Eating at Il Tegamino Feels Like You're Dining in the Panzuto Family Kitchen {Edible Monterey Bay}

October 12, 2015 – this piece went live on the Edible Monterey Bay blog. Read it there.

Eating at Il Tegamino Feels Like You're Dining in the Panzuto Family Kitchen 

Story and Photos by Camilla M. Mann

October  12, 2015 – Several months ago, I spoke to Giuseppe Panzuto about his passion project: opening Il Tegamino with his older brother Salvatore. They had owned and operated a wine bar in their hometown of Naples, Italy when they were just sixteen and twenty years old. Now, more than two decades later, in their new hometown of Carmel, their restaurant features Neopolitan comfort food using recipes inspired by their childhood.

“I’m very excited to have something that is all our own,” said Giuseppe, the former GM and partner in Cantinetta Luca. Salvatore has cooked locally at Cantinetta Luca, as well as at Sierra Mar at the Post Ranch Inn and La Balena in Carmel.

The Panzuto brothers hosted a preview dinner ahead of their soft opening last Thursday. Tucked into the Courtyard of the Golden Bough, it was like being invited into their home for dinner. Their mother, Rita, collected cooking pots, including the classical Italian pot il tegame which is a short, flat-bottomed pot with two handles. Il tegamino is a smaller version of the pot and several of their dishes are served in the restaurant’s namesake vessel.

The tasting menu Salvatore shared included a little bit of everything, from their antipasti and insalate offerings to primi, secondi, and contorni plates and from the polpette bar to the desserts. There was so much food to try, I was grateful that Giuseppe warned us ahead of time to pace ourselves.

  

Served with thin slices of bread, we started off with Zucchine alla Scapece, a traditional summertime dish from Naples that makes use of a bounty of summer squash. Zucchini is fried, then marinated overnight. Il Tegamino’s version had some zing from the combination of balsamic vinegar, oil, mint, and chili flakes.

The antipasti, included a riff on eggplant parmesan made with zucchini instead. Salvatore presented a trio of frittura all’Italiana, serving arancini, which are risotto balls stuffed with cheese, meat, and peas; crocchette di patate, potato croquettes with mozzarella; and a fried dough that had been blended with sea lettuce. While our table was debating on a favorite, Giuseppe shared that he had collected the sea lettuce that morning. An avid free-diver, he plans to include daily specials that he has spearfished.

Their salad, a plating of romaine leaves, shaved, parmesan, and croutons, was elevated from simple to sublime with the tonnata dressing, a creamy, tangy sauce made with anchovies, capers, and tuna.

The primi and secondi plates were hearty, solid dishes, but we were all awaiting their much buzzed about polpette bar. Have you ever heard of a restaurant with a meatball bar? I hadn’t, but I anticipate an avid cult following for that reason alone. Everyone loves a good meatball!

Salvatore has six meatballs on the menu that should satisfy everyone from the omnivore to the vegetarian. He serves polpette de manzo, beef meatballs with pine nuts, raisins, garlic, bread, parsley, and parmesan cheese; polpette di maiale, pork meatballs with onions, bread, thyme, sage, and pecorino cheese; polpette di tonno, fresh tuna balls with capers, mint, potato, and caciocavallo cheese; polpette di granchio, crab meat balls with chives, bread, celery, and bell peppers; polpette di cavolo, a meatless ball formed from cauliflower, black olives, bread, and parmesan cheese; and polpette di funghi, made with Portobello and Porcini mushrooms, ricotta cheese, thyme, bread, and parmesan cheese. Three housemade sauces accompanied the meatballs and complemented all of the flavors. With the choice of meat, seafood, and vegetarian meatballs, there is definitely something for every palate.

Verging on the precipice between satiated and stuffed, two desserts were brought out and we simply couldn’t resist. They had prepared two tiramisù, one traditional and one that was new to me. When you see tiramisù on the menu, it’s usually tiramisù al caffè, made with espresso. Tiramisù al Limone, made with limoncello-soaked ladyfingers, was a delightful surprise.

