Spuntino Wine Bar & Italian Tapas located in Westbury, will offer an authentic Italian-Jewish Passover menu from April 3 – 11; a menu that required weeks of research-and even a trip to Italy for one of its culinary team members.
Executive Chef, Josh Bernstein, of Spuntino Wine Bar & Italian Tapas conducted extensive research about the history of the culture and its culinary roots in adapting regional Italian cuisine to Jewish cultural laws. Bernstein used this research to create a hand-crafted menu consisting of traditional dishes that date back to the oldest Italian-Jewish communities in Rome over 2,000 years ago, also drawing inspiration from some of the best-known Italian-Jewish chefs of the modern era.
To supplement Chef Bernstein’s research, General Manager, Andrew Rossi, of Spuntino Wine Bar & Italian Tapas in Westbury also visited areas of his native Italy that were originally settled by Italian-Jewish people, namely in Venice. There, Rossi explored Italian-Jewish cuisine and took photos to ensure Spuntino Wine Bar & Italian Tapas could deliver an authentic menu and experience.
The result of Bernstein and Rossi’s combined research is a chef-driven, scratch-made menu that reflects the deep-rooted history and heritage of Italian-Jewish culture. Passover dishes that will be offered in Spuntino Wine Bar & Italian Tapas’ locations from April 3 – 11 include:
- Brodo con Polpette – Fresh dumplings made from chicken and matzo, served in a flavorful chicken broth.
- Pesce Pomodoro – Fresh seared cod, stewed in tomato sauce.
- Pollo Ezechiele – Half Goffle Farms chicken braised with cherry tomatoes, Gaeta olives and herbs. Finished with red wine.
- Stracotto di Manzo – Hearty slow-braised beef brisket cooked in red wine and aromatics. Served over roasted fingerling potatoes.
- Bocca di Dama – Flourless citrus-scented almond cake.
Menu items are available a la carte, and Spuntino’s expert sommeliers have created a list of suggested wine pairings that complement the flavors of each dish.
