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1 November 2009 1,096 views No Comment BY Stephanie Salter

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Because the story is so charming — and mounted on a huge wall poster in his popular restaurant — many people think a 1993 trip to Italy was the beginning of Norbert Gottschling’s love affair with the kind of cooking he does at Market Bella Rossa. That notion, however, is at least 30 years off.

A native of the Chicago area, Gottschling has been busy and comfortable in kitchens since childhood, learning from his maternal grandmother, a German immigrant who discovered the joys of European cuisine working in the restaurant of a downtown Chicago hotel.

1109bellarossa “I grew up in a very ethnic family — German, Ukranian-Russian and Polish,” Gottschling said. “I never ate a lot of ‘American’ food when I was younger.” At the dinner table at big family meals, several languages were spoken. “I spent a lot of time hanging out with my grandmother when I was a little kid, watching her cook. She just had a real knack for cooking delicious food. As I became a little bit older, I cooked for my family — both of my parents worked.”

The Italian flavors that eventually helped launch Bella Rossa seeped in when Gottschling was an under grad majoring in psychology at Southern Illinois University. His roommate came from a huge Italian clan, and he, too, liked to cook. One of the first dishes Gottschling mastered was pasta with garlic, olive oil and anchovies. It later became “a staple” in the Gottschling home when Norbert and his wife, Gail, began to raise their own family.

After a year in Los Angeles, graduate school at Indiana State University brought the Gottschlings to Terre Haute in 1978. “Moving here, it was like, ‘Whoa! Where’s the food?’” he remembers. Frequent trips to Chicago, where he loaded up at delicatessens and other specialty foods shops, kept the family larder stocked with necessities.

Flash forward 16 years, passing a long stint for Gottschling as a counselor at the Gibault School. “I decided to leave Gibault and I was trying to figure out what do,” he said. “The idea came to my head — there really wasn’t a place in Terre Haute to get some interesting food — to create that place. I did it, probably as much for me as anything else.”

Naturally, everyone tried to talk him out of it. They told him he was crazy to attempt anything different here, and they could point to many failed experiments as proof. “But I ignored it,” Gottschling said. “Honestly, I just felt like the town needed it. I got to be bound and determined to do it.”

During a family vacation in Italy in the early 1990s, the Gottschlings stopped for food in the northern region city of Novara. Norbert took their then-toddler daughter, Ellen, into a small grocery-deli called the Alimentari Lori to try his hand at ordering in English and limited Italian. The store’s proprietress was their servant, however, because she was enchanted with Ellen’s curly red hair, which she repeatedly referred to as “bella rossa” -- beautiful red. Thus the restaurant and market in far-away Terre Haute, Ind., found a name.

Lucky Terre Haute. What Gottschling does for lunch six days a week — and for dinner on the first Friday of each month, and brunch on the occasional “middle of the month” Sunday — is offer a diverse but well-planned menu. That includes, of course, 10 specialty sandwiches served half or whole on Scholars Inn Bakehouse breads from Bloomington. Between the slices of panne bello or paisano, diners can go mainstream or adventurous. No. 8, The Pilgrim, features smoked turkey, Swiss cheese, mayo or mustard and lettuce and tomato. No. 4, however, piles on spicy cappicola (dried pork shoulder), which is drizzled with chili oil then dressed with tomato and lettuce. No. 1, grilled eggplant and smoked mozzarella with a different drizzle — roasted garlic grapeseed oil — is a personal favorite.

Then there are the changing specials. Dishes can range from a quiet and comforting Midwestern classic such as egg salad to an exotic and palate-perking spicy African sweet potato and peanut butter soup. Depending on seasonal produce (and trips to Chicago, Indy and Bloomington for ingredients), Bella Rossa often spans the globe.

