Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Events Seven Fishes Feast Set for Savarino's
Posted by Nicki Wood on Wed, Dec 3, 2008 at 5:21 AM
Belcourt Avenue is a long way from the ocean, or from Italy, but that's all the more reason for Corrado Savarino to celebrate the holidays with the traditional Italian Feast of Seven Fishes.
Alleged to be a tribute to the seven sacraments (baptism, confirmation, the Eucharist, penance, holy orders, matrimony and the anointing of the sick), the meal comprises seven courses, nearly always including baccala and a pasta.
Savarino says his feast will feature the restaurant's fra diavolo pasta with shrimp and scallops, a stew of baccala and potatoes, and a stuffed scaccia (think calzone) stuffed with baccala. "It's like a pizza from Sicily before those [guys] in Naples left it open face," he explains.
What other surprises? Perhaps squid, perhaps fin fish. The maritime meal is set for December 13, so the menu may still be under construction.
Call 460-9878 soon if you'd like to reserve a spot, because Savarino is also catering an off-site gathering that night, so he's looking to firm up the number.
Comments (6)
Showing 1-6 of 6
Forgive me for saying this…but after 3 visits I’m not that impressed. On our first visit we had the special of the day, which came out about 25 minutes after we ordered and cold at that. Our second visit we had the stuffed shells, again it came out about 20 minutes after we ordered and cold no less. On our last visit we tried the lasagna, pasta with broccoli rabe, and the lentil soup. The soup came out first, and you could clearly see that it was microwaved. Our entrees came out about 15 minutes later and cold. The lasagna was decent, but not for the wait and the portion size. The pasta was forgetful and bland. They do make a killer cannoli…maybe we’ll give them one more chance and try out a sandwich.
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I think everyone has noticed that you can't be in a hurry when you eat at Savarino's. Love the food, and had a great, leisurely meal there with Claudia some weeks back, with the emphasis on leisurely.
Fluffer…for having to wait that long there is no excuse for cold food and nuked soup.
The traditional Christmas Eve dinner,is known as the "Cenone" in Rome , or more universally as "La Vigilia" (the wait for the Christ child). Prior to any high holy day we were expected to "mangiare di magro" (eat lean)to purify the body in preparation for the holiday feast.In the south of Italy, the old saying is, that anyone who doesn't make Christmas a meatless day is either a Turk or a dog. The number of dishes are varied from region to region but are almost always an odd number, 7,9,11,13.
Seven for the seven virtues and the seven sacraments. Nine for the Trinity multiplied by 3 (an extremely powerful number) Eleven for the Apostles minus Judas. Thirteen for Christ and the Apostles. Twenty four for certain areas in Calabria. In my own memory, as a child no gift was more precious to me than the celebration of this most sacred meal. "Natale con I tuoi; Pasqua con chi voui" "Christmas with your family, Easter with whomever you like" We would gather at the home of my Comare (godmother) the tables would be set for sixty. Fruit and nuts would line the center of the tables and homemade wine was at every chair. The meal would begin at 5 pm and one course after another would magically appear from the cucina. First the minestra di Natale "Baccala Soup". Second the linguine with claim sauce, or spaghetti con acciughe, "with anchovies". Then and only then would the 7,9,11,13,or 24 different fish courses begin to emerge, from the smallest to the largest fishes. Baked, sauteed, fried, broiled, fire roasted, clams, mussels, squid, scallops, scungilli, seppia, smelts, shrimp, sardines, langostino's, baccala, octopus, grouper, sea bass, and capitone (eel). After the fish, the contorne or vegetables began with broccoli di rapa (rapini), broccoli con acciughe (with anchovies), insalata, mista (mixed salad), scarola (escarole salad), di finnochio (fennel salad), di rinforzo (cauliflower salad), and di arance (Sicilian blood orange salad). Deserts of fruit, cheeses, cookies, and pastries followed. We would then all leave for Midnight Mass.
Upon our return, as it was now Christmas Day we would sit down to homemade ravioli, lasagna, sausage, meatballs, and braciole, The meal usually wound down around 5 am with most of us kids asleep and carried home in blankets.
