MENU DELLA CENA
Zuppa e Antipasti

Zuppa di Patate e Erbe di Campo Potato and leek soup with Swiss chard, spinach, cabbage and grilled focaccia
4.99 cup 5.99 bowl (vegan) Pinot Grigio
Asparagi Bianchi con Uova Sode Blanched and chilled white asparagus with diced egg and Cesarina dressing 9.99 Sauvignon
Canederli con Spinaci Spinach, ricotta and bread dumplings topped with Parmigiano, served in free-range chicken broth
8.99 Muller Thurgau

Pasta
Pasta alla Castellana Rigatoni pasta tossed with pork tenderloin, bacon, shiitake mushrooms, Parmigiano, brandy, cream and fresh thyme 17.99 Pinot Noir
Fettuccine al Salmone Affumicato Thin pasta ribbons with smoked salmon, dill, brandy, capers and cream sauce
18.99 Pinot Grigio
Gnocchi di Zucca e Cicoria Butternut squash gnocchi with pancetta, black kale and white wine cream sauce
16.99 Muller Thurgau
Risotto Ladino Carnaroli rice with beef tenderloin, porcini and oyster mushrooms, fresh thyme, shallots and Lechthaler Pinot Noir
19.99 Lagrein

Secondi
Medaglioni di Pollo Chicken medallions roasted with gruyere cheese, speck, grilled Portobello mushroom and white wine; served with braised sweet and sour red cabbage, broccolini and mashed potatoes
23.99 Pinot Grigio
Braciola di Maiale con Cavolo Rosso Kurobuta pork chop wrapped with pancetta and roasted in the oven with herbs, white wine and brandy; served with braised sweet and sour red cabbage and mashed potatoes 26.99 Pinot Noir
Capriolo ai Mirtilli Venison braised with root vegetables and red wine; served with housemade blueberry preserves, Canederli and soft polenta 24.99 Lagrein
Salmone Val Ultimo Grilled salmon with marjoram-dill hollandaise, sautéed leeks and cherry tomatoes; served over soft polenta
25.99 Sauvignon

Dolci
Sacher Torte Chocolate, hazelnut and rum sponge cake with apricot preserves, covered with dark chocolate ganache and served with frangelico-crème anglaise and chocolate sauce 6.99
VINI DEL
TRENTINO-ALTO ADIGE

Pinot Grigio, Il Fornaio, 2010
Il Fornaio's Pinot Grigio is grown in Trentino, the region recognized for producing the highest quality Pinot Grigio in Italy. Our single-vineyard Pinot Grigio is refreshing, crisp and medium-bodied with a lively finish. The wine's excellent balance and complexity make it a great match with the Fettuccine and Medaglioni.
$4 half glass $7.59 glass $29 bottle
Sauvignon, Tramin, 2010
Medium-bodied and complex, this lively white wine is bright and crisp with aromas and flavors of tangy citrus and spice. The long and bright finish makes it a great match with the Asparagi and Salmone.
$6 half glass $11 glass $42 bottle
Muller Thurgau, San Michele, 2010
This dry, rich and aromatic white wine, produced from 100% Muller Thurgau grapes, has lovely aromas and lush flavors of ripe apricot, peach and spice. It is medium-bodied with a crisp finish and is a great pairing with the Canederli and Gnocchi.
$6 half glass $11 glass $42 bottle
Pinot Noir, Lechthaler, 2009
This medium-bodied Pinot Noir has enticing aromas of ripe blackberries and red forest fruits followed by firm, yet well-structured tannins. Elegant and subtle, Lechthaler Pinot Noir has great balance and a clean finish and makes a nice pairing with the Pasta alla Castellana and Braciola.
$5 half glass $9 glass $35 bottle
Lagrein, Tramin, 2010
Tramin, one of the oldest wineries in Alto Adige, produces this lush, full-flavored red wine from Trentino's indigenous Lagrein grape. The 2010 vintage is a medium-bodied red chock-full of wild berries, violets and vanilla aromas and flavors. It is rich and intense with a soft, velvety smooth finish which makes it a great match with the Risotto and Capriolo ai Mirtilli.
$6 half glass $11 glass $42 bottle


Franz's influence to become a chef started with his parents' traditional Polish and German home cooking. He fondly remembers spending time cooking these original hearty and rustic family recipes with his parents, grandparents and aunt.

Growing up in Menlo Park, California, Franz stayed in the Bay Area until he attended Lewis & Clark college in Portland. After graduating, Franz switched gears and enrolled in the prestigious Western Culinary Academy in Portland. He soon realized that he had a true passion for cooking and made the most of his time, working closely with each professor to develop his skills. Franz graduated from culinary school with honors.

Franz has been with Il Fornaio for the past 16 years. During that time, Franz has been fortunate enough to travel across Italy with Executive Chef Maurizio Mazzon in an effort to totally immerse himself in local Italian cuisine and culture. They spent a great deal of time tasting regional foods with multiple courses each day. Maurizio travels regularly to Italy, meeting face to face with our key vendors, and it was this type of experience he shared with Franz during their trip.

While in the region, Franz spent a great deal of time personally observing the different food preparations by local chefs. He credits his experience there as "essential " in developing this month's regional menu and remarked,
"If everyone only knew how authentic our recipes are!" Franz is delighted to be able to share these regional specialties with you tonight and hopes all his guests will benefit from his experience there. Two of his favorite dishes from the trip, Gnocchi di Zucca e Cicoria and Capriolo ai Mirtilli, are prepared precisely as he saw first hand.
Buon Appetito!
 Trentino-Alto Adige is perhaps the least Italian of regions. Laid out along the country's northeastern border with Austria, it is a breathtaking land of saw-toothed ridges and snow-capped peaks, alpine meadows, glittering waterfalls and popular ski resorts. In winter, it offers some of the best skiing in Europe. Italians have long enjoyed this as one of their favorite vacation spots, as it combines vast natural playgrounds with immaculate medieval towns and delicious food.

If you look for Trentino-Alto Adige on a map, you'll find that many of the localities have two names, such as Bolzano/Bozen, Merano/Meran and Bressanone/Brixen. Despite its calm, pastoral, orderly appearance, this is a historically divided region because of its storied past. The northern half of the region, Alto Adige, was known as Südtyrol and was part of the independent kingdom of Tyrol for 500 years before it became part of the Austro-Hungarian empire, where it remained until it was annexed to Italy at the end of World War I. A large and very vocal segment of the local population did not like that new post-war political arrangement, and many emigrated north. But it was this transition that allowed Trentino-Alto Adige to become one of the most economically successful regions in all of Italy.
In 1948, the Italian legislature made Trentino-Alto Adige a single autonomous region. While this may sound like a reasonable solution, it has created a strange yet enchanting contrast. Even the most casual visitor will have little trouble noticing that Trentino, the southern part of the region centered around the beautiful city of Trento, is far more Italian than Alto Adige, where German and Italian are spoken by virtually everyone with ease. Yet today there is fierce loyalty to Italy in this northernmost part of the country and, each year, the majority of the very successful Italian national ski team hails from Alto Adige, with very un-Italian sounding names like Gustav Thöni and Christof Innerhofer among the legendary members. In addition, sprinkled throughout the mountain valleys of both areas are about 80,000 residents who, clinging to yet another ethnic tradition, speak an ancient language known as Ladin. This utterly incomprehensible tongue, a combination of Celtic dialects and Latin, resulted from the encounter of northern colonists and Roman legions in the first century B.C. and adds further intricacies to navigating this beautiful part of the world.