New Pastas Fall 2018

Baked Conchiglie     12/18

Wild boar sugo, sofrito, broccoli rabe, caciocavallo cheese

Wild boar is domestically raised in Texas.

Boar meat has a darker, gamier, more intense pork flavor. Boars work hard which in turn promotes stronger, more powerful flavor, and a leaner and tougher cut of meat. The meat is good for stewing, braising, or sausage making.

Boar Sausage: Boar, fat back, roasted garlic, paprika, salt, pepper, calabrian chili

Pasta dough: extruded, semolina, durum, 00 flour.

Sofrito: fennel, onion, garlic, carrot, celery

Caciocavallo Cheese: Caciocavallo earns its name, literally 'cheese on horseback', from the way duos of gourd-shaped rounds are rope-bound and slung over a wooden board to drain and age. This 360-degree exposure to age and ambient microbes develops sharp, spicy flavors, a development continued in our own caves, where the cheeses hang among other aging wheels, picking up deep, earthy undertones and fruity aromas. Prior to this flavor-enriching aging process, the cow's milk wheels are formed of warmed and stretched curd, spun into pasta filata globes, and submerged in a salamoia, or brine, for up to 24 hours. The result is like mozzarella on steroids or provolone with better manners- a layered, complex cheese, perfect for slicing aside a hunk of cacciatore and a glass of spicy Italian red, like Primitivo.

Pasteurized Cow’s Milk from Calabria, Italy. Aged 4-6 months.

Allergies: Pork, alliums, dairy, gluten, nightshades.

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Panzotti     $11 / $17

Potato and cheese ravioli, caramelized onion brodo, balsamic vinegar

Pasta dough:  00 flour, durum, egg yolk

Filling: smoked Superior potato, creme fraiche, sour cream, pepper, pecorino, and parmesan

The brodo: Caramelized onion, white wine, water

At service the cooked pasta goes into the reduced brodo.  The sauce is finished with butter and parmesan, and we garnish with balsamic vinegar and bread crumb.

**This dish is vegetarian. Allergies: Gluten, dairy, allium

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Paccheri   $14 / $20

Lobster  fra diavolo, colutura, bottarga

The Pasta:

Paccheri are named after the Neopolitan term for "slaps," either because of the slappy noise the pasta makes when stirred or chewed or because the noodles are so large that they practically slap you in the face while you eat. This evocatively named pasta has equally colorful origins. It's said that paccheri was invented in the 1600s as a way to smuggle banned Italian garlic across the border into Prussia. The pasta tubes were the perfect size for concealing four or five cloves of garlic! Honor paccheri's past by serving the pasta with a garlicky meat sauce, or slap away with a simple sauce of cream and cheese.

About the Producer:

Rustichella d’Abruzzo is the leading artisan pasta maker in Italy, with the widest assortment of regionally-inspired pasta shapes. Pasta maker Gianluigi Peduzzi forages the country for traditional and unusual shapes to include in the vast Rustichella d’Abruzzo pasta cornucopia.

Fra Diavolo:  

Lobster bodies are roasted and crushed in a pan.  Fennel, onion, garlic, carrot, celery, are caramelized with the bodies.  They are deglazed with white wine and then topped with water and let to cook for 2.5 hours.

The next day, more lobster bodies are roasted and crushed in a pan, calabrian chili is introduced to coat the bodies with a little heat. The mixture is deglazed with white wine, topped with crushed san marzano tomatoes, and previous day’s lobster stock. The mixture is stewed  for 3 hours.

At service the paccheri is cooked, added to the fra diavolo sauce. Lobster meat is added to the pan ( 2 oz. for small and 4oz for a large). The dish is finished at the pass with chili flake, colutura, olive oil, grated bottarga, and bread crumb.

Allergies: Fish, shellfish, gluten, alliums, nightshades,

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Spaghetti        $13 / $19

Carbonara, black pepper, pecorino, truffle butter

Pasta: Sheeted and cut.  00 flour, durum, egg yolks

Carbonara Sauce:  Pasta water, truffle butter, egg yolks, pecorino.

At Service:  Cooked spaghetti goes in the pan of toasted pepper, pasta water, truffle butter is added, egg yolks are emulsified at a temperature before scramble and finished with pecorino.

