by Frank Mangio -
Imagine if you will once a month touring one of 6 different regions of lovely Italy each month of the first 6 months of this year: Friuli, Lazio, Puglia, Liguria, Abruzzo and Sicilia ( my ancestorial birthplace), to sample the native cuisine and taste the region’s distinct wines.
Il Fornaio and its 20 restaurants, from Seattle to San Diego has been diligently showcasing this format for a few years now, setting the table for its guests, as a native restaurant would in the aforementioned districts of Italy.
The last 6 months of ’08 will find 6 more regions including Tuscany and Umbria. I visited Il Fornaio Del Mar in December when they were featuring Umbria.
Perfection and an exact replication is the goal of each “Festa Regionale,” so the restaurant sends one of their top chefs, in this case Executive Chef Maurizio Mazzon to meet with One of Umbria’s master chefs, in preparing unusual and perfectly crafted dishes. The Del Mar location manager is Ulisse Vicinanza( shown in the accompanying photo with me, displaying Umbria’s lovely Caprai wines).
“All Il Fornaio cuisine is made from scratch” he declared. “There are no preservatives. We are true to the Italian countryside where you may have to wait a little longer but the result is as it is in the small Umbrian villages… delicious creations.”
I had the Umbricelli con Guanciale, a twisted penne pasta with grape tomatoes, asparagus, herbs and Umbrian pecarino shaved cheese. The “Secondi” entrée was the Guancia de Maezo Stracotta, braised beef cheek, with organic sautéed spinach and puree of potato. The wine chosen was one of my past “best tastes,”The Arnaldo Caprai Montelfalco Rosso 2003. It’s a blend of Sangiovese with the native Sagrantino grape and a small amount of Merlot. The Caprai estate is about 370 acres near the village of Montefalco.
Now through January 20th, you can go to any Il Fornaio and enjoy the cusine and wines of Friuli, an area in Italy that snugly fits in the North East corner next to Austria and Hungary. There you will find a rustic, peasant style of cooking, rich and robust, like homemade potato dumplings with Italian Sausage. Also lots of game and grilled meats, seafood, polento and risotto. Tocai Friulino is the local white wine, highly aromatic. The Refosco red grape is the native red and the recommended wine is Refocsco dal Peduncolo Rosso 2004.
When you dine on this first region’s cuisine, ask for a “Passaporto” that shows each region and the dates featured. You will get a complimentary gift. If you get all regions stamped, you will receive a beautiful Italian plate and a chance to win a trip to Italy for two. Buon Viaggio at Il Fornaio!
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