Pictured: The pecan-crusted salmon at EVOQ is the signature dish of new executive chef Ryan Ward. Photo courtesy of EVOQ.

“The food at EVOQ is kind of American, but it’s also kind of Florida. It takes pieces from all over,” says Ryan Ward. “I believe a lot of people who travel and visit Florida or have moved here from somewhere else want to experience Florida cuisine, but also enjoy food that feels more familiar. And that’s the style I’ve tried to represent with our menu.”

Ward is the new executive chef at EVOQ Sarasota, a restaurant at The Westin hotel that is also open to the public. Along with a new chef, EVOQ has unveiled a fresh and modern new dinner menu designed by Ward that marries classic American cuisine with the vibrant flavors of the Gulf Coast. For example, his gulf coast seafood chowder is inspired by a creamy, hearty, traditional New England clam chowder but he uses chorizo instead of bacon which gives the dish a smokier, more complex flavor with a hint of spice.

The menu at EVOQ will change at least twice a year, with lighter flavors in the spring and summer and heartier flavors in the winter and fall. With the winter menu currently in effect, Ward was able to showcase his signature dish, pecan-crusted salmon.

“I’ve run many restaurants and I’ve done a variation of the pecan-crusted salmon at each one of them,” Ward says. “It’s always the top seller.”

At EVOQ, the dish is accompanied by butternut squash risotto and wilted rainbow chard and topped with spiced maple butter. Florida doesn’t experience much visible change during the seasons, but a few bites into this you’ll swear the leaves are turning into fall colors outside.

EVOQ Sarasota, 100 Marina View Drive, Sarasota, 941-260-8255, www.evoqsarasota.com.

Pictured: The pecan-crusted salmon at EVOQ is the signature dish of new executive chef Ryan Ward. Photo courtesy of EVOQ.