Allergies: Gluten, dairy, nightshades, mushrooms

2016 Pratsch Zweigelt

2016 Pratsch Zweigelt

Who: Stefan Pratsch
What: 100% Zweigelt
Where: Niederosterreisch
Tastes Like: Earthy, dried bark and mushroom on the nose.  Bright, light bodied red.  Balanced, with juicy, tart red fruits (bing cherry, currant, cranberry).
Pairs With: Red Sauce, anything tomato-based. Chicken parm.  Patios and good times.




The Where:
Niederösterreich is Austria's largest quality-wine-growing area. This designation stands for a big variety of different wine styles of international and indigenous grape varieties with Grüner Veltliner covering 44% of the area under vine. There are eight specific wine-growing regions in Niederösterreich, stretching from the Wachau in the west to Carnuntum in the east. These can be divided into three major climatic zones: the Weinviertel in the north, the region along the river Danube, with its adjoining valleys to the west of Vienna, and the warmer Pannonian part in the south-east of Niederösterreich. The Pratsch farm and vineyards are in the Weinvertel.

The Who: 
The Pratsch family has been farming the same land for 8 generations, with previous generations keeping herds of livestock, growing barley, wheat, and other crops, and keeping a small vineyard for the use of the family.  Wilhelm Pratsch took over the farm in the 80’s and decided to sell the herds in order to plant more vines.  Wilhelm wanted to improve the quality of the products he sold, and started thinking intensely about the role of the soil and how it could help improve the quality of the products.  After some observation and experimentation, in the early 90’s he took the somewhat revolutionary road of certifying his farm fully organic, believing that it would help to create better, more consistent product.   Organic winegrowing to them is more than just the elimination of pesticides, fungicides and artificial fertilizers, but rather part of a larger, holistic philosophy of dedication to the land and the quality of the wines.  Their son Stefan took over the wine-making portion of the business in the early 2000’s, but Wilhelm and his wife Annaliese still actively farm the land.

The Wine:
Gentle processing with hand picking and ultra gentle destemming guarantee minimal fruit damage. Fermentation takes place in steel tanks, accompanied by temperature controlled fermentation. Fermentation takes place at medium temperatures (26°C, 78°F) to achieve a good aromatic profile with well-rounded tannins and integrated acidity. A blanket of inert gas is also used to maximize aroma and flavor potential.

New WBTG: Marco Felluga & Maison Foucher Chinon Rouge

2014 Marco Felluga Collio Bianco “Molamatta” 

Who: Allesandro Sandrin
What: 40% Friulano, 40% Pinot Bianco, 20% Ribolla Giala
Where: Collio, Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Tastes Like: Over-ripe stone fruits and wet leaves on the nose.  Medium bodied; lush, ripe fruit and a hint of bread crust, with salinity in the finish.
Pairs with:  Pasta for days.  Gooey cheese.  Risotto, Lobster, and white meats.




The Who & The Where:
More than a century has passed, since the first Felluga crossed his history with wine. The island of Istria was the place of origin of Malvasia and Refosco d'Istria productions. Just after the Great War, the family moved to the other side of the gulf, to Grado and then in Friuli. It is here that the family discovered, feel in love with and chose to live in the Collio.  With low elevations, marked by rolling hills, the Collio was one of the first Italian areas to obtain the DOC classification in 1964.

The climate is mild, thanks to the proximity of the Adriatic Sea and the Julian Pre-alps, and it is ideal for viticulture, with warm days/cool nights in spring and mild summers. Every hill has its own microclimate, sandstone-marl soils are the ideal habitat for the cultivation of Collio’s grapes and vineyards. All white wines are suitable to be drunk relatively young, but they can also age several years, after which they present very interesting minerals and ripe fruit complexities.

Marco Felluga has its vineyards located in four different areas of Collio territory: Farra, San Floriano, Oslavia and Cormòns. From these vines comes the quality of its wines, both white and red. The vineyards of Russiz Superiore company, Felluga's sister label, are located around the winery, in the heart of Collio. The two wineries are based on the concept that quality production is a must and in a standard on which to constantly improve, which covers all phases of activities, starting from vine growing and pruning, bud selection and the harvest, then maceration, pressing and winemaking. Although they are specialized in the production of white wines - as per Friulian wine tradition - the quality of their red wines is as great as the whites, both native and international, with great structure and suitable for long aging.

