Go to any Sarasota party, and what’s the hottest topic of conversation—art? Real estate? World peace? Maybe, but it’s much likelier that the biggest buzz will be about what hot new restaurant is providing our latest culinary thrills. This is a restaurant-crazy town, where serial dining out is the norm and where a popular chef’s decision to strike out on his own can cause a small sensation. And we’re getting more chances to feed our restaurant addiction every year, as the city’s growing population, rising wealth and expanding downtown are attracting all sorts of creative entrepreneurs with fresh restaurant visions along with some of the country’s best chains.

As a restaurant critic, I’m always exploring new culinary turf, and last year provided many delicious discoveries. Here’s a look at some of my favorites, from posh new special-occasion restaurants to friendly little sushi bars and neighborhood joints. All have opened within the last year, give or take a few months, and all offer food, service or atmosphere that was enticing enough to lure me back (on my own dime) after my initial review.

Brava, Italy!

Without a doubt, it’s been the year of the Italian restaurant. Sarasota has always had a taste for Italian food and atmosphere (and we seem to be getting a whole contingent of bona fide Italians, who arrive fashionably late at many of our Italian hotspots, chattering away in their native language and looking wonderfully sophisticated and interesting). But we haven’t had too many notable new Italian restaurants in recent years. After that drought, 2006 brought a deluge.

Treviso, the restaurant in the new visitor’s center at the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, is one of the best. Keeping pace with the trend of offering fine dining in museums (formerly the mainstays of American cheese sandwiches and dried-up banana nut muffins in cellophane wrappers), Treviso brings style and substance to our very own world-class museum complex. The space is architecturally interesting with a modernist sensibility, and the food is appealing and absorbing without demanding too much attention. Can we ask for more than that?

I love the bruschetta, which features a trio of toppings that bring layers of sensory excitement to the table. The pastas deliver flavors, and the sandwiches catch your eye. The dinner entrÈes are prepared with precision, balancing texture and tastes. Leave room for dessert, too. The small list of libations (I’m thinking primarily of wine) needs to be addressed, but other than that, well, I think legendary hostess Mable Ringling would be quite proud.

La Tosca is a surprising and welcome addition to those of us who live south of Sarasota, where we formerly depended on a controversial tiki bar and a palladium of early bird specials for our culinary sustenance. Located in a big, high-end boat storage facility—OK, that is a bit odd—the trattoria offers a three-sided view of Little Sarasota Bay, something to applaud in and of itself. The food is the other reason to rejoice. La Tosca offers food that’s an engaging combination of traditional and contemporary Italian. The carpaccio is a must-have. By adding tomatoes and endive, the chef creates a mini salad to enhance the well-seasoned rare beef, dressed with nutty olive oil and piquant capers. EntrÈes hit the mark, too, with a delightful and decidedly Italian rendering of duck.

The doyenne of Italian cuisine, cookbook author and Longboat Key resident Marcella Hazan, loves little Bologna Cafe, and so do I. The interior of this tiny spot on the South Trail resembles a delicatessen, but combining take-out and table service is very much in the Italian style. I’m always stopping in to pick up just about anything from the fresh-from-Italy deli case. The cheeses are exquisite, especially the fresh mozzarella, which they create on the premises from imported curds. Salads are worth celebrating, with a kiss of dressing on the fresh, sweet greens and exquisitely flavorful tomatoes. Order the lasagna for an authentic Bolognese treat (no tomatoes here), and try the tigella—a sandwich pocket that’s indigenous to a very small area of Italy.

Esca is just what downtown needed, a sophisticated eatery with a bar that draws the who’s who of Sarasota’s younger crowd at night. The location, across from the Hollywood 20 cineplex, has hosted several short-lived eateries. This sophisticated combination of some classic dishes and contemporary preparations of seafood and pasta looks like it’s going to survive. The balcony of the second-story bar is a great spot to watch the sun set over Sarasota while enjoying the appetizer sampler. The zucchini turbans are luscious little morsels. The lobster salad is succulent, too. And the wine list offers a welcome selection of new and old-world wines. This is one of the few restaurants in town that actually carries a Gruner Veltliner on the menu. Way to go!