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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 ...

Experience Italy, People
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Press Release

EVOO

Fresh olives are harvested as fall begins to break in the Italian countryside, picked by the hands of families who nurtured these olive trees and the land in which they have sent forth their roots for generations. Then they are crushed, ground and turned, which coaxes a green elixir from their pulpy flesh.  This liquid gold is bottled especially for us and put on a boat and is heading our way straight from the Cipolloni olive orchard in San Giovanni Profiamma, in the heart of Umbrian olive oil country.

Oil right out of the press
Oil right out of the press

Olio Novello – on its way to Via Umbria in time for our grand opening this November.

You will not want to miss this.  Georgetown has been waiting for this olive oil.

Olio Novello is the first pressed olive oil of the season, and offers the first taste of the season’s harvest.  Made from the earliest ripened, slightly immature olives, olio novello possesses a fluorescent green color and a pungent, strong flavor that reminds us what the word “fresh” really means.  It is to be used frequently and non-sparingly, with a heavy hand.  This oil is meant to be used when it is young, when it possesses the vigor of the plant it just came from.

Via Umbria owners Bill and Suzy Menard just recently returned from Italy, where they led their annual Fall Food and Wine Experience Tours with a small select group of foodies in tow.  There they shared the experience of the family olive harvest and olive oil pressing.  “We watched them pick the olives, smelled the air as they were being pressed, oh, my goodness what a crop!  It is hard to imagine anything any simpler or better than this delicious, elemental olive oil drizzled on anything at all and eaten with people you love.”

The just-harvested olives
The just-harvested olives

Cipolloni’s award winning olive oils come from a farm that numbers over 35,000 olive trees, but despite the abundance of trees theirs is very much a small scale family business.  Every taste of this oil reveals the bitterness and sweetness that is encapsulated by the earthy, grassiness of the oil, developed out of the soil and in the sun of this very farm.  Every olive oil should have a family lineage like this, and at Via Umbria, they do.  And you don’t have to travel to Italy to get it. Let us share the many ways to enjoy its flavor before it’s gone!

 

Ci Vediamo!

–Via Umbria

Georgetown Olive Oil With A Family Line Read more

Fresh olives are harvested as fall begins to break in the Italian countryside, picked by the hands of families who nurtured these ...

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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.

EVOO

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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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 ...

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New at Via Umbria: Ancient Grains

You might think that a grain is a grain is a grain. You would be wrong.

It is difficult to define what makes something a uniquely Italian experience. It is so much more than any one thing – maybe it comes down to the bounty and place, where people care about and protect the land and create a culinary history that is deep and wide.

Out of that history are ancient Italian grains: the black chick peas, farro, millet, new grain flours and they are generations old and unique in flavor. Quite simply, there is nothing like them. Whether used to create a simple pasta, or mixed with vegetables of the season, these grains carry a story that you will remember long after you have taken your last bite.

These ancient grains will be sold in Via Umbria, re-opening this fall in new form with a full market, prepared food, and a demonstration kitchen.

Part of our past Food and Wine tour this October included lunch made right on the Il Molino farm, where guests savored pastas made from the farm’s farro and senatore cappelli grains, both ancient grains that have been rediscovered and popularized (for a reason) of late. Both pastas served were full of a distinct and cut above in flavor, mouthfeel and satisfaction.

Il Molino Ancient Grains

After lunch guests toured the mill and watched the ancient grains be milled into fine or coarser flour and an exposition of beans and legumes, most of them tracing their roots (literally) to ancient forebears and unique to small, particular areas in Italy.

Ancient Grain

And Via Umbria is bringing it all to you so you can cook it for the people you love. You will also find them used in the prepared foods you can purchase at Via Umbria to bring home and serve the people you love.

Flour from Ancient Grain

Interested in the daily means and special dinners? Send an email to events@viaumbria.com and we will send you menus and updates this fall.

 

Ci Vediamo!

—Via Umbria

Simple, authentic and delicious Read more

You might think that a grain is a grain is a grain. You would be wrong. It is difficult to define what makes ...

Comings & Goings, Entertain, Events, On the Table
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News: Meet our Newest Chef

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The all new Via Umbria will open its doors very soon and part of its new offering is specially prepared Italian dinners to take home and enjoy, as well as special dinners and functions onsite.  To prepare these special meals, Via Umbria owners Bill and Suzy Menard are thrilled to announce that Jodie Steiner has joined the team, and said “Jodie has a love of authentic Italian food and a interest in locally grown produce and feeding families, and she will bring all that to Via Umbria this fall as full time chef preparing gourmet dinners to take home.”

 

Steiner said, “I’m so excited to join my good friend, Chef Vickie Reh, and the rest of the Via Umbria team to share our love of the most beautiful Italian food and culture.”

