Thank you to everyone who came out for our inaugural cooking demonstration on Wednesday! Dorrie Gleason led us through three different types of frittatas, an egg sandwich and panettone with sour and sweet fruit sauce.
We had a wonderful (and tasty) time!
Our next cooking class will be this upcoming Wednesday, November 25th, from 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM, where we will be making Thanksgiving cakes and pies. See more on our Facebook, and come join us!
Ci Vediamo!
–Via Umbria
Thank you to everyone who came out for our inaugural cooking demonstration on Wednesday! Dorrie Gleason led us through three different types of frittatas, ...
We know you all are eager to see when we will be open, and as our website developers continue to work on our online Calendar so you can see events and purchase tickets on our website, we would like to use this space to temporarily let you know what is happening in the store.
Friday and Saturday, November 27th and 28th
Event: Porchetta at Via Umbria for a limited time
Where: Via Umbria Cafe
Cost: by weight!
Time: 7:00 AM – 7:00 PM
Saturday, November 28
Event: Holiday Cheese Plate Perfection
Get out of the house and enjoy an easy family activity together with something everyone loves: food.
Sail through the holidays with chEASE as you learn the secrets of the ultimate cheese plate.
Build the perfect cheese plate with wonderful Italian pairings from Via Umbria.
Come on your own and meet new friends, or get the whole family out of the house and doing a guided activity together – with delicious results.
We will prepare a curated board together with domesctic and imported cheese – learn about cheese in a relaxed and fun environment.
Where: Via Umbria Test Kitchen
Cost: $50 – tickets available on Eventbrite or by cash or credit before the class
Time: 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM
RSVP: Please RSVP to events@viaumbria.com or by calling 202.333.3904
Sunday, November 28
Event: Creative Crostini
Chef Jodie will lead our class on Sunday where your all your crostini dreams will come true. This will be an interactive class where chefs will eat their creations!
Where: Via Umbria Test Kitchen
Cost: $50 – tickets available on Eventbrite or by cash or credit before the class
Time: 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM
RSVP: Please RSVP to events@viaumbria.com or by calling 202.333.3904
Wednesday, December 2
Event: Holiday Appetizers with Chef Dorrie Argentine
Learn how to master holiday appetizers in the Via Umbria test kitchen.
Chef Argentine will lead us through numerous Italian appetizers that will wow your guests this Holiday Season.
Meet new friends and learn classic techniques in this casual and fun environment. And come hungry – you will eat your creations!
This class is ages 12 and up.
Where: Via Umbria Test Kitchen
Cost: $85 – tickets available on Eventbrite or by cash or credit before the class
Time: 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM
RSVP: Please RSVP to events@viaumbria.com or by calling 202.333.3904
Friday, December 4
Event: Get the Greens: Vegetable Focused Cooking
As the holidays approach, ramp up the vegetables you are incorporating into your diet in easy and fun ways. We are vegetarian and vegan friendly!
Cooking with vegetables in the winter should never be a snore, and Chef Jodie Steiner will help you create a full meal where vegetables are the star.
Italians eat a vegetable-centric diet, and now we are sharing our favorite recipies with you! You will eat all of your creations.
Where: Via Umbria Test Kitchen
Cost: $60 – tickets available on Eventbrite or by cash or credit before the class
Time: 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM
RSVP: Please RSVP to events@viaumbria.com or by calling 202.333.3904
Saturday, December 5
Event: Five Ingredient Cooking Class
Where: Via Umbria Test Kitchen
Cost: $50 – tickets available on Eventbrite or by cash or credit before the class
Time: 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM
RSVP: Please RSVP to events@viaumbria.com or by calling 202.333.3904
We know you all are eager to see when we will be open, and as our website developers continue to work on ...
On Sunday night we were able to celebrate our first event in the newly remodeled space. With some assistance from Chef Simone and Ombretta, we hosted a smashing surprise birthday party to remember. Here are the photos from the event – we are so happy to finally be able to share this space with you!
Ci Vediamo!
–Via Umbria
On Sunday night we were able to celebrate our first event in the newly remodeled space. With some assistance from Chef Simone and ...
How is your week going? Here, things are moving fast – we are getting our Certificate of Occupancy and hope we pass our health inspection (fingers crossed!) over the weekend.
Meanwhile, here is what is happening in the Italian media:
There is a huge olive oil scandal in Italy right now — much imported oil that has been market as “extra virgin” is, in fact, no such thing. This is why you should buy from people you trust and know, aka us (and stick with the smaller producers).
Conde Nast Traveller interviews cashmere superstar Brunello Cucinelli on his home region of Umbria, with some beautiful photography thrown in for good measure.
We also like his view on lunch from two years ago in Bon Appetit (if only we all had a Villa to retire to for a nap after lunch!)
Stop being intimidated by wine, says Bon Appetit. Which is why at the new Via Umbria we promise no judgement, only delight and discovery, when shopping for wine.
This cat had a three day hangover after breaking and entering a wine cellar and lapping up some bottles. We can relate.
