The Waterline Marina Resort & Beach Club on Anna Maria Island, Fla., a member of Marriott's Autograph Collection, has opened of Eliza Ann’s Coastal Kitchen. The boutique waterfront hotel opened its doors last month in Holmes Beach on the eastern shore of the island.
As the resort’s signature restaurant, Eliza Ann’s Coastal Kitchen’ menu is reportedly inspired by coastal locales, bridging the heritage of the land and sea.
Executive Chef James Baselici helps the restaurant. With more than 20 years of culinary experience, Baselici was previously chef de cuisine at Sands Pointe Restaurant at The Resort at Longboat Key Club. A former New Jersey resident and graduate of New York’s Institute of Culinary Education, Baselici has worked in kitchens throughout the Sarasota area and was a guest chef for the James Beard Foundation Celebrity Chef Tour and the Chef's Collaborative Trash Fish Dinner in 2014.
The casual 76-seat restaurant with an open kitchen has rustic elements such as reclaimed wood top tables, an oyster shell chandelier and nautical influences throughout. Guests can try handcrafted cocktails, wood-grilled oysters, blue crab hushpuppies, daily specials based on local catch, and simple vegetable preparations. Eliza Ann’s features a solid fuel grill burning live oak (from Black Dog Firewood in Tampa) to give filet mignon, fresh seafood and other dishes a smoky, natural wood flavor. All menu selections have been crafted to form a connection with similar coastal locations, including the Carolina Lowcountry, the bayous of Louisiana and the docks of Cortez.
Eliza Ann’s is open for dinner nightly from 4 to 10 p.m. The resort plans to introduce breakfast and lunch service beginning February 2018.