Joseph Chirico, founder and owner of Marco
Polo Ristorante in Carroll Gardens, is a true American success
story.
Emigrating from San Martino, Italy in the late 1960s, he looked
for whatever work he could get. At 19, with little money and
less English, Chirico found a job as a maintenance man. Three
and a half years later, he opened Joe’s Luncheonette on Court
Street.
He liked the restaurant business so much, that he stayed there
for the next 14 years. Intrigued, he was eager to master every
aspect of it, absorbing all he could about how to run a successful
eatery.
In 1983, Chirico opened Marco Polo, at 345 Court St., next door
to Joe’s, and soon it too became a neighborhood favorite.
Chirico, now founder and president of the Brooklyn Restaurant
Association and also owner of Gage & Tollner restaurant in
Downtown Brooklyn, credits much of his success to the talents
of his chef of 16 years, Francesco Insingo.
"Franco is unbelievably talented," Chirico told GO
Brooklyn. "He has a natural flair for cooking and is particularly
gifted at pairing wine with food." It was partly due to
this talent of Insingo’s, as well as the two men’s enthusiasm
for good wine, that they started organizing regular wine dinners
at the restaurant.
The Castello Banfi Wine Dinner held on June 7 was this year’s
wine and food extravaganza, a celebration of Marco Polo’s 18th
anniversary. (Chirico has a history of promoting fine Italian
food and wine in the borough. Last June, he hosted an evening
called, "A Taste of Italy" at Borough Hall, which featured
a smorgasbord of Italian foods made by students from a culinary
institute in Caserta who had worked with chefs from Brooklyn’s
Italian restaurants.)
Upon our arrival at Marco Polo for the wine dinner, we were shown
upstairs to the special events room – a grand space with high
ceilings, mirrors, chandeliers and large, sumptuously draped
windows. Butlers passed silver platters of hors d’oeuvres to
guests sipping wine among the large white linen-draped tables
set with enough wine glasses to hint at the pleasures yet to
come.
The dry, fruity pineapple-and-apple-flavored Principessa Gavia,
a pale, straw-colored aperitif wine, went particularly well with
my favorite hors d’oeuvres – an earthy, rich duck puree served
on tiny round tart crusts and topped with a toasted almond; and
a warm spinach souffle on a thin, short crust, that managed to
retain the fresh, delicate flavor of the spinach the way so few
quiches do.
Throughout the meal, representatives from Castello Banfi (the
Tuscan estate of origin for all the evening’s wines) addressed
the diners, sometimes in Italian, sometimes in English, about
the wines.
We were told that the Gavi we had just sampled, like all aperitif
wines, was to prepare our palates for the rest of the wines to
come.
Pinot Grigio San Angelo 2000 was the wine selected to go with
our first course, avocado lobster salad with lime vinaigrette
dressing. White gold in color, the Pinot Grigio had a wonderfully
fresh, citrus bouquet that harmonized with the lime vinaigrette
of the salad – a perfectly ripe half avocado filled with large
chunks of avocado and lobster. Other than the lime accent, there
were no additional seasonings or flavors, leaving the distinctive
flavors of avocado and lobster to speak for themselves.
My favorite course came next – tortellacci stuffed with spinach,
ricotta, Parmesan, butter and sage. Tortellacci is a derivative
of torta or tart (tortellini and tortelloni are from the same
root), meaning a very large tortelloni – in this case a large
sheet of pasta wrapped around the stuffing. I was transported
after the first bite by the extreme freshness of the homemade
pasta as well as by the high quality of the other ingredients,
not to mention the flavor combination. In my book, the flavor
of sage can easily overpower everything around it. Here, there
was just enough to accent the tried and true combined flavors
of the spinach, ricotta and Parmesan.
The wine, Rosso di Montalcino, was a visual delight – deep ruby
in color with garnet reflections – with a rich, soft opulence
that melded beautifully with the elegance of this fine pasta
course.
The roasted squab in a Parmesan cheese nest didn’t quite work
for me. In all fairness to the chef, I have never tasted squab
that was anything but tough, and this squab was no exception.
The cheese nest might have been an interesting addition to another
dish had it been crisp and warm rather than soft and cold, but
to me, Parmesan is too strong a flavor to mix with a game bird
anyway. The Brunello was full, soft and velvety, the perfect
choice to accompany game of any kind.
The pace of the meal must have been just right because I was
still ready and willing when the rack of lamb, marinated with
herbs and served with potato cake and spring vegetables, arrived.
The lamb spoke for itself – cooked to pink perfection, it was
minimally seasoned and tender. The lamb was served with French
haricots, a potato fritter (mashed potatoes fried pancake-style)
and a single stalk of asparagus.
Again, there were no additional seasonings, just quality, flavorful
ingredients. Of the Summus Super Tuscan 1997 that accompanied
this dish, one fellow diner proclaimed it "perfecto,"
a pronouncement upon which we all agreed about this intensely
fruity, elegant wine.
For my part, I could have skipped dessert – homemade coffee ice
cream – as the combined efforts of Chirico and Insingo had already
made their mark. I was excited to have discovered this dynamic
duo right here in Brooklyn.
For those with an interest in participating in similar events,
call Marco Polo for more details about future wine dinners. They
are well worth the money ($100 per person for this meal, unlimited
wine), especially considering the opportunity for expanding one’s
wine knowledge while experiencing the talents of chef Insingo
who has such an instinctive talent for pairing food and wine.
While I did not review Marco Polo’s standard dinner menu, knowing
the food and wine come from the same team makes me feel confident
to recommend the restaurant.
Marco Polo Ristorante [345 Court St.
at Union Street, (718) 852-5015] accepts all major credit cards.
The restaurant is open Monday through Friday, 11:30 am to 11
pm; Saturday, 3 pm to midnight; and Sunday, 1 pm to 10 pm. For
more information, visit their Web site at www.marcopoloristorante.com.
For more information about Banfi wines, visit www.castellobanfi.org.