Italians find the greatest joy in life to be famiglia, amici, and sharing a meal with those we love. We give more thought to this then most "medigones" (Americans) give to choosing their life's work, religion, or spouse. I pity those that don't have the time to enjoy the life that God has given us. I, and several other notable, well travelled, senior Italians in Nashville, have watched the foods that we grew up with bastardized by chains, famous chefs, and food network wannabees. After 21 years here in Nashville, I, and my friends have found a home at Savarino's Cucina. It is the ONLY authentic southern Italian cooking in this town. It is NOT restaurant food it IS Sicilian home cooking at its very best. Taste is truly an individual thing and what one person enjoys may not be anothers favorite dish, but as the taste of broccoli rabe is quite bitter, (italians love extremes in taste)I have never heard anyone describing it as bland. When I am served a dish that is cold, I send it back to the kitchen, usually the problem is corrected and an apology is proffered. Sometimes with a gratis entree. The soups that I've had at Savarino's are all made from scratch (EVERYTHING IS MADE FROM SCRATCH) with no meat or chicken broths i.e. all vegetables. They are served very hot as I believe the burners are 17000 btu. As far as a microwave being used, please if you do ever have the time to come back, please ask for a tour of the building and if you can find a microwave anywhere I'll give you the keys to my Lexus and $1000 to boot ( it would make a great Xmas gift )
Tanti Auguri,
Buon Natale
un vecchio uomo
The traditional Christmas Eve dinner,is known as the "Cenone" in Rome , or more universally as "La Vigilia" (the wait for the Christ child). Prior to any high holy day we were expected to "mangiare di magro" (eat lean)to purify the body in preparation for the holiday feast.In the south of Italy, the old saying is, that anyone who doesn't make Christmas a meatless day is either a Turk or a dog. The number of dishes are varied from region to region but are almost always an odd number, 7,9,11,13.
Seven for the seven virtues and the seven sacraments. Nine for the Trinity multiplied by 3 (an extremely powerful number) Eleven for the Apostles minus Judas. Thirteen for Christ and the Apostles. Twenty four for certain areas in Calabria. In my own memory, as a child no gift was more precious to me than the celebration of this most sacred meal. "Natale con I tuoi; Pasqua con chi voui" "Christmas with your family, Easter with whomever you like" We would gather at the home of my Comare (godmother) the tables would be set for sixty. Fruit and nuts would line the center of the tables and homemade wine was at every chair. The meal would begin at 5 pm and one course after another would magically appear from the cucina. First the minestra di Natale "Baccala Soup". Second the linguine with claim sauce, or spaghetti con acciughe, "with anchovies". Then and only then would the 7,9,11,13,or 24 different fish courses begin to emerge, from the smallest to the largest fishes. Baked, sauteed, fried, broiled, fire roasted, clams, mussels, squid, scallops, scungilli, seppia, smelts, shrimp, sardines, langostino's, baccala, octopus, grouper, sea bass, and capitone (eel). After the fish, the contorne or vegetables began with broccoli di rapa (rapini), broccoli con acciughe (with anchovies), insalata, mista (mixed salad), scarola (escarole salad), di finnochio (fennel salad), di rinforzo (cauliflower salad), and di arance (Sicilian blood orange salad). Deserts of fruit, cheeses, cookies, and pastries followed. We would then all leave for Midnight Mass.
Upon our return, as it was now Christmas Day we would sit down to homemade ravioli, lasagna, sausage, meatballs, and braciole, The meal usually wound down around 5 am with most of us kids asleep and carried home in blankets.
Italians find the greatest joy in life to be famiglia, amici, and sharing a meal with those we love. We give more thought to this then most "medigones" (Americans) give to choosing their life's work, religion, or spouse. I pity those that don't have the time to enjoy the life that God has given us. I, and several other notable, well travelled, senior Italians in Nashville, have watched the foods that we grew up with bastardized by chains, famous chefs, and food network wannabees. After 21 years here in Nashville, I, and my friends have found a home at Savarino's Cucina. It is the ONLY authentic southern Italian cooking in this town. It is NOT restaurant food it IS Sicilian home cooking at its very best. Taste is truly an individual thing and what one person enjoys may not be anothers favorite dish, but as the taste of broccoli rabe is quite bitter, (italians love extremes in taste)I have never heard anyone describing it as bland. When I am served a dish that is cold, I send it back to the kitchen, usually the problem is corrected and an apology is proffered. Sometimes with a gratis entree. The soups that I've had at Savarino's are all made from scratch (EVERYTHING IS MADE FROM SCRATCH) with no meat or chicken broths i.e. all vegetables. They are served very hot as I believe the burners are 17000 btu. As far as a microwave being used, please if you do ever have the time to come back, please ask for a tour of the building and if you can find a microwave anywhere I'll give you the keys to my Lexus and $1000 to boot ( it would make a great Xmas gift )
Tanti Auguri,
Buon Natale
un vecchio uomo
