Zuppa Restaurant & Bar

A New Month & A New Pairing

At Zuppa we are always trying new things, dishes, ingredients & wines, but most off we experiment for the blend and balance of the all.  This month we start with a light pairing of Turbot alla Provinciale and Falanghina Benevento.  The fish, Turbot, is a flat fish that produces filets that are delicate, white and delicious.  The original reference for the fish came from Juvenal, a Roman poet who described it as a delicacy of the Roman empire.  We prepare it “alla Provenciale,” which is a sauce of light tomato and mized herbs.  Our chef then adds Jumbo Shrimp, New Zealand Clams & Prince Edward Mussels.  The pairing we chose was of Falanghina Beneventano, a wine of the Campagnia region in Southern Italy.  By producer La Casa dell’Orco, which means the house of the ogre referring to a myth that an ogre named Cranopa used to live on the vineyard.  The wine is crisp with hints of clay, stoney brook water & basil.  A blend that is heavenly.  Hope to See You Soon!!!

Three New Wines By The Glass…

I just received three new wines that I am really excited about.  These wines are excellent in taste but more so represent a sense of place.  To begin with a Chianti Classico Riserva from Fattorie Melini.  This wine is single vineyard, which means all the grapes are sourced from one plot, and the grape is sangiovese grosso, which is the same grape that is in brunello di Montalcino.  The wine is classic, expressive of the Chianti region and a great pair to our famous Pappardelle Bolognese.  Next we have Gragnano, a wine from the Campania region fo southern Italy and a blend of aglianico and piedirosso.  The wine is sweet, salty, light and frizzantino, which means it has slight bubbles.  This is a classic Napoleatano wine with Margherita pizza.  Finally, we have Ruche, a wine from Piemonte in Northern Italy, which is sweet and dry at the same time and absolutely fabulous.  The vineyard, Vigne del Parrocco ( The Winery of the Priest ), has been keeping this rare vine, which history books refer to as the wine of God, alive for decades.  Ruche blended unbelievably with our Gnocchi Pomodoro, which is made in house. Salute!

Hope to See You Soon

Birra Nuova ::: New Addition to Our Beer Menu

G. Schneider & Sohn’s Doppelbock Aventinus

While we constantly look for new and delicious ingredients, recipes, wines & spirits, we never forget about our intense beer collection.  We feature 25 beers between the bottles and the draft lines.  A doppelbock is a specialty of Bavaria, Germany where the Monks originally brewed at St. Francis of Paula.  It is a double wheat beer, dark in color with banana and raisin fragrant and a flavor of chocolate and spices.  It is really excellent.  I recommend enjoying the Aventinus with our Rosemary Grilled Pork Chop or our Colorado Lamb Chops.

Hope To See You Soon!!!

A Selection from the Valentine’s Day Menu

Grilled Colorado Lamb Chops with Stewed Veronese Lentils, Roasted Brussel Sprouts & Lemon Rosemary Soffritto

I’ll start by saying that every bite I tasted of this dish was better then the last.  The lamb chops, which are top quality, are first sear and then grilled.  They are served over stewed green lentils that are tossed with ricotta salatta, pressed & dried sheep’s milk cheese.  The brussel sprouts, which are roasted first, are then sautéed quickly with the addition of finely chopped pancetta.  Finally, to finish the dish, we top the lamb chops with a lemon rosemary soffritto, which is a pan fry of garlic, rosemary & lemon zest.  All together the dish screams “Gorgeous!”  I paired it with our Cantine Colosi Nero d’Avola, a wine of distinction from the very hot Sicilian island.  This is their single vineyard selection, a wine resembling a Cotes du Rhone or an elegant Syrah.  The harmony was amazing.

Hope to See You Soon!!!

The Jazz Lounge @ Zuppa

Every tuesday night, we have a live Jazz band playing.  The groups are always professional and local but the best part is they are really good.  Come in and sit at the bar to enjoy a cocktail or drink or have dinner and listen while you eat.  Don’t worry about a thing because the groups don’t play loud, there is no cover charge & no minimum.  We start off February right with none other then the very talented Downtown Bruce & his Jazz Band.  Check out the website for the upcoming dates which are added frequently, under the button Events.

