Your Daily Dose of Food News, Events and Must-Read Miscellany
Lisa Nakamura’s long-awaited opening of Gnocchi Bar is about to become a reality. The former Allium Chef and French Laundry alumni will open her bricks and mortar operation at 1542 12th Ave. in what is currently the D’Ambrosio Gelato space. The anticipated opening date is ‘late March’ so fans of gelati and the like can still get their fix for a few more weeks as the space is reconfigured to produce lovely pillows of potato goodness. And more good news – gnocchi isn’t just for dinner. The bar will start with evening service but will soon expand to include lunch, breakfast and brunch in the future.
What I think this world needs is more live music. And Capitol Cider thinks so too. Which is why they are starting the Capitol Cider Unplugged: Acoustic Music & Artisan Cocktails series beginning this Wednesday, March 4th at 8 p.m. The series will continue weekly on Wednesdays and each artist will be accompanied by a specialty cocktail for their performance. Tomorrow, Tobias the Owl and Wren will perform while listeners imbibe the “Old One Eye” cocktail made with Aquavit, Orleans Herbal and the now ubiquitous Ginger Beer. Future scheduled performances include Gabriel Wolfchild making his first appearance since performing on The Voice on the 11th as well as Susan Galbraith on the 18th.
Just when you thought the ‘holiday’ season was over, another date to capitalize upon appears. This time, it’s St. Patrick’s Day where, for some odd reason, people drink to excess around the country to celebrate a deceased saint that many have little in common with. Despite all that, we wear green clothes and shamrocks and drink a ton of shitty beer for the hell of it. And so the drinking season kicks off with Bell + Whete’s fete on March 17th where at 4 p.m. Chef Stew Navarre will be roasting corned beef in a ‘Caja China’ – which is essentially a wooden box lined with sheet metal that is used for roasting whole pigs in Cuba. Fun fact – La Caja China has nothing to do with Chinese cooking as it’s common for anything clever to be called ‘Chinese’ in Latino countries.
