Comings & Goings

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Dairy Daze

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Via Umbria announces the addition of eggs, yogurt, and milk to its specialty market.  In keeping with our business ethos, these high quality dairy products support small production and relationship-based partnerships. These fresh, delicious pantry staples are now available to customers for purchase, and are also used in the food prepared in the kitchen for café, eat-in and carry away dinners.

Georgetown residents can come into Via Umbria for ingredients to put together delicious meals, all in one place.  Pass the two big tables holding fresh farm produce, pass the glass case holding the specialty meats, and then pass the local and imported gourmet cheeses, and on over to the eggs and dairy.

“We are committed to small production, and the finest quality foods that you want to eat and serve people you care about,” said one of the owners, Suzy Menard.

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Whether you’re using the farm fresh eggs from Natures Yolk to make a batch of homemade pasta, (which you may want to mix with some of the Umbrian imported pasta sauces also available), or lightly scrambling and adding a little white truffle, these eggs will get your attention with their vibrant color and creamy taste.

The milk comes from Pennsylvania farm, Trickling Springs, where the milk comes from “cows that get all the sunshine and grass that they want,” which translates into quality and taste for the drinker, and a conscious purchase for the customer.

The yogurt is from Pennsylvania’s Pequea Valley Farms, handcrafted from the milk of grass-fed Jersey cows which produce the richest milk.  This yogurt is completely free of antibiotics and hormones, with a creamy, delicious taste.

So come on in and get your calcium!

For information on the menus, classes and the latest fresh foods, send an email to feedme@viaumbria.

 

Ci Vediamo!

–Via Umbria

Grab your favorite calcium from our specialty market! Read more

Via Umbria announces the addition of eggs, yogurt, and milk to its specialty market.  In keeping with our business ethos, these high ...

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Produce This Week

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What a rainy past couple of days! If you farmers market trip got rained out, don’t worry, we have good news for you. We get a new batch of produce from organic, local farms every Tuesday. Here’s what’s in store this week!

Baby Arugula 

Make Chef Simone’s Arugula Pesto with Roasted Tomatoes from our kitchen, and watch for it on top of the pizza by the slice that comes out of the oven at 4 this week.

 

Celeriac

Try pureeing it, and serve with lentils and chicken, and find it grated in our cafe salads this week. Suzy and Bill paired with with a dijon cream dressing for Thanksgiving, for an unusual dish that was a hit.

 

Jerusalem Artichokes

Also called sunchokes, try roasting them, and serve with organic plum jam as a dipping sauce.

 

Spaghetti Squash and Butternut Squash

Find these roasted and marinated in our cafe salads this week.

 

Green Kale

Chop and toss with grilled artichokes for a quick and healthy appetizer.

 

Crimini Mushrooms

These mushrooms pair well with our handmade egg pasta, and superb olive oil, for a fast yet luxurious meal.

 

Portabella Mushrooms

Sauté them and toss with pesto for an easy side.

 

Sweet Baby White Turnips

Bill and Suzy roasted these turnips with garlic for a Thanksgiving side.

 

Young Rainbow Chard

Paired with our Corona beans, they make an excellent and hearty side.

 

Yellow Onions, Mini Red Thumb Potatoes, Yukon Gold Potatoes

Find all of these staples in our lunch menu this week, and grab some on your way home after work when you realize you have nothing for dinner!

 

Watermelon Radishes, Asian Green Meat Radishes

Bill and Suzy dressed up these radishes with carrot dressing for Thanksgiving.

 

Red and Green Cabbage

Find these cabbages shredded, marinated, and tossed with nuts and cheese from our cheese counter in the cafe this week.

 

Fresh Rosemary and Thyme, and Oregano

Add some seasoning to your meal.

 

Ci Vediamo!

–Via Umbria

 

 

December 1 Read more

  What a rainy past couple of days! If you farmers market trip got rained out, don't worry, we have good news for ...

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Produce This Week

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Via Umbria has added produce! Our friends at the Tuscarora Organic Growers Cooperative are providing us with a wide variety of seasonal produce, delivered right here to Georgetown. If you can’t make it to the farmers market every day, stop by our store to pick up exactly what you need to create the perfect meal.

 

This week we have:

kale

spaghetti squash and butternut squash

apples

carrots

celeriac

Jerusalem artichokes

sweet potatoes and baby golden potatoes

onions

rosemary

white turnips

baby golden beets

french shallots

…and cremini mushrooms!

