Release Date: February 15, 2012
Greet Cherry Blossoms with a New Spring Menu Including Cherry-Inspired Dishes in the Garden Café Italia and Espresso Bar, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Starting February 17, 2012
Braciole di maialino affumicate (grilled pork chop with cherry relish and arugula salad), created by Chef Fabio Trabocchi for Garden Café Italia at the National Gallery of Art. Photo by Rob Shelley © National Gallery of Art, Washington.
New Menu Starts February 17
Washington, DC—Chef Fabio Trabocchi of Fiola and Chef David Rogers of Restaurant Associates will present a new seasonal menu in the Garden Café Italia to celebrate the centennial of Japan's gift of 3,000 cherry trees to Washington during the National Cherry Blossom Festival and to honor a landmark exhibition of Japanese bird-and-flower paintings by Itō Jakuchū opening on March 30 at the National Gallery of Art. Offerings will include both sweet and savory cherry-flavored delights, as well as a new cherry-inspired cocktail. The Gallery’s Espresso and Gelato Bar will also feature an array of cherry-flavored gelato to celebrate the season.
The menu of signature Italian dishes is inspired by an impressive exhibition of Italian sculpture—Antico: The Golden Age of Renaissance Bronzes—on view through April 8, 2012, as well as Italian masterpieces in the Gallery's renowned permanent collection.
The Garden Café Italia menu, consisting of a buffet as well as à la carte dishes, will be served through early spring, and is presented in partnership with Restaurant Associates and Executive Chef David Rogers at the National Gallery of Art.
Garden Café Italia
Chef Trabocchi developed the Garden Café Italia menu with an eye to the fresh produce and seasonal ingredients sold in Italian markets. The à la carte menu features braciole di maialino affumicate (grilled pork chop with cherry relish and arugula salad, $14.50); prosciutto di San Daniele (dry-cured ham and marinated eggplant served with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and aged balsamic vinegar, $12.00); and tortellini al basilico e mozzarella (basil tortellini with buffalo mozzarella, $14.00). Desserts ($8.00) include classic tiramisu with chocolate sauce and gelato di ciliegie e melograno (cherry-pomegranate gelato with cherry compote).
Chef Trabocchi's buffet ($20.25) presents an array of typical Italian dishes, beginning with a selection of Italian breads served with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and marinated Castelvetrano olives. For main courses, the buffet offers bucatini with pancetta and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, and melanzane alla parmigiana (baked eggplant with tomato, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, and mozzarella). Seasonal additions for the spring include mozzarella pomodorini e basilico (cherry tomatoes and ciliegine mozzarella with basil and white balsamic vinegar), an arugula and radicchio salad with dried cherries and ricotta salata cheese, as well as chicken with rosemary, garlic, and tomato sauce. Rounding out the meal is torta di mandorle, a grappa-infused cherry frangipane tart.
White, red, and sparkling Italian wines have been carefully selected to complement the menu, along with beer (Birra Moretti, Udine, Italy) and signature cocktails (Campari and soda, Bellini, and Aperol spritz). New for spring is the Disaronno cherry sour, featuring Amaretto liqueur and sweet-and-sour with a hint of cherry, served chilled. Soft beverage offerings include juice, soda, tea, still or sparkling bottled water, and authentic Italian illy brand coffee and espresso produced in Trieste, Italy. Recipe cards for selected dishes are offered to guests free of charge.
Garden Café Italia is open Monday through Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 4:00 p.m. One of the most distinctive dining spots in the nation's capital, the Garden Café features a 19th-century French marble sculpture after Jacopo Sansovino, Bacchus and a Faun, and a fountain with Herbert Adams' bronze Girl with Water Lilies (model 1928).
The Garden Café Italia is located in the West Building near the entrance at 6th Street and Constitution Avenue NW. To make reservations for groups of eight or more, please contact the café manager at (202) 712-7454. For more information about the Gallery and its restaurants, visit www.nga.gov/dining.
Fabio Trabocchi
Chef Trabocchi prides himself on his attention to detail, creative imagination, and extensive knowledge of Italy's culinary heritage and technique. Growing up in Italy’s Le Marche region, his passion for cooking was nurtured by his father and grandparents. By age eight he was comfortable in the kitchen and in his early teens decided to pursue culinary school. At age 16, following apprenticeships in kitchens throughout the region, he began cooking in the three-star Michelin restaurant, Gualtiero Marchesi. At 18, he was responsible for the entire kitchen staff at the Michelin one-star Navalge Moena.
In London, Trabocchi began to showcase his own culinary style at the celebrated Floriana, where he won the Carlton Award for London's Best Young Chef in 1999. The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company LLC then invited him to design his own kitchen and create the vision and concept for Maestro in the Ritz-Carlton Tysons Corner in McLean, Virginia, which opened in 2001. At Maestro, Trabocchi’s knowledge of the evolution of Italian cuisine brought him acclaim. He was named Food & Wine's Best New Chef in 2002, Chef of the Year in 2005 by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington, and the James Beard Foundation's Best Chef—Mid-Atlantic in 2006. As the restaurant's chef de cuisine, he also earned a series of four-star reviews from The Washington Post. Later, his tenure at Fiamma in New York City from 2007 to 2010 was well received: Frank Bruni awarded him three stars in The New York Times, a rave review that joins others from such publications as New York Daily News and New York Magazine, as well as a one-star rating by the 2009 Michelin Guide.
Trabocchi recently returned to Washington for his newest project, the celebrated Fiola, which opened in 2011 at 601 Pennsylvania Avenue NW. Fiola ("little girl" or "sweetheart" in Italian) is Trabocchi's nickname for his daughter. The restaurant is a modern Italian trattoria with an emphasis on fresh ingredients from local farms and markets. The menu changes daily, focusing on seasonal ingredients served in a casual, comfortable setting created by GrizForm Design Architects.
Trabocchi and his family—wife Maria, daughter Aliche (9), and son Luca (7)—live within walking distance of the Gallery and visit often, exploring the museum and attending skating lessons at the Sculpture Garden Ice Rink during the winter months. Trabocchi's blog includes updates about Garden Café Italia and Fiola. The Gallery Shops offer his cookbook, Cucina of Le Marche (Ecco/HarperCollins, 2006), a celebration of his personal culinary heritage coauthored with Peter Kaminsky.
Antico: The Golden Age of Renaissance Bronzes
Pier Jacopo Alari Bonacolsi, known as Antico (c. 1455–1528), transformed the art of bronze sculpture. His contributions are celebrated in Antico: The Golden Age of Renaissance Bronzes, the first monographic exhibition in the United States devoted to the Italian sculptor and goldsmith. On view at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, from November 6, 2011, through April 8, 2012, the exhibition includes some 40 rare works—medals, reliefs, busts, and Antico's renowned statuettes—more than three-quarters of the sculptor's known works.
This exhibition was organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, in association with The Frick Collection, New York, where it will be on view from May 1 through July 29, 2012. The exhibition is made possible by the generous support of Robert H. and Clarice Smith. It is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.
Learn about the exhibition at www.nga.gov/exhibitions/anticoinfo.htm
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