 

Jodie is originally from Chicago, where she trained in the kitchens of the most elite fine dining restaurants after graduating college. She then moved to DC to work with local farmers markets and nutrition education programs until she moved to Italy for several years, and explored all things Italian. “I loved exploring Italian culture, especially food markets and locally produced food specialties, learning about authentic Italian ingredients and local dishes.”

 

After returning to DC, Jodie built a personal chef business, where she created meals for local families—some of which may very well appear on the Via Umbria carry out menus.  She also specialized in special events and dinner parties, from rustic to elegant, which will certainly influence Via Umbria’s special evening dinner events.

 

What is Chef Steiner’s food philosophy?  “My food is the most creative, innovative cuisine that is firmly rooted in traditional methods, using the freshest, most authentic ingredients available. Cooking is most satisfying to me when it is based on personal relationships with the people producing the food I’m cooking, and with the people I’m cooking for.”

 

And that is the philosophy of the all new Via Umbria, a gathering place where people can enjoy the best food, wine, and Italian wares, and share in age-old Italian traditions—together.

 

Interested in Chef Steiner’s daily means and special dinners?  Send an email to events@viaumbria.com and we will send you menus and updates.

 

Ci Vediamo!

–Via Umbria

Chef Jodie Steiner! Read more

The all new Via Umbria will open its doors very soon and part of its new offering is specially prepared Italian dinners to take ...

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Press Release: Illy partners with Via Umbria

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What’s hot, Italian and waiting for you at the bar?

That’s right—illy coffee at the all new Via Umbria opening this November! Paired with a fresh made croissant, and sipped at the bar—Via Umbria provides the traditional Italian coffee bar experience right in Georgetown.

“You can grab a cup of coffee anywhere; we wanted to offer people a real Italian coffee experience. Stop in on your way to work, order a small, delicious cup of illy and talk politics with your neighbor—just like in Italy. We will open at 7am for coffee and breakfast,” said Suzy Menard, one of the owners of Via Umbria.

Via Umbria’s coffee bar is perfect for those who crave the classic social European coffee experience instead of a cafe overrun with people on headphones and laptops.

Later this week, Via Umbria will announce its website’s new press page for up-to-date news, events and announcements.

CONTACT: Jenny Buck, Via Umbria 
(612)801-6056 
jennybuck1@gmail.com

To warm up your mornings with delicious warm coffee! Read more

What’s hot, Italian and waiting for you at the bar? That’s right—illy coffee at the all new Via Umbria opening this November! Paired ...

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Vickie Reh Joins the Via Umbria Team

Vickie Reh

 

What happens when passions collide?  In this case, amazing flavor as Via Umbria opens its doors in a few short weeks. One of its many new offerings will be Italian cooking demonstrations paired with the perfect wine—and who better to bring these two together than DC Chef and Sommelier, Vickie Reh.

Vickie Reh

“Joining Via Umbria is the perfect opportunity for me—it combines my passion for cooking, wine and tourism.  Via Umbria’s owners, Bill and Suzy Menard bring quality to everything they do and I am looking forward to being part of their new Italian Marketplace in Georgetown.”

Bill and Suzy Menard with Vickie
Bill and Suzy Menard with Vickie

Many DC Foodies will remember Reh in her position as Chef at Buck’s Fishing & Camping. Reh is a Certified Sommelier and a recipient of the Level Three Award from the Wine Spirits and Education Trust, passing with Distinction.  Since leaving Buck’s she has been a wine consultant and personal chef and is currently working on a book about food and wine. “I’ve been waiting for the next right opportunity and this is it.  I met the Menards when I was Chef at Buck’s years ago, and we became friends.  I’ve travelled with them to Italy and cooked with them in their home.  I am really excited to join this enticing endeavor.  More than a restaurant or market, Via Umbria is an authentic Italian experience and I get to help make that happen.”

Vickie Reh Via Umbria

Via Umbria will operate café style during the day with guests enjoying freshly prepared fare from the onsite kitchen.  Cooking and wine classes in the exhibition kitchen will be offered.

 

“Introducing our customers to the complete experience of Umbrian food and wine is going to be great fun! Via Umbria will have everything needed for those looking to learn about cooking specialty Italian fare at home–fabulous authentic ingredients and an enthusiastic staff ready to advise every step of the way!”

Bill Menard makes Rabbit

Via Umbria will open in early November, with a tentative date of November 7th  In the meantime, you can read about the adventures of Chef Reh and the Menards as they lead an upcoming Food and Wine Tour at their Italian farmhouse, right here on the blog. To read more about Vickie Reh’s ideas about food and wine and her culinary odyssey with Bill & Suzy, check our her blog //www.vickieswinetable.com/blog.

 

Ci Vediamo!

 

–Via Umbria

Come and share our excitement with us! Read more

  What happens when passions collide?  In this case, amazing flavor as Via Umbria opens its doors in a few short weeks. One ...