 

So pick up your veggies, a baguette, pasta, sauce, wine, and have dinner ready in a snap.

 

See you at the store!

–Via Umbria

November 24 Read more

Via Umbria has added produce! Our friends at the Tuscarora Organic Growers Cooperative are providing us with a wide variety of seasonal ...

Breakfast, Comings & Goings, Dinner Parties, Entertain, Events, Food & Drink, Galleria
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Cooking Demo

Thank you to everyone who came out for our inaugural cooking demonstration on Wednesday! Dorrie Gleason led us through three different types of frittatas, an egg sandwich and panettone with sour and sweet fruit sauce.

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Recipe cards

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Dorrie Gleason

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We had a wonderful (and tasty) time!

Our next cooking class will be this upcoming Wednesday, November 25th, from 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM, where we will be making Thanksgiving cakes and pies. See more on our Facebook, and come join us!

 

Ci Vediamo!

–Via Umbria

 

Italian Brunch with Dorrie Gleason Read more

Thank you to everyone who came out for our inaugural cooking demonstration on Wednesday! Dorrie Gleason led us through three different types of frittatas, ...

Comings & Goings, Dinner Parties, Entertain, Events
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Events at Via Umbria

Cheers

 

We know you all are eager to see when we will be open, and as our website developers continue to work on our online Calendar so you can see events and purchase tickets on our website, we would like to use this space to temporarily let you know what is happening in the store.

 

Porchetta

Friday and Saturday, November 27th and 28th

Event: Porchetta at Via Umbria for a limited time
Where: Via Umbria Cafe

Cost: by weight!

Time: 7:00 AM – 7:00 PM

Cheese Plate

Saturday, November 28

Event: Holiday Cheese Plate Perfection

Get out of the house and enjoy an easy family activity together with something everyone loves: food.

Sail through the holidays with chEASE as you learn the secrets of the ultimate cheese plate.

Build the perfect cheese plate with wonderful Italian pairings from Via Umbria.

Come on your own and meet new friends, or get the whole family out of the house and doing a guided activity together – with delicious results.

We will prepare a curated board together with domesctic and imported cheese – learn about cheese in a relaxed and fun environment.

Where: Via Umbria Test Kitchen

Cost: $50 – tickets available on Eventbrite or by cash or credit before the class

Time: 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM

RSVP: Please RSVP to events@viaumbria.com or by calling 202.333.3904

Creative Crostini

Sunday, November 28

Event: Creative Crostini

Chef Jodie will lead our class on Sunday where your all your crostini dreams will come true.  This will be an interactive class where chefs will eat their creations!

Where: Via Umbria Test Kitchen

Cost: $50 – tickets available on Eventbrite or by cash or credit before the class

Time: 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

RSVP: Please RSVP to events@viaumbria.com or by calling 202.333.3904

Via Umbria

Wednesday, December 2

Event: Holiday Appetizers with Chef Dorrie Argentine 

Learn how to master holiday appetizers in the Via Umbria test kitchen.

Chef Argentine will lead us through numerous Italian appetizers that will wow your guests this Holiday Season.

Meet new friends and learn classic techniques in this casual and fun environment. And come hungry – you will eat your creations!

This class is ages 12 and up.

Where: Via Umbria Test Kitchen

Cost: $85 – tickets available on Eventbrite or by cash or credit before the class

Time: 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM

RSVP: Please RSVP to events@viaumbria.com or by calling 202.333.3904

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Friday, December 4

Event: Get the Greens: Vegetable Focused Cooking 

As the holidays approach, ramp up the vegetables you are incorporating into your diet in easy and fun ways. We are vegetarian and vegan friendly!

Cooking with vegetables in the winter should never be a snore, and Chef Jodie Steiner will help you create a full meal where vegetables are the star.

Italians eat a vegetable-centric diet, and now we are sharing our favorite recipies with you! You will eat all of your creations.

Where: Via Umbria Test Kitchen

Cost: $60 – tickets available on Eventbrite or by cash or credit before the class

Time: 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM

RSVP: Please RSVP to events@viaumbria.com or by calling 202.333.3904

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Saturday, December 5

Event: Five Ingredient Cooking Class  

When it comes to Italian cooking simplicity is the watchword with flavors based on a few perfect ingredients. Come join Chef Vickie Reh as she illustrates this important and delicious concept–making wonderful dishes with five ingredients or less.
 
