Holidays

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A Turkey to Be Thankful For

The turkey is a noble bird, or so thought Benjamin Franklin when he argued that it, not the warlike, predatory eagle, should be America’s national bird. He had a strong case, the turkey being a species native to North America, ranging in the wild from Mexico through the eastern United States and into Canada. And although Franklin didn’t succeed in putting the nearly flightless gobbler on the Great Seal, the turkey has become essential to American culture and cuisine–arguably the only required part of our annual Thanksgiving Day feasts.

Turkey is, however, one of the most misunderstood meats in our diet. During the rest of the year, we eat almost exclusively the white meat in deli sandwiches. The rest is discarded or ground for burgers and the like – pretending to be the cheap, lean option. But then, once a year in November, there is a massive demand for the birds whole. The sheer quantity of turkeys in demand means that most of them comes from “farms” that resemble factories more than a traditional farm. And the birds themselves are a breed more or less developed in a lab so that the breast meat is larger than natural. When cooked, these turkeys are bland and tend to dry out easily.

This is what I had to take into consideration when I decided to sell turkeys this year. With our commitment to tradition, quality, and locality, I wanted to make sure that our turkeys were something to be proud of. So I drove an hour away from the District into beautiful upper Loudoun County, Virginia where the rolling hills start to reach towards the sky in the Appalachian Mountains and breweries and wineries hide around every corner. I met with a local family farmer, whose farm, Fields of Athenry, began to raise wholesome animals to ensure that their children ate well. Heading up the driveway, I was almost immediately greeted by a loud chorus of gobbles from a pen near the entrance. There they were, in the daylight, turkeys running around in the grass with no cage in sight. As the farmer, Elaine, showed me around, she pointed at specific birds and mentioned what breeds they were. A Narragansett here, a Blue there. It was impressive watching this flock wander around the field together, with the occasional few flying over the fence and then, birds that they are, unable to figure out how to get back in and rejoin their friends.

Free Range Turkeys

I learned that the farm actually operates across three properties in Loudoun County and just over the river in Maryland. In addition to the turkeys, the family raises cows, pigs, chickens, geese, ducks, and make their own deli meats and bacon–all with the same standards of care they show for the turkeys. I’m really excited to work with these guys. But for now, for Thanksgiving, we’re going to have some of the best turkeys available. We have pre-ordering available now through November 16 online or in the store, and can get you a bird as close to the size you want it. I can spatchcock them for you, if you’re feeling adventurous and ready to grill, and Chef Johanna is preparing an awesome cider brine, if you so desire. Plus, we’re cooking up some awesome sides and appetizers to pair with them. Long story short: order a turkey! I promise it’ll be one more thing you’ll be giving thanks for this year.

Scott Weiss
Scott Weiss

Our local turkeys are something to be proud of Read more

The turkey is a noble bird, or so thought Benjamin Franklin when he argued that it, not the warlike, predatory eagle, should ...

Breakfast, Culture, Entertain, Events, Experience Italy, Food & Drink, Holidays, Lunch, On the Table, Tastes of Italy
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Bottomless Bellini Brunch

Brunch wasn’t until the afternoon, but the laboratorio kitchen got busy around ten o’ clock on Easter morning. Marco, Chiara, Bill, Suzy and Federico had their work cut out for them: in three hours, nearly 20 people would arrive to celebrate Easter, Italian-style. All hands were on deck, working together to create four glorious courses. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at all the hard work and creativity that made this meal possible!

Bill skinning potatoes, which were later served as Contorni.
Bill skinned potatoes with a smile this morning.
Suzy and Chiara make an excellent team.
When they put on their aprons, Suzy and Chiara mean business.
Chiara beginning the Ciramicola, a colorful holiday cake.
Chiara starting the Ciramicola, a colorful holiday cake.
Marco mixing the dough for cherry cubotti.
Marco mixing dough for cherry cubotti.
Federico making tagliatelle from scratch.
Federico making tagliatelle from scratch.

The real fun began once all the guests arrived. Bellinis (and mimosas) flowed steadily, and families gathered around our communal table with friends new and old to celebrate.

One of our younger guests made quite a splash with her stylish bunny ears!
One of our younger guests made quite a splash with her stylish bunny ears!
Bill is a generous pour when it comes to Bellinis (and mimosas!).
Bill is a generous pour when it comes to Bellinis (and mimosas!).
Marco and Chiara's daughter, Viola, enjoying Easter salami.
Marco and Chiara’s daughter enjoying Easter salami.

