New Red Sauce Bucatini

Red Sauce Bucatini 4/26/2015

Bucatini all’Amatriciana
Pancetta, Tomato, Pecorino
Pancetta, an Italian dry cured pork belly not made in house, that is rendered. Then sliced red onions sweat until soft in the pork belly juices. Food milled tomatoes and crushed pomodorini canned tomatoes  are cooked down and tossed with Bucatini pasta (pasta flour, durum flour, semolina flour and water) and garnished with Pecorino Romano cheese.

New Spring Sandwiches 4/21/2015

New Lunch Sandwiches 4/21/2015

Chicken Salad Sandwich
Pea Tendrils, Olio Verde, Radish, Green Garlic

Whole chicken is diced and tossed with aioli (egg yolk, grape seed oil, lemon juice and honey), grilled green garlic that is first poached in milk and pea puree that is made with pea greens and peas. *Allergies Egg, Gluten & Dairy

Pork Belly Sandwich
Asparagus, Smokey Aioli, Fontina

Pan roasted pork belly with asparagus that is grilled with olive oil and salt and fontina cheese. Accompanied with a smoked egg aioli made from smoked eggs, grape seed oil, lemon juice and garlic and topped with capers. *Allergies Egg, Gluten, Dairy

Salty Pig Sandwich
Today’s Salty Pig Parts, Aged Provolone, Spring Onion-Chili Relish

Served with Today’s Salty Pig Parts, provolone cheese, bibb lettuce and charred spring onion and chili relish made from grilled spring onion that is chopped and mixed with cherry peppers, garlic, dried oregano, olive oil, vinegar, and diced pickles. *Allergies Dairy & Gluten

We will be saying goodbye to the Turkey and Roast Pork Sandwich.

New Menu Items 4/15/2015

New Menu Items 4/15/2015

Pizza Bianca

Morel Mushrooms, Asparagus, Potato, Stracchino, Sunnyside Egg

White pizza (no sauce) is topped with Taleggio and small amount of Mozzarella, thinly sliced white and green asparagus, morel mushrooms (roasted in Olive Oil & Thyme) smashed fingerling potatoes (Olive Oil and Grilled Lemons) and a sunnyside up egg.

Pizza Primavera (replacing Tart Flambee)

Prosciutto Crema, Spring Vegetables, Fontina

Prosciutto creme base (Equal parts ground prosciutto and milk pureed together with equal parts sour cream added until creamy) Topped with Fontina cheese, Spring Vegetables (artichokes, tops of ramp, smashed peas mixed with olive oil, and lemon juice and fiddlehead ferns). Garnished with mint and pea tendrils.

Squid Ink Bucatini (Replacing Gnocchi)

Cuttlefish, Parsley, Lemon, Piri Piri Chili

Bucatini pasta (eggs, egg yolks, durum flour and 00 pasta flour) with the addition of squid ink to make the pasta a black color. The sauce is olive oil, garlic and piri piri chili pepper. The piri piri is bloomed then added to the garlic and olive oil. Then cuttlefish is cooked in white wine until they become tender. Then they are mixed with a small amount of squid ink and water and tossed with the bucatini pasta. It is garnished with fresh lemon juice, torn parsley, olive oil and topped with garlic bread crumb.

Ricotta Ravioli (Replacing Angelotti)

Morels, Fava Leaf, Walnut “tocco di noci”

Ravioli pasta (egg based dough) filled with a Narragansett creamery ricotta (mixed with egg yolks, lemon zest, salt and pepper). Ravioli is then tossed in a butter sauce containing walnuts parsley, chives, and tarragon. Then it is plated with pan roasted morel mushrooms and grilled fava leaves. It is topped with a walnut and oat crumble.

Pea Green Salad (Replacing Baby Kale salad)

Speck, Mint, Preserved Lemon, SP Goat Cheese Dressing

Large pea green leaves mixed with house made goat cheese and preserved lemon dressing. Topped with house made goat cheese, thinly sliced speck, torn mint, raw snow peas and lemon zest.

Pecorino Toscano Fresco $7 (Replacing Bianco Sardo)

Pasteurized sheeps milk cheese from tuscany with DOP protection. This is a younger sheeps milk cheese (aged 30-45 days) which yields a semi soft texture however there is a touch of crystallization. Sweet, grassy, and slightly tangy.

