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.”