We hope you’ll join us for our next holiday celebration! On April 23rd, we’ll host a Seder dinner to celebrate Passover. As always, guests of all faiths are welcome.

Buona Pasqua, and many thanks to all who shared their Easter with us today!

 

 

 

 

 

Easter in Via Umbria's Laboratorio kitchen Read more

Brunch wasn't until the afternoon, but the laboratorio kitchen got busy around ten o' clock on Easter morning. Marco, Chiara, Bill, Suzy and Federico ...

Culture, Experience Italy, Food & Drink, Holidays, On the Table, Recipes
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Even More Easter Torta

Easter in Umbria means it’s time for Torta Di Pasqua, a rich holiday cheese bread unique to the region. Visiting chef Jennifer McIlvaine stopped by to bake a scrumptious batch in our laboratorio kitchen, and gave us her recipe. But because every Umbrian family has their own special way of making Torta Di Pasqua, we asked several of our friends for their recipes. Simone, Ernesto, and Marco and Chiara all chimed in, and each of their ways of making Torta Di Pasqua sound amazing. Try them out at home with cheese from our cheese counter and tell us which version you like best!

Ready for the oven, miniature-style!
Ready for the oven, miniature-style!

Ernesto’s Torta Di Pasqua

5 eggs
1T of oil or 1T of pork fat (strutto)
2 cubes (50g) fresh yeast
5 pinches of salt
100g gruyere cut into cubes
100g parmigiano grated
Flour

Mix together eggs, oil, yeast salt and parmigiano.  Add flour until you have a soft dough.  Add gruyere cubes.
Fill a buttered baking tin just under half full.  Let rise for one hour. Bake for 30-40 minutes at 180c.

Here's what you'll need to make you very own Torta di Pasqua!
Here’s what you’ll need to make you very own Torta di Pasqua!

Marco and Chiara’s Torta Di Pasqua

10 eggs
200 grams wet yeast
800 grams grated cheese (parmigiana, pecorino, swiss) – leave some in larger pieces
250 grams unsalted butter melted
30 grams salt
black pepper
10li grams sugar
Water, oil and flour as needed
Separate the eggs. Whip the egg whites into stiff peaks. Mix the yeast with sugar, warm water and tablespoon of flour and let sit.
Beat the egg yolks until creamy, add the melted butter, salt, pepper and cheese.  Fold into the egg whites. Add yeast.  Mix in flour, water and oil until you reach desired consistency.
Butter the baking molds.  Split the dough into four pieces, roll into balls and place into each mold (filling approximately half full).  Cover and let rise (sitting next to a pot of hot water) for 3 hours.
When the dough reaches the top of the mold bake in a 160c oven for 30 minutes. Raise the temperature to 180c and cook for additional 10 minutes.  When the top starts to brown cover with aluminum.
It's not fun unless you get a little messy.
It’s not fun unless you get a little messy.
Simone’s Torta Di Pasqua

2.2 lbs pizza dough

10 eggs
1 cup parmigiano
1 cup Romano
1 cup strong pecorino grated
Salt
Pepper
1 tbs yeast
1 cup butter
1 cup pork fat
1 cup olive oil
Work all the ingredients together. Add 00 flour until the dough is smooth and elastic.
Let sit for three hours and then knead it. Fill a buttered pan half full.  Let sit again in the oven off with a pot of hot water (to maintain humidity). Wait until doubled. Bake for 2 hours at 325 degrees. Test with a tooth pick . When it’s ready, set upside down until cool.
Let us know how you Torta Di Pasqua turns out and send photos of your bake-a-thon to feedme@viaumbria.com. Best of luck!
 

 

 

An Umbrian holiday tradition Read more

Easter in Umbria means it's time for Torta Di Pasqua, a rich holiday cheese bread unique to the region. Visiting chef Jennifer McIlvaine stopped by ...

