Okay, okay. So this isn’t exactly local, but it’s about as close to Italy as you can get without packing your passport and purchasing a plane ticket. Girasole restaurant in The Plains, VA, is hosting its annual truffle dinner on Sunday, November 8, and lucky for you, there are a few reservations left.
About 1/2 kilo of Italian white truffles, worth approximately $3,000.
If you’ve never experienced fresh truffles (and these are fresh, overnighted earlier this week from Italy), you don’t know what you’re missing. Truffles, which grow at the base of trees and are secretly collected at night using trained dogs or pigs, are intoxicatingly aromatic but difficult to describe. Sweet and earthy. Odd yet comforting. If Mother Nature were spritzing passersby at a mall perfume counter with her signature scent, you’d walk away smelling of truffle. While for some they are an acquired taste, for those who love them, truffles can be an addiction.
A certificate signed by the truffle hunter ... and his dog.
Each of the six courses, including dessert, features white truffles from the Monchiero municipality in Italy’s Piedmont region. Chef Lou Patierno brings his love of Italian cuisine and passion for truffles to the dishes, including beef and chicken tortellini in porcini broth and his famous Piemontese carnaroli risotto, both with shaved white truffles. Each course is paired with organic wines from G.D. Vajra, and Giuseppe Vajra will be on hand to share his vibrant personality and stories of growing up in the Italian countryside. Many of the non-Italian ingredients for the meal come from local farms, including Ayrshire Farm, Over the Grass Farm, Martin’s Angus Beef, and Wisteria Gardens.
Chef Lou Patierno looks lovingly upon his bounty.
To learn more about Chef Patierno, Girasole, and his other restaurant, Panino, in Manassas, VA, visit http://www.girasole-panino.com/. To view the complete menu and details of the dinner, click here. Call 540-253-5501 for reservations.
Girasole dining room
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