Four chefs embrace the birra revival by spiking Italian fare.
by Jessica Daynor
Does the name Rich Higgins ring a bell? If not, it should: Higgins is one of just three Master Cicerones (elite-level beer sommeliers) in existence. He’s also the brewmaster at San Francisco’s Social Kitchen & Brewery, president of the San Francisco Brewers Guild and director of San Francisco Beer Week. So what’s he doing curating the beer list at an Italian joint?
For starters, it’s because the Italian joint is Delarosa, the ubercool and always-packed eatery in San Fran’s Marina disctrict helmed by Italian-born chef Ruggero Gadaldi (who also heads the kitchens at sister spots Beretta and Pesce). But it’s also because beer has suddenly found itself at home on the Italian table, replacing the Barolo that once stood stoically with mushroom risotto and edging out the chianti that veal scallopini had come to love.
“I think this renaissance in beer has been fueled by the ever-growing popularity of pizza,” says Gadaldi. “Pizza and beer are a perfect pairing, so the demand has increased.” And Gadaldi’s reacted: Now, he packs barstools with patrons alternating bites of his clam-tomato-soffrito pie with sips of North Coast La Merle from upstate California and Baladin Nora straight from his mother country.
Halfway across the country, Chicago stalwart Spiaggia now offers Italian craft beers like Birra del Borgo Re Ale pilsner on tap—the first time the restaurant’s poured draft beer in 26 years. “We’re always trying to find new, special products from Italy to bring to Chicago, and there are these beautiful, complex, delicious beers coming out of Italy that seem to take more of a chef’s approach,” says executive chef Sarah Grueneberg. “Now the beers match the artisanal quality of the food.”
THE RECIPES:
Bucatini Tipopils
Inspired by guanciale (an Italian bacon made with pig cheeks or jowls) crafted by one of her sous chefs, Spiaggia’s Grueneberg combined the cured meat with Tipopils (one of the restaurant’s new Italian taps), sun-dried tomatoes and ricotta in this hearty dish. “The beer’s bitterness might be too much for fresh pasta,” she warns, “so use dry pasta. And I really recommend drinking the beer with the dish; the pasta brings out the beer but also calms some of its bitterness.” View the recipe here.
Beer-braised lamb shank
Chef Kevin Garcia has a long history with Italian cuisine, having manned kitchens from Lucca in Boca Raton to Mario Batali’s Del Posto in Manhattan; as executive chef at New York City’s ’Cesca, he helms a rustic Southern Italian menu that spotlights hearty proteins and handmade pastas. Here, he bathes lamb shanks in the rich sweetness of La Rossa, a perfumy doppelbock from Milan’s Birra Moretti. View the recipe here.
Beer-Battered Fennel Fritters with Black Lager Reduction
Oakland-brewed Linden Street Burning Oak Black Lager, a current favorite of Delarosa’s Gadaldi, takes a roasty-sweet turn as a reduction over these toothsome fritters, which make for a solid snack or a meal on their own. “I was inspired to create this dish because it brings together two flavors,” he says. “The sweetness of the fennel works well with with the natural bitterness of the beer.” View the recipe here.
Crispy Sage
Gianni Scappin, Culinary Institute of America chef and lead author of the CIA’s fresh-off-the-presses book “Italian Cooking at Home,” fries up fragrant, crispy sage leaves with a splash of beer. Serve them as a neo-Italian bar snack in place of popcorn and peanuts, or sprinkle them over salad and pasta. View the recipe here.
[photo: Thomas Blue]