Filet and portobello mushrooms with merlot? Hell no. Those wine pairings are not inspiring to say the least. Blechhh. If only they made wine in Italy. That dinner doesn't work on several levels.

I think I'm guilty of over-Itallianifying it too as D'Alesio's. Eh, try their MUZZ-a-RELL!

This looks suspicious or maybe it is simply poorly presented. The invite says "Dalesio's of Little Italy Presents a". A what? If one examined simply the menu and wine choices, one would be hard pressed to guess the event, style of restaurant, or even the country of origin. The correspondence from your daughter about high end airliner cuisine tickled my memory of this menu. Indeed this would be a deluxe first class meal on an airline. It has the appearance of elegance without offending any taste buds or customer profiles. Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet, and an inoffensive Pinot Gris to simulate the exotic in wine for the oxygen deprived. No pork, so it's tribal friendly (psst, when no one is watching we love seafood). If the wines are inoffensive then the food seems equally planned to be so. No mention of spices that might offend. In other words - deluxe airliner food. Again what was the event? Or is one free to fill in the blank oneself? The menu doesn't seem to give any idea of what kind of food is served at Dalesio's and if it does then it seems sadly bland and passe. Just a thought on a crisp Spring morn.

Owl I thought the same thing when I saw this menu. All the great wine in Italy and they serve west coast wines. And what's with all the meat on a Friday in Lent? They immediately excluded all practicing Catholics in the area.

Yes EEL, it's a menu that raises more questions than interest. It's like a bunch of Unitarians took over the place for a day. No comment on the warm chocolate explosion.

Well, I'm going to have a tough time getting anyone to admit they went now. EL

Yes, there is nothing that screams UU more than warm chocolate explosions. It is practically a point of doctrine.

Maybe they are just trying to be patriotic (Buy American!) in these tough times.

So PCB Rob what you are saying is that the Americans who work in the import business should become doctors and lawyers and such? Or unemployed? The least they could have done is use Italian varietals produced in the USA.

Just don''t let 'em grow up to be cowboys.

Do I detect a few hints of snobbishness?

For those (all of you?) who weren't there, I was. The ingredients were fresh and first class, all of the courses were nicely prepared, the service was excellent, the room was warm and friendly, and the host (Paul) could not have been more gracious.

Regarding the wine... The Pinot Gris was fine but ordinary, the rest of the wines were all above average. So why weren't the wines Italian - simple. Ste Michelle who conducted the tasting (who I know I don't have to tell all you well informed oenophiles is one of the top vineyards in the country) doesn't import Italian wines. From their production, they picked some high end wines THAT WERE ALL EXCELLENT MATCHES.

For you all who even found fault with the name of the restaurant, Dalesio is one of the oldest family names in Little Italy.

Dalesio put together a delightful evening and everybody there left happy and satisfied. For those of you with open minds, you might want to watch for the next "all inclusive," hopefully in June.

Nobody said it was bad, just that it looked uninspired. I guessed that a wine seller put the list together, not a chef. So what was the event? A weird showcase for Chateau Ste. Michelle? Just curious. The menu seems to lack a theme or flow.

The name might be old, but the ownership isn't. IIRC, in the 90's, Mr. and Mrs. D'alesio brought the then-trendy Califonia-based light approach to the somewhat dense Little Italy table, food was great, business wasn't, and the liquor board director took it over. With Mr. D'alesio no longer cooking, it fell off the map. I think there were some relevant local political things going on, but I don't have access to the Sun's archive, if they still have them.

I would have considered going to this wine dinner if I wasn't committed to a different one last week where they featured Australian wines (Peter Lehmann's). The Ch. Ste. Michelle's offerings are quite comparable to the above. Personally, I don't see any problem with the food/wine matches. I'd be interested in that featured wine, Northstar Merlot. The all inclusive thing is very appealing and was not the case with the one I attended. To make matter worse, I got sick for a few days afterwards. Maybe it was the sticker shock effect.

How is expecting Italian wine at an Italian restaurant in an Italian neighborhood snobbish? I didn't attend for two reasons. First I don't care much for CA or WA wines. Personal taste. Second I don't eat meat on Fridays in Lent. Does this make me a snobb?