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Umbria’s Easter Specialty: Torta Di Pasqua

Colombe cakes are a celebrated Easter treat throughout Italy, but did you know that Umbria has its own leavened Easter speciality? Today, chef Jennifer McIlvaine joined us to bake the region’s signature Easter bread, Torta Di Pasqua, before she returns home to Cannara. She gave us a little background on this delicious dish, as well as her own recipe. Here’s what she had to say about this beloved Torta.
Chef Jennifer McIlvaine kneading Torta di Pasqua dough.
Chef Jennifer McIlvaine kneading Torta di Pasqua dough.
Easter is the most important holiday in the Catholic church, so for Italians, Easter is the biggest holiday, even bigger than Christmas. In its earliest incarnation, Easter began as a Roman pagan tradition, which the Church turned into a Christian holiday to bring people into the fold.
During Carnevale, we make a lot of fried food because we have to use up all the fats, lard, and sugar in the house before Lent starts on Ash Wednesday, 40 days before Easter. During Lent, tradition says you’re supposed to fast from sweets and meat. But then on Easter morning, we eat Torta Di Pasqua.
Easter is the only day of the year that we eat a salty breakfast. We’ve been fasting from heavy things, but Torta Di Pasqua, or Pizza Di Pasqua, has eggs, pork fat, and lots of cheeses. Eggs were considered very expensive, so anything that has a lot of eggs was a sign of richness. In fact, we eat the Torta di Pasqua with a hard boiled egg. Eggs are another old pagan tradition. They have always been  a sign of spring, of rebirth and new beginnings. And that is why we have eggs for Easter.
Fresh organic eggs! These hens must have known Easter is right around the corner.
Fresh organic eggs! These hens must have known Easter is right around the corner.
Another traditional dish we eat on Easter morning with Torta Di Pasqua are the first salumi of the year. Today, farmers makes salumi all year long because we have refrigerators. However before refrigerators, farmers would only butcher pigs in November, December, and January, the coldest months of the year. The first salumi–smaller cuts like salami and capocollo–would age for three months and be ready to eat by Easter. So the tradition is that you eat Torta Di Pasqua, a hard boiled egg, and a slice of salumi. We always have lamb at easter, so we also eat Coratella, a lamb innerd stew, for breakfast as well. In Cannara, our town, we drink a sweet wine called Vernaccia with breakfast as well.

As far as buying Torta Di Pasqua versus making your own, in my town the split is about 50/50. In Cannara, the baker opens up his oven to the people of the town, usually on Holy Thursday or Good Friday, and lets them bake their own bread. So many people makes the dough at home and bakes it in his big oven. The best Torta Di Pasqua is made in a wood-fired oven, so you’ll see people light up their ovens a few days before Easter and then everybody brings their dough over. It’s a community thing, so people cook them together. It’s nice.

Here is Jennifer’s recipe for Torta Di Pasqua, which she made fresh for us today. Snag a mini Torta or get your very own full-sized loaf before they’re gone!

Golden mini Tortas, now available at our counter!
Golden mini Tortas, now available at our counter!

Jennifer McIlvaine’s Pizza Di Pasqua

  • 25 g brewer’s yeast
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 100g warm water
  • 300g ’00’ flour
  • 500g ‘0’ flour + 100g for dusting
  • 5-6 eggs
  • 150g grated pecorino romano
  • 150g grated parmigiano reggiano
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 50g lard
  • 5 Tbs e.v. olive oil
  • 150g diced sharp provolone
  • 150g diced swiss cheese

In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and sugar in the water.   Slowly add the flours, little by little, alternating with the eggs.  Mix well.  Add the grated cheeses, salt and pepper.  Mix well.  Add the lard and olive oil.  Knead well for about 10 minutes.   Add the diced provolone & swiss cheese and knead until well mixed.  Divide the dough into two equal parts and form into balls, folding the dough over itself.  Place each ball into a deep baking tin that has been greased (with lard) and floured.

Let rise for about 2 hours or until dough has reached the top of the tin.  Bake in the oven at 200°C for 20 minutes, then 180°C for another 40 minutes.  The Tortas are ready when a test stick comes out clean.

Every family has its own Torta Di Pasqua recipe. Check back later for more variations!

Yes, Umbria has its own leavened Easter speciality! Read more

Colombe cakes are a celebrated Easter treat throughout Italy, but did you know that Umbria has its own leavened Easter speciality? Today, chef ...

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Love is in the air!

romantic-dinner-2

Each year, during the col-drums of February, the harsh winter seems to melt away as people celebrate Valentine’s Day, the holiday synonymous with romance. Although there are several theories on the origin of the holiday, it has been adopted in many countries across the world as a way to celebrate love among couples, friends, and family.

