Weekend of February 6, 2009
Mezzanotte Ristorante
13215 Grant Rd - Cypress
(832) 717-7870

Capriccio Tapas

10865 Jones Rd - Houston
(281) 807-9442
UPCOMING EVENTS
 
Mezzanotte Wine Tasting & Food Pairing - Tuesday 2/10/09 - 7 pm
Reservations Required
$55/person
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Valentines Celebration Saturday 2/14. Reservations required. We are almost fully booked.
 
 This weekend's entertainment at Mezzanotte: 

Kareena Lee

Friday AND Saturday 2/6 and 2/7 - 7:00 to 10:00 PM - Karenna Lee
Karenna moves easily between jazz, blues, caberet and pop. Her versatile style and extensive repertoire includes romantic ballads to latin favorites and  broadway tunes. Her very entertaining and dynamic style are a welcome treat to a relaxing dinner on a Friday night. She is a must see !!

This weekend's entertainment at Capriccio: 
Serpas
Friday 2/6 - 7:00 to 10:00 PM - Guillermo Serpas
Evoking the influence of legendary guitarist Carlos Santana and popular folk players, Guillermo produces the electrifying rhythms of salsa, Latin jazz, and bolero, representing his Latin American roots and pumping vigorous life into his virtuoso classical-guitar performances.
terry 
Saturday 2/7 - 7:00 to 10:00 PM - Terry Parker        
The Port Arthur born native of Texas has been mesmerizing audiences for more than 20 years, with his silky smooth renditions of some of the world greatest legends, such as Nat King Cole, Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, Little Anthony, Smokie Robinson and The Platters. Known as Mr. Entertainer, Terry brings the candle of love to any party, by taking us back down memory lane, with Unchained Melody and Sixteen Candles. 
PLEASE, PLEASE...VOTE FOR US!
We are still competing in the KPRC Channel 2 contest for best restaurants. The contest ends on February 27 so you still have time to cast your vote. Capriccio is currently ahead in the Tapas category but Mezzanotte is tied in first place with another restaurant. Please vote for us! We really appreciate your support!!
The system will probably ask you to register but is a simple and fast process.
 
Here are the voting links:
 
   Vote for Mezzanotte     
 

UPCOMING WINE TASTING / FOOD PAIRING EVENT AT MEZZANOTTE

We skipped January just because we were recovering from the busy holiday season but we are now back!
 
Our February event will be held next Tuesday as usual (2nd Tuesday of the month) and we will be sampling an exciting array of wines:
  • Pinot Grigio Grave Pighin DOC - from the Friuli region.
  • Chianti Caposaldo DOCG - awesome combination of 75% Sangiovese, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, and 5% Malvasia del Chianti.
  • Chiarlo Barbera D'Asti Superiore DOC - From Piedmont, the land of Barolos and  Barbarescos. The barbera grape is similar to the Sangiovese (soft tannins, cherry like flavors and medium to high acidity).
  • Sette Ponti Toscana Crognolo IGT - a fantastic Super-Tuscan (90% Sangiovese, 10% Merlot). Full bodied, well integrated tannins.  Here is a clip from a "degustazione" of this wine in Italy (sorry, it's in Italian but is interesting to watch anyway!)                 VIDEO CLIP
  • Moscato D'Asti Chiarlo Nivole IGT - And to end the evening this is a great dessert wine: exuberant aromas of tropical fruit with a lightly sparkling body.

Of course we will be pairing every wine with outstanding food. Hope to see you on Tuesday!

Gerry

VALENTINES CELEBRATION

We have a wonderful program for Valentine's. This year we will have Karenna Lee singing from 6:30 to 10:00 pm. Our menu for the evening is:
 
FIRST COURSE
SALSICCE CON LENTICCHIE E SALSA DI POMODORO
Lentils topped with a cinnamon, slightly spicy, tomato sauce; and roasted Italian sausage.
OR
INSALATA DI ALBICOCCA

Baby greens tossed with slivers of dried apricots, toasted walnuts and our orange vinaigrette.
 
SECOND COURSE
RISOTTO AI FUNGHI E PREZZEMOLO
Parsley risotto topped with roasted crimini mushrooms.
 