The thing about having a great meal at a friend’s house: you have to politely wait for a repeat invitation. At Il Tegamino, you feel as if you’re eating in a friend’s kitchen, but you don’t have to wait to return. Just be sure to make a reservation because they only have 24 seats inside.

By next week, when the soft opening phase is finished, Il Tegamino will open up 28 more dining spots in the lovely outdoor patio at the Court of the Golden Bough. For the time being they are only open for dinner, but the brothers plan to add lunch service by the beginning of next year.

Italian Comfort Food Coming to Carmel {Edible Monterey Bay}

May 5, 2015 – this piece went live on the Edible Monterey Bay blog. Read it there.

Italian Comfort Food Coming to Carmel

Story by Camilla M. Mann
Accompanying Photos were Provided by Il Tegamino
(see the EMB blogpost to view those)

May 5, 2015 – The former GM of Cantinetta Luca is getting ready to open a home-style Italian restaurant of his own called Il Tegamino in the picturesque Court of the Golden Bough in Carmel. Giuseppe Panzuto and his brother Salvatore previewed their new restaurant Saturday as part of the 23rd Annual Winemakers’ Celebration. “It will be homey,” said Giuseppe, who plans to open the doors in July and feature Neapolitan comfort food using family recipes. 

Hailing from Naples, Italy, the Panzuto brothers named the restaurant as a tribute to their mother, Rita, who collected cooking pots. Il tegame is one of the most classical Italian pots, characterized by a flat bottom, short sides, and two handles. Il tegamino is a smaller version of the pot. With fond memories of growing up in Rita’s cozy kitchen, Giuseppe and Salvatore hope to create the atmosphere of being in a genuine Italian kitchen. 

Though the menu is not yet set, they are exploring favorite recipes that their mother made. Giuseppe waxed nostalgic about her eggplant parmesan and her lasagna di carnevale. “You have these little meatballs and eggs. You know it’s not like what Americans think of as lasagna,” he said. 

Carnevale falls just before Lent, when Christians abstain from indulging in rich foods. And, sometimes, meat is avoided altogether. Carnevale derives from two Latin words—carne (meat) and vale (farewell); so it’s literally ‘Farewell, meat!’ Lasagna di Carnevale is a classic Neapolitan dish filled with meat and cheese. Some versions include salami and hard-boiled eggs. The idea behind the dish is to use up whatever meat you have in the house before Lent. 

The small bite they served at Saturday’s preview was another traditional Neopolitan dish, Sformato di Patate, creamy potatoes mixed with Italian meats and cheese and baked under a blanket of butter and bread crumbs.

Giuseppe resigned from his most recent post as GM of Schooner’s Coastal Kitchen at the Monterey Plaza Hotel in March to focus on the new endeavor.

Il Tegamino will be located in the Court of the Golden Bough in Carmel-by-the-Sea, in the courtyard behind the Cottage of Sweets. It’s part of a reinvigoration effort that includes opening the Alexander Smith tasting room and the addition of new fountains through the efforts of Denny LeVett. Like their recipes, the Court of the Golden Bough holds a bit of old Europe. ‘The Golden Bough’ refers to the Roman poet Virgil’s Aeneid. The titular hero, Aeneas, bearing a tree branch with golden leaves was allowed to travel through the underworld unscathed. 

The courtyard used to house a restaurant that, for four decades, served as a meeting place for locals and visitors and fed City Hall employees, something the brothers hope to replicate with Il Tegamino.

The menu at the new eatery will be largely influenced by Southern Italian traditions, featuring easy and simple recipes. “Many of the dishes will have as few as three ingredients but will be full of freshness and flavor,” Giuseppe said. “It will be like inviting people into our house—into our family kitchen.”

Commonwealth Wednesdays Debut in Carmel {Edible Monterey Bay}

October 14, 2014 – this piece went live on the Edible Monterey Bay blog. Read it there.

