Preview: Taste of Italy

by guest blogger @iam_robot

The Taste of Italy will be back for its seventh year, and this year’s food and beverage participants include food-scene mainstays like Drago Centro, Valentino, Rao’s, Locanda Del Lago, Pedroncelli Winery, and Peroni, among others. Benefitting The Italian American Museum of Los Angeles, these restaurants will feature finest Italian cuisine and wines on October 10th in Little Italy’s iconic 1869 Pico House, right across from the Union Station. And let’s not forget about cooking demos from some of the most revered Italian Chefs such as Chef Peppe Barone (director of the Mediterranean School of Food and Wine in Italy) and Chef Gianfranco Minuz (Locanda Del Lago). Slated to open later on in 2015, the Italian American Museum of Los Angeles will showcase the history and ongoing contributions of Italian-Americans to Southern California and the U.S. In addition to historical exhibitions, the museum will host film screenings, language classes, and a variety of cultural public programming.

Last week I had a chance to sample many of the wonderful bites and wines to be featured at this premier food event. There were many memorable bites but my favorite was the Baked Little Neck Clams with Italian Breadcrumb Stuffing from Rao’s.

This dish is the ultimate comfort food – It reminds me of Thanksgiving. Maybe in a better way! Clams were pleasantly supple yet the stuffing didn’t mask the inherent brininess of the shellfish. Stuffing was equally delightful - breadcrumbs were warm, moist, and crunchy. I could eat a tub of these!

My other highlight was Rao’s Fiocchi Ravioli Filled with Ricotta Cheese and Bartlett Pears.

Initially I was quite thrilled with the buttery flavor of brown butter but as I chewed through I loved the creaminess of the ricotta cheese and the sweet finish of the pear and dried cranberries. All the flavors meshed beautifully in right proportion.

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Meal Kits On the Go from Pantry (Brookline, Boston, MA)

I'm a fan of the meal or recipe kit delivery services (I reviewed a lot of them here), but sometimes I feel like they send too much food/ too many kits at once for my personal schedule (I go out to eat a lot - obviously), or some services don't let you pick what you want, or some days you want to cook but don't have any kit left. That's why I think a concept like the newly opened Pantry in Brookline is a great idea.

Pantry sells recipe / meal kits, as you can imagine, but they sell them at a physical location. Right now, they only have one store in Brookline.

At Pantry, you can choose what you want from a collection of recipes (they have 11 now and working their way to 20) and each one is priced depending on the ingredients (ranging from $16-21 for meals for two people). Want steak? Fish? Salads? Desserts? They have it all. I like how the store is set up, too, as you can browse the recipes and see the ingredients. They do a lot of recipe development, as well, so you can be confident you're getting a delicious meal with seasonal ingredients.

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Area Four (Cambridge, MA)

I may have complained a bit about the lack of lunch options at MIT, but actually, if I just go out of campus for a bit, there are some great places - take Area Four, for example, known for their pizza.

The menu at Area Four is short and simple - some appetizers and salads, and then pizza. Area Four's pizza has won many accolades and boasts an older-than-12-year starter, over 30 hours of fermentation, and wood-fired oven. They make a great version of the New England staple, clam and bacon pizza with pecorino, chili pepper, and parsley ($17.50 for a small)

I had a very satisfying Little gem salad with tomatoes, blue cheese dressing, and crispy pork belly

The crispy pork belly made this salad that much better - it's still healthy right?

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