Jack Dusty will open at the Ritz-Carlton next Monday

After a complete overhaul of its food and beverage program, the Ritz-Carlton will open its first new restaurant on Monday (Jan. 21). Jack Dusty is billed as "coastal cuisine and crafted cocktails," promising food and drink in "a stylish but unpretentious setting." That marks a big change from the days of the high-end menu and stately surrounding of Vernona, the restaurant Jack Dusty replaces.

In the kitchen will be the Ritz's Chef de Cuisine Jeff Thomas, a recent vet of Beach Bistro, while the front of the house will be managed by Patrick Bucko, another former Beach Bistro staffer who also served time at Euphemia Haye and Eat Here.

The menu of modern American cuisine features a host of seafood options, including an extensive raw bar, local Mote sturgeon caviar, crab and fried green tomatoes, grouper cakes, and a Sarasota version of classic Italian seafood stew cioppino. There are also Southern touches, like black eyed peas and green served with pork chops and grits alongside a Red Brick chicken.

For drinks, Jack Dusty plans on serving craft cocktails as well as an extensive wine selection. There's also a respectable selection of rum, including some less-common aged varieties, and interesting few punch-bowl style cocktails meant for sharing

The restaurant's decor looks sharp, the ceiling decorated with 1,800 hand-crafted brass mesh petals, reclaimed oak floors, an outdoor fire feature and artwork garnered in a partnership with Ringling College of Art and Design.

Despite the more casual vibe and "unpretentious" aim of Jack Dusty, it's still in the Ritz-Carlton and that's reflected in the prices. Compared to Vernona, however, you may think it a bargain when you see entrees that stick largely to a $25-$30 range, starters from $10-$20 and cocktails pegged at $12. The lounge menu also features a few sandwiches that flirt with $20, as well as some fun snacks like pork rinds that come with a complimentary PBR.

Not cheap, but possibly unpretentious.