Gottschling does meat and he does vegan. He does light appetites and heavyweights. He does artisan pizza and muffaletta and he does Malaysian chicken. Summer may bring ambrosia-like cold soups such as gazpacho or a refreshing cucumber concoction. Autumn and winter call for heartier fare such as lamb ragu or (a nod to Gottschling’s heritage) braised cabbage and bratwurst or chicken sausage. Nearly every day there is an entree salad — Greek, Cobb, Bohemian or melon with grilled shrimp. Plump ravioli stuffed with pureed pumpkin or squash is a frequent star, as is an increasing array of Asian noodle dishes.

“I am really, really, really into Asian foods,” Gottschling said. “I love to cook Chinese food.”
How fortunate to have Phon and Phung Ly’s Asian Market as a next-door neighbor, just one more reward for Gottschling having taken the risk 13 years ago to open Market Bella Rossa in what was still a fairly deserted downtown.

“Todd Nation, more than anyone else, is responsible for that,” Gottschling said of the city councilman and owner of BookNation, a few doors east of Bella Rossa on Wabash Avenue. “People don’t realize all the things he’s done for this area and Terre Haute. He was so encouraging and welcoming — and this is where I wanted to be. I thought it could be an interesting place.”

Gottschling thought right. As Bella Rossa inched through its first 10 years, the landscape of downtown Terre Haute changed around it. City Center was built and occupied, the Vigo County School Corp. headquarters materialized. More recently, two hotels, the Children’s Museum and numerous renovation projects have come to pass. Indiana State’s campus has expanded to within easy view along Cherry Street.

The helpful, smiling staff consists of: Justin, Melanie, Amber, Mandy, Norbert, Haley.

Market Bella Rossa has not only survived, it has thrived. Asked how, when so many other notable eateries have gone under, Gottschling offers three elements:
“One, my passion for food … I love to eat good food. Two, an amazing string of good fortune with dedicated people who have worked for me and gotten hooked into what I’m doing here, which has kept the business at a scale we can get by with a small number of people. And three, an incredibly dedicated group of customers. Some people come in every day, some once or twice a week. Saturdays, sometimes, I won’t recognize a single face — they’ve come from the hotel or because they¹re visiting Terre Haute and heard about us. And the customer base keeps growing.”

Like most professional chefs, Gottschling does not follow recipes by the teaspoon. He gets inspired by his favorite chef, Jamie Oliver, and Hunan maven Fuchsia Dunlop. But he tweaks, expands, tastes and adjusts as he goes along. No matter the chosen cuisine, his plates of food tend to follow a Mediterranean philosophy; they do not overflow, but they stimulate and satisfy.

“Hopefully, people are going to get something here that tastes great and is good for them,” he said. “A little meat, a little fish, not big slabs. Most of the world eats that way.”

Three years into his second decade of business, Gottschling feels pretty copacetic about what Market Bella Rossa represents in his adopted community. With an almost saucy smile, he confessed: “I just think we’re the hippest place in town. And at one time or another, everybody who’s hip comes here.”

Market Bella Rosa at 669 Wabash Ave. is open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays. The first Friday of each month chef Norbert Gottschling serves dinner from about 6 to 9 p.m. During warm months, outdoor seating is available in front of the restaurant. Soft drinks (Italian and American) and specialty teas are available, as are wine and beer. Visa, Mastercard and Discover are accepted. Bella Rossa offers catering and takeout and stocks a limited number of Italian grocery items, such as olive oil, balsamic vinegar, pastas, tinned fish, fresh mozzarella and Scholars Inn Bakehouse breads and pastries. Dishes tend range from $2 for some sides to about $12 to $15 for dinner entrees. The telephone is (812) 234- FOOD (3663) and Bella Rossa can be found on Facebook.

: During a family vacation in Italy in the early 1990s, the Gottschlings stopped for food in the northern region city of Novara. Norbert took their then-toddler daughter, Ellen, into a small grocery-deli called the Alimentari Lori to try his hand at ordering in English and limited Italian. The store’s proprietress was their servant, however, because she was enchanted with Ellen’s curly red hair, which she repeatedly referred to as “bella rossa” — beautiful red. Thus the restaurant and market in far-away Terre Haute, Ind., found a name.