The Wine:
Collio Bianco Molamatta of Marco Felluga winery is one of the most representative wines of Collio and also one of the most important wines of the entire production of Marco Felluga's family. "Molamatta" is the geographical name that identifies the area where the vineyards of this wine are located, in the municipality of Farra d'Isonzo. The wine is made from Pinot Bianco 40%, Friulano 40%, Ribolla 20% grapes. After de-stemming, the juice and pulp undergo a cold maceration, then a soft pressing, which allows the separation of the skins. The must obtained from Pinot Bianco grapes is fermented in small oak barrels, while that obtained from the other grapes varieties is fermented in stainless steel tanks. The wine ages on the lees about a year and a few months in the bottle before shipping.

Collio Bianco Molamatta has a golden yellow colour. When young, it is characterized by an elegant exotic fruit scent that evolves over time, taking personal notes reminiscent of sweet spices, especially bread crust and vanilla. Enveloping the mouth,the wine presents good balance, with a very long finish.

2016 Maison Foucher “Le Vigne en Veron” Chinon Rouge

Who: Jean Mounard; Jacky Foucher
What: 100% Cabernet Franc
Where: Chinon, Loire, France
Tastes Like: Aromas of dried oregano and poblano peppers.  Medium bodied, dark fruits with a little bit of earth and integrated tannin.
Pairs With: Gamey items, Etruscan pizza, Conchiglie with rabbit


The Who:
Located 30 kilometers northeast of Sancerre in the village of Aligny-Cosne, Maison Foucher is a “Petit Négociant” with a mission to craft classic expressions of Loire Valley appellations at exceptional values. The estate was founded in 1921 by Paul Lebrun, a cooper by trade, who developed his company servicing a clientele made up of restaurants and cafés in the Loire Valley and Paris. During the 1950s, Paul's son-in-law Raymond Foucher took the reins and then in 1985 passed the baton to his son, Jacky Foucher.

In late 2009, with the aim of raising the company's image and developing overseas business, the Foucher family brought on Jean Mounard as a new partner to pave the road ahead. Jean spent many years at the helm of a fine and rare wine brokerage business in Paris, specializing in iconic estates such as DRC, Mouton-Rothchild and Leflaive. His first order of business was to pioneer the production of small batch wines from selected plots in Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé and Saumur-Champigny, some of which are now farmed organically. Given his deep experience tasting the great wines of the world as well as his many contacts among top producers in the Loire, Jean has been able to establish strong relationships with growers and significantly elevate the quality of the wines.

The Wine:
The grapes come from selected vineyards in the Chinon region, and grown on sandy terraces or calcereous “aubuis” soils.  They are harvested by hand, destemmed, and fermented in stainless steel.  The wine is aged for 8 months before bottling in mostly stainless steel with a small portion in old oak.

New Sandwiches 8/1/18

New Sandwiches! 8/1/18

Maiale:  Served on Ciabatta

Roasted Pork shoulder, olive and egg marmellata, Asiago cheese, mayonnaise, arugula $13

Pork shoulder:

-Brine: water, pink salt, sugar, salt, wine, lemon, rosemary

-Marinade: Roasted peppers, tomato paste, aleppo chili, cinnamon, fennel seed.  

Olive and Egg marmelatta: hard boiled eggs, roasted red peppers, sweet mama lilly chilis, green olives, red wine vinegar, olive oil.

Asiago cheese: raw, cow’s milk cheese, hard texture, from Veneto, ITA

Allergies: Pork, nightshades, dairy (can be omitted), gluten, Alliums, unpasteurized cheese.

Puccia: Served on Pizza dough bread  

Prosciutto, mozzarella, tomato, basil, aged balsamic $15

Now THIS is a sandwich. Meet the puccia which comes from the Italian region of Puglia. The bread is made of pizza dough and it's stuff with meat, veggies, and cheese naturally. This is a Pugliese to-go food of choice and for good reason don't you agree?

-Pizza dough bread, with white sesame seeds, maldon salt and pepper

Allergies:  Gluten, Dairy (can be omitted) Pork

Panino:  Served on Ciabatta

Smoked chicken, american cheese, bacon, avocado $13

-pimenton mayo, tomato, and lettuce

Other Changes to note:

-Meatball sub will no longer have ricotta. Provolone will be melted on top. provolone melted on top.