Italians are typically considered to be lovers, but the celebration of Valentine’s Day in Italy is actually an American import. Known as “La Festa degli Innamorati” it is typically only celebrated between lovers and sweethearts.

This Valentine’s Day Via Umbria is combining the American and Italian traditions with our Sweetheart Suppers being held on two nights – Saturday, February 13 and Sunday, February 14. If you don’t look forward to the annual Valentine’s Day chaotic restaurant experience, or if the thought of cooking a meal for two has you hiding in bed with the blankets over your head, take the stress out of romance and enjoy dinner at a cozy table for two in Via Umbria’s laboratorio demonstration kitchen where every table is a chef’s table. But it’s not all cupid and hearts around here; if you’re looking for a unique spot for ladies’ night out or a group date with friends to celebrate the occasion, book a seat at the communal table to enjoy a relaxed atmosphere, conversation, and wonderful Italian food.

Each evening features four courses of delicious Umbrian dishes, including appetizers, wine pairings, and a decadent chocolate dessert. And don’t forget, dinners in our laboratorio are more than just great food: our open kitchen format allows you to watch your meal as it’s created, and you can interact with the Chef. We promise it will be an unforgettable evening!

Dinner Details

What: Sweetheart Supper
Where: in the Laboratorio (demo kitchen) at Via Umbria
When: Saturday, February 13, at 7:30pm or Sunday, February 14, at 7:30pm

For more information or to book your reservation visit us online or call us at (202) 333-3904.

We're taking Valentine's Day reservations Read more

Each year, during the col-drums of February, the harsh winter seems to melt away as people celebrate Valentine’s Day, the holiday synonymous ...

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Via Umbria’s Top Seven Resolutions for a Fuller Life

We make New Years resolutions for many reasons (and break them for many more). This year, make a resolution you are excited to keep, and aim to change your lifestyle in small ways that will feed you emotionally and physically.
With the New Year looming, resolve to bring new experiences into your life, and have fun while doing it.

Via Umbria’s Top Seven Resolutions for a Fuller Life

Rissa Miller Ravioli

Resolution #1: Learn to Cook.

Solution: Stop squinting at recipes on your computer screen and join one of our fun, relaxed, interactive classes. Sip a glass of our Italian wine while you laugh with new friends and learn simple techniques from our favorite Umbrian Chef, Simone!

Italian cooking is simple at its heart, and there’s no better place to learn the basic steps you can take to improve your kitchen game than in our brand new laboratorio.

Make 2016 the year you answer the question “what’s for dinner?” with enthusiasm and ease. Take the first step towards that goal by signing up for one of Chef Simone’s Umbrian cooking classes, here for a limited time in January.

Bill Menard at Ernestos Perbacco Canara

Resolution #2: Indulge in the finer things in life.

Solution: Italians know that nothing makes a day special quite like surrounding yourself with the finest things life has to offer, and for us, that means making every meal a celebration.

Every time we return to Italy we are reminded that Italians know how to work the finer things in life into their daily routines, and in 2016 we are dedicated to following their example.

Did you forget to celebrate the New Year in style with caviar and bubbles? Via Umbria now has sparkling wine, caviar, and blini – stop in and stock up and turn any day into a momentous foodie moment in the New Year. Or stop by our store to peruse our ceramics collection – eating off a work of art is a luxury that will make every meal feel special.

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Resolution #3: Travel more

Solution: What are your favorite memories from 2015? Do some of them involve traveling with loved ones? Here at Via Umbria some of our most cherished moments from the past year are our times in Italy.

In the upcoming year, book the remarkable getaway you’ve always dreamed of. Spend a week at the Fattoria del Gelso with those you love – with spacious accommodations that can house up to 16 of your closest friends and family, there is no excuse for leaving anyone behind.

For those of you eager for a family-free (and stress-free) excursion, Bill and Suzy’s tours are a perfect opportunity to relax and let someone else guide you through the wonders of Umbria. Engage with a new part of the world as Bill and Suzy show you their Umbria and help you experience the ‘Green Heart of Italy’ as locals, not as tourists. They will take you to their favorite restaurants, run by families who have become close friends and whose love for the land and its bounty is apparent in every dish. They’ll share with you the history and art that is found in the area’s museums, galleries and excavations, as well as in the streets of the many significant towns of the region. You’ll spend time in the company of locals who embody the hospitality and grace of Umbria.  Sign up now before it’s too late! Vinopalooza (April 17-23), Cucinapalooza (April 11-17), and our Food and Wine Tours (October 15-21 and 22-28) are three fantastic options.

