Second life: familiar Fred's gets a fresh new focus; plus a budding Arosa--and more.(food + wine)(Restaurant review)

Sarasota Magazine, April, 2008 by Bancroft, John

THE ORIGINAL FRED'S, its name-plate now retooled to read Fred's Restaurant & Bar, has returned to Sarasota's Southside Village. It's not the same old Fred's we knew and loved for years, but its return under new ownership and management still is cause for celebration.

The adjacent Tasting Room, with which Fred's paired so harmoniously, is under renovation and not scheduled to reopen until this summer, but a little bit of its former space hosts comfy club chairs just right for small talk over cocktails. That comfort extends to the new, more generously sized and cushioned ...