Sweet & Savory

Michael’s on East

“Michael’s on East? Really? You want me to write about Michael’s? What else can be said about it?” I asked the publishers when tasked with this article about a restaurant whose name is so recognized here in town I’m surprised they haven’t changed our airport code to MOE.

Don’t get me wrong: I absolutely love the place. Beyond the appeal of its throwback supper club ambience, its decadent menu that walks the line between traditional and contemporary, the hardest-working, most committed staff in town, an absolutely lovable and talented chef, gracious owners that tirelessly give back to the community with their time, money, and personal involvement, and a laundry list of accolades too long to mention here, Michael’s also has a wine cellar, ballroom, and a dolphin that will do a backflip for a dollar. Fine, no dolphin. Yet.

Point is, Michael’s on East has been around since 1987 and given their exceedingly substantial ties to almost every event in town, it’s pretty fair to guess that you already have firsthand knowledge of the restaurant’s talents or every publication has already told you everything you’ll ever need to know about MOE.

So let’s look at it from a different angle. How about we head to the back of the house and chat with the two fine folks in charge of all things savory and sweet?

PASTRY CHEF RAY LAJOIE

“Believe it or not, I’m a pastry chef who doesn’t like sugar. I don’t want to sit down and eat dessert. I’m a savory eater. I want potato chips,” says Ray Lajoie, who has been working for MOE, in various capacities, for 25 years. As a former snowbird, Ray would come down and help during season, doing everything from bartending to events, before eventually using his culinary experience and education to serve as the head pastry chef.

But who cares about that? The man said he doesn’t like sugar. That’s the same as a surgeon saying he doesn’t like blood. Do we even trust this sugar-free wolf in sweet clothing to make us sugary confections?

Yes. Yes, we do.

“I’ve been cooking since I was tall enough to reach the oven door,” he tells me. “I’m the oldest of six kids and my mom had a huge sweet tooth. There was a lot of dessert in our house and we were lucky to have an abundance of fresh fruit to bake with that we would handpick from orchards and blueberry fields nearby.”

“Go on,” I say, eyeing him suspiciously even though I can personally attest to devouring many deliciously decadent Ray-made desserts at MOE events and dinners over the years.

“Baking has always been my passion. I’m classically trained in savory but pastry has always been what I love to do. But American desserts are way overdone with sugar. I can make something super indulgent without it being grossly sweet,” he explains.

“Yeah, but how can you love making desserts but not eating them?” I ask, still suspicious.

“Oh, that’s easy,” he says with a big smile. “I love making people happy. And dessert makes people happy. I probably got it from my Italian mother. ‘Mangia mangia,’ she would say, always feeding somebody something. There’s so much joy in feeding others.”

What answer could be sweeter than that?

“What I love about my job,” Ray continues, “is that it changes every day. I get to invent over-the-top desserts for events and play with new ingredients and techniques for our Epicurean menu. We try to be a scratch bakery for everything. We’re Michael’s on East. We get the top quality of everything and we don’t detour from that.”

If you’re a sugar hound like me, you’ll be happy to know Ray makes plenty of “desserts that’ll rot your teeth out!” However, if you tend to shy away from sweets, rest assured MOE has something for everybody, including gluten-free and vegan options.

EXECUTIVE CHEF JAMIL PINEDA

“The first thing I ever tried to cook was boiled eggs. I put the pot on the stove and sat down to do my homework in the dining room. Next thing I know, I hear all these louds pops. Pop, pop, pop, pop. I run into the kitchen and all the eggs had exploded everywhere,” says Chef Jamil Pineda, who has become a beloved fixture in this town with his big heart, calm presence, infectious humor, and unwavering dedication to his role as executive chef and the service, skill, and leadership that go with it.

“I started in the restaurant industry as a dishwasher when I was 17 as a Nicaraguan kid in a North Carolina restaurant,” he tells me, relaying another memorable story from his early days when he knew next to nothing about cooking. “The owner was Greek but the restaurant was Mediterranean. He had, like, 10 restaurants. One of the chefs was making a pizza in the brick oven but he was drunk and cut his hand opening a bagel. So the owner said ‘Jamil, I need you to help with the pizza.’ I had never cooked a day in my life but I made good pizza. The next day the guy didn’t show up. Guess who the next pizza guy was?” he says with a chuckle, reminiscing over his humble beginnings, which ultimately unveiled an abundance of unforeseen refined culinary talent.

At 13, Jamil’s entire family moved to California because of the civil unrest in his native Nicaragua between the Contras and the Sandinistas and the fact that they were snatching kids of any age if they were big and strong enough to hold a weapon—even abducting Jamil, who was lucky enough to escape. His family decided to move to the United States, where their impressive careers in Nicaragua didn’t mean diddly as immigrants, leading most of them to get low-level jobs in restaurants. A couple of years later the family left California for Raleigh, and that’s where Jamil’s real culinary journey began.

“I learned quickly,” he tells me. “And got good fast. That Greek owner moved me to his fine-dining restaurant that was three times bigger—it could seat 300 people and had a beautiful courtyard with a big pizza oven. One night they came to me and said ‘Jamil, you need to help out the pastry chef.’ So I did.”

“Jamil, just help so and so do such and such” became a pretty common request, allowing him to learn the basics of prep and sauces and all the details that come with the kitchen and revealing that Jamil was not only capable of handling each station but also had a natural talent that surpassed many of the trained chefs. The executive chef was so impressed, in fact, that he mentored Jamil, training him on each station, insisting he read all the classic cookbooks, and teaching him how to make everything from paella to bouillabaisse.

The trajectory of Jamil’s culinary career took off from there until, eventually, he, his wife, and his son moved to Sarasota to help family. And like everyone else who comes to Sarasota “for just a little bit,” they ended up staying permanently with Jamil landing a job at the once-prestigious Colony Beach and Tennis Resort owned by the family of Michael Klauber, the Michael in “Michael’s on East.” The Colony closed in 2010 and shortly after Phil Mancini, co-owner at MOE, gave Jamil a call and said “You’re coming here with us.” And, voila, folks, 12 years later and here we are with a chef who swears “It’s not just about cooking. It’s about the passion and the love and the respect of the food and creating new dishes just to see the people’s reactions. It’s your team and who you surround yourself with. You’re nobody without your staff and support of your owners who trust you with their business.”

Shout out to the pizza guy: We’re sorry about your hand, but thanks for the end result.

> Michael’s on East: 1212 S East Ave, Sarasota; 941-366-0007; bestfood.com