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Orsi Restaurant 620 Fifth St. Santa Rosa (707) 576-7822
Tuscan Cuisine |
When Oreste and Anna Orsi immigrated from Tuscany in the 1950s, they landed in San Francisco, where they opened their first restaurant, Oreste’s, in 1957. In 1962, they moved to a larger space on Bush Street and renamed the place Orsi’s. Now their son Loreno has opened his own Orsi’s in downtown Santa Rosa. It’s a warm, welcoming and cheerful room. And its sign has the same lettering as his father’s original.
My friend Kim and I started with a portobello bruschetta appetizer. The large mushroom cap served as the “bread” (a fun twist on the idea) was sliced into thirds and topped with sautéed mushrooms, garlic, zucchini, basil and Parmesan cheese. The flavors blended together like a song. Along with it we enjoyed some carpaccio, which had capers, chopped onions, salt and pepper and half a lemon alongside it that, when squeezed on top, enhanced the thin-sliced, fresh beef’s moist and palate-pleasing lusciousness.
Next we had a wilted spinach salad with sautéed mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, crisp pancetta, fresh walnuts and crumbled feta cheese, tossed in a light balsamic vinaigrette. There was plenty of this tangy, tasty mix for the two of us to share.
In between our starters and entrées, we simply had to try one of the homemade pastas. So we split the baked penne. This large, richly flavorful dish (again, plenty to share) had a thick, crusty top, a generous amount of cheese and a mildly spicy sauce that had us smiling and chewing simultaneously.
For an entrée, I chose the grilled halibut, which was dressed with 13 herbs and spices and served with vegetables and buttery rice pilaf. Kim ordered the sautéed prawns, which were presented in a white wine, lemon and diced tomato sauce with a touch of cream. The prawns were so perfectly cooked and full of flavor that they almost tasted sweet. Kim liked them so much she immediately decided to bring her husband back for a date.
Dessert began with the zabaglione with strawberries. Served chilled, this light, creamy custard was one of the best I’ve tasted. Next we tried a strawberry torte, which had a shortbread crust and was topped with that delicious zabaglione. Next was a light, lovely tiramisu. It was like eating a creamy, sugary cloud with an essence of orange. Last was a dense chocolate mousse torte.
All in all, we had a wonderful experience. We couldn’t help notice how fresh everything tasted and how the time-tested preparations brought out all the wonderful flavors of Tuscan cuisine.
