Help Us Celebrate!

Posted on by
1

Hello Friends-

Its a busy time for RigaTony’s and a busy time for my family as well. As the holidays approach we’re getting ready for our busiest and most exciting time of the year. Our biggest challenge is being ready to prepare literally hundreds of take-out Italian Dinner Parties between now and New Year’s Eve.

We have perfected the art of preparing and packaging parties for between 8 and 300 people, and its really exciting to watch it happen. If you want us to cook for your dinner party just browse through our online menu and give us a call to work out the details. Click here to view the menu.

In addition to those preparations I am in the midst of delivering my own RigaTony’s Extreme Dinner Party. My son Tony is getting married this week in Seattle. He grew up eating at RigaTony’s and after much cajoling he somehow convinced me to serve up a genuine RigaTony’s Dinner to 120 guests at his reception.

This is not as easy as it sounds. True, I can cook anything on the menu but I only have access to a very limited kitchen for a mere three hours before the event. Over the last couple of weeks Chef Hutson and I have been experimenting with freezing and reconstituting various components to transport there, and making sure we have access to the fresh ingredients that we’ll need to procure in Seattle. In the end we have devised a plan to serve an authentic RigaTony’s dinner with Baked RigaTony, Chicken Picatta, our Antipasto Salad, and Herb-Crusted Ciabatta Bread at the reception this coming Thursday at 5:30 PM in Seattle!

As you read this, coolers packed with dry ice, and crates packed with everything from pasta to pepperincinis are zooming northbound at 75 mph in a pickup truck driven by Chrissy and me.  I will post a photo album of our efforts and the resulting dinner table in a couple of weeks that documents the ultimate 1,400 mile RigaTony’s Dinner To-Go. Wish us luck!

In the meantime drinks are on me! I think that’s the only time I’ve ever said that, but come in and celebrate with us anytime through this coming Thursday (Tony and Sally’s wedding day), and I’ll treat you and everyone in your party to a glass of our house Chianti wine or one of our delicious Italian sodas. Two stipulations;  Print out this email for your server, and give a bold toast to Bride and Groom with your libations.

Ciao – Mike

P.S. Don’t forget to join us on Facebook! Click here to join us. Last month we gave away 4 Gift Cards to RigaTony’s top fans on Facebook, more giveaways to come. Like us and be our 1000th fan to win a Tour of RigaTony’s dinner on us!  On your mobile phone: Just text like rigatonys to 32665!

That’s the Way the Cannoli Crumbles

Posted on by
Reply

Greetings Friends,
I’m getting back to you regarding a promise I made earlier this summer. I told you that Chef Hutson and I were working on perfecting a homemade cannoli and I would get back to you sometime later this summer. Well summer ends tomorrow and as promised here is my cannoli announcement, once again proving that I am a man of my word (albeit barely). Cannolis have never been on our menu and I have been scolded for this glaring omission since we opened our doors in 1994. I’ve never been a fan of them as I’ve had so many average to poor ones over the years, but after years of pressure, and an inspirational trip to Mike’s Pastry in Boston we went to work sampling different shell and filling recipes and procedures over the last couple of months. I know… tough work, but someone has to do it!

Its interesting, but I discover again and again that the best recipes are not necessarily complicated but just require using high quality ingredients, careful technique and fresh preparation. I think you will like the results of our labor. So, I would like to invite you to come in anytime in the next three weeks for a complimentary sample of our cannoli. Every few days Chef Hutson will be sampling a new variety; some traditional and some a little off the wall, so it should be fun. These are not on the menu yet and only available to my email friends so as usual you have memorize and quote a code phrase to identify yourself as a privileged cannoli taster.

Your secret phrase is; Mike is cool. No – just kidding. Even I’m sick of that.
The real phrase is; That’s the way the Cannoli crumbles. Say that phrase and every person in your party will be treated to a sample sized cannoli. We will be sampling these through October 13th. Again, extra credit and face time on the web site for originality when you work the phrase into a conversation with a server or manager. Have fun and hope you enjoy! Oh – and here’s a link to a little video of a tasting we did along the way. Hope to see you soon and please feel free to give me some feedback on your experience.

Mike