Nobody throws a dinner party like Nick Pellegrino at Mangia Nashville at 701 Craighead in Melrose/Berry Hill. If you’ve ever been a guest at one of his restaurant’s legendary weekend feasts, you know there’s great food, music and dancing in a convivial environment. For the holidays, Chef Nick is reaching into the great Italian tradition of the Feast of the Seven Fishes. Traditionally, Italians abstain from meat on the eve of feast days, like Christmas Day, for example. So on Christmas Eve, families gather for a meal that features the abundant seafood of the waters around Italy, although the definition of “fish” is often extended to include shellfish like lobster or shrimp.
For one seating at 7 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 22, Mangia will serve its version of the famous feast for $80 plus tax and tip. Beverage pairings will also be available, and they will definitely contribute to the festivity of the festivities. The five-course meal will include dishes like the traditional salted cod dish of baccala, grilled baby octopus, crab cakes, frutti di mare, lobster risotto, whole red snapper and shrimp scampi, all served family-style at the table. Graciously, the dessert course will not include seafood.
This is the sort of feast that you might think of attempting at home some year, but the sourcing of ingredients and preparation of the dishes makes it too daunting for most home cooks to handle. If you really want to experience this, go ahead and let Mangia do the hard work so you can just enjoy yourself. To hold your spots at the communal table, email Reservations@mangianashville.com or call 615 750-5233. Buon Natale!
