We're not sure if Michael Schwartz is having more fun as chef or host at Harry's Pizzeria, but we say whatever makes him happy, makes us very happy (and hungry).
As an early kick-off to the parties and festivities of the 2012 South Beach Wine & Food Festival, Harry's Pizzeria is hosting another pop-up dinner, the third in a series (oh please...let there be many, many more).
So far, Gabrielle Hamilton and Jonathan Waxman have taken over the reigns of Harry's. This time, James Beard Award-winning chef Marc Vetri of Philadelphia's Vetri, Amis Trattoria, and the soon-to-open Alla Spina will share dishes from his new cookbook, Rustic Italian Food on Wednesday, February 22 at 7 p.m.
The dinner, which includes a welcome cocktail, hors d'oeuvres, a four-course dinner, wine & beer, and a signed copy of chef Vetri's book is $160 per person (tax and gratuity included). You can purchase tickets through Brown Paper Tickets ... or you can win a pair.
Chef Schwartz himself is giving away two tickets to this pop-up, through Short Order. Chef Schwartz wants to know your deepest fantasies -- about food. If he were your personal chef for an evening, what would you want Michael Schwartz to make for you? Post your answer on our Facebook Page. We'll pick a winner on Monday, February 20 at 2 p.m. and announce it here.
In the meantime, check out the menu for this amazing Vetri Pop-Up at Harry's Pizzeria:
Passed
Sal's old school meatballs
Tuna Ricotta Fritters
Assorted pizza
Antipasti
Salumi with artichoke mostarda
Celery and endive salad with anchovy dressing
Eggplant caponata
Durum focaccia
Primi
Spaghetti in parchment with clams and scallions
Veal cannelloni with porcini béchamel
Secondi
Roasted lamb shoulder with roasted potatoes
Tuna tagliata
Dolci
Tiramisu family style
Marc's candied hazelnuts and our Panna Forte and Grappa Jellies for the table
Updated: Congratulations to Emily Codik for her thoughtful (and farm-fresh) answer to our request to think up a fantasy dinner for chef Schwartz to prepare. Emily posted:
The best food is
improvisational. Menus can't be anticipated with advanced thought
because Michael Schwartz's food is not based on the desire of hungry
diners, restaurant critics or the whims of the chef himself. Ingredients
are selected carefully from the
offering that foragers bring in from farms and nearby suppliers. I'd
like to visit whichever farm has promised fresh produce that day and
take the time to smell the ingredients, far, far away from the traffic
jams of supermarket carts and buzzing shoppers. Afterwards, faced with
sacks and sacks of freshly picked vegetables, Michael Schwartz would
begin to cook up my fantasy meal, one that was improvised by a great
chef who knows that we don't decide what's for dinner. Nature, farmers
and suppliers decide what the options are for dinner, not the chef. The
only choice left to us is how to cook the ingredients, and that decision
I'd leave up to the great Schwartz himself.
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