Commonwealth Wednesdays Debut in Carmel

story by Camilla M. Mann, photo courtesy Lauren De Vine

October 14, 2014 – A weekly showcase for local food pioneers called Commonwealth Wednesdays debuts tomorrow at Carmel Belle and the very first event features the seasonal elixirs, shrubs and mixers of beverage artisan Lauren De Vine.

‘Commonwealth’ means ‘founded for the common well-being’ and, in this case, owners Jay and Chloe Dolata, Chef Kyle Odell, and the rest of the Carmel Belle team aim to connect local food pioneers with the community, for the good of all.

The Dolatas make an effort to operate as a community-minded business, purchasing products from local purveyors and farmers. Taking local sourcing a step further, Commonwealth Wednesdays will allow them to connect those people directly to the community. Once a week, Carmel Belle will host local food pioneers to highlight their products, share samples, give a demonstration, and—most importantly—meet the locals.

First up: Lauren De Vine the creative force behind Lauren De Vine Beverages. Lauren will be sharing her spirit-bases for making mocktails, cocktails, and soda. While she has experience taking businesses from concept to fruition, it has always been with other people’s ideas including Barmel and a skin care line. This will be the first public demo of her very own recently launched brand. “My intention,” she says, “is to take the mystery out of a good cocktail.”

At 5:00pm, Lauren will explain how she plans to change the beverage industry and show how you can be the life of the party with one of her signature cocktails or sodas. Then, from 5:30pm – 6:30pm, Lauren will provide samples of her produce-driven, spirit-bases. She didn’t want to divulge too much about the three flavors ahead of the Commonwealth Wednesday, but I can reveal that they capture the essence of the late summer season and each has multiple intriguing layers of flavor.

Lauren’s spirit-bases are handcrafted using the best locally grown organic ingredients. She defines local as starting as close to her as possible and moving outward, as needed, to source her fruits and herbs. Lauren mentions that she loves working with Jamie Collins of Serendipity because the farm is close and they share a mindset about food production and sustainability.

She relishes being part of the food community in Monterey and will be starting a weekend CSA to get feedback on different flavors before she launches on a larger scale in spring 2015. Her idea is for CSA members to pick up six small-scale spirit bases along with instructions for turning those into celebratory libations by mixing in alcohol or soda water.

“We use organic, fresh ingredients in our products and they can all be delicious without adding liquor. Nearly all of them would only require a bit of soda water and ice to be fully realized and enjoyed,” she adds. Carmel Belle will be the first of the pick-up locations.

Alongside Lauren’s demonstration, Chef Kyle will be creating a couple of small plates for the evening in addition to the regular Dinner Belle menu. Looking ahead, Commonwealth Wednesday will showcase farmer Jamie Collins of Serendipity Farms on October 22. Future events will feature local food pioneers from Kai Lee Ice Creamery and Tomatero Farm, among others. Those sound like beneficial evenings for all.

Edible Notables: La Balena

This piece - part of Edible Notables - was printed in Edible Monterey Bay's Winter 2012 issue, hitting news stands on December 1, 2012. Read the entire issue online here.

LA BALENA

A California restaurant with a Tuscan heart

 Story by Camilla M. Mann

Photo by Geneva Liimatta

Carmel’s budding community of young, creative and sustainability minded restaurateurs has just expanded with the addition of Anna and Emanuele Bartolini and their La Balena, an informal nod to Northern Italy on Junipero Street between Fifth and Sixth.

The Bartolinis had been tossing around the idea of opening a restaurant for more than a decade. Emanuele’s grandparents, who were originally from Sardinia, had a restaurant in Florence years ago, and after emigrating from Italy to New York, Emanuele started work in the city’s restaurant world before he even knew English. By the time he left New York to move to Carmel, he was working as a senior manager at Del Posto, which is owned jointly by Mario Batali and Lidia and Joseph Bastianich and is one of the most highly regarded Italian restaurants in New York. In Carmel, he was most recently a general manager at Cantinetta Luca and helped open Salumeria Luca.

For Anna, a designer, opening La Balena—and getting to know the local farmers and other purveyors who will become a part of it— feeds a passion for supporting young people who farm and care about food the way that she does.

