£4.95 selected Pizza & Pasta Two course special menus (£6.95 & £7.95)
Tuesday-Saturday 12.00-2.00
Tuesday-Wednesday 5.30-9.30
Thursday-Friday 5.30-7.00
forthcoming events at LA GABBIA
ITALIAN GASTRONOMIC TOUR STARTS AT LA GABBIA
The La Gabbia restaurant may not attract much passing trade at the entrance to the Ouseburn Valley, but for those that do make the effort (and there’s a rapidly growing and loyal clientele), Wednesday the 3rd of March will see the first of a series of monthly gourmet evenings in which Newcastle’s Honorary Italian Consul, Armando Angeluci, will be taking diners on a culinary tour of Italy by introducing the authentic food and wine of the Italian regions.
He explained the concept, “Italian food has an enormous influence in Newcastle. Most people who go out, will regularly go to an Italian restaurant, but the English idea of Italian food is only based on what we’re served here and is often far removed from food really served in Italy - it’s not all about Spaghetti Bolognaise and Pizza, with each region having its own distinctive dishes based on local produce. What we’re trying to do in this series of evenings is to get back to the original food and wine of the various regions.”
“We chose La Gabbia because it is such a good restaurant with a wonderful atmosphere and, in
The jewel in the Ouseburn's crown - La Gabbia
Franco Pizzuti and Franco Soro, they have two of the best Italian chefs in the region who can recreate these wonderful regional dishes.”
Franco Pizzuti first came to the North East in 1975 and has worked in many of Newcastle’s best known restaurants, such as La Stalla, Da Vincis and Spago, where his reputation for classic Italian cuisine has grown. He said, “Much of the Italian food served in Newcastle is Anglicised versions of the actual dishes – Spaghetti Carbonarra is a good example with no Italian chef at home dreaming of using cream, but the English like a sauce!”
Franco Soro, Armando Angeluci, Simon Taylor and Head Chef Franco Pizzuti
“What we try to do at La Gabbia generally, and certainly and for these gourmet nights, is to get back to the original dishes using traditional and authentic ingredients.”
The tour starts on Wednesday 3rd March with the food and wine of the Trentino Alto Adige region. Right on the Austrian border, this mountainous area of the Dolomites is best known for its superb ski resorts like Cortina and the regional capital of Trento where the Latin mass originated in 1563 from the famous Council of Trent. The region is where Italy meets Austria and the food reflects the mixture with the emphasis on replacing the calories burnt in the cold mountains.
The evening’s menu will include Canederle (smoked ham bread dumplings), Miale alla Trentina (pork and wild mushrooms) and Apfel Strudel to finish, all served with a selection of local wines. Simon Taylor, Manager of La Gabbia restaurant, himself a past owner and manager of Italian restaurants for over 20 years, added, “It was Franco who actually first introduced authentic Italian food to me and we’ve remained close friends ever since. When the new owners took over La Gabbia in October 2008, they brought in Franco and myself and fully backed our ideas of a return to traditional Italian cuisine. We now have a full drinks license, offering the best of both worlds by allowing customers to bring their own wine or buy ours and the restaurant is thriving.”
“It’s a terrific accolade that Armando has chosen La Gabbia for this series of gourmet evenings and I’m sure it’s going to be a great success with an enormous amount of interest already created by word of mouth.”
The man and his machines - Franco in action!
La Gabbia chefs, Franco Soro and Franco Pizzuti
The next event in the series is due to be held on Wednesday 14 April with tickets, priced at £30.00, are available from La Gabbia on (0191) 232 6666 or contact us here.
