The Lacona family's heirloom
cannoli with vanilla whipped
cream and fresh berries.
Italian-American Cultural
Center, 1961 Indianola Ave.,
280-3719.
Dinners are held on the
fourth Sundays of most months.
Advance reservations are
required. |
Italian-American Cultural
Center
Dinner at the Italian-American Cultural Center (ICC) provides an education.
In the old Supreme Bakery, where
many early Italian immigrants
found work, the museum reminds
visitors how Italian newcomers
assimilated with the larger American
culture. Displays honor cobblers
(The Strand Shoe Hospital), wedding
etiquette, church memorabilia
and the first Girl Scout troop
in Iowa — an Italian-American
group in 1922. A library, a genealogy
database and archives from two
Italian-American newspapers provide
access to more personal histories.
But more than anything, food dominates
the museum's story of the American
dream. An outdoor forno (brick
oven) now bakes Italian breads.
One section of the museum is devoted
to grocers and candy makers (Des
Moines' first commercial Italian
food business was a candy store
on Mulberry, which opened 103
years ago). Another section is
devoted to local restaurateurs
with 70 years of menus, photos
and stories from Italian-owned
places Ñ from The Garden
of Italy to Jethro's. Early Italian-American
pasta machinery is displayed including
a rolling pin designed just to
cut ravioli, a machine just for
pasta chittara, and another just
for cavatelli. Winemakers and
historic cookbooks are featured,
too. ICC also supports adult cooking
classes and children's summer
camp.
Monthly themed dinners help support
all ICC activities. Volunteers
assist chefs from top local restaurants,
a large percentage of which just
happen to be owned by Italian-Americans.
Lucca, La Mie, Tumea's, Sam &
Gabe's, Mezzodi, Mosaix, Baratta's
and Christiani's Catering have
hosted so far. Some of them became
pretty elaborate. Tumea's dinner
last summer featured sopa pastina,
home-grown tomato salad, shrimp
scampi, chicken di avolo, beef
cutlets and tiramisu. Mosaix's
included live jazz, with the Luca
Donini Quartet, a tri-colored
crostini, penne with three cheeses,
chicken Milanese and fresh peaches
in Moscato. Mezzodi's included
the Giudecessi family's famous
pear and walnut salad, with chicken
a la Caruso and a chocolate cake
dolce
Tony Lemmo (Café di Scla,
Frank's Pizza) prepared the most
recent dinner, themed for Mardi
Gras week. Lemmo represents two
restaurant families — Lemmo's
on his father's side, Lacona's
(Noah's) on his mom's. He stayed
close to his roots with the entire
dinner.
His antipasto was "sopa paisano
(peasant soup)," a humble
way to refer to a French onion
soup made with chicken stock,
myriad fresh herbs and ciabatta
croutons. Two different patrons
barged into Lemmo's kitchen to
ask for leftovers, one offered
to lick the soup pot. The chef's
"primo" was a citrus
and Parmiganno-Reggiano risotto.
His "secondo" was a
braccioli of pork tenderloin Ñ
stuffed, rolled and sliced. Lemmo's
mom's heirloom cannoli was the
"dolce," stuffed with
vanilla whipped cream and plated
with fresh raspberries.
Side Dishes
Mardi Gras week paraded opportunities
for Des Moines chefs to show off:
1.) DM Metro Opera's biennial
Food & Wine Showcase featured
52 chefs and 500 guests. Dom Iannarelli
(Splash, JethroÔs) was king
of that krewe with a six-item
seafood buffet featuring hebi,
caviar and yellowfin (He said
he spent $650 on disposable spoons).
Cyd Mull (Cyd's Catering) gave
Niman Ranch pork a Hawaiian treatment
with hand-massaged kalua pig served
with haupia (gelled coconut milk
reduction) and five other items;
2.) Blue Ribbon Bacon Fest (BF)
laid a solid foundation for what
could become a branding event
in Des Moines tourism. BF sold
out faster than bacon can fry,
attracted media from both coasts
and particularly appealed to a
youthful demographic. Tony LemmoÔs
"bacon caramel corn"
and Burnt Finger BBQ's (Kansas
City) "global thermal nuclear
bacon explosion" (a smoked,
layered meat loaf) provided originality.
Eden Farms uncured bacon distinguished
itself from saltier flavors; 3.)
Centro hosted an Acorn Edition
pork dinner that also drew fans
from far and wide, as well as
4.) a rillettes and meat ball
reception for "Righteous
Pork Chop" author Nicole
Hawn-Niman; 5.) Dos Rios' new
chef Julio Gamboa kept that restaurant's
buzz alive with a six-course dinner
that featured chipotle smoked
duck breast and exotic tequila
pairings. CV
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