Anna and Emanuele strive to uphold the idea that food and wine taste better when served near where they are grown and when produced with ethical standards.

La Balena’s menu will be simple, seasonal and sourced from local organic suppliers as much as possible while remaining faithful to true Italian—and particularly Tuscan—cuisine.

The restaurant will have two chefs. Chef Salvatore Panzuto— who obtained a culinary degree from Naples’ Instituto Professionale Alberghiero di Stato—will prepare traditional, rustic food with the spirit of a classic Italian enoteca, or wine bar.

La Balena’s other chef will be Brad Briske, who is best known in the area for his turns as chef at Main Street Garden and Gabriella Café in Santa Cruz County as well as his farm-to-table meals. Briske, who most recently was hired by Carmel’s Casanova to take over their charcuterie program, will bring to La Balena his deep relationships with local organic farms and his creative style in cooking their bounty. Briske and the Bartolinis first met at Live Earth Farm in October, when Briske cooked a sensational dinner for Edible Monterey Bay’s 1st anniversary.

As this issue of Edible Monterey Bay went to press, the Bartolinis were planning for a late November opening and still working on the restaurant’s interior. But already, the former location of the Carmel Food Co. was showing plenty of character—and was reflecting the style and interests of its owners.

In evidence of the Bartolinis’ intent to run their business in as sustainable a manner as possible, the tables in the main dining room are made from reclaimed tropical hardwoods that were salvaged from trans-Pacific shipping crates. The cushioned wooden bench seating came from the local Habitat for Humanity store; the Bartolinis have refinished and re-upholstered them in two shades of coffee—one in the color of espresso and the other, caffè latte.

Hand-marbled papers, vintage postcards and posters, and some artwork that they collected during their time in Florence and its environs lend an authentic air to the space.

One of the pieces is the whale’s tail seen in the couple’s logo, which is by Florentine artist, Maurizio Bomberini. The restaurant’s name was inspired partly by the work, and partly by Emanuele’s deep passion for whale conservation.

Opening the restaurant and settling in Carmel are something of a homecoming for Anna, who as a child would travel from her home in Georgia to visit her grandmother’s first cousin, a Carmel resident, and could only dream of one day living here.

Camilla Mann is a food writer, photographer, adventurer and passionate cook based in Monterey.

La Balena • Junipero Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues, Carmel • 831.250.6295 • www.labalenacarmel.com.

A Doggone Fun Dinner at Terry’s Restaurant + Lounge

Tonight is the last night of Monterey Bay's Restaurant Week for 2012. My piece about Terry's Restaurant + Lounge hit the Edible Monterey Bay blog today (10/25/2012): click here to read it there.

A Doggone Fun Dinner at Terry’s Restaurant + Lounge

Story and Photos by Camilla M. Mann

I called to make a reservation for Terry’s Restaurant + Lounge in Carmel’s Cypress Inn, here’s how the conversation went…

“I’d like a table for two on Sunday, please. Six o’clock, if you have any tables available.”

Will you be bringing a pet?

“Excuse me?”

A dog? Are you bringing one?

“Oh, no. Thank you.”

We have two dining rooms where we welcome dogs – with good table manners, of course – and one dining room, in the back, where no dogs are allowed and there are tablecloths. Which would you like?

“With tablecloths, please.”

Great, we’ll see you at six on Sunday.

“Perfect.”

When I met up with my friend, to head to the restaurant, he handed me one of his kid’s stuffed animals. “We have to bring a dog, right?” The hostess chuckled as we placed our pet on the table. “Does he have a name?” she joked. “No, not yet,” Brian admitted.

Cypress Inn is co-owned by screen legend Doris Day who is a huge animal advocate. She founded the Doris Day Animal Foundation, one of the largest animal welfare organizations in the world; and she wanted to put Cypress Inn on the map as the pet-friendliest inn in the country. Hence, the welcome policy for four-legged friends.

