Menu Changes 11/02/2016

Bone Marrow

The marrow bones (beef shin bones) are soaked in water for 48 hrs to purge them of any blood, then seasoned with salt and pepper and roasted in the pizza oven. When almost finished they're crusted with a parmesan crumb (breadcrumbs, parmesan, oregano, salt, and pepper) and returned to the oven to crisp the crumb. The bones are then roasted in the pizza oven and topped with a parmesan breadcrumb. Garnishing the marrow is a salad of smoked spaghetti squash, seared fresh and preserved mushrooms, and shaved red onion. Garnishing the dish is shaved parmesan, taragon, and parsley. (Gluten*, Dairy*, Allium*)

Paccheri

Paccheri are a tube shaped pasta, similar to rigatoni but a little shorter and wider, and without the ridges. They are an extruded pasta made from our house extruded dough (00, Semlina, Durum, and Water). The pasta is tossed with a sugo di ceci (chickpea sugo) made from mirepoix, tomato paste, garlic, saffron, pimenton, and whole and puree'd chickpeas.  Tossed in with the pasta are taggiasca olives, and octopus that has been confit'd in olive oil (coriander, pepper, paprika, bay leaf, grilled orange) and then grilled to order. The sauce is finished with lemon juice and olio verde, and the dish is topped with a squid ink and chickpea crumb (dehydrated cooked chickpeas tossed with squid ink). (Gluten*, Allium, Shellfish*--> Octopus is a cephalopod, which is a sub type of mollusc, and thus technically a shellfish. So are snails. Crazy right? Science!)

Venison Shanks

The venison shanks are cut across the bone in the style of osso bucco. There are two pieces per order. The shanks are braised overnight with mirepoix, sour cherries, lambic beer, stock and a sachet of thyme, bay leaf, coriander, caraway, and mustard seeds. The braised shanks are then crusted with coriander, caraway, and grains of paradise on one side and heated through to order. The braising liquid is strained and reduced and then plated overtop as a sauce. Also on the plate roasted turnips, poached chestnuts, and salt baked celery root (a whole celery root is coated in salt and egg whites and then baked until very tender, The cooked celery root is then peeled, smashed, and seasoned with salt pepper and olio verde). Garnishing the plate are shaved matsutake mushrooms as well as some celery leaves. (Nuts*,Egg*)

Miranda

From Vulto Creamery in Walton NY Miranda is a raw cow's milk cheese named to honor the cheese makers late wife. The milk comes entirely from local dairies who raise only grass fed cows. After shaping the cheese is washed with absinthe from delaware phoenix distillery, also located in Walton. Aged for 2 months the cheese is rich and savory, with some herbaceous notes of anise and hay.

Pecorino Tosacano Fresco

This is a DOP protected cheese from Tuscany. Made only from the pasteurized milk of locally raised sheep, and only made between September and June this is a delicious fresh expression of pecorino. Traditionally most Italian pecorinos are aged for a number of months, however the toscano fresco is aged for only 30 days, this produces a semi-soft cheese that's a bit grassy, and sweeter than a typical pecorino but with a tangy finish.

2015 Mauro Molino Langhe Nebbiolo

2015 Mauro Molino Langhe Nebbiolo $12/48

Where: Langhe, Piedmont, Italy

Who: Mauro Molino

What: 100% Nebbiolo

Tastes like: Classic young nebbiolo--cherry fruit, pretty flowers, quite a bit of tannin and balanced acidity.

What to pair with: Grilled meat, any kind of poultry, cured meat. Lovely on its own, too.

Production Notes: From 10-30 year old vines in Monforte d’Alba and Guarene. Fermentation in stainless steel, then aging 6 months in large French oak casks coopered in Austria. 1000 cases produced.

Producer Profile:

Mauro Molino, Matteo and Martina’s father, founded the estate. In 1973 Mauro graduated from enology school in Alba, and then followed that with five years of winemaking experience in Emilia Romagna. In 1979 after his father’s passing, he returned home to the family farm in La Morra and began consulting for local wineries while building up his own estate. 1982 was the first vintage from the famed family parcel in Conca dell’Annunziata, the conch-shaped parcel pictured above, and the rest is history. In 2003 Matteo joined the company and became a familiar face to our staff, and then in 2009, Matteo’s sister also joined the gang. Today they manage approximately 12 hectares of vineyards, 50% dedicated to Nebbiolo for Barolo, and the rest mostly Barbera, and Dolcetto. This estate practices sustainable viticulture.

Vineyard Management: Integrated insect and disease control is followed. Control treatments are carried out only when strictly necessary (an expert consults for the estate). Sulfur- and copper-based products are mainly used. A minimum number of insect-control treatments are applied and only with low-environmental-impact products. Natural cover crops (grass cover) are left in the rows between the vines. In autumn the soil on every other row between the vines is tilled. Only organic fertilizers are used. Very low doses of SO2 are added to the wines (the minimum to prevent oxidation)

Dinner Menu Changes 10/5/2016

Fettucini Nero

The fettucini is made with a cocoa dough (00 flour, durum flour, cocoa powder, eggs, and egg yolks). It is tossed with a wild boar ragu made from boar shoulder, mirepoix, red wine, stock, juniper, cinnamon, fennel, black pepper, and bay leaf. The pasta is finished with butter, parmesan, pecorino, and lemon juice.