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Resolution #4: Savor Richer Flavors 

Solution: Eat amazing cheese! Come in and talk with our friendly cheesemonger (the Cheese Whiz) and find your new favorite snack, or let them help you create the perfect cheese plate for your next party, hassle free.

Just as Italians make a weekly stop at the local latteria, getting the most flavorful cheese at our counter is guaranteed to improve your quality of life. You deserve some good, quality cheese in the New Year.

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Resolution #5: Discover a new favorite wine

Solution: Be a little adventurous. Come browse our selection of unique, small production wines, large enough to comprehensively cover Italy but manageable enough not to be overwhelmed. Our nonjudgmental, Italian-only approach to wines will make you feel stimulated and satisfied. Come to one of our complementary tastings every day to learn about our curated selection – our Wine Director would love to talk to you!

For a unique experience, sign up to wine and dine with Chef and Wine Director Vickie Reh as she hosts a series of curated wine dinners in our Enoteca throughout January. Be surrounded by the wines you drink with your food in this immersive experience!  For reservations, book here.

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Resolution #6: Discover the perfect “happy hour”

Solution: Italians know how to relax. Bring some of this spirit to your new year and wind down in our cafe during Spritz O’Clock!

Every day in the cafe from 5-7 PM, enjoy a new take on the traditional ‘bar snacks’ with our rotating menu of small plates for one or to share, and pair it with our favorite Italian cocktails or a glass of wine.

Meet new people as you snack on the bites found in bars and cafes across Italy. It’s an Italian piazza here in Georgetown.

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Resolution #7: Share new experiences

Solution: Would you like to expand your network of amici in 2016? To make meaningful connections with your neighbors? Make new friends (and bring the old) when you dine at one of our communal tables.

Whether you are enjoying a lively feast in our Laboratorio (kitchen), or a more intimate celebration in our Enoteca (Wine Room), there is no better place to come together for an exceptional, one-of-a-kind evening. With our ever-changing menus, we have an approach to dining that will redefine the idea of “eat local” with “eat convivially.” Combine that with our open kitchen design, which gives you the ability to watch your food being made, and interact with your Chef throughout the meal, and you will find that this is one resolution that you’ll be sticking to long after the New Year.

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At Via Umbria we strive to create Italian experiences right here in Washington, DC. So our ultimate resolution for 2016 is to enrich our lives with the things that really feed our soul – starting with the above list. In the words of our owner, Bill Menard:

“After our first night back in Umbria, following a day of discovery, of enjoyment, of relaxing and of peace and contentment, perhaps we are inching closer to understanding the secret that is Italy. Perhaps it is not one thing that makes Italy Italy, perhaps it is the sweep, the bounty of this place. But those things – the food, the wine, the landscape, the history, the art, the lyrical language, crazy drivers in tiny cars and museum-like cities – they are not the answer themselves. They are the things that satisfy the cravings that Suzy has. That I have. That our tour guests have. That Ernesto and Simone have. Each craving personal, each craving as deep as the soul and each craving desperately in search of satisfaction. Put simply, Italy feeds what you hunger for.”

 

Happy New Year from Via Umbria!

 

We make New Years resolutions for many reasons (and break them for many more). This year, make a resolution you are excited ...

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Pasta Making Party at Via Umbria

With the arrival of our liquor license, we can now host events in our upstairs labratorio and Galleria! So we kicked off our events schedule with an pasta making party to remember.

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Spritzes in hand, our group had a riotous time learning how to make pasta from scratch, including squid ink pasta and ravioli.

Chef Rissa Miller offers pasta making tips
Chef Rissa Miller offers pasta making tips
Squid Ink Pasta
Squid Ink Pasta
Guests get their hands dirty!
Guests get their hands dirty!

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After learning the techniques, they moved to the Galleria for a leisurely, family-style meal featuring a pasta bar of their own creations and wonderful Umbrian wines.

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If you are interested in hosting a party at Via Umbria in the future, please contact events@viaumbria.com or call 202.333.3904 – we would love to have you!

 

Ci Vediamo!

 

– Via Umbria

With the arrival of our liquor license, we can now host events in our upstairs labratorio and Galleria! So we kicked off our events ...

