Ticket Editor: Best restaurant for a grouper sandwich near Sarasota? Try this hidden gem

Every May, I publish a list of the best restaurants for burgers in Sarasota and Manatee counties. I love eating burgers, writing about burgers, and receiving feedback each year about the burgers I might have missed. One recommendation that caught my attention recently was for a restaurant in the tiny and utterly charming city of Holmes Beach on Anna Maria Island.

Now, I've long been aware that Holmes Beach is a haven for excellent burgers. Duffy's Tavern, Skinny's Place and Slim's Place all made it onto my 2023 list of best burger restaurants. However, could this city, with a population roughly equivalent to that of my high school, truly boast four burger joints deserving of a spot on my next best-of list? To find out, I paid a visit to Hurricane Hanks, which I learned also serves seafood, including the Florida favorite grouper sandwich.

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Restaurant review: Hurricane Hanks on Anna Maria Island for a best burger and great grouper sandwich

Hurricane Hanks opened in 2000. For the record, I had been there before, but that was about a decade and many beers ago. My recollection of the place — which is nestled in the corner of the S&S Plaza strip mall across the road from the Island Shopping Center, famously populated by the parrots caged outside the Sun & Surf Beach Shop — was fond but hazy. On a recent Sunday afternoon, I decided to revisit Hanks. My wife, Kristin, and I chose one of the covered outside tables that faced Hurricane Liquors, the restaurant's sister business.

The menu at Hank's features a lengthy list of enticing appetizers, including options like chicken or shrimp tossed in a fiery sweet chili mayo, an ahi tuna stacker, and bacon-wrapped scallops. While I could imagine devouring all of them and smiling, I had a specific goal in mind: trying their burger. Hank's offers an entire section on the menu called the 'Burger Bar,' showcasing a variety of beef and bun choices. I ordered The Original, priced at $13, and added a slice of American cheese for an extra buck.

We also ordered a blackened grouper sandwich. I'm always on the lookout for a good grouper sandwich, especially one priced under $25, which is becoming a rarity these days. Typically, though, a grouper sandwich costing under $25 features something frozen a long time ago and now resembling fish-flavored Jell-O. I did not have high hopes for Hanks' grouper sandwich, served in a tourist town a short walk from the beach and priced at just $23. Then again, our bottles of beer were only $3.25 each, so maybe the place just liked catering to us locals by offering reasonable prices.

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The burger turned out to be an exquisite, eight-ounce serving of Angus beef, skillfully seasoned and cooked to a perfect medium, just as we had ordered. Each bite was a succulent explosion of flavors, heightened by a fresh-tasting bun and accompanied by their addictive "island fries." Yeah, I'm already planning my next visit to Hurricane Hanks. I'll be ordering their "pub burger" ($14). It's served on Cuban bread and topped with sautéed mushrooms, caramelized onions, Swiss cheese, and Béarnaise sauce, the luxurious French sauce renowned for enhancing steaks that should prove equally wonderful on this high-quality burger.

We'll also be returning to Hurricane Hanks in the near future for seafood, which must be sourced daily, given the freshness of the grouper we were served. The sizeable portion of fresh fish, expertly blackened, was served on a brioche bun and accompanied by a delightful tartar sauce infused with the perfect amount of pickles. Perhaps on our next visit, I will opt for the grilled or fried grouper sandwich. Additionally, they offer grouper tacos, and you have the option to add grouper to any of their salads.

So, without a doubt, Hurricane Hanks deserves a spot on my next list of the best burgers in Sarasota-Manatee. Furthermore, this fun and casual bar and grill, conveniently located next door to a liquor store, merits inclusion in any compilation of the finest establishments for grouper sandwiches — a list that I am currently working on for a future article. Researching and compiling it will take some time but it should be worthwhile and, yeah, I'm not complaining about eating grouper sandwiches throughout sunny Sarasota-Manatee.

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Hurricane Hanks is at 5346 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach. For more information, call 941-778-5788 or visit hurricanehanks.com.

Wade Tatangelo is Ticket Editor for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, and Florida Regional Dining and Entertainment Editor for the USA TODAY Network. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. He can be reached by email at [email protected]. Support local journalism by subscribing.??????

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Best restaurant for a grouper sandwich in Sarasota and Bradenton