March 2025 Newsletter

Pasta Scraps | Americano | O'Larney's | Wine Tasting Class

Aside from Valentine’s Day, February is usually a slow month for restaurants, which has given us the chance to really focus on other projects.

O’LARNEY’S

Things are moving along with our new pub, O’Larney’s. I’m excited to be getting rid of every last trace of its old nightclub look. We’re bringing in a lot of custom woodwork—paneling, shelving, the works—to make it feel as authentic as possible. There will also be plenty of TVs for watching sports, a wide selection of Irish whiskeys, and of course, all the usual suspect beers. We’re aiming for a mid-March opening, but it’s definitely going to be a sprint to the finish.

IL MONTE CARO

This month, I hosted several wine tastings featuring one of my favorite producers from the Veneto region of Italy—Il Monte Caro. They make wines from the Valpolicella region, and their reds are fantastic. But the real surprise? Their white wine. This area isn’t exactly known for whites, but when I visited last time, I tried one that completely blew me away. I knew I had to bring it to Kansas and do a formal tasting, progressing from white to rosé to a couple of reds—the way I prefer to run tastings. The staff in Wichita and Manhattan got a preview, then I hosted two more tastings with customers in Wichita and Lawrence. We had a great turnout. These are meant to be educational tastings, but let’s be honest—some people just want to drink and tune me out. That’s fine. I usually end up going table by table, giving the info to the ones who actually want it. Either way, it’s exciting to bring these wines to Kansas. They’re not widely distributed, they’re small-production, organic, very low sulfur, and the use of no oak really highlights the quality of their wines. If you’re in Kansas and want to track some down, shoot me a message, and I’ll find the nearest liquor store carrying them.

AMERICANO COCKTAIL

As some of you know, the Negroni is my favorite cocktail. But do I drink it the most? Actually, no. I drink its cousin, the Americano, far more often. Why? Because for an aperitivo, I find the gin in a Negroni a little too boozy. The Americano swaps out the gin for sparkling water, making it lighter and more refreshing. But here’s the thing—I’m particular about my sparkling water. I don’t want San Pellegrino in this drink. I need more bubbles, something like Perrier or Topo Chico.

If you haven’t had an Americano before, here’s how to make one:

The Americano Cocktail

• 1 oz Campari

• 1 oz Sweet Vermouth

• Sparkling water (Perrier or Topo Chico preferred)

• Orange slice or lemon twist for garnish. Or both!

Pour the Campari and vermouth into a glass filled with ice, then top with sparkling water. Give it a light stir and garnish with your choice. That’s it—simple, refreshing, and perfect for aperitivo hour.

PASTA SCRAPS

A couple of weeks ago, I made ravioli with spinach, ricotta, and Parmesan—delicious. But when you make ravioli, you end up with a lot of pasta scraps. Since I was using my imported Italian flour and local organic eggs, there was no way I was tossing them. The scraps were dry, so I pressed them together, kneaded them a bit, and added just enough water to make the dough workable again. I ran it through the pasta roller, cut it into smaller pappardelle-style strips, dusted it with semolina, shaped it into a bird’s nest, and tossed it in the freezer. It was only about 60 grams of pasta—not much by American standards, but the perfect starter portion before a final course.

Not to go on a tangent… okay, yeah, I’m going on a tangent. I eat small portions of pasta several times a week, usually long shapes like spaghetti or linguine. If you buy these dried, you’re supposed to cook them in a massive pot of water because you’d burn the sides if they don’t even remotely fit into the pot (and no, you don’t break the pasta in half—doing so would crush an Italian’s soul). But there are two solutions: find a pasta brand that sells it in bird’s nest shapes, so you can drop them into a smaller pot, or do what I do—make your own, shape them into nests, and freeze them. That way, you don’t have to wait forever for a huge pot of water to boil, and you don’t waste a ton of water—especially if you have a reverse osmosis system like I do.

That’s it for now. More updates coming soon—especially as we get closer to the pub opening.