FORKS AND CORKS AT COSIMO'S

[Amy Warren, LMHC / WQ Mag Columnist]

The Forks and Corks Food and Wine Festival premiered this year with wine tasting dinners at various restaurants. It was a delightful beginning to a three day celebration of food and wine. I joined other food and wine enthusiasts at the Forks and Corks Tasting Dinner at Cosimo’s Brick Oven where Executive Chefs Shane Dabney from Cosimo’s Brick Oven at Westfield’s Southgate Mall and Christopher Covelli from Cosimo’s Too at Westfield’s Sarasota Square Mall joined forces with representatives from Washington State's oldest vineyard Chateau St. Michelle, Tuscany's Antinori and Joshua Klapper, winemaker and founder of La Fenêtre wines to deliver an outstanding variety of tastes of food and wine. With three food stations and three wine stations around the room, both food and wine were bountiful. In fact, there was far more on the menu than was publicized.

Wine is meant to be paired with food, and with the unique opportunity to have the experts on hand to make suggestions, the perfect match of food and wine was ensured. With so many wines from which to choose, guests sampled a variety of wines rather than befriending just one for an entire course. My evening began with Chateau St. Michelle’s Domaine St. Michelle Brut Cuvee sparkling wine which would be a great beginning or ending to any meal.

The tasting dinners give the chefs a chance to demonstrate their skill and creativity, with items that are often featured later as specials in the restaurants. Nestled within Westfield Mall, Cosimo’s Brick Oven could easily be mistaken for simply a pizzaria, but the chefs prove the restaurants are far more. There was no evidence of pizza or pasta at this bountiful feast. Instead there was a fusion of flavors that ignited the taste buds.

With rave reviews, Duck Confit and Corn Spring Rolls seemed to spring from guests’ plates. A friend who isn’t particularly fond of salmon heralded the Smoked Salmon Roulade with Wasabi Tobiko and Daikon Sprouts her favorite dish. Leading someone to love a food they haven’t previously loved is always the mark of a good chef. Salmon was again featured in the Salmon Cakes. A totally different rendition, this dish sent my taste buds on a welcomed journey to my North Carolina roots and my mother’s Southern kitchen. But since, I’ve ventured far from my roots, the delicious Chicken Involtine with Proscuitto and Broccoli Rabe with White Wine Cream Sauce was one of my favorites of the night. The flavorful Potato and Tasso Ham Croquettes with Goat Cheese Aioli matched well with the Indian Wells Merlot with its notes of berry and soft tannins. One of the highlights of the evening was a late night spontaneous addition of a Lobster Tostada layered with avocado, hearty chunks of lobster and wakame seaweed. Yum! Lobster is always the way to my heart, so spoonfuls of breaded lobster also had me racing back for seconds. Both dishes paired well with La Fenêtre’s Chardonnay. Amongst the other offerings were Pan-seared Tuna with Wasabi Foam and Herb-Crusted Pork Loin.

My sweet tooth was easily satisfied by White Chocolate Mint and Dark Chocolate Truffle Checkerboard Terrine surrounded by strawberries and blueberries, Star Anise Panna Cotta with Blood Orange Balsamic Glaze and Key Lime Mousse in Phyllo Cups, Not exactly what you’d expect from a mall restaurant, but fortunately the mall trend in recent years has been to house two of my favorite pastimes, shopping and good eating, under the same roof. When it came time for dessert, I was convinced to try the Harvest Riesling, a wine I’ve always deemed too sweet for my tastes. I was coached to savor the marriage of Riesling and strawberries in my mouth. It was indeed a perfect union, reminding me never to judge a wine when tasted alone. Like any good coupling, two separate entities often emerge better as one.

Forks and Corks isn’t the only time of year to enjoy tasting dinners at Cosimo’s or Cosimo’s Too. Both restaurants offer tasting dinners on a regular basis. The buffet-style dinners enable the restaurants to offer outstanding food at a great value and a chance for the chefs to exhibit the full breadth of their talent. And on this night, the dinner was a great entry into a fun-filled and delicious week-end at Forks and Corks.

[Elizabeth Bell]

Cosimo's is one of my favorite restaurants in Sarasota. The food is consistently good in the restuarants and they have the best brick oven pizza in town. The catering services they provide are first-class from the cuisine to the professional staff. Kudos to John Ganley, the owner, and his excellent team.