Month: January 2017

More Than Just Pizza and Spaghetti

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Anyone who has traveled to Italy and had the great fortune to eat even one dinner in Lucca knows that not only is the town a draw in its own right, with its enclosed walls and lovely broad parks, but that its food is also among Italy’s most compelling.

 

If Lucca is not on your 2017 agenda (or within your budget), Salem can dish up the next best thing: Vittorio Ambrogi, Lucca native and executive chef at Trattoria Orsini, located in the previous Grapevine space at 26 Congress Street.

 

The former chef of the Grapevine (where his wife Stacy was one of the owners), Ambrogi has created a modern Italian menu that features dishes ranging from chopped salads to grilled octopus to his special “Orsini Meatballs” (veal, beef and pork meatballs braised in Chianti tomato sauce with Cavatelli pasta).

 

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Ambrogi’s famous pasta Bolognese

 

Ambrogi’s accent is as deliciously Tuscan as his cuisine, and he peppers the conversation with “pero” (Italian for “but”) and other Italian phrases. When asked what are some of his favorite dishes to cook, he lets loose with a belly laugh and says, “Risotto and sauce. You can’t go too far from the sauce in Italian.”

 

According to Michael Gajewski, a Trattoria Orsini General Manager (“I’m really just a glorified busboy,” he joked), although the chef and space are the same as the Grapevine’s, the new restaurant differs in significant ways. Major renovations included adding expanded patio space and creation of a different “look” with new furniture, a sleek bar, and two rooms with cozy tables where diners can enjoy quiet and intimate conversations as well as terrific food.

 

However, what has remained the same is what makes Trattoria Orsini as special as the Grapevine was. “Having Vittorio and a lot of the old staff back, and of course Vittorio’s food and his nightly specials” are what patrons are happiest about. And of course, everyone is looking forward to spring and summer on our beautiful new patio,” he said.

 

The new restaurant opened last summer with over 4,000 square feet of interior dining and a 2,000+ square foot patio. Completing renovations, equipment procurement, permitting, staffing and menu production were among the biggest challenges, according to Gajewski.

 

Among the menu’s most popular items are the meatballs, risotto, arancini (rice balls), shrimp scampi, octopus, cod and, of course, Ambrogi’s famous Bolognese sauce. The chef added the Grilled Octopus appetizer (accompanied by fried black polenta, olives, capers and fresh tomato sauce) as an item unique to the new restaurant. The dish was not on the Grapevine menu, and has been a huge crowd pleaser.

 

His Pan Roasted Cod dish, while among the most popular entrees, is not really an Italian dish as far as Ambrogi is concerned, because Italians don’t have access to the same kind of fish Americans do. “Cod is not a very popular fish in Italy. It’s not as meaty and juicy as it is here. It’s also a smaller fish,” he said.

 

While Ambrogi loves cooking and creating inventive and delicious nightly specials, he also likes his days off. Last Monday and Tuesday he took advantage of the recent snowfalls and decided to go skiing at his favorite place, Sunapee, which is “always fun”.

 

The Tuscan chef has been cooking for over 27 years, including almost 20 at the Grapevine where he developed quite a loyal following. He reflected on his long career and devoted patrons, and added modestly, “We’ve been putting out pretty decent food for many years and we are still doing that.”

 

Trattoria Orsini is located at 26 Congress Street and is open from 4 p.m. until 12:30 a.m. For reservations, call (978) 594-8048 or visit trattoriaorsini.com.

 

 

Salem Epiphany bonfire lets Christmas trees delight twice

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Matthew Williams had a ringside seat last Friday night. He was settled in his beach chair, gazing out onto Dead Horse Beach under a clear, starry night sky. The 15-year-old Salem resident took a sip from his paper cup and starting playing a video game on his phone, anxious for the festivities to begin.

 

Fourth of July fireworks? Not quite. Matthew, like many other hearty souls, was bundled up in scarf, hat and mittens as he sipped hot chocolate and waited for the Salem firemen to torch the heap of Christmas trees whose enormous silhouette brought to mind Monet’s haystacks in Giverney.

 

The last time Matthew attended the Salem Christmas Tree Bonfire he was seven years old. “This is a lot bigger. It’s a cool sight to see!” he said. His mom, Suzi Williams, added that this year the bonfire was even more meaningful for her family. “We had a real tree to put in,” she said, and laughed as she and Matthew tried to find it in the pile.

 

Hundreds of people braved the cold to be part of the experience. Many dragged trees and wreaths behind them, and the firemen were happy to add them to the growing pile.

 

Started in 2004 by then Mayor Stanley J. Usovicz, Jr., the Park and Recreation Commission, and Fire Marshall Captain William Hudson, the Christmas Tree Bonfire is a long-standing Salem happening.

 

Ellen Talkowsky, City of Salem Special Events Coordinator, remembers that first bonfire. “They just wanted to start a new Salem tradition — to go down to the beach, see your neighbors and friends, and wish them a Happy New Year,” she recalled.

 

The Gathering, a local church, provided and served free hot chocolate for all. The group also runs the five weekends of live music at the Fountain Stage every October and paints children’s faces every July 4th.