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Cocktail Corner: Plum and Brandy Shot

What have you been doing this long weekend? Here at Via Umbria we are celebrating this Federal Holiday with one of the stone fruits of the summer, the plum.

We have been wanting to create something with Pisaroni’s Plum Nectar for a while. This Nectar is all natural and made from the simple ingredients of fresh plums, sugar, water, and a touch of lemon juice. With no artificial colors or flavors, this delicious nectar is the perfect cocktail mixer. For generations, the Pisaroni family has been harvesting their own crops using environmentally sustainable methods.

We take this delicious mixer and add a little brandy.

INGREDIENTS:

• one part plum purée

•two parts French Brandy (we know)

 

Plum Whisky shot

 

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Combine both in a grappa glass, garnish with fruit, and enjoy! It’s that simple!

 

Cheers! Ci Vediamo!

 

— Via Umbria

What have you been doing this long weekend? Here at Via Umbria we are celebrating this Federal Holiday with one of the ...

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Cocktail Corner: Drinking Guide for the long week-end

Cocktail Hour Italian Style

Ah, the Fourth of July. This year we are lucky enough to have it land on a Saturday, so most of us have Friday off. Which means a long week-end, with a lot of long drinks. Here is Via Umbria’s drink-a-day guide for this celebratory weekend.

Birra Perugia

Birra Perugia Beer

THURSDAY 

Tonight, after our final day of work, we are heading over the celebrate the weekend with a Sagra at i Ricchi! We are drinking Birra Perguia beer, of course, as we munch on quality Italian food and a whole lot of pork. The Golden Ale, in particular, is a nice dinner time drink – light and flavorful, it tells our tastebuds the weekend is here.

 

FRIDAY 

For our first full day off, we are firing up the grill (see our guide to the Perfect Umbria BBQ for inspiration), stirring up this Fernet and Ginger Beer. It is perfect for a sunny afternoon (and can we say the ginger is a bit healthy)? We always reach for J. Gasco’s ginger beer for a drink with no artificial colors or preservatives.

For a delicious pairing with your fizzy drink, munch on some toasted bread with mild spreadable cheese and our organic apricot jam. The weekend is already here!

Aperol Bellini

SATURDAY – THE FOURTH 

Oh the fourth. What are your plans? Are you on a hunt for fireworks, a la the Menards? Watching a parade? Or kicking back around the pool with friends?

While the rest of your friends may be holding Budweisers, reach for something much more classy. A Negroni is surely the most color appropriate cocktail for the day. Of course we love the classic, but the Negroni Sbagliato from Punch Drink is just as tasty, and adds a dash of prosecco to get you in that festive mood. Cheers to America, Italian style!

 

SUN

Good morning, July 5th! A few years ago, the Menards decided to throw a fully American breakfast in Italy. We love the idea of keeping the Fourth of July fun continuing after the fireworks have gone off.

Need a little something to nurse that headache (from the fireworks, of course!)? Stumptown coffee has just rolled out cold brew tonic, which we are pumped to try in the morning…a little spiked.

To funky for you? You can always make the Bitter Peach Bellini that we sipped on last week.

Shop all of our cocktail items here, and a happy Fourth from the team at Via Umbria!

— Ci Vediamo

Ah, the Fourth of July. This year we are lucky enough to have it land on a Saturday, so most of us ...

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Culture: What is a Sagra?

We will be tasting Birra Perugia Beers at our Sagra on the 3rd.
We will be tasting Birra Perugia Beers at our Sagra on the 3rd.

Summer has us feeling very grateful for the outpouring of wonderful flavors that come with a ripe harvest. Everything seems to taste better, and it should be a cause for celebration. In Italy, recognizing the foods and traditions surrounding them is cause for a party, a fest, a sagra. We can certainly get behind that idea.

“A sagra (the word is related to ”sacro,” which means sacred) traditionally celebrated a town’s patron saint, but in the last few decades, this type of festival has changed into a food-centric free-for-all. On deeper levels, of course, a sagra is about community, too.” (Source: When It’s Sagra Time, Everybody is Italian, The New York Times).

The power of food to bring together a community is a concept we deeply believe in at Via Umbria, which is why we are hosting our on Sagra di Porchetta this Thursday. Right in Dupont Circle, we will be celebrating outdoors the delight we experience feasting in the summer. We want to take the joy we have experienced in Italy, the joy of sharing the best food communally, and bring it to Washington, DC.