Casatica Di Bufala $7 For Storm

Pasteurized buffalo milk cheese from Lombardy. Animal Rennet, aged 2-3 months. Made by Quattro Portoni, owned by a pair of brothers near bergamo produce traditional italian cheeses but substitute buffalo milk for a twist on tradition. This is a stracchino style cheese, rich creamy and a little nutty, with a bloomy white rind.

Point Reyes BlueP $7 For Caveman Blue

Unpasteurized Cows milk blue cheese from Point Reyes creamery in California. Made from milk from holstein cows, and cave aged. Sweet and creamy with a definitely peppery punch. Great for anyone who likes a strong blue cheese. This is a stilton style cheese and is not ok for a penicillin allergy.

New Cheeses 3/30/2015

These cheeses will be replacing the Manchego and the Blu Di Bufala

Garrotxa - Spain $6

Goat, Aged 2 Months, Sweet & Piquant

This is a pasteurized goats milk cheese from Catalonia. It is a tomme style cheese, tommes are cheeses produced using low fat milk that is left over after cream is removed. It is aged for 2 months and develops a grey mold on the outside with a woodsy aroma. The interior is semi firm with a cakey texture. The flavor is milky, and sweet, a little herbaceous.

Caveman Blue - Rogue Creamery Oregon $7

Cow, Raw, Cave Aged 9 months, Natural Rind

This is a raw cow's milk cheese from Rogue creamery in Oregon. They use only sustainably farmed milk from a single herd of swiss brown, and holstein cows. The cheese is cave aged for 9-12 months. The flavor is rich with a little bit of funk, but smooth and not too tangy.

Green Strawberries will replace the gooseberries on the Foi Gras Pate

Green Strawberries are just underripe regular strawberries. They are sliced thinly and poached in a mixture of riesling, sugar, champagne vinegar, and tarragon.

New Starters 3.9.2015

New Menu Items   Starting Monday 3.9.2015

Roasted Bone Marrow   $9

Radish, Peppercress, Meyer Lemon

Bone Marrow is seasoned with salt and pepper and roasted in the pizza oven. It is garnished with a salad of shaved easter egg radish, pickled shallots (in red wine vinegar), capers, celery leaves, with a meyer lemon vinaigrette.

Served with crostini

Allergies:

Gluten-Can be made without if no crostini is served

Glazed Pork Ribs $13

Blood Orange, Arugula, Fennel, Turnip

Description:

The pork ribs are brined overnight with sliced orange in the brining liquid. They are slow cooked for 9 hours and glazed with blood orange juice and honey. They are smoked for 2 hours. After rewarming the ribs we glaze them one last time and finish them with orange-maldon salt and parsley stems. They are served with a fresh salad of arugula, blood orange supremes, shaved fennel, and pickled white turnip.

Major Allergies: 

None

Wine Service

Talking wine with guests

Guests might ask for wines that we don’t carry, or might be confused by our list. New World wines (US, South America, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa…) are often listed by varietal (Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc) while European (“Old World”) wines are generally listed by the region they are produced in (Chablis, Medoc, Sancerre) If a guest requests something that we don’t have, try to respond to the “spirit of the request” instead of the varietal. When we talk about wine, we are often translating what we want (for example, I might want a light, spritzy, and refreshing white) into something we know (say, Pinot Grigio). My server in this scenario might say “We don’t carry Pinot Grigio” or they might say “Let me get you a taste of Muscadet, it’s light and refreshing like Pinot Grigio.” The second answer will make me feel heard and taken care of, while the first doesn’t advance my cause for getting a glass of white wine.

When recommending or describing wine, try to use sensory descriptors rather than technical ones. Describe the flavor, texture, or body rather than the amount of time in oak or the percentage of cabernet or merlot unless those technical facts are directly responsible for the flavors or reasons for a particular pairing.

If you feel unsure, never hesitate to present someone new to the table. This only increases the trust the guests has in you.

When taking wine by the glass orders, assure the guests that we always offer a taste of the wine before pouring the glass, and that they are more than welcome to choose a different wine after tasting.

When taking bottle orders, offer to decant all red wines. A simple “would you like it decanted?” is the best way to pose that question.

Steps for bottle service

1. Place the proper glassware and decanter on the table before returning with the wine.

2. Ensure that you have the correct wine and vintage before you get to the table.

3. Present the wine from the right of the host, confirming the vintage, winery, and variety.

4. With a black wine serviette folded into a square at the heel of the bottle, hold the bottle with the label facing outward and cut the capsule below the lower rim and remove the cap.