 

“I look forward to it every year and I know many other residents do as well,” said Mayor Kim Driscoll.

 

New this year was the Cookie Monster food truck, and there was a line outside its door as revelers happily devoured the warm cookies on such a cold night, anxiously awaiting the moment when the pile of trees would go up in flames.

 

Finally the countdown began, and the frigid air turned several degrees warmer with the electricity of anticipation. Mayor Driscoll announced the countdown from ten to zero, and the Salem firemen torched the pile. Within seconds, flames shot up over the sky. Luckily, the ocean breeze cooperated, blowing the smoke over the crowd’s heads instead of into their eyes.

“The Fire Department is expert at putting out fires, but they do a really good job of starting one too,” said Talkowsky.

Back to Basics: Cookies and Milk

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“Goodnight Fatty” satisfies those late night munchies

Above:  Erik Sayce and Jen Pullen, proud owners and creators of “Goodnight Fatties”.

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Fatties on parade from left: Blueberry Lemon Cream, Peanut Butter S’more, and the Cowgirl Fatty, made of oatmeal, Ghirardelli dark chocolate, cinnamon, coconut and crushed pecans

Late last Friday night, a small storefront on Derby Street was abuzz with conversation, music and camaraderie. Couples canoodled at the bar, small groups huddled, drinks in hand, talking and laughing, and the duo behind the counter could barely keep up with the food orders.

The latest trendy theme bar or craft brew pub? Not quite. These millennials (and a couple of baby boomers) were savoring the nostalgic comfort and shockingly fabulous taste of homemade, small batch cookies and bottomless glasses of milk.

“I like chocolate inside chocolate,” said Anthony Schepsis, pointing to the puddle of melted chocolate that had oozed onto his plate from inside the warm double chocolate cookie he had just demolished with a cold glass of milk. “Who doesn’t like a cookie at 10 p.m. on a Friday?”

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Soniya Tejwani and Anthony Schepsis on a Friday night date night at their favorite new bar.

That was exactly the question Goodnight Fatty creators and owners, Jennifer Pullen and Erik Sayce, asked themselves after a date night in Salem not too long ago. “We were walking home from Turner’s Seafood and were both talking about how great it would be to have a quick place to get a warm cookie late at night,” Pullen said. The pair brainstormed the whole walk home, and came up with the “Goodnight Fatty” popup concept before they reached their front steps.

“We made a pact to keep it a secret – even from our own family!” Pullen added. “We were nervous our idea wouldn’t come to fruition.”

Once they had a plan, the couple, who both work at Salem Academy Charter School – Pullen in the food program and Sayce in the office of Communications and Development – needed a venue.

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Fatties ‘N Cream – the most popular cookie – is vegan with a pudding base and Oreo’s and Taza Dark Chocolate from Somerville MA.

The day before Derby Joe’s, the breakfast, lunch and coffee shop at 142 Derby Street, opened its doors for the first time, Sayce “barged in”, in need of a cup of coffee. “They still served me!” Sayce exclaimed, even though they weren’t officially open. Sayce and Pullen became friends with Dan Crowther, Derby Joe’s’ owner, and brought him their first cookie, the “Cowboy Fatty”, to try.

As they drove away, Sayce remembers looking in the window and seeing Crowther dancing by himself as he finished eating it. “That’s how you know it’s good!” Pullen chimed in.

The young couple pitched the idea to Crowther that they commandeer his Derby Joe’s space after he closed and “sling cookies on weekends.” Crowther loved the idea, and the Goodnight Fatty popup was born.
Each weekend, from 7 p.m. until midnight, the two serve up a new variety of “Fatties” (the official name for their cookies) made in small batches, with ethical and quality ingredients, and most importantly served warm so they perfectly complement the ice-cold milk that is their patrons’ beverage of choice.

Sayce and Pullen met when they were in college, he at Salem State University and she at Keene State College. They had been friends for years before they started dating and last year, Sayce asked Pullen to marry him. Once they found out how expensive weddings were, they decided they could either go into “massive credit card debt or start a cookie business on weekends,” Sayce said.

Both are floored by the support they’ve received. They want to keep growing the business as long as it stays fun and something Salem residents want. By next month, they hope to add home delivery service of warm fatties.

For Pullen, who grew up on a large horse farm in New Hampshire her family still runs today, starting Goodnight Fatty has helped make Salem, which to her feels like a “huge city”, feel more like home. “It’s exciting to meet more locals and see them come back week-to-week smiling,” she said.

With Pullen’s background and skillset helping on the kitchen side of creating breathtakingly decadent flavors and adhering to the technicalities of food safety, and Sayce’s marketing tools, the two vegans could be poised for expansion. Instead, they are savoring their current accomplishment and the thrill of keeping their product fresh each week. “For now, we’re just excited to have some success under our belt and are totally focused on just pulling off next weekend,” Sayce said.

Goodnight Fatty is located at 142 Derby Street, in the Derby Joe’s location and is open Friday and Saturday from 7p.m. until midnight.