While I might quibble a little with the menu -- being a Piemontese purist and all -- I'm happy that Il Mito Enoteca hosts a "Regional Tour of the tastes of Piedmont" dinner on Friday, Nov. 21 beginning at 7 p.m. I bet Chef Michael Feker will uncork some great barberas for the occasion.
The four-course meal is $89.95 per person, excluding tax and tip.
The fixed-price menu begins with a first course of warm watercress salad with pancetta, hard-boiled egg and shaved parmesean that is followed by a primo of fettuccine with walnut and gorgonzola sauce.
The main course is ossobucco -- a speciality of neighboring Lombardia, rather than Piemonte -- but with porcini mushroom risotto.
Risotto is a dish commonly associated with Lombardia, too, but it features heavily in Piemontese kitchens, too, thanks to the rice paddies in the Provinces of Alessandria, Vercelli and Novara.
Regardless of the roots of the dishes, you know that at Il Mito, Feker will infuse his flair and passion into all of them.
Dessert is the sinful-sounding panna cotta with pomegranate molasses and espresso sauce.
Call or visit www.ilmito.com to make a reservation.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
