SIROCCO
Taste Italy at The Renaissance Esmeralda Resort & Spa

Pastry Chef Margherita Massignani, Manager Ryan Duffy, and Executive Chef Livio Massignani in Mistral,
the elegant private dining room.

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 $19.95 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 hand-blown 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.

SHOWN ABOVE: A few of the exquisite creations of Chef Livio Massignani and Pastry Chef Margherita Massignani, clockwise from the bottom — Lombatina di Vitello Valdostana, a stuffed veal chop oven roasted and stuffed with prosciutto di Parma, fontina valdostana cheese, and herbs served with morel mushrooms in a prosecco wine and Parmiggiano creamy fondue sauce; Farcita di Sogliola alla Genovese, a Dover sole fillet stuffed with Dungeness crab and lobster meat, rolled and baked, served on a bed of white wine, chives, lemon pesto sauce, and clarified butter; Cappuccino Cake, chocolate mousse, coffee mousse, a white chocolate topping, Kahlua Sauce, and fresh berries. The suggested Italian wine is Vintage Tunina, Venezia Giulia, 2004. Photographed before one of the many Mediterranean prints that adorn the dining room.

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

MENU HIGHLIGHTS

APPETIZERS

Insalatina Romana, Hearts of Romaine with creamy garlic dressing, shaved Parmiggiano cheese
Vellutata d’ Aragosta, lobster bisque with shrimp
Porcini Trifolati con Polenta alla Grigila, sautéed Italian porcini mushrooms with grilled polenta

ENTRÉES

Raviolini d’ Aragosta, ravioli filled with fresh shrimp, crab, and lobster in Venetian lobster brandy sauce
Risotto di Asparagi e Gamberi al Limone, asparagus and prawns risotto with garlic, herbs, and wine
Salmone Dell’ Artico al Dragoncello, wild salmon with pinot grigio tarragon sauce
Filetto di Manzo al Pistacchio e Gorgonzola, grilled tenderloin with a gorgonzola, pistachio, and Parmiggiano cream sauce.

DESSERTS

Idolci by Margherita.
Torta al Lemoncello, Key lime torte with Lemoncello liquor sauce.
Bignole alla Crèma, Chantilly cream-filled pastry puffs with warm chocolate and toasted hazelnut sauce.
Il Nostro Tiramisú, coffee-and-rum-soaked ladyfingers layered with Mascarpone and vanilla Grand Marnier sauce.

BEST OF THE CELLAR

RED WINES

Gaja, “Gromis,” Barolo, 2000
Argiano “Solengo,” Super Tuscan, 2004
Showket, Oakville, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2004

WHITE WINES

Jermann, Venice, Chardonnay, 2005
Ca’ Del Bosco, Lombardi, Chardonnay, 2003
Pahlmeyer, Napa, Chardonnay, 2005

SIROCCO
AT THE RENAISSANCE ESMERALDA RESORT & SPA
44-400 INDIAN WELLS LANE
INDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA 92210
(760) 773-4444, FAX: (760) 836-1294

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BY PAMELA BIERI
PHOTOGRAPHY: ARTHUR COLEMAN / ASSISTANT: TIM CARTER
FOOD STYLIST: ROLAND BIERI