Warm Winter Dishes!: Panzanella's Enewsletter

Warm Winter Dishes!

Our winter menu features new items and old favorites to keep you warm and sustained during your holiday season. Stop in and try our new Braised Pork Shoulder or the vegan Penne Rigate. Shop, buy and eat local to keep our economy strong.

Don't miss our fabulous bubblies at our December Wine & Food Tasting!
New art with a Caribean influence will warm you this holiday season!

Our Wine & Food Tastings have change a little bit. Read more.

Events

Gallery

Wine Special

Winter Menu

Holiday Hours

Events

Sparkling Wine & Food Tasting Monday, December 15, 7 - 9:30 pm Sparkling wine and specifically, Champagne has always been associated with elegance and celebration. Its allure increases with the abundance of different styles in which it is produced. The tiniest hint of effervescence can change a simple white wine into something fun and exciting to drink. Sparkling wine can vary as much as still wine—it can be white, pink—even red. It can be sweet or bone dry. Other aspects of sparkling wines, like alcohol level and the character and strength of the bubbles can be part of wine's unique identity. Join us for a festive winter evening as we sample a variety of sparkling wines and see just how well they match with delicious dishes from Panzanella's kitchen. The cost of this event is $45 per person. Space is limited, so reserve early. Please pay in advance and pick up a ticket for this event at either Panzanella or the customer service desk at Weaver Street Market in Carrboro.

South American Wine & Food Tasting

Monday, January 26 7 - 9:30 pm Our next Wine and Food Tasting, on Monday, January 26th, will feature the wines of South America.

Wine & Food Tasting Information

Our Wine & Food Tasting events are from 7:00 pm to 9:30 pm. Please arrive at 7pm. Our tastings are set up family style, meaning we have several tables set up to seat 8 to 10 people. There is no reserved seating unless you are with a party of 6 or more, and then you'll need to let us know in advance. Family-style also refers to food service; all food is brought out in large platters that are passed around, each portion is a tasting portion, or small plate size. There are six courses served, one is usually a dessert course and there is wine served at each one. Wine servings are 1 1/2 oz with each course. We have a guest speaker at every event that educates and guides the tasting from start to finish. We try to accommodate dietary restrictions, but advance notice is needed. Please inform the person you are buying the ticket from, or email Panzanella, and inform them of your restrictions or allergies. If you need to cancel, please do so with 24 hours notice.

Gallery

Red Clay Fields and other paintings by Vieni Pawloski
Vieni Pawloski has a Caribbean soul. Although she was born and raised mostly in Eastern North Carolina, she spent her first six years in Bermuda, where she started school at age four. She discovered a love for drawing in pencil when she was seven, and has been drawing and painting ever since. After earning an AA degree in Graphic Art and Design from Alamance Community College, Pawloski worked as a graphic designer for 20 years.

In the early 80s, Pawloski moved to the intensely creative environment of Berkeley, California, where grants and free community colleges allowed her to feed her intellectual and artistic hunger with a remarkable range of studies. At the San Francisco Art Institute, with classmates from all over the world, Pawloski studied philosophy with Angela Davis, sculpted in clay with Richard Berger, enjoyed the Diego Rivera Gallery, and read Sontag. She studied visual ideology with emphasis on avant garde art with Raymond Mondini, and began her career as a landscape painter in 1984, painting the Berkeley Hills and the Half Moon Bay pumpkin patches.

In 1992, Vieni returned to her tropical roots to work in the Florida Keys as a field marine biologist for NOAA. She was married to a kayak nature guide, with whom she co-wrote a book entitled Sea Kayaking the Florida Keys.

Finally coming home to NC, Pawloski graduated from UNC in 2005 with a BFA in Studio Art. She continues to paint the fields, old houses, country ponds and roadways of Orange County, but with an exuberant palette that reveals an irrepressible Caribbean soul.

Vieni Pawloski
919-240-4084
e-mail her.

Wine Special

Our special wine this month is
Domaine Hubert Clavelin, Brut Comté NV, Crémant du Jura.
Hubert Clavelin and his two sons have vineyards in the Côte du Jura, a small range of mountains about 30 miles to the east of the Côte D'Or. They've planted Chardonnay on a parcel of very high limestone soil, and that is the source of their sparkling wine, Brut Comté. Their method is identical to that used to make champagne; and the expertise and care is evident in the fine quality of the Brut Comté—tasting more like a lesser, true champagne than a sparkling wine from Burgundy.

This wine is an amazing value for holiday celebrating and deliciously food-compatible. Try it with the Shrimp Beignets or the Baked Oysters on the dinner menu.
glass: $6.75, bottle: $34

Winter Menu

Back by popular demand:
The Calamari appetizer on both the lunch and dinner menus is served with our delicious salsa verde, which you may remember from a few years ago. This original Panzanella sauce gets its complex and assertive character from a subtle combination of lemon, parsley, oregano, garlic, capers, anchovies and olive oil. The marvelous fragrance and flavor of this dish needs only one more ingredient - a view of the Mediterranean.
Our new Braised Pork Shoulder with Creamy Polenta and Braised Winter Greens is a comforting, nourishing choice on a winter's evening.

Available at lunch and dinner, our vegan pasta entrée, Penne Rigate, now features a delicious walnut pesto and winter ratatouille.

And now, the new desserts:
Chocolate Tortina - a very chocolaty, little round cake with amaretto cinnamon buttercream and a scoop of homeland creamery vanilla ice cream.
Bourbon Sweet Potato Pie with mascarpone whipped cream—as marvelous a thing as a sweet potato can aspire to be.

Holiday Hours

In December, we will be closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, Dec 24 - 25, and reopen for dinner only on Friday, Dec 26, with our regular Friday dinner hours: 5:30 pm - 10 pm.

On New Year's Eve, Panzanella will be open with our regular Wednesday hours, with dinner service extended to 9:30 pm. We will be featuring dinner specials in addition to our regular menu, and are accepting reservations for parties of 6 or more. Thursday, Jan 1 we will be closed for lunch, and reopen for dinner from 5:30 pm - 9:00 pm.