February 2 : Downtown Bruce

February 9 : Judy Marie Canterino

February 16 : David Wynn

February 23 : Deforest Raphael

Hope to See You Soon!!!

Tagliatelle with Tomato and Vegetable Braised Rabbit Ragu & Parmigiano Reggiano

This is a classic that my family from southern Lazio, just outside of Roma, has been making for years.  We have prepared it for you on tonight’s dinner menu.  We braise rabbits in a tomato and vegetable stew for hours until the meat falls right off the bone.  When ordered we toss the rabbit ragu with tagliatelle pasta, a wide ribbon pasta, and grated parmigiano reggiano and serve.  With one bite I was whisked away in memory to the old country house on top of a hill in southern Lazio where I first tasted a rabbit ragu.  The pairing caused some pause for me, naturally I wanted to pair it with a red Frascati made from the neighboring region or a Cesanese a wine from northern Lazio but neither of these, although are available by the bottle, are not offered by the glass.  My wine pairing suggestion would be a red from north-western Spain in the region of Sardon de Duero, by the producer Abadia Retuerta in a wine he calls Rivola.  A blend of Tempranillo & Cabernet Sauvignon aged in American and French oak barrels.

Hope to See You Soon!!!

Arragosta : Lobster

So I began our staff meeting normally, introducing the reservations of the night, the changes and new additions to the wine list and then it was Chef Daniel Van Etten’s turn to introduce the additions to the menu.  However, this time he brought us out a sample of his appetizer addition.  It was really great.  A dish that reads:

Maine Lobster with Truffle, Scallion & Lobster Polenta Cake in Succo dei Tartufi

The dish begins in the morning when he prepared polenta that was set with chopped black truffles and lobster meat.  The lobsters are braised and then sauteed when ordered.  The polenta cake is cut from a round form and served as the base.  The meat of the lobster is sauteed with scallions, lobster oil, a touch of cream and vecchia romagna brandy.  The finished dish is a masterpiece.  I quickly seized the opportunity to taste wine with this remarkable dish.  We tasted a chardonnay from the northern most region of Italy, a place called Valle d’Aosta.  The family there produces some outstanding wines and their pride is this chardonnay.  A wine called Cuvee Bois, it over delivers every time, aged 10 months in french oak, this gorgeous, buttery and full bodied wine was a winner with the lobster appetizer.

Hope to see you soon!!!

New Pizza Addition!!!

Speck Piccante : Ricotta Fresca, Tirolese Speck, Asparagi, Pepperonicini & Olio Tartufato

This pizza really made me go crazy.  It is made by using our awesome airy pizza dough and then spreading fresh ricotta.  We add a small amount of mozzarella with asparagus tips ( asparagi ) and dried chopped spicy hot peppers (pepperoncini ).  The pizza is baked and then adorned with paper thin slices of tirolese speck ( smoked prosciutto from the northern part of Italy known as the South Tyrol ) and a light drizzle of olio tartufato ( extra virgin olive oil with truffles ).  To top it off I had a glass of pinot nero ( pinot noir ) from Alto - Adige by producer Colterenzio which blended elegantly with the pizza.  Other recommendations I thought of were a Blaufrankish, Etna Rosso from Sicily, or St. George from Nemea, Greece.

Hope to See You Soon !!!

Principali Addition!!!

Cervo : pancetta wrapped venison with tuscan kale, rustic smashed yukon golds, lingonberry & vecchia romagna brandy

This is perfect for this season, venison wrapped in pancetta and roasted.  We serve the entire thing over chunky mashed yukon gold potatoes and the tuscan kale.  The sauce is a reduction of brandy, preferably Vecchia Romagna, and red wine with the addition of lingonberries.  I recommend a pairing of our Nero d’Avola from Sicily.  I wine originated from the southern part of the island but this is a growth of nero d’avola from Salina an island of the northwestern coast.  This dry and structured red wine is a perfect pairing for the venison which is not very fatty.  I hope to see you soon!!!