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We’re not Loafing Around: Metropolitain Bakery for Via Umbria

Our custom Italian bread recipe with our specially made oil
Our custom Italian bread recipe with our specially made oil

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.

EVOO

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.”

Inside of the Mill

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 ...

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Noteworthy Notizie – October 30

Halloween

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 ...

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Rissa Miller Joins as Chef and Restaurant Consultant

Rissa Miller

Via Umbria owners, Bill and Suzy Menard are thrilled to announce the latest addition to their culinary team, Rissa Miller, who will help create menus and bring her Italian food expertise to the new kitchen at Via Umbria.

Rissa Miller said of joining the new Via Umbria food team, “I am proud to be a part of a project that has the essence of Italy in mind at every turn, and to be working with the combined talents and passion of Jodie Steiner and Vickie Reh.  We are planning classic items in the cafe that will make those who know Italy feel nostalgic, and customers who’ve never been to Italy be assured this is the next best thing.”

Chef Miller grew up on Vancouver Island in Canada, and has worked in kitchens since she was 14.  Not only has she worked as an executive chef who studied cuisine and pastry at some of France’s most respected schools and kitchens, she is also an artist, with exhibitions of her paintings and ceramics in several galleries in Florence, Italy.

“I’d like to bring the three most beautiful aspects of Italian gastronomy to Via Umbria—simplicity, quality, and conviviality,” she said.  “For me food is best when ingredients are unprocessed, fresh, prepared and eaten with family and friends, this is the essence of good eating.”

Growing up, Miller’s mom cooked 7 nights a week at home from scratch and food was respected, never wasted, and most of all it marked a moment every evening when everyone came together to communicate.  This original relationship with cooking still remains at her core love for food, and will be at the heart of the atmosphere of Via Umbria.

Miller has spent a lot of time in Italy, and adores the Mediterranean food culture and way of life.  She became certified in Neopolitan Pizza making, and worked in renowned restaurants throughout Italy.  Her knowledge of Italian foods and technique are strong, but with this creative cooking team, customers can also expect some interesting twists on Italian favorites.

Interested in following the menus and events at the new Via Umbria opening this fall?  Send an email to feedme@viaumbria.com and we will send you menus and updates.

 

Ci Vediamo!

–Via Umbria

Via Umbria owners, Bill and Suzy Menard are thrilled to announce the latest addition to their culinary team, Rissa Miller, who will ...

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Our Progress – Via Umbria Construction

We are in the home stretch here at Via Umbria, and things are finally shaping up to a recognizable form.

Our wine room is installed, the coolers have arrived, and the apartment upstairs is coming together.

All the latest from Via Umbria below.

Via Umbria Construction _DSC0374 _DSC0378 _DSC0381 _DSC0382 _DSC0386 _DSC0390

Via Umbria construction _DSC0397 _DSC0407 _DSC0410 _DSC0414

Our new walk-in refrigerator and freezer
Our new walk-in refrigerator and freezer

Via Umbria Construction _DSC0420_DSC0428

Our wine rack is fully installed
Our wine rack is fully installed

 

The kitchen equipment arrives today, and we will be installing away!

 

Ci Vediamo!

–Via Umbria

We are in the home stretch here at Via Umbria, and things are finally shaping up to a recognizable form. Our wine room ...

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Ancient Grains – New at Via Umbria

You might think that a grain is a grain is a grain. You would be wrong.

It is difficult to define what makes something a uniquely Italian experience. It is so much more than any one thing – maybe it comes down to the bounty and place, where people care about and protect the land and create a culinary history that is deep and wide.

Out of that history are ancient Italian grains: the black chick peas, farro, millet, new grain flours and they are generations old and unique in flavor. Quite simply, there is nothing like them. Whether used to create a simple pasta, or mixed with vegetables of the season, these grains carry a story that you will remember long after you have taken your last bite.

These ancient grains will be sold in Via Umbria, re-opening this fall in new form with a full market, prepared food, and a demonstration kitchen.

Part of our past Food and Wine tour this October included lunch made right on the Il Molino farm, where guests savored pastas made from the farm’s farro and senatore cappelli grains, both ancient grains that have been rediscovered and popularized (for a reason) of late. Both pastas served were full of a distinct and cut above in flavor, mouthfeel and satisfaction.

Il Molino Ancient Grains

After lunch guests toured the mill and watched the ancient grains be milled into fine or coarser flour and an exposition of beans and legumes, most of them tracing their roots (literally) to ancient forebears and unique to small, particular areas in Italy.

Ancient Grain

And Via Umbria is bringing it all to you so you can cook it for the people you love. You will also find them used in the prepared foods you can purchase at Via Umbria to bring home and serve the people you love.

Flour from Ancient Grain

Interested in the daily means and special dinners? Send an email to events@viaumbria.com and we will send you menus and updates this fall.

 

Ci Vediamo!

—Via Umbria

You might think that a grain is a grain is a grain. You would be wrong. It is difficult to define what makes ...

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Noteworthy Notizie: October 23

Olive Vineyard

What a week! With our new sign, announcement of a new chef, and a food and wine tour, things are in full swing at Via Umbria.

