If you've been to Providence you most likely have dined at the well loved restaurant Al Forno. If you have not and are planning a trip you must put this exceptional, casual yet exquisite Italian restaurant on your itinerary.
In summer there is a lot of al fresco seating in their garden settings, but we like the open bar the best. It is set back but open to the fresh evening air.
We started off dinner with some very serious martini's made with a delicious vodka called Hammer and Sickle.
Al Forno is known for their fine gourmet pizzas, but we chose to share seasonal zucchini flowers lightly breaded and stuffed with a deliciously creamy ricotta cheese. We also shared the crispy cod cakes with smashed avocado bruschetta with grilled bread, garlic rub, and tuscan olive oil. Then a perfectly wood grilled rib eye steak of mythic proportions with the famous Al Forno mashed potatoes.
Picking a wine for this selection of food was a challenge but our bartender came through with an amazing suggestion, Grosjean Vallee d'Aoste Cornalin Vigne Rovetta.
Valle d' Aosta region of northwestern Italy is the source of a very limited production of very enticing wine made with eclectic grapes like Petite Arvine, Furmin, Cornalin, Premetta, and Vuillermin.
Cornalin Vigne Rovetta has a nose of mellow fruit with an undercurrent of herbs, pine resin, and cured meat this transforms into rich but balanced black cherry accentuated with bright berry-like fruits with an organic earthiness that is rich but never overbearing. Complex enough to complement the lighter appetizers and yet rich enough to stand up to the smokey flavorful steak.
It is too bad that Frères Grosjean seems to have stopped producing this particular wine but don't fret for they are producing many other great wines. This one can still be found at Sussex Wines & Spirits, 300 E. 42nd St., New York, NY.
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Posted by: Lee | 01/02/2011 at 15:10