Glad for The Mad Rose
A visit to The Farmer and The Cook in Meiners Oaks was one of many inspirations Giovanni Tromba drew on for The MAD Rose eatery and bar. What resonated was the restaurant’s use of produce from co-owner Steve Sprinkel’s farm and seeing diners of all ages “happy and healthy.”
“I loved that concept,” says the longtime restaurateur who, with partners Jorge Hernandez and Meghan Davy, opened The MAD Rose in Downtown Ventura this summer.
Tromba grew up on farm-to-table dining in Italy and is passionate about Slow Food, the global movement that prioritizes healthful food that’s good for the environment and the people who produce it and enjoy it.
“One of the reasons I moved to Ventura County from Los Angeles in the early 1980s is the produce. I think it’s the best in the world,” says Tromba , who also owns Bistro 13 in Camarillo with chef/partner Hernandez.
So it’s second nature for him to use locally grown ingredients, preferably organic, from small farms he can visit to survey their operations.
By the end of the year, Tromba’s goal is that local produce will make up 70% of the mix at The MAD Rose. Already, The Abundant Table Farm in Camarillo and Underwood Family Farms in Somis supply a lot of the restaurant’s produce. Heirloom tomatoes come from Freyr Farms in Oxnard; the grass-fed beef with no GMOs hails from Modesto.
The restaurant’s Mediterranean menu will switch up three times a year, says Tromba. While the foundation is Italian, it takes advantage of the whole region. Meaning this fall you might find a delicious rack of lamb with organic yogurt and mint, bouillabaisse and a Greek salad.
“My goal was to create dishes that are good for your soul and good for your body,” he says.
An avid cook, Tromba is also an avid organic gardener. “Some people do yoga, I go talk to my trees,” he says. “If I’m not at work, it’s where I am.” Tromba has 54 fruit trees—from lemons to loquats—in his Ventura yard and a garden with produce he can pick for his home-cooked meals. The lemons served at The MAD Rose are from his yard, as are some of the limes, he says. Now that’s local.
The MAD Rose
543 E. Main St., Ventura
805-628-3913; TheMadRose.com