It is time for lentil soup. Get your lentils and cozy up.
And don’t forget our Book Club is next week! Grab your copy here.
Ci Vediamo!
—Via Umbria
How is your week going? Here, things are moving fast - we are getting our Certificate of Occupancy and hope we pass ...
For those of you fully indoctrinated into the Via Umbria lifestyle, you are well aware of our friendship with Chef and Restauranteur Simone Proietti-Pesci. At his newly re-opened restaurant in Bevagna, he serves up dishes all by himself in his tiny kitchen. Everything he creates is an extension of himself and his region; he crafts meals with care, love, and intent, with a dash of character on top to finish.
On the Food and Wine Tour, our new stateside chef, Vickie Reh, worked side by side with Simone in his kitchen, preparing a meal for everyone on the tour. A few bottle of fabulous local wine were procured, corks popped, and gentle conversation began before the first plate arrived. And then another. And then another. And then another.
With the ingredients bought and collected that day, these two chefs created an Umbrian meal to remember. And one that we will hopefully be able to recreate stateside when we open.
Our guests were able to discover the thrill of a single – channel kitchen, savor the dishes served with much love, and share the effervescence and friendship that comes naturally to Simone. While the food Simone produces is always stellar, the mood his restaurant and manner put you in are ever more important. You are not just a guest, you are a new friend.
Being at Simone’s, it is easy to feel at home…that is if your home had a private Italian chef (and you can hire him here in the USA, in January!). A relaxed atmosphere, perfect wine, and haute cuisine that makes you feel comfortable made for a night to remember.
Simone will be returning to the United States in January for his annual dinners – in your home and at Via Umbria in Georgetown. Email suzy@viaumbria.com for advance registration, interest, and questions. We can’t wait to share the dishes and personality of our dear friend with you.
Ci Vediamo!
–Via Umbria
Cooking and Eating with Simone Read more
For those of you fully indoctrinated into the Via Umbria lifestyle, you are well aware of our friendship with Chef and Restauranteur ...
The espresso machines have arrived, the tile is up, and our new staff is busy unpacking. Welcome to November at Via Umbria!
Ci Vediamo – very soon!
–Via Umbria
The espresso machines have arrived, the tile is up, and our new staff is busy unpacking. Welcome to November at Via Umbria! Ci ...
Fresh olives are harvested as fall begins to break in the Italian countryside, picked by the hands of families who nurtured these olive trees and the land in which they have sent forth their roots for generations. Then they are crushed, ground and turned, which coaxes a green elixir from their pulpy flesh. This liquid gold is bottled especially for us and put on a boat and is heading our way straight from the Cipolloni olive orchard in San Giovanni Profiamma, in the heart of Umbrian olive oil country.
Olio Novello – on its way to Via Umbria in time for our grand opening this November.
You will not want to miss this. Georgetown has been waiting for this olive oil.
Olio Novello is the first pressed olive oil of the season, and offers the first taste of the season’s harvest. Made from the earliest ripened, slightly immature olives, olio novello possesses a fluorescent green color and a pungent, strong flavor that reminds us what the word “fresh” really means. It is to be used frequently and non-sparingly, with a heavy hand. This oil is meant to be used when it is young, when it possesses the vigor of the plant it just came from.
Via Umbria owners Bill and Suzy Menard just recently returned from Italy, where they led their annual Fall Food and Wine Experience Tours with a small select group of foodies in tow. There they shared the experience of the family olive harvest and olive oil pressing. “We watched them pick the olives, smelled the air as they were being pressed, oh, my goodness what a crop! It is hard to imagine anything any simpler or better than this delicious, elemental olive oil drizzled on anything at all and eaten with people you love.”
Cipolloni’s award winning olive oils come from a farm that numbers over 35,000 olive trees, but despite the abundance of trees theirs is very much a small scale family business. Every taste of this oil reveals the bitterness and sweetness that is encapsulated by the earthy, grassiness of the oil, developed out of the soil and in the sun of this very farm. Every olive oil should have a family lineage like this, and at Via Umbria, they do. And you don’t have to travel to Italy to get it. Let us share the many ways to enjoy its flavor before it’s gone!
Ci Vediamo!
–Via Umbria
Georgetown Olive Oil With A Family Line Read more
Fresh olives are harvested as fall begins to break in the Italian countryside, picked by the hands of families who nurtured these ...
Hello Italophiles! How are you easing into November? Is Daylight Savings Time causing a major bummer or letting your morning nature shine? Whether you read this curled up at night, or first thing to start your morning, this the Italian media this week that has caught our eye.
Darker days have you snuggling up with the TV? Here is the definitive guide on where and how to stream Italian movies.
“Olive Oil is Back” says the Los Angeles Times. After the blight last year, chefs are celebrating as they get access to some of the finest fresh pressed oils.
Now in the Via Umbria test kitchen: truffled deviled eggs (with EVOO, not mayo). We went there. Coming soon to #spritzoclock in Georgetown.
