Mike SciaccaLocal flavor predominates at Toscany. Gracing...

Mike Sciacca

Local flavor predominates at Toscany.

Gracing two long walls of the restaurant, which serves classic

Italian cuisine and what chef Ryan Barnett calls “New Bleu,” are more

than 40 pieces of art on display -- all the works of local artists.

The exhibition features works in acrylics, oils, pastels and

watercolors, and range from seascapes and landscapes, to still life.

“It’s always been a dream of mine, since I was 16, to have a

restaurant and combine its food with ... the works of local

artists,” said Barnett, 22, who suggested the owners display local

artwork. “I think it’s wonderful that those who come into this

restaurant have the chance to see the talents of local artists.”

Toscany went through a metamorphosis within the past year when

partners Tawnie and Dave Basset-Parkins and Hanh Ngo hired Barnett as

executive chef. They turned what was a pizzeria for the past 20 years

into a restaurant with an eclectic menu.

Barnett, a Portland, Ore. native who now calls Huntington Beach

home, attended the le cordon Blue school of the culinary arts known

as Western Culinary in Portland.

Barnett prepares the restaurant’s specialty line of dishes called,

Toscany Bleu.

Each weekend he designs a new, four-course meal.

“I consider cooking both an art and a craft,” he said. “When you

make a dish over and over, that, to me, is a craft. But when you

create something out of an original idea, that’s art.”

Barnett’s original idea of displaying art within the restaurant

was to have all the walls in the restaurant consumed by four or five

murals, each different yet blending together, as through telling a

story.

He chalks up the current exhibition of local artists to

“serendipity.”

Artist Melodie Bell and her husband, Tim, happened to come into

the restaurant for pizza one night, Barnett recalled.

“We just started talking and I learned that Melodie was a local

artist who had work on display at another restaurant,” he said. “I

told her that I had been wanting to display works of art, and she

ended up bringing her art here. That is how we began.”

Bell, who lives in Garden Grove, was the first artist to be

featured at Toscany, which now has more than 20 original pieces of

artwork on display. All of which are for sale.

Bell works in pencil, pen and ink, watercolors, pastels, acrylics

and oils. She also paints abstract, decorative and fanciful

paintings, and takes commissions.

“What’s nice about Ryan is that he really cares about local

artists,” Bell said. “He’s very supportive and I think it’s wonderful

that the public gets the chance to see the talents of various

artists.”

The exhibition also displays the works of three Huntington Beach

artists. The artists featured include Donna Stacy, Jeff Moser and

Barnett’s roommate, Jon Couch.

Not only does Barnett support the works of local artists, he also

supports the local economy by purchasing the restaurants produce each

Friday at Farmer’s Market in Downtown.

“The restaurant is defining its personality,” Barnett said. “The

owners are the best, the staff here is incredible and we truly are

creating a local feel through this artwork.

“They brought me in as an executive chef and we took the

restaurant from a simple pizzeria to what I believe to be one of the

best-kept secrets in Orange County.”

* MIKE SCIACCA covers sports and features. He can be reached at

(714) 965-7171 or by e-mail at [email protected].