Celebrate Mother's Day at Marco

Mother's Day is always a special day at Marco. Our Mother's Day brunch is one of our most popular events. An extensive spread of Italian and American favorites is offered in honor of all mothers and our tables are set with the finest linens and fresh flowers. Our complete Mother's Day brunch menu is below. Bring your mom or wife for a wonderful dining experience. Seatings are at 11:00 am, 12:30 pm, and 2:00 pm that Sunday.

This year we are also offering a special evening menu for Mother's Day and will be open from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm. To make reservations, call 478-405-5660.

In Celebration of Polenta

Polenta is a staple food of Northern Italy that does not always get the same recognition as pasta and pizza. Northern Italians subsisted on little more than polenta for centuries. In this way, polenta is truly an Italian national dish and may have a history much more ancient than either pizza or pasta. As it is known today, polenta derives from earlier forms of grain mush commonly eaten since Roman times. Before the introduction of corn from the New World in the 16th century, polenta was made with such starchy ingredients as farro, chestnut flour, millet, spelt, or chickpeas.
 

History of Polenta

In Roman times, polenta (or as they knew it, pulmentum) was the staple of the mighty Roman Legions, and they would eat it in either a porridge or in a hard cake like form, much like today. Even though bread was widely available in Ancient Rome, the legions and the poor alike preferred the simplicity and tastiness of their early polenta. 

When maize arrived from the New World sometime in the 15th or 16th centuries, it was a perfect match for the farms of Northern Italy, where landowners could grow vast fields of corn for profit, while forcing the peasantry to subsist on cornmeal. Cornmeal polenta is very tasty and filling, and therefore continued to be a staple long after conditions improved. Amazingly, this simple act of greed on the part of landowners helped shape a major component of Italian cooking.
 

Making Polenta

Much of Italy's polenta is still made the tedious old-fashioned way using a round bottom copper pot known as a Paiolo and a long wooden spoon known as a Tarello. The process to make a soft polenta involves a 3 to 1 ratio of water to polenta and constant stirring for up to 50 minutes. Today in a modern kitchen with a good heavy pot, polenta preparation is not so painstaking, but it still does need attention and occasional stirring. When finished the polenta can served in this soft form or poured out onto a slab and allowed to cool to form a cake.
 
Join your friends at Marco as we celebrate this delicious dish with Polenta Night, April 26. Enjoy polenta poured table side on a wooden board and served with several accompanying toppings, hearts of romaine salad, and tiramisu. Check our website for the complete menu.

 

Menu a Must See for Upcoming Wine Dinner.

Wine tastings are always a treat at Marco. Each and every tasting is as unique as the wines served. The upcoming April 16 Wine Dinner will be no different. Featured at the dinner are several selections from ZD Winery in Napa California. Read more about ZD wines on their website and check out our Wine Dinner Menu below.

List of Wines for April 16's Wine Dinner

Check out the list of wines for our April 16 wine dinner! These will be paired with a delicious four course dinner. The menu will be unveiled soon.

The first four wines below are from ZD Wines in Napa, California. Check out ZD Wines on their website.

ZD  Reserve Chardonnay:

Carneros
Aromas of pear, lime and orange blossom mingle with subtle floral notes and the perfect amount of sweet toasty oak & vanilla. On the palate, intensely forward fruit & bright natural acidity complement each other & lead to a long rich finish.

ZD Chardonnay:

Unique character by blending the distinct attributes of the cool growing regions of Napa and Sonoma, Carneros, Santa Barbara & Monterery. Aromas of sweet pineapple, apricot and tart apple with hints of vanilla, pear & honey. Full bodied on the palate, with ripe apricot, pineapple & sweet toasty oak integrating nicely with balanced acidity.

ZD Cabernet:

Napa Valley
Aromas of ripe dark plums, cassis & black cherries are complimented with subtle hints of cocoa, anise, tobacco and sweet, toasty vanilla. On the palate, lush, silky tannins envelop a solid core of ripe, forward black fruit, with perfectly integrated oak.

ZD Pinot Noir:

Carneros
Aromas of briary black cherry & red plum are complemented by subtle hints of vanilla, toast French oak character is well integrated with the ripe, unctuous fruit. Silky tannins carry flavors through to an amazingly long finish.

Prosecco :
 Italy's famed sparkling wine, and the name of the white grape that is used to produce the bubbly itself, hails from the Veneto region in northeast Italy.

Eat Italian! It's Good for You!

Many people know that's Marco's food is delicious, put do you also know that eating fresh Italian food can have many health benefits?
 
Here are some links to some health benefits of eating some of the delicious Italian Food on our menu:
 
1. Olive Oil - Olive Oil has many health benefits. Check out the top 5 here. http://goo.gl/g3nSY
 
2. Fresh Mozzarella Cheese - Fresh Mozzarella Cheese is actually part of a healthy diet. Mozzarella cheese contains niacin, riboflavin, thiamine, biotin and vitamin B6. These are water-soluble vitamins, the body does not store them, so eating mozzarella cheese satisfies an immediate nutritional need. They are important to maintain healthy skin and vision  and the formation of red blood cells. Mozzarella also contains fat-soluble vitamins such as A, D and E, which are important for bone growth, absorption of calcium and protection of cell membranes.

Read more: http://goo.gl/3Bl2J
 
3. Branzino - Branzino is European sea bass. Here is a article from Food & Wine expounding the health benefits of sea bass and presenting a wonderful recipe you can try at home. http://goo.gl/5kI7b
 
4. Polenta - A souce of whole grain, polenta is rich in Vitamin A and C. http://goo.gl/hStER