Terry’s Restaurant + Lounge, inside Cypress Inn, is named for Doris’ son Terry Melcher who designed it in what used to be office space for the hotel. He adored Morocco and incorporated many North African elements into his plans. Tragically, he lost his battle with cancer right before it opened and was never able to see his Moroccan décor and lighting in living color.

Terry’s is a charming restaurant. Brian and I were seated at a table against a Moroccan lattice screen carved of wood. The wall behind the bar is painted in the traditional Marrakech trellis pattern, a stylized quatrefoil. Ornate pendant lights throw shadows of intricate patterns through their brass cutouts. And pillows in all shapes and sizes, adorned with complex designs made from wool threads, line the benches.

Since the beginning of the 16th century – and perhaps longer – it has been important for North African girls to learn to weave or embroider. Having those skills affords women a measure of financial independence, an outlet for their creative instincts, and embroidery becomes a social event. Often women gather in the same room while each works individually on her own project. They converse, embroider, eat, and drink tea; an older woman leads prayers at the appropriate times. Think of it as a Moroccan quilting bee. The embroidered pillows at Terry’s would make any mu'allema, embroidery mistress, proud.

Not only does the atmosphere have a Moroccan flair, but the menu continues to feature Moroccan-inspired dishes in Terry’s honor. In fact, one of the new dishes on the menu was a Moroccan Kefta Tagine.

Brian and I were there to try out Terry’s Restaurant + Lounge menu for Monterey Bay’s Restaurant Week. Taking place from October 18th to 25^th, Monterey Bay’s Restaurant Week offers diners the chance to try some of the area’s hot spots for a reasonable price. Participating restaurants, all around the Monterey Bay, offer prix fixe menus ranging from $25 to $45 for three courses that are illustrative of their culinary breadth and depth. Unlike many of the other restaurants, Terry’s paired each dish with a wine that was included the menu price. And most of the chosen wines were from Monterey County vintners. What a deal!

We started off with the Sand Dab Slider, another new dish, and Monterey Calamari, a perennial local favorite. The sand dab was dusted in cornmeal, pan fried, served on a grilled brioche bun with housemade tartar sauce, and paired with a Grenache Blanc from Scheid. Served with glass of Pierce Albariño, the calamari was dipped in a Moroccan-spiced tempura batter and served with a harissa aioli. Harissa is North African paste made of hot red peppers. It added a fantastic, exotic flair to the aioli.

Next up, we tried the Braised Short Ribs, served with a red wine reduction and unbelievably smooth whipped potatoes, and the Moroccan Kefta Tagine, meatballs made with lamb and beef simmered in a curry-infused tomato sauce. A mound of couscous and roasted asparagus and carrots accompanied the meatballs. The wines for our second course were a De Tierra Estate Merlot and a Pierce Tempranillo.

Our final course was dessert. We opted for the Medjool Dates – soaked in sherry, stuffed with goat cheese, honey, toasted walnuts, and lemon zest – that were served with an enthusiastic Mercat Cava that just kept bubbling and bubbling. And we ordered the Chocolate Lava Cake that was drizzled with a cabernet reduction, accompanied by a scoop of vanilla gelato, and paired with a Smith & Hook Cabernet Sauvignon. The rich, dark chocolate was refreshingly lightened by the vanilla.

At the end of the meal, the hostess came by the table to see how we had liked everything. We enjoyed the meal, delighted in the kind of conversational banter you can have with someone who has been your friend since you were fourteen, and – especially – appreciated how each dish came with its own wine pairing. That was an unexpected bonus.

Brian and I agreed on the favorite dish for the evening: the tagine. The flavors were subtle but layered. I might just have to get my hands on one of those traditional clay pots and experiment with a few Moroccan recipes.

As we were settling the bill and getting ready to leave, “We named the dog,” we announced to the hostess. “Meet Doris!” Our evening adventure at Terry’s Restaurant + Lounge was a doggone fun dinner.

Photography Honorable Mention: Point Lobos State Reserve {Catch-Up}

Weston Beach is Picture Perfect

trazzler.com contest deadline of March 28, 2012