Sneak Peek: Veronica Fish and Oyster

/
Veronica Executive Chef Mark Majorie, left, and owner Mark Caragiulo at Veronica Fish and Oyster. (STAFF PHOTO / DAN WAGNER)

Veronica Executive Chef Mark Majorie, left, and owner Mark Caragiulo at Veronica Fish and Oyster. (STAFF PHOTO / DAN WAGNER)

Mark Caragiulo isn't positive how many restaurants he's opened, but when his new Veronica Fish & Oyster starts serving customers next week, the number will definitely be in the 20s.

There’s his family’s flagship Caragiulos, Owen’s Fish Camp in Burns Court and Shore Diner on St. Armands to name a few, as well as several in California and more here that are no longer in operation, not to mention the upcoming Shore Diner being built at the former location of Moore’s Stone Crab on Longboat Key.

He won't be able to enjoy it for long, however. He'll be leaving for a long-planned Caragiulo family trip to Italy next week, as well.

The bar and raw bar at Veronica. (STAFF PHOTO / DAN WAGNER)

The bar and raw bar at Veronica. (STAFF PHOTO / DAN WAGNER)

But he has good people in place, including General Manager Tracey Maraien, Executive Chef Mark Majorie (most recently from the Waldorf-Astoria in New Orleans) and long-time bar manager and Caragiulo restaurant fixture Mike Yoder (most recently at Shore), who doubles as part owner of the new spot.

Still, it'll be tough for Caragiulo, who is always deeply involved in almost every aspect of the restaurants he opens, from the kitchen to the decor.

"I'm not a control freak, but everything is filtered through my vision," said Caragiulo, as we toured the new space last week. "For me, a restaurant happens in one person's head. The expression is mine."

For Caragiulo, that expression goes well beyond merely having a beautiful setting and a focused menu, and Veronica is an ideal example of his process.

He started with the basic concept: a fish and oyster house that straddles the line between elegant and casual. "Not too precious, but elevated," he explains.

Caragiulo also knew he wanted the restaurant to have a woman's name. A chance listen to Elvis Costello's 1989 song "Veronica" gave him the seed he needed to add that little something special to the new spot he was envisioning.

"Veronica" tells the tale of a woman who is suffering from dementia and memory loss, inspired by Costello's grandmother, who suffered from Alzheimer's.

A mural of the eponymous Veronica on the back wall of the restaurant, painted by local artist Joseph Arnegger. (STAFF PHOTO / DAN WAGNER)

A mural of the eponymous Veronica on the back wall of the restaurant, painted by local artist Joseph Arnegger. (STAFF PHOTO / DAN WAGNER)

For Caragiulo, the song is about a woman who falls in love with a man who sets sail on the "Empress of India" and never returns, leaving her lost in delusions of the life that she could have had with her love, if things had gone better.

That might not seem like the ideal inspiration for a restaurant, but it worked for Caragiulo.

“It’s a road map for me,” he said.

The references to the sea are easy – it is a fish and oyster house, after all. There’s a beautiful metal sculpture of a mermaid in the center of the room, right where the long bar makes a ninety-degree turn, that’s reminiscent of the figurehead of a ship. There are model ships decorating the back bar, a hefty stock of rum, and craft cocktails named after classic ships, like “Resolution” and “Dreadnought.”

Music will be piped from an ornate turntable complete with speaker bell, and Caragiulo plans to play entire albums instead of shifting them from song-to-song.

The bar also features an extensive chilled raw bar area, where the Veronica staff will construct plates of shellfish and bigger, multi-level “plateaus” featuring a variety of raw bar items.

The menu also features three different preparations of whole fish and a variety of other seafood options ranging from fish and chips to sea scallops, as well as a few non-seafood standards like a steak or chicken and dumplings.

Yellowfin tuna crudo with pickled peaches and charred scallions at Veronica. (STAFF PHOTO / DAN WAGNER)

Yellowfin tuna crudo with pickled peaches and charred scallions at Veronica. (STAFF PHOTO / DAN WAGNER)

Most exciting to me is the small selection of crudo, a food trend that never quite made it to Sarasota when it was hot a decade or so ago. Think of crudo as Italian sashimi, with thin slices of fresh, raw fish dressed with flavored oils or sauces.

The wine list is, naturally, geared to the menu, with a focus on white wines, two different sparkling wines by the glass, and most of the bottles priced in that $30-$50 sweet spot.

There’s also a lounge area next to the bar in the back of the restaurant, with high-backed loveseats upholstered in green velvet that look they could have come from your grandmother’s formal living room. Overlooking the lounge area is a massive mural of a woman – the eponymous Veronica – painted by local artists Joseph Arnegger.

That all makes sense, even if you’ve never heard the song, but Caragiulo also has plans for two large collage art pieces on the main dining room wall that will feature family photos, love letters and memorabilia that reflects his vision of Veronica’s story.

“It’ll be her imaginings of a life that never happened with a man who didn’t come back, the life she would have had,” he explains.

If it seems a little meta for most customers who walk through the door, Caragiulo doesn’t care. He sees the whole restaurant as “a specific narrative” that doesn’t need to be obvious or overt to have an impact.

Great food, excellent service and a beautiful setting all roll into that narrative to create an experience that he hopes will stick with diners.

Veronica's lounge area. (STAFF PHOTO / DAN WAGNER)

Veronica's lounge area. (STAFF PHOTO / DAN WAGNER)

“They don’t have to go away understanding all of it, but it all plays into what they take away with them,” said Caraigiulo. “When a woman leaves here and calls her friend the next day, who asks how it was, that next line – how she defines the experience – is key.”

That next line probably won’t be from the song, but it doesn’t matter. After taking a look at what diners can expect, it’s likely that the hypothetical guest will have plenty of positive things to say.

VERONICA FISH & OYSTER
1830 S. Osprey Ave, Sarasota; 941-366-1342; veronicafishandoyster.com

avatar

Brian Ries

Brian Ries is the editor of ticketsarasota.com.
Last modified: July 6, 2016
All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be published without permissions. Links are encouraged.