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Taste Italy at the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort & Spa

Italy’s regions contain a complexity of cultures that have influenced this ancient country for centuries. Its north, central, and southern cuisines reflect subtle presences of Turkish, Greek, Arabian, African, and European cultures that have woven themselves by conquest, invasion, or proximity into Italy’s culinary fabric. Italy’s gifts of land and sea are the threads from which this tempting tapestry is created.

Named for the North African wind that whips through the Mediterranean, at Sirocco you are invited to explore Italy to your heart’s content. With more than 25 years experience, Chef Livio Massignani and his wife, Pastry Chef Margherita, present authentic cuisine from the northern reaches of Tuscany, their native central Venice, to southern Naples and the Captiva Islands. Guests may order from the menu or from their own memories a dish that translates their dream of Italy. Sunday through Thursday from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. try the Taste of Sirocco for $23.95 that offers a trio of pasta or risottos, dessert, and a glass of select wine.

Seafood such as found in the Mediterranean and Baltic seas, olive oils, fresh garden vegetables and herbs, pastas, gnocchi, raviolis, and sumptuous risottos to naturally aged beef and tender veal, tempered with a light sorbet intermezzo, and finished with a prized fresh fruit gelato or pastry puff drizzled with chocolate and toasted almonds, the Massignanis deliver a bounty of Italian delights.

A Wine Spectator award winner for the past five years, Sirocco’s cellars boast hundreds of top Italian, Californian, and international vintages.

The restaurant, located in the lower level of the hotel’s atrium, overlooks a sparkling lake and Indian Wells Golf Resort greens. Floor-to-ceiling windows are topped with a Tuscan gold valance. Soft glowing candles illuminate a collection of colorful handblown glass bottles. The noiseless carpet crested with grape motifs, gracefully curved armchairs and banquettes in deep wine tones create a gracious elegance. In addition to two main dining areas, the Mistral private dining room seats up to 16.

Sirocco is open nightly from 5:30 to 10 p.m. Reservations are strongly recommended.

“Experience the subtle nuances of Italy’s ancient, culturally intertwined culinary history.”

Text by Pamela Bieri