TIME TO FEAST: Di Beppe's Popular 'Festa Della Polenta' Returns This March — Miss Eileen Soo

TIME TO FEAST: DI BEPPE’S POPULAR ‘FESTA DELLA POLENTA’ RETURNS THIS MARCH

Gastown Ristorante Honours Tuscan Tradition With One Night Family-Style Dinner on March 16

With spring on the horizon, Gastown’s Di Beppe will once again be celebrating with its popular ‘Festa della Polenta’. For its fifth year, Di Beppe will be showcasing the versatile Italian culinary staple with a special multi-course ticketed dinner for one night only on Thursday, March 16.

The family-style feast pays homage to a centuries-old Tuscan tradition when members of the nobility offered polenta to hungry townspeople to help fight a famine sweeping through the region. The celebration still takes place across Italy to this day, drawing friends and family around the table to enjoy a variety of dishes made with humble cornmeal.

Guests will be welcomed to the ‘Festa’ with a celebratory beverage - their choice of spritz (Aperol or Cynar); glass of Prosecco; Oddbird non-alcoholic Prosecco; or Di Beppe’s signature Tiny Bubbles Spritz - to be sipped with the first course, a snack of crispy polenta to begin the meal.

Following the antipasti course, guests will be awed by the main event — atop communal tables, piping-hot pots of polenta are poured 'sulla spianatoia' (on a wooden board) and topped off with tantalizing accompaniments such as tender ossobuco with bone marrow, roast chicken in a creamy sauce, and roasted winter vegetables and parmesan. The dinner ends on a sweet note with a dolci course of polenta cake with raspberry sauce and guests are welcome to linger over a digestivo and conversation in Di Beppe’s caffè.

There are two seatings available at 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m., with 38 highly coveted spots available at each seating. Priced at $95 per person (plus tax and gratuity), tickets can be purchased in advance online (5:30 p.m. seating and 8 p.m. seating). Suggested Northern Italian wines will be available to complement each course, available by the glass, half-litre, or bottle.

DI BEPPE FESTA DELLA POLENTA MENU
March 16 | $95 per person plus tax and gratuity
Optional Northern Italian wines available by the glass, ½ litre, or bottle

spuntini
crispy polenta two ways
spinach pesto, ricotta, Parmigiano
prosciutto, pear, whipped gorgonzola

antipasti
carne cruda & polenta chips
burrata, asparagus, dill, crispy hazelnut polenta

polenta sulla spianatoia
ossobuco with bone marrow
roasted chicken, di crema sauce, almond
roasted winter vegetables, parmesan

dolci
polenta cake with raspberry sauce

For more information about Di Beppe, visit dibeppe.com, become a fan of /dibepperestaurant on Facebook and follow @dibepperestaurant on Instagram.

ABOUT DI BEPPE | Located in Vancouver’s historic Gastown district, Di Beppe conjures up an unabashedly authentic Italian spirit in a family friendly caffè, deli and grocery with an adjacent ristorante by night showcasing regional Italian cuisine such as house-made artisan pastas and Sorrentine-inspired pizza, delectable dolci and a wide array of Italian wines and specialty liqueurs. At its heart, Di Beppe is inspired by the Italian immigrants who desired to share a piece of home while living abroad and pays homage to those gathering places that served as a hub for people to connect, hold court and nurture a sense of community while honouring their shared love of food, culture and traditions.

ABOUT KITCHEN TABLE RESTAURANTS | A mainstay of the local hospitality scene since 2009, Kitchen Table Restaurants places a premium on simplicity, integrity, giving back to the neighbourhoods in which it operates and the belief that the fondest memories are made at the kitchen table, not in the dining room. The brand operates a number of beloved and award-winning restaurants in the Greater Vancouver area, including: Gastown comfort-food-and-cocktail hotspot Pourhouse; Main Street’s Northern Italian-focused Pizzeria Farina; Railtown casual Italian eatery Ask For Luigi; authentically Italian caffè-by-day, ristorante-by-night Di Beppe in Gastown; Italian hotspot Farina a Legna in North Vancouver’s Lower Lonsdale district; Venetian-inspired wine and cicchetti bar Bacaro, and downtown Vancouver's Giovane Caffès; Friuli region-inspired Carlino in the Shangri-La Vancouver, Super Veloce, a health-conscious coffee bar experience in Vancouver’s Shaw Tower and Motoretta, an authentic gelateria.

Di Beppe Caffè: 2 W Cordova Street, Vancouver BC V6B 1C9 | 604-559-1122 | Seven days a week 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. | caffedibeppe.com | Facebook: /dibepperestaurant | Instagram:@dibepperestaurant

Di Beppe Ristorante: 8 W Cordova Street, Vancouver BC V6B 1C9 | 604-559-1122 |dibeppe.com | Dinner seven days a week 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. | Happy Hour 3 to 6 p.m. | Facebook: /dibepperestaurant | Instagram: @dibepperestaurant