The Menu at Di Sotto Enoteca expands to include Desserts

Reeling from a nomination by Time Out Chicago for “Best New Bar in 2012”, Di Sotto Enoteca steps up their game and adds gourmet Italian desserts and premium Intelligentsia coffee to their already well-respected small plates menu.  Dessert selections include handmade truffles, lemon-ricotta fritters and zeppoles. These light and doughy Italian doughnuts are filled with decadent cheesecake or dark chocolate. Served alongside French press Intelligentsia coffee and “black cat” espresso, the desserts at Di Sotto Enoteca make the perfect after dinner treat.  Check out the full menu at www.disottoenoteca.com & indulge your sweet side with a visit.

Goose Island Beer dinner at Francesca’s Vicinato

April 12, 6:30 p.m. – Francesca’s Vicinato (12960 S. LaGrange Road, Palos Park, IL 60465; 708-671-1600)

Chef Mario Lopez of Francesca’s Vicinato serves a savory Italian meal with courses paired perfectly with famed Goose Island beers.  Jim De Bolt of Goose Island leads the meal, educating diners on food & beer pairings at this fun, festive dining event.  Reservations are required, $45 per person, excluding tax and gratuity.

The evening starts with Crostini misti, an assortment of crostini’s paired with 312 Urban Wheat Ale. This is followed by Insalata Mista con Gamberi e Granchio, frisee, arugula, lemon & olive oil, jumbo shrimp wrapped in prosciutto stuffed with crab meat, pepper aioli and aged balsamic. It is a perfect pair for Summertime, German Style Kölsch. The third course features Papardelle con Anatra, homemade wide pasta, duck confit, asparagus, roasted artichokes, brown butter sage and parmigiano reggiano. A Nut Brown Ale makes the perfect companion. Next is Lombo di Maiale al Vicinato, grilled pork tenderloin, caramelized onion mashed potatoes, grilled peach and balsamic rosemary demi-glaze, paired with Matilda, Belgian Style Pale Ale. The meal finishes with Brownie alla Moda, chocolate caramel pecan brownie served warm with chocolate sauce, caramel sauce and vanilla gelato paired with Bourbon County Bramble.

Win a Trip to the Aspen FOOD & WINE Classic from Fleming's

We don't ususally promote sweepstakes on our blog but I couldn't help but pass this one on to our readers. I've been lucky to have attended the FOOD & WINE Classic in Aspen and it is truly one of the most fabulous food experiences. If you want to get up close and personal with most of this countries best and most celebrated chefs, drink fabulous wine, eat fabulous food and party until all hours of the morning. This is the place to be in June. Our client, Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, is running this promotion on its website.

Here’s your chance to spend a weekend with Emeril Lagasse, Bobby Flay and Mario Batali. Enter our “Weekend in Aspen” Sweepstakes and you could win a memorable trip for two to the 30th annual FOOD & WINE Classic in Aspen, June 15–17, 2012 — the premier culinary event in America.

The FOOD & WINE Classic in Aspen is the nation’s hottest ticket of the year for true food and wine aficionados. Guests at the three-day event can attend more than 80 cooking seminars and demonstrations. This year’s lineup includes:
• Top Chef: Salty & Sweet with Gail Simmons and Tom Colicchio
• Italian Sunday Supper with Mario Batali
• Meatless Mondays with Michael Symon
• Sizzling Skillets with Emeril Lagasse
• Brilliance of Bordeaux with Paul Grieco
• Return of the famous Classic Cook-Off
Don't miss your chance to experience the pinnacle of good taste, mingle with stars and enjoy a pleasure-packed weekend at the base of spectacular Aspen Mountain, all courtesy of Fleming’s! If you are our lucky winner, we'll notify you on or about May 28th so you can start planning your trip.
Click on the link below and enter by May 20th. Official Sweepstakes Rules.



*Sweepstakes Prize includes:
● Roundtrip coach airfare for two
● Two nights hotel accommodations
● $500 American Express^® gift card for incidentals
● Two tickets for the 2012 FOOD & WINE Classic in Aspen
Approximate retail value of travel package: $4,500

* No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited or restricted. Sweepstakes ends 5/20/12. Open to legal U.S. residents 21 and over. Winner must be able to travel Friday, June 15th through Sunday, June 17th. Read Official Rules.

First of the Season Columbia River Wild Alaskan King Salmon at Prairie Grass Cafe

Head to Prairie Grass Cafe (601 Skokie Blvd., Northbrook; 847-579-1240) tonight (and this weekend) for the First of the season Columbia River wild Alaskan King salmon with first of the season Klug Farm Asparagus, broken mustard herb vinaigrette $43.

The Spring-run of Columbia River King Salmon is recognized as “some of the best salmon in the world – better than the highly marketed Copper River salmon.” http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/612565

Millions of years of evolution have gone into creating the world’s most flavorful fish, the wild Columbia River King Salmon. With an oil content as high as 22 percent it even out ranks its popular cousin from the Alaskan Copper River which weighs in with an oil content reaching only 18 percent.

Since salmon don’t feed once they reach fresh water they’ll spend their lives in the ocean building up energy reserves in the form of oil which is intended to sustain their treacherous journey back upstream to the spawning grounds from which their life began. The spring-run salmon which navigate the powerful waters of the Columbia River basin will be up against over 2000 miles of waterways. By comparison the Copper River salmon have a steep 300 mile journey. These massive oil reserves required for this long journey is what gives the Columbia River King its amazing flavor.

Also known as the Chinook Salmon, the Columbia River King salmon have played a major role in the livelihood of the Pacific Northwest Chinook Indians as not only a major source of food but also a spiritual and economic resource as well. The Chinook tribe understood that catching these salmon early in their journey was essential in finding the fish at their healthiest. This also meant a maximum oil reserve ensuring the best possible flavor which made the salmon a valuable commodity. Today that practice holds true.