August 7th and 8th

First Course
House Salad with Poppyseed Dressing

Main Course
Chicken Marsala
Linguini under a Roasted Red Pepper and Cream Sauce
Antipasti Skewers

Dessert Course
Homemade Espresso Ice Cream

Wine Pairings: Chianti is almost a must, in my humble opinion. The fruitiness and exuberance that it brings to the table will pair very well with smokiness brought out of the mushrooms and Marsala wine on the chicken, and it's subtle finish will be enlivened by the antipasti. If you're leaning toward a white, go with Pinot Grigio - it's such a superb summer wine, and it pairs nicely with the sweet poppyseed dressing and fresh fruits incorporated into the salad course.

Beer Pairings: Don't get anything heavy-handed (i.e. a porter or stout) unless you'll be sipping - these tend to overpower the bright flavors involved with the cream sauce and the chicken, though it would be perfect to go with the dessert course! If you're into mingling your beer experience, try this - start with a wheat beer with the salad course, follow it with a nice nutty brown ale (Newcastle is my choice here) for the main course, and end with a lovely oatmeal stout (Young's will do very well in this capacity) with dessert. . . great for those group experiences, and you'll only need a bottle or two of each to give a memorable time to up to six people. Whatever you do, have fun with it!