Allergies: Gluten, Dairy*

Campanelle

Campanelle (bells in Italian) is a cone shaped extruded pasta made from (00, Durum, and Semolina). The sauce is made from garlic, white wine, stock, broccoli rabe, and 'Nduja Povera (a homage to the classic calabrian dry cured salumi, ours is made from prosciutto, and speck, ground a paddled with calabrian chili, harissa, oregano, lemon zest, and black pepper).The dish is finished with butter parmesan and pecorino.

Allergies: Gluten*, Dairy*

Fresh Pork Coppa

The coppa is the neck muscle of the pig, it is similar to a pork loin but slightly less tender and significantly more flavorful. We're portioning this as an 8 oz chop. The coppa is seared on both sides, basted with butter and then cooked in the oven. It is served with a hazelnut puree (hazelnuts, and water), beluga lentils (mirepoix, lentils, olive oil, stock), grilled radicchio (lemon juice and olive oil), roasted grapes in a pork jus (super reduced pork stock), pickled husk cherries, and a hazelnut crumble.

Allergies: Dairy* Nuts*

Pan Roasted Quail

The quail is brined, and then pan roasted, basted with butter, garlic, and thyme. It is served with a semolina porridge (semolina flour that has been flicked with water to form little balls, it is then dried overnight and cooked to order in chicken stock, with toasted sunflower seeds. essentially a semolina polenta). Also on the plate is seared cabbage, roasted cippolini onions, and a sauce made from vin santo, chicken stock, orange segments, preserved orange, and black pepper.

Allergies: Gluten*, Dairy*

Roasted Fingerling Sweet Potatoes

Fingerling sweet potatoes are cooked in water with lemon and olive oil, then to order they are charred in the pizza oven, finished with greek yogurt (yogurt, water, salt, lime zest), za'atar (a middle eastern spice blend), maldon salt, and pomegranate molasses.

Allergies: Dairy*

Tuscan Kale

The kale is blanched in salted water, then sauteed with garlic, chili flake, walnuts, white wine, and stock. Garnished with ricotta salata.

Allergies: Dairy* Nuts*

Funghi Pizza

The pizza has a prosciutto cream base (prosciutto cooked in milk and blended with sour cream), roasted hen of the woods and oyster mushrooms, fontina cheese, and roasted garlic, finished with a sunny side up egg, oregano, parmesan, salt and oil.

Mortadella

Produced by Fra'Mani in Berkeley California, this is a very classic Bolognian style mortadella. Meat from the leg and belly are ground with warming spices, then paddled with black peppercorns and fat from the jowl of the pig. The meat is then stuffed into a casing, and lightly smoked.

Finnochiona

Produced by Olympia Provisions in Portland Oregon, this is a classic tuscan style dry cured salumi made with pork leg meat and back fat, seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic, and fennel seed, stuffed into an all natural casing and hung to cure for about 8 weeks.

Compacted Menu Descriptions

Thanks, Emma!

New Menu Items 9/15/2016

Chorizo Iberico de Bellota

Iberico di Bellota pork, coming from the pata negra (black foot) pigs, of spain is considered to be some of the best pork in the world. The phrase de bellota indicates that these pigs have been fed a diet of acorns, giving the pork a unique flavor and a delicate texture. Not all iberico pork is acorn fed and the de Bellota is considered to be the best of the best. This is a very simple and classic sausage, pork, pork fat, pimenton, garlic, salt, and pepper. This sausage is nitrate free. 

Mazzafegati

This is a classic umbrian style offal sausage, the name indicates the use of liver (fegato) however other offal cuts can also be used. We will be using primarily pork liver but sometimes kidneys as well. The offal is mixed with pork, pork fat, red wine, and red wine vinegar, cocoa powder, roasted shallots, thyme, cloves, and nutmeg. The ground meat is then mixed with prunes poached in red wine, and toasted pine nuts, stuffed into a beef casing and cooked. To serve it is hand cut, garnished with salt, oil, and fennel pollen. 

Bonne Bouche

From vermont creamery bonne bouche is an ash rubbed goat cheese with a geotricium rind. Aged for about 1 month its very oozy around the rind with a Cakey interior. Creamy and citrusy this a delicious and classic goat cheese.  

