Mattison's Riverside offers happy hour and live reggae (dancing optional)

Mattison's Riverside still has the one of the best Happy Hours in town, with daily (That includes the weekend, folks!) drink and appetizer specials from 3 p.m. - 7 p.m. nightly.

Stopping in with a large group of friends for birthday festivities, and we were met with a $4 martini, mojito and specialty drink menu, and a $5 appetizer menu. Mattison's is also featuring a twin lobster tail dinner special for $29.

We settled on some sushi, the Dynamite with salmon, tuna and whitefish wrapped in nori and rice, a seafood artichoke dip with flat crisps, while friends tried the pesto pizzas and soft shell crab sushi...Each mini-dish was $5 a pop, and perfect for a light bite.

For drinks, mint, classic, watermelon and dragonberry mojitos were among the favorites, as well as "Boater Bob" rum cocktails, bud on tap, and house white and red, all between $2 and $4.

Then, as the sun was setting at the marina, Happy Hour ended just as the reggae dancing began, with local sensation Democracy taking the stage.

In other words, $9 gets you food, drink, live music, a water view, and dancing. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday night.

Palmetto Art Center Helps Fight Hunger

Leave it to Gretchen Leclezio to find a fun way to help out during some un-fun times.

Owner and director of the Palmetto Art Center (PAC), Leclezio is one of many Bradenton sponsors stepping up to support the nationwide Empty Bowls project, hosted by Meals on Wheels Plus in Bradenton.

"Local restaurants are donating soups to Empty Bowls. Participants buy a bowl they'd like to keep, and have it filled with the soup of their choice," Leclezio told me.

For a $20 donation, visitors can sit around and enjoy a meal and good conversation, all in support of helping fight hunger. The bowl serves as a reminder that everyone is entitled to a hot meal. 100% of the proceeds benefit the Food Bank of Manatee.


I, and a few friends, had the privilege of taking part in their unique Potter's Wheel Workshop. Many of us new to the craft, were coached through the bowl-making process by seasoned potters Slade Nash and Kathy Cornwell.

I tucked my elbows in and centered my slab of clay with the appropriate amount of pressure (or at least, I tried to), reducing the speed of the wheel, and adding water to avoid "drag".

Fortunately, Nash, Cornwell and Leclezio were there to guide us through the lumps, making it educational, as well.

From there, the newly crafted bowls will be left to dry before getting roasted in the kiln at 1,945 degrees. After this first firing (or, "bisque"), glaze is applied to the bowl before it is re-fired at slightly milder temperature - a mere 1,828 degrees.

Details of the Glazing Workshop will follow.

"Last year," Leclezio added. "They completely sold out of bowls".

Let's hope the same thing happens this year, as well.

The Palmetto Art Center is located at 907 5th St. W., Palmetto, FL. 34221. Those interested in the project should call Gretchen at 941-518-2109 or email gretchen@palmettoartcenter.com.