Local Bounty, Local Harvest! September brings the fullness of the harvest season to Panzanella with our last Farm Dinner, our new fall menu, and a list of drinks that will wisk you away to the tropics! Make Panzanella your destination for farm fresh ingredients, tasty fabulous fare, and wowser drinks. Remember we're your 'local goodie'! Last Farm Dinner Thursday, September 14 5:30 - 9:00 pm Featuring Chapel Hill Creamery The Chapel Hill Creamery started with Portia McKnight and Flo Hawley's desire to make cheese and has developed into 12 cows, two pigs, and a handful of chickens. Their underlying philosophy is to raise "cows that are healthy and happy and improving the quality of the land" with enough pasture land to rotate the herd for maximum grass growth (delivering maximum nutrition), a breed of cow that would give high quality, great tasting milk, and a marketing cycle that would allow for the natural rhythm of the cows and the land. More

Events Gallery

On the Menu Recipe

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Last Farm Dinner continued

They use Intensive Grazing, which focuses on grass feeding with a small addition of grain. The cows get most to all of their nutritional needs from grass during the spring and summer and revert to more hay and grain in the winter. Portia and Flo breed all their cows to coincide a spring delivery with fresh grass. This begins the cheese making cycle that will end in December when the grass is long gone and the cow is busy gestating another baby. This cycle is good for the land, the cows, and the people who all get a break in the winter. The Chapel Hill Creamery makes around 6-7 kinds of cheese. Their line-up includes Carolina Moon and New Moon (Camembert-like), fresh Mozzarella, Farmer's cheese (also a fresh cheese), feta and a raw-milk, aged cheese made in the monastery style. Monastery cheeses were traditionally named after the monastery where they were made, and in keeping with that, they named their monastery cheese Hickory Grove after the Baptist Church at the end of their road. Plan on eating dinner at Panzanella on Thursday, September 14 and see what creative dishes we've come up with that feature the cheeses of the Chapel Hill Creamery.

Events

September Wine Dinner! Italy: Off the Beaten Path. Just a few tickets left! Monday, September 11 7:00pm - 9:30pm Italy is one of the most viticulturally diverse wine-producing countries in the world. It is home to more than 20 different wine growing regions and produces more than 2000 varieties. What does this mean to us? It means that each region and town in Italy has a wine style all its own, with native grape varieties that aren't found anywhere else. Its geography alone is an indication of the diverse style of wines Italy produces, from the Alps to the Adriatic Sea. Italy has wine regions nestled into mountainsides and hidden around every corner. Ever wonder what wines the locals are drinking when you travel to the small towns of Italy? Well, join us on Monday September 11, 2006, 7:00-9:30 pm, at Panzanella Restaurant and find out! Mike Tiano of the Haw River Wine Man will take us on a tasting tour of some of Italy's most interesting wines from regions like Puglia, Campania, Alto Adige, Veneto and Friuli. Enjoy seven different wines from amazing regions of Italy, paired with six wonderful courses of food from Panzanella Restaurant's kitchen. Tickets for this event are $40 and seating is limited, so buy early at the Customer Service desk in our Carrboro Store or at Panzanella. Reserve the date! For our October Wine Dinner: Portuguese Wines, "Moving Past Port" Monday, October 16, 7 - 9:30 pm Portugal is on the brink of exploding onto the world wine scene. With Porto, sweet fortified wine, already familiar to wine drinkers, the next evolution is recognizing this country's dry wine production. Given the rise in fame of Spanish wine production, Portugal has all the makings to follow the same route. Indigenous varietals, old vines, varied climates, eclectic grape blends, unique terroir and now top quality dry wine production poise Portugal as the next big wine wave to hit the shelves and restaurant wine lists. Join us October 16, for six courses and seven terrific wines from Portugal. We will explore some of the best regions of Douro and Vinho Verde. Find out what this country has to off with a selection of dry whites and reds. Don't worry—of course we'll finish this fine meal with a tasty port. Forget what you have tasted in the past, the days of Mateus are long gone, the new generation is here and ready to wow your palate. Wines from Importers Eric Solomon/European Cellars and The Rare Wine Company portfolios will be presented by Seth Gross of the Henry Wine Group.

Gallery

Currently up through October 22: Guy Wilkins Contemporary Expressionist Paintings Guy Wilkins studied art in Norfolk, Virginia, while working as a journalist in the 1960s, and has painted for some 45 years since. His subjects, expressed in vibrating strokes of color, range from real life to imaginary situations, and are often inhabited by quirky, whimsical figures. Guy exhibits regularly in North Carolina and Virginia, and also in New York City at the Amsterdam Whitney Gallery in Chelsea. You can see some of his work by clicking here. Public Reception: Monday, September 25, 5:30-7:30pm Please join us for a perfect opportunity to wander around and enjoy the work while the restaurant is closed, meet the artist, and get to know other local art lovers. The reception is free and open to the public. Our bar will be open, and free light hors d'oeurvres will be served.

On the Menu:

Here'a a sampling of some of our new menu items starting Tuesday, September 12! Pork Marsala with Red Gate Farms Pork Loin, Jackson Farm Figs and Gorgonzola Polenta Seared NC Scallops with Escarole, White beans, and Braised Local Fennel in a Tomato Basil Sauce Sunday Brunch Sunday Brunch is the perfect time to enjoy our outdoor patio Brunch is served on Sunday from 10:30am - 2:00pm Remember we're now open for lunch on Mondays, 11:30-2 pm. New at the Bar! Starting Tuesday, September 12 Let one of these cocktails sail you away from your daily grind! Espresso Martini - espresso shot, vodka, white creme de cacao, kahlua, shaken and served straight up Key Lime Martini - stoli vanill, midori, pineapple juice, sweet and sour mix, a splash of half & half, shaken, and served straight up Chocolate Banana Martini - vodka, banana liquer, and white creme de cacao, shaken and served straight up Pome-tonic - pomegranate vodka topped with tonic, served over ice, and garnished with lime Absolute Symphony - absolut citron, strawberry liquer, sour mix, a splash of tonic and grenadine, served over ice

Recipe: Brad's Pork Marsala

Ingredients: 2 4 oz. slices of pork loin, pounded thin 1 tbs olive oil 1/4 cup flour 1/4 cup fresh figs 1/4 stick butter 1/2 cup Marsala wine 1/2 cup chicken stock Preheat pan with olive oil. Dust pork in flour. Place pork in pan and cook until golden, about 1 1/2 minute per side. Remove pork, pour off excess oil from pan, add Marsala and chicken stock. Reduce to half, add figs and butter. Cook a minute, pour over pork. Serve with Gorgonzola Polenta. Gorgonzola Polenta 1/2 cup polenta 1 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken stock 1/4 stick butter 6 oz. gorgonzola In a medium sauce pan bring stock and butter to boil. Add gorgonzola, whisk in. Reduce heat to simmer, add polenta and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes

Visit Panzanella's website to view all menus (lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch).