Thursday, February 7, 2019

Very Hungry for Valentine's Day

On February 14, Tuscan Kitchen in the Seaport District will welcome San Valentino to their Boston home with a celebration of artisan Italian cuisine and Romeo & Juliet-inspired cocktails laced with love. How romantic?!

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Available on Valentine’s evening, chefs Joe Brenner and Nimesh Maharjan have masterfully created seven a la carte additions that showcase the best regional cuisine inspired by Italy’s rich lands and seas. For antipasti courses, there is Carpaccio di Manzo with crispy capers, mache, winter truffles and Parmigiano Reggiano ($17); Zuppa di Zucca with compressed apples, toasted seeds, croutons and maple mascarpone ($14); and, Wild Mushroom Tart with fonduta, arugula, poached egg and tartufo ($19). For secondi options, they are threefold: Agnello alla Griglia with grilled lamb chops, carrot puree, olives, artichoke and fennel jus ($48); Pesce Spada with seared swordfish, Tuscan white beans, smoked pancetta and roasted pepper agrodolce ($45); and, Surf & Turf, an 8oz filet mignon, lobster tail, mascarpone-whipped potatoes, cipollini onions and demi ($65). The dolce per due is Chocolate Torte, Chocolate Mousse, Strawberries ($22; serves two people). Our mouth is already watering!


To complement the culinary features, beverage manager Jose Luis Betancur is taking a page from Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet to showcase twists on classic cocktails inspired by traditional ingredients found in Verona – the city in northern Italy’s Veneto region featured in Shakespeare’s book of romance – in addition to pouring a pair of champagne offerings. The Romeo is crafted with Bulleit bourbon, housemade maple-fig simple syrup and orange bitters ($16) while the Juliet is a sparkling mix of Grey Goose L’Orange, Aperol, St-Germain and prosecco ($16). For champagne-lovers, available by the glass and bottle there is Ferrari Brut ($15; $70) and Moët & Chandon ($25; $100). Cheers to that!


And in case you didn't know, Tuscan Brands, founded by serial food entrepreneur Joe Faro, is the culmination of two generations sharing authentic artisan Italian cooking experiences. As a result of Faro’s upbringing in an Italian immigrant family where cooking was a time-honored tradition, his success creating Italian cuisine and products and his travels all over Italy, Tuscan Kitchen opened in Salem, NH, in 2010 as a destination for diners to eat and drink their way through the Old World’s diverse regional scratch cuisine: rustic breads, handmade scratch pastas, hand-stretched mozzarella, house-cured salumi and a full array of Italian pastries, cookies and homemade gelatos, all set against the backdrop of a masterfully-curated Italian wine selection. Tuscan Market in Salem followed in 2012 as a reimagined Italian marketplace to shop for freshly baked breads, handmade pastas, pastries, and gelato, as well as Italian wines, prepared foods, butchered meats and rare imported Italian specialties. The Salem location also includes “La Scuola Culinaria,” an onsite cooking school. Tuscan Brands expanded to Burlington, MA, in 2014 with the opening of the second Tuscan Kitchen, while a third location was added in March of 2017 in Portsmouth, NH, which now includes an expansive marketplace. Tuscan Seaport’s 14,000 square foot restaurant opened in Boston’s Seaport Square development in November 2017.


Want the perfect place to celebrate Valentine's Day? Look no further! Head to Tuscan Kitchen on February 14th and devour the details of a feast like no other. Enjoy!

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