“All across Italy, sagras — celebrations hinging on harvests or regional foods — are a way of life. They may be as modest as a single tent in a piazza where farmers grill local radicchio (in Treviso), or as expansive as a town full of wide-open front doors, where families hand out samples of their olive oil (in Spello). They are the effusive Italian equivalents of small-town American food festivals, and they are a whole lot of fun.” (From, When It’s Sagra Time, Everybody is Italian)

Established food culture runs deep in Italy, but is relatively new to the United States (after all, we are a fairly young country). We hope to give you a taste of the food party that is a sagra this Thursday at i Ricchi. So sip some tasty some beer, eat some pig, nibble some Ligurian products from the olive harvest, and toast to a celebration of summer, flavor, and place.

Ci Vediamo!

 

— Via Umbria

It's a way of life! Read more

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The Easter Treats are Here!

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The snow has finally melted, the sun is out until 7PM…and our Easter treats are here!

 

Our scheduled shipment from the famed pastry company Loison occurred on a particular Thursday when the federal government was shut down due to snow (yes, this always seems to happen).  When the shipment landed on our doorstep on Monday, the it seemed much more appropriate. As the sun streamed through our window we unwrapped the beautiful cakes and chocolate eggs from our friends across the ocean.

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Loison is a third generation company, which over 75 years of experience and progress. They use DOC ingredients including fresh eggs from safe farms, milk, butter and cream produced in the mountains of Italy, superfine flour, and top-grade Italian sugar. We also favor them for the sophisticated way they package their products, which evokes the style of old Italian pastry shops where no detail is too small.

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The Colombe, or traditional Easter cake, is a spongy vanilla cake with candied citrus peel, in the shape of a dove. This cake brings legendary stories…

“The oldest tells of Alboin, King of the Lombards. Upon his victorious entry in Pavia in 572, on Easter Sunday, he was given a sweet bread in the shape of a dove as a tribute to peace. Another legend tells that, at the time of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, two doves rested upon the banners of the Lombard warriors infusing them with a noble spirit. But it is definitely during the time of the Spanish ruling in Milan that the dove became the Easter dessert par excellence. In 1552, a dove appeared, accompanied by an angel, over the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie (Holy Mary of Grace)  to stop its demolition, which had been ordered by Ferrante Gonzaga for military purposes. Since then, the city’s gratitude is remembered through this delicious dove-shaped sweet bread.”

 

Ah yes, Milano has remembered the wonderful dove since 1552… yet I found another story, from renowned travel guide Burt Wolf.

“The Colomba is said to have originated as a result of the Battle of Legnano, which took place just after Easter in 1176.  Things were not going well for the Milanese as they defended their city against an attack by Barbarosa… until  three doves flew out of a nearby church.  The birds appear to have flown an air-support mission that dropped bad luck on Barbarosa and delivered victory to the Milanese.  The cake reminds Milan of this triumph.”

 

Another triumph for Milan? The mechanization of cake production. I dug a little further and learned of Angelo Motta, a baker from Milan who wanted to make and sell panettone all year round…and thus, the dove cake.

 

But no matter what the history, the doves or the entrepreneurial baker, there is no doubt that these cakes are a delight and make a fabulous present.

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The Italian treat I remember from my youth, however, is the giant Easter egg. My Italian Grandmother sent my family one when I was in elementary school. My brother and I unwrapped it from the box and placed it, eyes bulging in awe, on the mantlepiece. Off which my mother grabbed it – and ran shrieking down the hallway! The playful chase, and game of catch, that ensued lasted in my memory far longer than the chocolate of the egg (which, to be fair, lasted a long time as well).

 

Italians traditionally do not have easter egg hunts, and so the giant easter egg is the centerpiece. Sometimes, they get quite extravagant, as this report from NPR details.

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At Via Umbria, we have them in milk chocolate and dark chocolate, with beautiful wrapping, of course. They have a prize inside as well — but you have to buy one to find out what it is!

 

So when you see the little blue Ape in the window in Georgetown, brimming with our new treats, make a stop. Come sample these springtime cakes, and share your Easter and spring traditions with us.

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— Elsa Bruno at Via Umbria

The snow has finally melted, the sun is out until 7PM…and our Easter treats are here!   Our scheduled shipment from the famed pastry ...