Along with simplicity, Chef Reh will discuss the importance of sourcing perfect authentic ingredients (we can certainly help you with that) whether those ingredients are local produce, farmstead cheeses, artisanal pasta or an amazing bottle of New Olive Oil just arrived from our friends in Umbria.
 
Join us in our newly opened kitchen where we invite you to don an apron–and bring an appetite because at the end of the class we’re going to need someone to help us eat the results! You may want to bring a friend or two!

Where: Via Umbria Test Kitchen

Cost: $50 – tickets available on Eventbrite or by cash or credit before the class

Time: 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM

RSVP: Please RSVP to events@viaumbria.com or by calling 202.333.3904

 

November 27 - December 5th Read more

  We know you all are eager to see when we will be open, and as our website developers continue to work on ...

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Noteworthy Notizie

Illy Coffee

How is your week going? Here, things are moving fast – we are getting our Certificate of Occupancy and hope we pass our health inspection (fingers crossed!) over the weekend.

 

Meanwhile, here is what is happening in the Italian media:

There is a huge olive oil scandal in Italy right now — much imported oil that has been market as “extra virgin” is, in fact, no such thing. This is why you should buy from people you trust and know, aka us (and stick with the smaller producers).

 

Conde Nast Traveller interviews cashmere superstar Brunello Cucinelli on his home region of Umbria, with some beautiful photography thrown in for good measure.

We also like his view on lunch from two years ago in Bon Appetit (if only we all had a Villa to retire to for a nap after lunch!)

 

Stop being intimidated by wine, says Bon Appetit. Which is why at the new Via Umbria we promise no judgement, only delight and discovery, when shopping for wine.

 

This cat had a three day hangover after breaking and entering a wine cellar and lapping up some bottles. We can relate.

 

It is time for lentil soup. Get your lentils and cozy up.

 

And don’t forget our Book Club is next week! Grab your copy here.

 

Ci Vediamo!

—Via Umbria

 

 

 

 

 

November 13 Read more

How is your week going? Here, things are moving fast - we are getting our Certificate of Occupancy and hope we pass ...

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Noteworthy Notizie

Cipolloni

Hello Italophiles! How are you easing into November? Is Daylight Savings Time causing a major bummer or letting your morning nature shine?  Whether you read this curled up at night, or first thing to start your morning, this the Italian media this week that has caught our eye.

 

Darker days have you snuggling up with the TV? Here is the definitive guide on where and how to stream Italian movies.

 

“Olive Oil is Back” says the Los Angeles Times. After the blight last year, chefs are celebrating as they get access to some of the finest fresh pressed oils.

 

Now in the Via Umbria test kitchen: truffled deviled eggs (with EVOO, not mayo). We went there. Coming soon to #spritzoclock in Georgetown.

 

Sagrantino has been called “Rebellion in a Glass.” We like that idea. The Globe and Mail says that Umbria

…has an unusual red wine called Sagrantino, which coincidentally drifted into the Italian-wine cognoscenti’s radar space around the time Umbria started becoming cool. There’s something wonderfully rebellious about sagrantino, an aggressively tannic, astringent grape that seems like it’s flipping its middle finger at today’s ocean of smooth, mass-appeal reds.

 

Did you know that Simone and Ombretta are coming for our grand opening? We are making this pizza over the weekend to celebrate a little in advance.

 

Have a wonderful weekend!

 

— Via Umbria

November 6 Read more

Hello Italophiles! How are you easing into November? Is Daylight Savings Time causing a major bummer or letting your morning nature shine?  Whether ...

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We’re not Loafing Around

Our custom Italian bread recipe with our specially made oil
Our custom Italian bread recipe with our specially made oil

DC’s Metropolitain Baking Company is joining forces with Via Umbria, supplying our Georgetown market as its first-ever retail partner. Metropolitain will provide daily deliveries of baguettes, rustic loaves, pastries, and a specialty Umbrian bread called torta al testo made exclusively for us from the traditional Umbrian recipe. Via Umbria will feature their products in the Café, for private event dinners, and available to purchase in our market.

 

Every piece of bread from our large three pound rustique loaf down to our tiniest rolls for bite-size sandwiches have been made with care by their team of bakers. Metropolitain’s production team is led by Arnaud Courad, a French artisan baker who has been working in the industry for more than 40 years.

