DINNER MENU: January 5 - 18, 1998

Zuppa di Pollo Chicken soup with carrots, celery and onion; topped with parmesan cheese $5.50
Roero Arneis

Fonduta con Funghi Tartufati Grilled portobello mushroom and white truffle oil on a bed of sauteed wild mushrooms, topped with fontina cheese fondue $7.25
Gattinara

Bue all'Albese Finely chopped raw beef tenderloin with lemon, olive oil and celery root, on a bed of marinated button mushrooms, topped with shaved parmesan and extra virgin olive oil $6.50
Barbera d'Asti

Trota in Carpione Sauteed and marinated fresh trout served chilled with grilled zucchini and red wine vinaigrette $7.25
Roero Arneis

Taglierini Gratinati alla Piemontese Homemade egg pasta, ham, cream, parmesan and truffle oil, baked in the wood-burning oven $11.95
Barbaresco

Gnocchi alla Bava Potato dumplings with fontina, gruyere, cream and toasted walnuts $10.50
Gattinara

Ravioli con Vino Rosso Homemade ravioli filled with veal, spinach and parmesan, in red wine sauce $11.50
Barolo

Risotto con Porcini e Porri Italian arborio rice with porcini mushrooms, leeks, white wine, and parmesan, served in a toasted panino marino (rosemary roll) $11.95
Barbera d'Asti or Barbaresco

Sposalizio di Trote Fresh rainbow and red trout stuffed with artichokes, wrapped in pancetta and topped with hollandaise sauce; with sliced roasted potatoes $16.95
Roero Arneis

Maiale alla Torinese Pork chop stuffed with prosciutto and fontina; white wine sauce, sauteed spinach and mashed potatoes $15.95
Gattinara

Stracotto delle Langhe Braised marinated beef in vegetable-red wine sauce; sauteed spinach and grilled polenta $16.95
Barolo

Torta di Riso Sweet rice and custard pie with toasted hazelnuts and frangelico liqueur $5.75

.

Perhaps the most exclusive and recognized ingredient of Piemontese cooking is the white truffle. It is often included in fonduta, the regionŐs best known specialty. On this eveningŐs menu, you will find Fonduta con Funghi Tartufati, grilled portobello mushroom and white truffle oil on a bed of sauteed wild mushrooms, topped with fontina cheese fondue. It is a perfect antipasti for the cold winter weather.

Other dishes whose ingredients are dictated by the geography of the region are risotto and polenta. The Po valley is "rice country" and Piemonte produces more rice than any other region. Not only will you find risotto on the menu (Risotto con Porcini e Porri), the dessert, Torta di Riso (a sweet rice and custard pie) brings an interesting twist to Italian arborio rice. And polenta is so much a part of the Piemontese kitchen that Monasteri Bormida and Bubbi, two cities in the Asti district each year hold the festival of the Polentone ("big polenta"). Grilled polenta is an accompaniment to Stracotto delle Langhe, braised marinated beef, another example of the hearty cooking of the region.

One Piemontese specialty that you may know from the Il Fornaio bread basket, is grissini, the Italian breadstick. Named for the city of Torino, Grissini Torinese are among the best selling items in our retail bakery.

While Piemonte is known throughout the world for many of its classic dishes, it is often considered to be one of the best wine-growing regions in Italy. Barolo, perhaps the most famous, is rich and full-bodied, the perfect companion for many of the regionŐs heartiest dishes. Barbaresco, Barbera and Gattinara are also notable, and will certainly enhance your experience sampling the foods of Piemonte. Buon Appetito!

.
Osvaldo Tomatis was born in Mondovi, in the countryside outside of Torino, the capital of Piemonte. His family owned a trattoria (a family style restaurant) where Osvaldo began working as a dishwasher when he was 14 years old. By the time he was 16, he was cooking under the strict tutelage of his mother and grandmother.

In 1979 Osvaldo travelled to Los Angeles to visit a friend for a few months and found he liked living in the United States. Using his experience from the family trattoria, he cooked in several Italian restaurants before joining Il Fornaio in San Jose as Chef-Partner in April of 1995. He is now the Chef-Partner of Il Fornaio in Portland, a city he finds similar to his home region in weather (wet) and native ingredients (truffles and the arneis grape).

"I love the excitement of cooking, the unpredictable nature it has and the energy it creates", Osvaldo says as he talks about his love of cooking. "The food of this region is one of my favorites because it utilizes very few ingredients, each the very best in quality. I hope all our guests enjoy the hearty and warming foods of Piemonte!"