Fresh Faces, Fresh Food: The Fresh Start Café

The Fresh Start Café, one from an abundant crop of new Sarasota restaurants, recently opened in the Burns Court area. Founded by business and life partners Rochelle Seldin and Hanna Schneider, the restaurant represents a new beginning for each. Rochelle, a singer, entrepreneur and entertainer, longed for another opportunity “to do her own thing” and work for herself---to make a new beginning. Hanna, after taking a hiatus from the food service business to focus on the couple's young family, wanted to put her culinary skills back to work. The seeds for the Fresh Start Café were germinated.

With an emphasis on fresh, the menu is well-balanced, offering familiar and unique breakfast and lunch fare (eggs, frittatas, baked goods, soup, salads and sandwiches), all with a Fresh Start Café signature touch. For our meals we had the following:

• • Pumpkin Muffin: Fresh-baked and covered in powdered sugar.  $2.50 Very fresh, subtle flavor; great with morning coffee.
  • Apple Muffin: Fresh-baked, with chunks of apple.  $2.50 Very light and flavorful, sweet but not overdone; another great accompaniment to coffee.
  • Burekas: Flaky puff pastry filled with salted cheese. A popular Israeli way to eat burekas is by adding slices of hardboiled egg, tomatoes and black pepper.  Cheese: $3.50; add $1.00 for the "Israeli Way" Very interesting pastry; a non-sweet baked good alternative, simple yet flavorful.
  • Poached Eggs over Spinach: Topped with hollandaise sauce, served on rye toast with a side of chopped salad or fresh fruit.  $7.25 A very nice presentation: eggs perfectly poached, colorful, flavorful, and the toast was great.
  • La Greca Frittata: Three eggs, spinach and feta baked (not fried) to order in a deep skillet, served with toast, strawberry butter and a choice of chopped salad or fresh fruit.  $8.25 A very filling, flavorful alternative to the omelet; nice presentation, delicious.
  • Going Green Frittata: Three eggs, zucchini, broccoli and chives, baked (not fried) to order in a deep skillet, served with toast, strawberry butter and a choice of chopped salad or fresh fruit.  $8.25 Fresh and full of subtle flavors and texture; nice presentation.
  • Tuna Salad Sandwich: Choice of Italian ciabatta, black Russian rye, wheat grain or white bread, served with lettuce, tomato and onion.  $6.25 A well-prepared and presented sandwich served with a side of couscous.
  • Thanksgiving Day:  Your choice of bread with turkey, cheddar, cranberries, and horseradish mayo.  $8.75

    Very flavorful and filling, served with a side of pasta salad; simply delicious.The Fresh Start Café offers a limited selection of beer and wine to accompany your meal, while offering a good selection of coffee, tea and soft drinks. The wait staff is very friendly, accommodating, fast and efficient.

    Perhaps the Fresh Start Café is an insider’s place, mostly discovered by locals in the Burns Square and Palm Avenue areas. However, the word is getting out about the quality of the food, and the Fresh Start  is becoming a very busy spot for breakfast, lunch or just for coffee---another welcome addition to the Historic Burns Court neighborhood.