Sagrantino has been called “Rebellion in a Glass.” We like that idea. The Globe and Mail says that Umbria
…has an unusual red wine called Sagrantino, which coincidentally drifted into the Italian-wine cognoscenti’s radar space around the time Umbria started becoming cool. There’s something wonderfully rebellious about sagrantino, an aggressively tannic, astringent grape that seems like it’s flipping its middle finger at today’s ocean of smooth, mass-appeal reds.
Did you know that Simone and Ombretta are coming for our grand opening? We are making this pizza over the weekend to celebrate a little in advance.
Have a wonderful weekend!
— Via Umbria
Hello Italophiles! How are you easing into November? Is Daylight Savings Time causing a major bummer or letting your morning nature shine? Whether ...
Taking some time out of their busy harvest day, the crew at the Cipolloni mill in Foligno welcomed the guests of our Food and Wine Tour to watch the fresh pressing of this years EVOO.
After a tour of the press, we were treated to some snacks over a wood burning grill, focused on the olive oil. As our Chef and Somm, Vickie Reh, says:
The dish could not have been simpler–charred potatoes and onions, salt and pepper, and that incredible oil. I would like to say the surroundings didn’t hurt, it was fall in Umbria after all, but the simplicity and perfection of that dish were flawless—easily one of the best dishes I have ever had and I feel like I would have loved it just as much no matter where I was. It will be nigh on impossible to recreate. After all, I don’t have Colfiorito potatoes or onions from Cannara, let alone new oil pressed only minutes before, but I will try. The lesson was clear and it is one I preach on a daily basis. Buy the best ingredients possible and get out of their way. Deliciousness will follow.
We hope you enjoy the photos from this eye-opening day! If you want some of this magical oil for yourself, we carry it over at our online store.
Ci Vediamo!
–Via Umbria
Cipolloni Olive Oil Mill Read more
Taking some time out of their busy harvest day, the crew at the Cipolloni mill in Foligno welcomed the guests of our Food and ...
DC’s Metropolitain Baking Company is joining forces with Via Umbria, supplying our Georgetown market as its first-ever retail partner. Metropolitain will provide daily deliveries of baguettes, rustic loaves, pastries, and a specialty Umbrian bread called torta al testo made exclusively for us from the traditional Umbrian recipe. Via Umbria will feature their products in the Café, for private event dinners, and available to purchase in our market.
Every piece of bread from our large three pound rustique loaf down to our tiniest rolls for bite-size sandwiches have been made with care by their team of bakers. Metropolitain’s production team is led by Arnaud Courad, a French artisan baker who has been working in the industry for more than 40 years.
The Via Umbria kitchen team has been working with Metropolitain to perfect the torta al testo so it is exactly as it is in Umbria. “The Torta tests came out spectacular and we are all euphoric, the fresh yeast was the perfect ingredient. Sandwiches made on this bread will transport you to Umbria,” said Chef Miller who spent the day at Metropolitain until they got their recipe just right.
Said Metropolitain owner, Michelle Couraud “We have been making and delivering authentic European style breads throughout the DC area for almost 14 years now. Usually we deliver our breads, sold anonymously. It’s an exciting step to be the specialty provider in a boutique such as Via Umbria where the bread is being heralded for its quality and taste.”
And you will want to come in for a taste, and grab a bottle of fresh olive oil, dip the crusty hunk inside and enjoy the flavors.
See you at the Cafe!
–Via Umbria
DC’s Metropolitain Baking Company is joining forces with Via Umbria, supplying our Georgetown market as its first-ever retail partner. Metropolitain will provide daily ...
The kitchen equipment has arrived…the tiles are in…we’re getting close and closer to finish.
We have our fingers crosses for opening min-November!
Ci Vediamo!
– Via Umbria
The kitchen equipment has arrived...the tiles are in...we're getting close and closer to finish. ...
Happy All Saint’s day! How are you celebrating Halloween this year? Georgetown should be shutting down soon for the revelers that will flood the streets tomorrow. Our neighborhood is so cute this time of year – the fall leaves mixed with the red cobblestone sidewalks are classic and lovely. Enjoy your Halloween!
The New York Times tells us what we have known all along: it’s just not the Mediterranean Diet – it’s the Mediterranean Lifestyle. Who wants to come on a tour with us to remember how to eat well, live well, and live long?
Gianduiotto, the hazelnut chocolate candy delight, turns 150. The surprising history of this delicious candy is worth reading over — with one in your mouth.
Food 52 tells us how to make coffee the Italian way. We can’t wait until we can bring this coffee to you here in Georgetown!
After resigning over complications surrounding making the city of Rome less in control of the mob, the Roman mayor un-resigns. And you thought American politics were bad.
How to find truffles from the New York Times, featuring a hunt in Umbria!
It’s the season for Umbria faro and lentil soup. So warm up a bowl of these ancient grains and enjoy your hearty dinner.
Ci Vediamo!
–Via Umbria
Happy All Saint's day! How are you celebrating Halloween this year? Georgetown should be shutting down soon for the revelers that will ...
