That’s Cortez to you, Mr. Brown

It will forever be cool to see Manatee County’s food gems be featured on the big stage. It seems to happen more and more.

Two years ago, Star Fish Co. Market and Restaurant in Cortez attracted the likes of Emeril Lagasse and the authentic seafood stop was featured in a 2009 New York Times piece. Hey, that’s pretty cool for a humble seafood market and restaurant that you’ll easily drive past if you don’t know where to look for it.

On Thursday, Food Network TV show host Alton Brown dropped in for lunch. Brown performed at Van Wezel on Thursday night as part of his live-show “Eat Your Science” tour. I’ve always been a fan of Brown’s shows. I was particularly into “Good Eats,” a nerdy look at what’s happening chemically inside your food when it’s being cooked.

But for being such a sharp guy, Brown missed an important detail in his Star Fish visit. He hashtagged his Facebook post with #ABRoadEatsSarasota.” Anyone who knows Star Fish knows that it’s about as Cortesian – and about as un-Sarasotan – as you can get.

His show was in Sarasota later that night, so I suppose I understand the reference. But still, it’s definitely not Sarasota. And the comments left on Brown’s Facebook post definitely let him know about it.

Although perhaps the mistake is a blessing in disguise. I’ve still never dined at Star Fish and last month I celebrated my two-year anniversary of moving here. The place is always packed when I’ve tried to go. Hopefully now that seasonal residents have pretty much emptied out (and Brown’s fans have no idea where it actually is), I can get a seat at a Star Fish table.

Cross your fingers for me. Maybe if I’m extra lucky, I’ll run into Bobby Flay.

This story was originally published April 21, 2017 at 9:29 AM with the headline "That’s Cortez to you, Mr. Brown."