Friday, December 19, 2008

Feasts of the Seven Fishes

I've been attending a knock-0ut marathon Feast of the Seven Fishes in North Jersey for over 10 years now, put on by our dear friends, the Attanasi family, and it's always one of the greatest culinary experiences of the year---a true food orgy in the fashion of Abruzzeze cooking. Last year at this time I penned an article for a local magazine that discussed the growing proliferation of Seven Fishes Dinners across the Delaware Valley, and this year's roster of restaurants offering thie special kind of meal is growing by the day. I just received a press release that heralds one of the more attractively affordable Seven Fishes menus I've seen so far, from Chick's Wine Bar in Philly. Chick's has become quite famous in the last year for its cocktail, wine and beer selection, under the stewardship of my friend and legendary bartendrix, Katie Loeb, but the kitchen at cozy Chick's is no slouch either.

Here's their Feast of the Seven Fishes menu for this Christmas Eve:

Chicks Cafe and Wine Bar

Seven Fishes Dinner

Wednesday, December 24th
Seatings from 5-8 pm

Antipasto Trio:
Boquerone Crostini
Calamari Fritto
Lobster Bisque
Primi:
Tagliatelle Pasta with Grilled Shrimp and Scallop
Secondi:
Pan Seared Red Snapper
Leek, tomato and mussel broth with fingerling potatoes and haricot verts
Dolce:
You may choose from our dessert menu
$45 * tax and gratuity not included
* must be ordered by the entire table
Optional wine pairings available for $30
Reservations
215.625.3700 chickscafe@gmail.com
Chicks Cafe and Wine Bar
614 South Seventh St.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19147
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This menu is available for TAKEOUT from MAIA, the spectacular, hybrid restaurant/lounge/market/bistro in Villanova, courtesy of their super PR agency, Dish Public Relations:
Feast of the Seven Fishes
75. per person, minimum order for 4 people
Items can also be ordered separately as an addition to your holiday feast.
calamari salad, nicoise olive, romaine, herbs, parmesan
maia norwegian smoked salmon, red onions, lemon, cornichon
shrimp cocktail, cocktail sauce
maryland jumbo crab cake
new england clam chowder
blue bay mussels, white beans, escarole salad
lobster pot pie, winter vegetables,
creamy lobster bisque
Orders for the Feast of the 7 Fishes and holiday pies must be placed by Monday, December 22nd and picked up by 2pm on Christmas Eve.
MAIA
789 East Lancaster Avenue, Villanova, PA
610-527-4888; tastemaia.com
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I'll try to post as many truly interesting and high quality Seven Fishes Dinner menus from local restaurants as my investigative abilities and time will allow. If you know of a really good one at a local restaurant (or nay restaurant where you are reading this), please drop me a line and I will inlcude in this thread.

2 comments:

Brooke said...

my husband's family does the seven fishes....what beer do you enjoy with the meal, if any?

RICH said...

Definitely crisp pilsners; last year our hosts had Troegs Sunshine Pils, Victory Prima Pils and Chechvar, along with some winter beers that we enjoyed with desserts, like Otter Creek Winter Ale and Troegs Mad Elf.