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The Via Umbria kitchen team has been working with Metropolitain to perfect the torta al testo so it is exactly as it is in Umbria. “The Torta tests came out spectacular and we are all euphoric, the fresh yeast was the perfect ingredient. Sandwiches made on this bread will transport you to Umbria,” said Chef Miller who spent the day at Metropolitain until they got their recipe just right.

 

Said Metropolitain owner, Michelle Couraud “We have been making and delivering authentic European style breads throughout the DC area for almost 14 years now. Usually we deliver our breads, sold anonymously. It’s an exciting step to be the specialty provider in a boutique such as Via Umbria where the bread is being heralded for its quality and taste.”

Inside of the Mill

And you will want to come in for a taste, and grab a bottle of fresh olive oil, dip the crusty hunk inside and enjoy the flavors.

 

See you at the Cafe!

 

–Via Umbria

 

 

Metropolitain Bakery for Via Umbria Read more

DC’s Metropolitain Baking Company is joining forces with Via Umbria, supplying our Georgetown market as its first-ever retail partner. Metropolitain will provide daily ...

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Noteworthy Notizie

Halloween

Happy All Saint’s day! How are you celebrating Halloween this year? Georgetown should be shutting down soon for the revelers that will flood the streets tomorrow. Our neighborhood is so cute this time of year – the fall leaves mixed with the red cobblestone sidewalks are classic and lovely. Enjoy your Halloween!

 

The New York Times tells us what we have known all along: it’s just not the Mediterranean Diet – it’s the Mediterranean Lifestyle. Who wants to come on a tour with us to remember how to eat well, live well, and live long?

 

Gianduiotto, the hazelnut chocolate candy delight, turns 150. The surprising history of this delicious candy is worth reading over — with one in your mouth.

 

Food 52 tells us how to make coffee the Italian way. We can’t wait until we can bring this coffee to you here in Georgetown!

 

After resigning over complications surrounding making the city of Rome less in control of the mob, the Roman mayor un-resigns. And you thought American politics were bad.

 

How to find truffles from the New York Times, featuring a hunt in Umbria!

 

It’s the season for Umbria faro and lentil soup. So warm up a bowl of these ancient grains and enjoy your hearty dinner.

 

Ci Vediamo!

 

–Via Umbria

October 30 Read more

Happy All Saint's day! How are you celebrating Halloween this year? Georgetown should be shutting down soon for the revelers that will ...

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Rissa Miller Joins as Chef and Restaurant Consultant

Rissa Miller

Via Umbria owners, Bill and Suzy Menard are thrilled to announce the latest addition to their culinary team, Rissa Miller, who will help create menus and bring her Italian food expertise to the new kitchen at Via Umbria.

Rissa Miller said of joining the new Via Umbria food team, “I am proud to be a part of a project that has the essence of Italy in mind at every turn, and to be working with the combined talents and passion of Jodie Steiner and Vickie Reh.  We are planning classic items in the cafe that will make those who know Italy feel nostalgic, and customers who’ve never been to Italy be assured this is the next best thing.”

Chef Miller grew up on Vancouver Island in Canada, and has worked in kitchens since she was 14.  Not only has she worked as an executive chef who studied cuisine and pastry at some of France’s most respected schools and kitchens, she is also an artist, with exhibitions of her paintings and ceramics in several galleries in Florence, Italy.

“I’d like to bring the three most beautiful aspects of Italian gastronomy to Via Umbria—simplicity, quality, and conviviality,” she said.  “For me food is best when ingredients are unprocessed, fresh, prepared and eaten with family and friends, this is the essence of good eating.”

Growing up, Miller’s mom cooked 7 nights a week at home from scratch and food was respected, never wasted, and most of all it marked a moment every evening when everyone came together to communicate.  This original relationship with cooking still remains at her core love for food, and will be at the heart of the atmosphere of Via Umbria.

Miller has spent a lot of time in Italy, and adores the Mediterranean food culture and way of life.  She became certified in Neopolitan Pizza making, and worked in renowned restaurants throughout Italy.  Her knowledge of Italian foods and technique are strong, but with this creative cooking team, customers can also expect some interesting twists on Italian favorites.

Interested in following the menus and events at the new Via Umbria opening this fall?  Send an email to feedme@viaumbria.com and we will send you menus and updates.

 

Ci Vediamo!

–Via Umbria

Meet our newest team member! Read more

Via Umbria owners, Bill and Suzy Menard are thrilled to announce the latest addition to their culinary team, Rissa Miller, who will ...