Here’s what’s happening in the Italian media around the web!

 

The artist Christo is installing art that lets you walk on water on Lake Iseo in Italy. His project “The Floating Piers” will let you walk on floating golden cubes over the lake, and it scheduled to be ready in June.

 

The Italian post office goes private, the largest of a string of privatizations Matteo Renzi is planning to convince foreign investors that Italy is on the road to recovery.

 

You know what they say, fashion is a cycle. So Facist architecture is chic again? The fashion house Fendi sets up shop in an old Roman Facist government building.

 

Did you see our lunch at Il Molino? The Food and Wine tour is wrapping up tomorrow, but we have more photos for you, coming soon!

 

And Italian liquor, Cynar, goes high-proof with a new digestif that ups the ante to 70 proof. Just in time for the week-end!

 

Cheers!

 

–Via Umbria

What a week! With our new sign, announcement of a new chef, and a food and wine tour, things are in full ...

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News: Chef Jodie Steiner, Will Bring Her Personal Touch to the New Dinner Offerings

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The all new Via Umbria will open its doors very soon and part of its new offering is specially prepared Italian dinners to take home and enjoy, as well as special dinners and functions onsite.  To prepare these special meals, Via Umbria owners Bill and Suzy Menard are thrilled to announce that Jodie Steiner has joined the team, and said “Jodie has a love of authentic Italian food and a interest in locally grown produce and feeding families, and she will bring all that to Via Umbria this fall as full time chef preparing gourmet dinners to take home.”

 

Steiner said, “I’m so excited to join my good friend, Chef Vickie Reh, and the rest of the Via Umbria team to share our love of the most beautiful Italian food and culture.”

 

Jodie is originally from Chicago, where she trained in the kitchens of the most elite fine dining restaurants after graduating college. She then moved to DC to work with local farmers markets and nutrition education programs until she moved to Italy for several years, and explored all things Italian. “I loved exploring Italian culture, especially food markets and locally produced food specialties, learning about authentic Italian ingredients and local dishes.”

 

After returning to DC, Jodie built a personal chef business, where she created meals for local families—some of which may very well appear on the Via Umbria carry out menus.  She also specialized in special events and dinner parties, from rustic to elegant, which will certainly influence Via Umbria’s special evening dinner events.

 

What is Chef Steiner’s food philosophy?  “My food is the most creative, innovative cuisine that is firmly rooted in traditional methods, using the freshest, most authentic ingredients available. Cooking is most satisfying to me when it is based on personal relationships with the people producing the food I’m cooking, and with the people I’m cooking for.”

 

And that is the philosophy of the all new Via Umbria, a gathering place where people can enjoy the best food, wine, and Italian wares, and share in age-old Italian traditions—together.

 

Interested in Chef Steiner’s daily means and special dinners?  Send an email to events@viaumbria.com and we will send you menus and updates.

 

Ci Vediamo!

–Via Umbria

The all new Via Umbria will open its doors very soon and part of its new offering is specially prepared Italian dinners to take ...

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Upcoming Events: The New Via Umbria

truffle spaghetti

This Saturday, we spent selling some goods outside our store for the Book Hill Fall Market. Thank you for everyone who came out – we had a lot of curious fans begging for us to re-open!

We are working hard to open our doors for you! In the meantime, download our Calendar of Events and mark down some nights filled with cooking, demonstrations, book clubs, and wine.

We will see you soon, or as they say in Italian, ci vediamo!

 

— Via Umbria 

This Saturday, we spent selling some goods outside our store for the Book Hill Fall Market. Thank you for everyone who came ...

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Noteworthy Notizie – October 16

Spritz O Clock

Now in Umbria, we are gearing up for our Food and Wine tour part two, which begins tomorrow! In DC, we are busy rounding up excellent bakers, baristas, and chefs to prepare for our opening in November. But in both places, we are always taking a little pause for #spritzoclock, and we hope you are too.

 

Tomorrow is National Pasta Day! See our pasta recipes here, and get some truly original creations at our online store. 

 

Last year, on our food and wine tour, we were met with a sad sight. The olive harvest of 2014 met a combination of terrible conditions that cause the crop yield to be incredibly low, or nonexistent. This year, we can personally witness the bounce back in Umbria. The LA Times wrote an article that rejoices with us – Umbrian olive oil is back.

 

Starbucks is in talks to open stores in Italy. How do you feel about mega-chains (such as the Dominos plan we mentioned last week) moving into Italy?

 

Our Food and Wine tour kicks off tomorrow! Prepare for more fun updates from Italy! And we have some Vinopalooza spots left if this is giving you major wonderlust…

 

Italy is going to dig for ancient Roman treasure which fascinated the Nazis.  They are digging in the tomb of Alaric, king of the Visigoths who sacked Rome, which is thought to include gold, silver and a priceless Menorah looted from Second Temple.

 

Have a wonderful week!

 

– Via Umbria

Now in Umbria, we are gearing up for our Food and Wine tour part two, which begins tomorrow! In DC, we are busy ...