THIRD COURSE
SOGLIOGA AL BALSAMICO

Filet of sole pan fried to crisp exterior, topped with a balsamic butter sauce. Served with grilled asparagus.
OR
BISTECCA ALLA PIASTRA

Flat iron steak marinated in herbs and olive oil; grilled to perfection. Served with grilled endives topped with a red onion pickle.
 
FOURTH COURSE
BISCOTTI AL CIOCCOLATO

Chocolate mousse with biscotti cake and raspberry coulis.
 
The price is $55/person.

DELICIOUS MISCHIEF

I was a guest in John Demers' Delicious Mischief show on 740 AM News Radio last Saturday 1/31.

This was a lot of fun. Here is the clip of the entire show. It lasts a full hour - my segment is at the end of the show so you can fast forward or listen to the entire show if you'd like. 
 

Honestly I didn't even know about this show but I will be tuning in regularly. It is into serious culinary themes! It airs on Saturdays at 11:00 am.

Gerry

NEW WINES AT MEZZANOTTE

Last week I updated you on my quest for new "high value" wines. To that end I introduced 4 new fantastic wines last week that are again on the Featured Wines list this week.
Additionally, I have selected the following wines to add to our portfolio:
  • Allegrini Soave
  • Illuminati Riparosso Montepulciano
  • Elvio Cogno Dolcetto D'Alba
  • Castello Di Meleto Chianti Classico Riserva
  • Fattoria Del Cerro Vino Nobile
  • Caparazo Brunello di Montalcino
  • Camigliano Brunello di Montalcino
  • Poggio Alle Sughere Morellino di Scansano
  • Allegrini Palazzo della Torre

All of the above wines are just outstanding and I will be talking more about them. My pricing policy is very low margin to make sure that we offer outstanding wines at modest prices.

I am working out delivery dates with my suppliers and I hope to have some of the above wines in house tomorrow Friday. It has been a fantastic search effort and I am very happy with what I found. I hope you will enjoy them as well.
 
Salute!
 
Gerry
CHEF SPECIALS
Chef
 
Fregola con Vongole - $9
This is an absolutely delicious Sardinian soup. It uses fregula -which is similar to Israeli couscous- to give texture to a wonderful saffron and tomato broth. Clams and prosciutto complete the dish.

Pumpkin Ravioli - Appetizer $10
Ok. We extended our Pumpkin Ravioli for another couple of weeks due to lots of requests.
Delicate ravioli filled with pumpkin. Topped with a sage butter sauce and toasted walnuts. A must try as we only make it this time of the year.
 
T-Bone Fiorentina - $31
A succulent T-Bone steak marinated with olive oil, sage, rosemary and thyme; grilled to perfection. Served with sauteed spinach.
Wine serving
FEATURED WINES
 
This week I am featuring again 4 "Great" value wines. This is your chance to try world class wines (like Barbaresco and Barolo) at not obscene prices. 
 
Barbaresco Poderi Elia DOCG 2003
Bottle $72
From the heart of Barbaresco in Neive comes this stunningly elegant Barbaresco from Poderi Elia.  This wine has been one of the top Barbarescos reviewed by Wine Spectator the past few vintages, and while we don't generally bother ourselves with ratings, in this case, it is easy to understand why the attention has been garnered. The bouquet offers tones of red currant and morello cherry over a layer of toasty-oak. The structure is marble-solid, with fine grained tannins that perfectly compliment the Nebbiolo fruit.
 
Travaglini Gattinara Tre Vigne DOCG 1998
Bottle $68
The wine is an intense red color with floral aromas of violet and rose on the nose. The harmonious palate displays layers of pepper and spice along with mouth-filling flavors of ripe blackberries and plums, and a hint of sandalwood. The wine is slightly pungent when young, but develops a soft, velvety texture with age (which this one has), still retaining good acidity on the finish.
 
Michele Chiarlo Barolo "Tortoniano" DOCG 2005
Bottle $76
Refined, high toned red currant and berry flavors and aromas mark this balanced, elegant wine and lead into suggestions of violets, rose petals, spice and leather set in finely delineated tannins.
                                   
Planeta Syrah - Sicilia IGT 2005
Bottle $59
Dark black in color with spice, red currants, black pepper, sage and cinnamon on the nose. The palate has surprisingly high acidity......there are sweet berry notes and medium tannins.
The finish is long with very pure dark fruit and spice.