with shrimp tails for horns and tempura shrimp, freshwater eel, cream cheese and avocado inside.

Selva Grill, 1345 Main St, Sarasota [phone];Barnacle Bill's, 1526 Main St, Sarasota [phone]; Marina Jack, 2 Marina Plaza, Sarasota [phone]; Crab & Fin, 420 St. Armands Circle, Sarasota [phone]; Pacific Rim, 1859 Hillview St., Sarasota [phone]; Ocean Star Japanese Restaurant, 3608 E. Bay Drive, Holmes Beach [phone]

ISLAND TIME

Let's island hop. A good place to start is at The Bottle Shop on St. Armands, where a bowl of steamed mussels and a side (or topper, if you're feeling European) of crisp truffled Parmesan shoestring fries will make your head explode. This lively brasserie/bistro/bar has done nothing but get better since its very promising opening. The glass front wall disappears in fine weather, and tables spill out onto the terrace and sidewalk. And while the more formal Cork upstairs concentrates on dinner, The Bottle Shop is open from breakfast until late.

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Next stop: the upstairs bar called the HayeLoft at Euphemia Haye on Longboat Key. The big draw here--after legendary bartender Eric Bell, of course--is the best Caesar salad this side of heaven, made from scratch when you order it, always with plenty of garlic but with or without anchovies. Follow the salad with a designer pizza and preface it with one of Eric's textbook martinis.

On Anna Maria, the next island north, we'll swing by Sean Murphy's justly celebrated Beach Bistro. Dine in luxurious high style in the beachside dining room or sample gems from the extensive menu in the bar. Our vote in the latter case goes to Murphy's "White Castle" sliders, which marry the richness of foie gras and tenderloin with demi glace and sauce Bearnaise on a slightly sweet garlic bun. If you think that potent combo might be a bit much, go for the plate of artisanal cheeses and a glass of good wine from a superb list.

We'll finish with a visit to Ophelia's on the Bay on Siesta Key. Ophelia's overlooks a tranquil patch of Little Sarasota Bay teeming with fish and birds. Just before sunset is the perfect time to visit this romantic hideaway. The menu changes nightly, but whatever chef Dan Olson has in store on the evening of your visit is guaranteed to be as delicious as the view, and the wine list will have no trouble at all keeping up.

The Bottle Shop/Cork, 29 N. Boulevard of the Presidents, Sarasota [phone]; Euphemia Haye, 5540 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Longboat Key [phone]; Beach Bistro, 6600 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach [phone]; Ophelia's on the Bay, 9105 Midnight Pass Road, Sarasota [phone]

On the Town

The new Libby's. above, with its signature lemonade, and downtown's Hyde Park Steakhouse, featuring top beef selections like the one below, offer fine dining along with buzzing bar scenes.

Photography by Matt McCourtney