Arts & Culture Magazine - March/April 2008 - (Page 66) Culinary Arts : : By June LeBell Arosa Restaurant A Romantic Addition to the Downtown Eating Scene sn’t It Romantic?” Rodgers and Hart asked it in song back in 1931, and now, almost 80 years later, Arosa, the new eclectic restaurant at 1296 First Street, around the corner from the Sarasota Opera House, is bringing us the romance of dining. “It’s a very romantic story,” says Thomas Roesicke, the general manager of Arosa, when asked about the restaurant’s name. “Kerstin and Aribert Goldberg met in Arosa, Switzerland, and fell in love there. When they moved to Sarasota recently, they decided to open a restaurant here and name it after the place where they first met.” Known as a resort,the European Arosa is nestled in the Schanfigg valley, almost 6,000 feet above sea level. Its ski slopes, spas, restaurants and luxury hotels are sought after by thousands of sports enthusiasts and fireplace mavens every year. So it’s no wonder the Goldbergs, having fallen in love there, decided to bring a little of their old favorite haunt to their new favorite home in Florida. Arosa, the restaurant, gushes with luxury and romance. “But we do it all at fair prices,” expounds Roesicke. “I know the best way to keep people coming back is to give them great food and wine, made from fresh produce, at a fair price.” Like the Goldbergs, both Roesicke “i ONLINE PHOTO and Arosa’s executive chef, Daniel Burth, are from Germany. But the food at Arosa has skied across the Alps to Italy, and across oceans to Asia, Australia and America, to come up with an eclectic, romantic mixof-a-cuisine that is healthy, delicate, sumptuous and sensual. “I’m the mixologist,” Roesicke says with a gleam in his eye which leads us into a half-hour discussion about flavored vodkas and other tempting drinks. One has only to look at Arosa’s list of martini selections to know there’s humor in this barman’s blender. But, before we get too drunk, let’s get into the food. Chef Burth, a 27-year-old exponent of fine dining from Germany to Australia, is thrilled to find himself at Arosa. “In preparation, I spent some months traveling around the United States going to conventions and food shows. The ingredients here are very different from the ones I worked with in Europe and Australia, and it’s difficult to recreate my recipes with such different elements. I have to play with a recipe to find just the right local spices and herbs. Even the fish and vegetables are different from what I’m used to.” This seems to be neither good nor bad. It’s simply a learning experience, and Burth appears to be enjoying his American education. “There’s a wonderful fish that I used in Australia. It’s called barramundi and I’ve found that they raise it here, locally.” With that, the excited young chef excuses himself, races into the kitchen, and reappears with a tray of glistening fish, so fresh I can smell only cold, sea air. They’re beautiful fat fillets and my hunger is rising. “I serve this fish baked in a banana leaf with baby bok choy and a jasmine pilaf,” Burth says. “But if someone would rather have spinach or roasted potatoes, we’ll fix those to order for them.” “As long as we have it in the kitchen that day,” adds Roesicke, “we’ll always go out of our way to cook it to order for someone.” We’re sitting at a table in the abundant garden area of Arosa, talking about food and wine. The outer wall of the Sarasota Opera House is on one side and a stand of bushy flowers and plants walls off the other. Stones are under our feet and the inviting bar near the middle beckons some early birds in for a drink before dinner. “We serve lunch and dinner Monday through Friday, dinner on 66 : : arts and culture magazine arosasarasota.com www.artsandculturemag.com http://www.artsandculturemag.com http://arosasarasota.com
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