2015 Château d'Or et de Gueules "Les Cimels" Rosé

2015 Château d'Or et de Gueules  "Les Cimels" Rosé $11/$44

Where: Costieres de Nimes, Southern Rhone

Who: Diane De Puymorin

What: mourvèdre (40 %), cinsault (40 %), syrah (10 %), grenache (10 %)

Tastes like: A delicate pink robe complemented by a nose of great finesse; notes of citrus, fruit and flowers give it a nice complexity. Long and round on the palate, its finish features notes of citrus. - See more at: http://domaineselect.com/product/rose-les-cimels/#sthash.LD0EzDBc.dpuf

What to pair with:  Late summer foods, tomatoes, corn, seafood

Notes on the winemaker

After finishing a degree in Agronomy, the talented and passionate Diane de Puymorin set out to slowly elevate the image of Costières de Nimes, the southernmost appellation in the Rhône Valley. Believing the soils to have the pedigree to make great wines, she bought the Domaine in 1998 and changed the name to Château d’Or et de Gueules, a reference to the Puymorin family crest. She has since become a passionate advocate for terroir distinction within the appellation, and has recently proposed changes to the INAO to gain recognition for the soils around St. Gilles on her labels. With the help of her husband, Mathieu Chatain and their five daughters, she creates charming, spicy reds, as well as vibrant rosés and whites.

Diane farms 50 hectares to the southwest of the old Roman city of Nimes. In between St. Gilles and Générac, not far from the salt marshes of the Camargue and the Mediterranean, the climate here is optimal for creating balanced wines. The vineyards are planted to Syrah, Grenache, Carignan, Mourvèdre, Cinsault, Chardonnay, Grenache Blanc, Roussanne and Rolle destined for several different cuvées of reds, rosés, and whites. Southern and southeastern sun exposure ensures full ripeness of the grapes, diurnal temperature shifts keep the grapes cool, and the presence of the Mistral protects the natural acidity of the grapes and wards off pestilence and rot. The soils are composed of galets roulés, a similar rounded limestone alluvial gravel that is also found in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, insulating the roots from extreme temperature fluctuations. After years of implementing sustainable farming in the vineyards, Diane has recently become certified in organic farming. She prunes rigorously to limit yields, pulls leaves to create circulation between clusters, and plows to aerate the soils—a necessary part of organic farming.

The Costières de Nîmes consists of some 12,000 hectares under vine, of which only 4,500 are designated as AOC Costières de Nîmes. It is one of the few appellations of this size to have no distinction of terroirs through premiers crus let alone lieux-dits. Diane is currently spearheading an initiative with the INAO to designate an appellation extension of St. Gilles to her vineyards as well as other areas in the southeastern part of the appellation that share her soils. Once known for its excellent Mourvèdre, the designation would require a minimum percentage of the varietal to blends from this area as well as restricted yields. While the change requires two years of study before an INAO ruling, Diane’s passion and stewardship has already brought awareness to the quality terroirs of the appellation and helped elevate its standing in the marketplace.

At Château d’Or et de Gueules, sustainability is a comprehensive ethic that is infused into the vineyards, cellars and even shipping. She is one of the rare producers to be carbon neutral; she powers her winery entirely with solar energy and uses recyclable packaging and water-based inks on bottles and boxes.

New Menu Items 9/7/2016

Lazy Lady Goat Cheese
Lazy Lady Farms of Westfield vermont is a totally off the grid (producing all their own power) farmstead creamery, located near the Canadian border. Cheesemaker Laini Fondilier raises her herd of goats and makes a selection of goat cheeses that can change on a weekly basis. We'll be bringing in a variety of these cheeses (all pasteurized goats milk in the 1-2 month age range) but with subtle differences in rind, shape ect. It should be really fun to see the variety of products from this skilled cheese maker. 

Ashbrook 
Made by Spring Brook Farms in Reading VT. Spring brook farms is a non profit organization that runs summer programs for urban kids to teach them about farming and food pathways. They started their dairy as a way to help pay for the program and have begun producing some great cheeses. Ashbrook is a morbier style cheese (washed rind alpine, with an ash layer in the middle, traditionally this ash was used to protect the morning cheese from flies, allowing cheese makers to milk their cows twice in a day and make larger wheels of cheese). Made with raw cows milk Ashbrook is washed with a saltwater brine and aged for three months. 

Fritzenhaus Gruyere
This is a small production gruyere, and one of the only ones still produced 100% start to finish within the Gruyere AOP (local grass fed cows (within 4 km of the dairy), provide milk that cooked, set and aged within the region). Many larger producers either buy milk from other regions of switzerland or age the cheese within the region for the minimum number of months before shipping it off to a larger aging facility to finish. Gruyere is a cooked curd cheese, meaning the curdled milk is reheated, expelling additional whey and air. The cheese is then set, brined, and then aged fro 18-24 months. This is a big but subtle cheese with lots of complexities, nutty, earthy, and rich.

Local Arugula Salad
Little Leaf Farms arugual greens are mixed with frisee and then dressed with a smashed citrus vinaigrette (lemon segments, and orange segments, broken into pieces and mixed with brunoise shallots, lemon juice, pistachio oil, olive oil, lemon zest, orange zest, salt, and pepper). The dressed greens are plated on top of a parmesan crema, and garnished with bresaola (cured beef), shaved parmesan, pistachios, a pistachio and roasted garlic crisp (pistachio and garlic foccacia, shaved thin and toasted with olive oil and salt), and saba (also known as vin cotto, a cooked syrup made from grape must).