5. Remove the cork, keeping the bottle facing forward, and place in front of the taster. With the wine serviette, wipe the top and smooth down the foil where it has been cut. Pour a generous mouthful (just under one ounce) for the taster, and wait for their approval.

6. Starting with the person to the left of the taster pour 4 ounces of wine into the glass. If there are more than four people at the table, adjust your pour accordingly to ensure that each person receives an equal portion of the wine. Proceed around the table clockwise. The taster is poured last. When pouring, face the label towards the guest and wipe the bottle top with your wrap after each pour to avoid dripping.

7. When everyone’s glass has been served, place the decanter and bottle next to each other, out of the way of the guests, the label towards the majority of people at the table or towards the person who ordered it.

8. Before walking away from the table, remove the cork. Failing to do so (unless directed by the guest) may result in said cork being thrown at server’s head by one or more of the management staff.

9. When refilling, never pour more than 4 ounces, unless directed by the guest. Wine levels should never fall below 1 oz.

Steps for wine by the glass service

1. If the glass of wine is the only beverage being poured, it’s acceptable to bring the glass and bottle at the same time.

2. If other beverages are being served, bring the glass with said beverages and return with the bottle(s). If a co-worker has the time to follow you and hand you the bottle(s) (up to two), all the best. Do a bottle/ tray swap so that you can still pour graciously!

3. Follow the procedure for wine by the bottle service. Present the bottle the same way and pour a short (less than an ounce) taste. After the guest approves it, pour 5 more ounces of wine (to total a 6 oz pour.) Always use your black serviette!

4. Never bring an unopened bottle to a table who is enjoying wine by the glass. Remove the cork in the bar or server station, and proceed as usual.

5. For second and third pours, you can simply say “The Gaillac Rouge” or “Here’s the Riesling” instead of announcing the wine’s full name, vintage, etc.

While we don’t have a “refill” limit per glass, keep a look on the general cleanliness of the glass. If it has smudge marks, lipstick or in general looks like it could use a replacement, simply bring a new one with the next pour.

7. Bottles of wine should never go on trays.

8. Don’t try to pour three glasses of different wines. You only have two hands. Find a friend!

9. Wine bottles should go immediately back to the bar or to a manager’s hands. Leaving wine in the server stations is never acceptable.

10. Wine by the glass should always be rung in before it’s poured. Absolutely no exceptions, including if we have decided to gift a glass of wine to a guest. Ring it in, and then have it comped. Failure to ring in wine is considered stealing from the restaurant.

New wine BTG (not replacing anything): Bordeaux!

2011 Château Les Hauts de Plaisance Haut-Médoc

Where: Haut-Médoc, Bordeaux

Who: Chateau Les Hauts de Plaisance, part of Chateau Pontoise Cabarrus

What: 65% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon

Tastes like: Bigger body red, with mellow, well integrated tannin and chocolate notes. Slightly herbal/ green pepper on the nose (that’s CS for you.)

What to pair with: Red meat!

2011 was a solid but not spectacular year in Bordeaux. But in such vintages some people make extraordinarily good wine. Early this week the group of 24 Bordeaux lovers got together to try 14 reasonably priced wines from 2011 to see which was the best. We tasted the wines blind. Each person was asked to name his or her top four.

The group winner:

Ch. Les Hauts de Plaisance (literally the Heights of Pleasure) a second wine of Ch. Pontoise Cabarrus, classified as a Cru Bourgeois. It comes from Bordeaux's premium Haut Medoc region and is just across the border of St. Estephe, one of its four major communes.

With 2/3 Merlot and 1/3 cabernet; the wine drinks deliciously now, but it will age for two to three years.

The Tereygeol family makes it in much the same exacting way as they do Ch. Pontoise; l yields, rigorously grape selection at harvest, cool fermentation, a year's oak aging.

What's different? The vines are mostly only 10 to15 years old ( not. It is rounded and mixes soft fruit and crisp textures, the hallmark of good Bordeaux. It's a wine you can savor.

2011 Ch. Les Hauts De Plaisance (Haut Medoc); Color: very dark opaque ; Aroma: herbal, rather fullish with deep notes opaque, a sense of underlying richness; Mouth: firm & rounded forward and giving, clean, smooth textured, medium body, a strong sweet fruit note, very finely astringent on the finish.