April Postcards from Alba Restaurant and Wine Bar We have lots happening at Alba this month, including a great Lombardian wine dinner, new spring menus, and a Sangiovese tasting. We also want to let you know about a special dinner in early May. If weather permits, we'll have the patio open and ready for you before the month is out. We hope to see you soon. Click here to go to the Alba website

April Wine Dinner - A Taste of Lombardia Wednesday, April 21 This month’s special dinner features the food and wine of Lombardia. Best known for Italy’s fashion and business center Milano and some of Europe’s most beautiful lakes, it is also home to a marvelously rich and varied cuisine. We’ll be presenting some delightful Lombardian wines at this dinner that complement the evening's dishes. The Menu: ANTIPASTO Torta di Funghi Mushroom tart with Parmigiano and herbs Castello di Luzzano Tasto di Seta 2007 ¤ ¤ ¤ PRIMO Bardele coi Marai Hand made borage pasta ribbons with cinnamon scented butter and Parmigiano Castello di Luzzano Bonarda Oltrepo 2007 ¤ ¤ ¤ SECONDO Quaglie al Forno Oven roasted pancetta-wrapped quail with fresh herbs Nino Negri Quadrio 2006 Optional Wine: Nino Negri Sfursat 2005 ¤ ¤ ¤ DOLCE Cavollat Cocoa and bay leaf custard with whipped cream and a lace cookie Meletti Cioccolato or Amaro Liqueur $55 per person With optional wine: add $10 For Reservations call 303.938.8800 or reserve online www.albaboulder.com

Spring Has Sprung! Spring brings us some of our favorite seasonal ingredients. Asparagus, fresh peas, nettles, and fava beans inspire our April menus. Risi e Bisi is a classic Venetian rice dish made with fresh peas, carnaroli rice, and prosciutto. We've brought back Garganelli con Asparagi, fresh pasta tubes (similar to penne) with asparagus, arugula, lemon, and Parmigiano-Reggiano. We also have pancetta-wrapped asparagus and our nettle pasta Lasagne Verdi alla Bolognese. Coming soon, a classic Tuscan dish: Favas with Pecorino Toscano. Click here to view our complete dinner menu

Alex's Babbo Dinner - Wednesday, May 5 Alex spent eleven months at Mario Batali’s flagship restaurant, Babbo, in 2003. He says of the experience, “It was one of the more exciting cooking experiences of my career. These are some of my favorite dishes from Babbo. From the crostini, which earned me my nickname (chickpea guy) to the best squid ink pasta this side of Gibraltar, to the saffron panna cotta. This dinner will provide a cross section of the cuisine of one of America’s preeminent Italian chefs.” Some of Alex’s experiences at Babbo are chronicled in the delightful 2006 book "Heat," by Bill Buford. The author, a writer for the New Yorker, talked Mario Batali into letting him work at Babbo, to see how a reasonably skilled amateur cook would fare in a professional kitchen. Buford describes his first encounter with Alex in this excerpt: “The new guy was Alex Feldman. I was there the day he started: no small thing, as we’d be spending hours in his company, and no one knew what he was like…Alex had Italian cooking experience. He’d worked in Florence for a year at Cibreo, a restaurant known for its uncompromisingly Tuscan cooking. I hadn’t heard of Cibreo. Actually, apart from Mario, no one had. But after a month or so, everyone knew a great deal: about the freshness of Cibreo’s olive oil and how it arrived immediately after it was made – ‘not days or weeks but hours.’ (Alex tasted the Babbo oil and squished up his nose in a reflex of disapproval.) Or the importance of Cibreo’s soffrito, the mystery of Tuscan soups, and how, at Cibreo, the preparation took all morning. (No one in the kitchen had heard of soffrito, but when Alex said the word his voice got whispery and reverential, and you understood that soffrito, whatever it was, was very important.)” Please note: Mario Batali and Babbo are not connected with the presentation of this dinner. This is an evening inspired by Alex's experiences at Babbo and the dishes he learned to make there. The Menu: Crostino di Ceci Chick peas marinated with olives and balsamico Neci con Funghi Misti Chestnut flour crepe, with roasted mushrooms, Parmigiano, balsamico, and radicchio Black Tagliatelle Squid ink pasta, with parsnips and pancetta Lamb Chops Scotaditto Grilled lamb chops, sun chokes and mint, cumin yogurt Saffron Panna Cotta Saffron infused cream gelatin Cost: $45 per person Optional wine pairing: $35 For reservations call 303-938-8800 or reserve online at www.albaboulder.com

Sangiovese Wine Tasting - April 28, 6 pm Sangiovese is best-known as the principal grape in the making of Chianti, but it is grown in other parts of Italy and the world, and it takes many forms and flavor characteristics. Please join Matthew in our library bar to taste and learn about the pleasures of this wonderful grape. The cost is $15 per person. Space is limited, so please reserve your place as early as possible. Call 303-938-8800 to reserve.

Summer Hours at Chautauqua Starting on Monday, April 26, we'll be open at Chautauqua every day for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner. Our chef, Andy Ribelin (former sous-chef at Alba) has prepared all new menus for the season. Bob Howd, general manager at the Full Moon for many years, is there to make sure you have a great time. If you haven't visited the Dining Hall in a while, we think you'll really enjoy some wonderful regional American cooking along with the spectacular setting. We look forward to seeing you there. Click here to go to the Dining Hall website