Last night, my wife, three friends, and I enjoyed a fantastic meal at Darwin's on 4th (http://darwinson4th.com/site/) in Sarasota. This was no surprise because we have had a number of excellent dining experiences at two of the three other locations where chef Darwin Santa Maria has operated restaurants in Sarasota. Our first experience was at his first restaurant, the small Selva Grill on Clark Road at Swift. Later, we had excellent meals when he moved Selva Grill to a larger venue on Sarasota's Main Street. We missed the opportunity to eat at his highly rated Cottage Restaurant on Siesta Key, which he still serves as a consultant.
When friends recently invited us to join them for dinner at Darwin's on 4th, his newest venture, we jumped at the chance. We had read good reviews of this restaurant and were eager to try it.
Chef Darwin, who is originally from Peru is an exceptionally creative and talented chef, who not only incorporates the influences of his native Peru, but of other cuisines as well. One way in which Peruvian cuisine differs from that of other Latin American cuisines is that it is influenced by the large ethnic Japanese community of about 50,000. Chef Santa Maria has incorporated Japanese tastes into a number of his dishes.
One unique aspect of Darwin's on 4th is that it also has its own microbrewery. The brewmaster, Jared Barnes, is very creative. One of our friends with whom we dined is a beer connoisseur. He loves the beers at Darwin's. I tried one sip of the first beer he had, and was really impressed. It is called Betrayal. It is an Oak Aged Imperial Stout with tastes of coffee, chocolate, and vanilla. It is very powerful, with an alcohol content of 10%. If you're a craft beer lover, check out Darwin's beer menu at http://darwinson4th.com/site/menus/beer-menu/
My wife started with an appetizer of Shrimp Spring Rolls with creamy shrimp, avocado aioli, and sweet chili sauce for $10. It was superb.
I started with Choritos - pan-roasted, fresh, Prince Edward Island mussels with Aji Amarillo butter and lime juice for $13. They were incredibly delicious.
My wife's entrée was Chef Darwin's Skirt Steak, an 8 oz. skirt steak with chimichurri sauce, beet relish, and sweet plantains for $26. She loved this dish at Selva Grill and was delighted to see it on the menu at Darwin's. As usual, it was wonderful. She likes it so much, she can't bring herself to try any other entrées.
Instead of having an entrée, I had a ceviche called Mayya Shrimp Ceviche for $13. It had shrimp, lime juice, orange juice, red bell peppers, avocados, cancha (crisp Peruvian corn kernels), and plantain chips. Every morsel was mouth-watering.
In the ceviche portion of the menu is another type of Peruvian raw seafood dish known as tiradito (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiradito), which differs from ceviche because it is sliced in long slices rather than chopped. One of the tiradito dishes is an example of a dish with Japanese influence. The Wahoo Tiradito has ponzu sauce, a citrus-based Japanese sauce, which I love. The Wahoo Tiradito also has ginger aioli, cucumber, mango, and seaweed salad.
For dessert, my wife had the Tumbao Pot of Mousse, bittersweet and white chocolate mousses, café cappuccino, tartufo chocolate, and mango and raspberry sauces for $7. It was outstanding.
My dessert was the Lavender Honey Poached Pear with goat cheese ice cream and black pepper caramel sauce for $7. Fantastic!
Our wine was a 2010 Decero Argentinian Malbec from the Mendoza Valley for $40. It was very nice.
Our server, Enrique, was extremely knowledgeable, helpful, and attentive.
The atmosphere at Darwin's is very nice.
I strongly recommend making reservations.
Darwin's is located at 1524 4th St. Phone 941-343-2165.
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