Caprese Salad – An Italian Classic

The timeless flavor combination of fresh tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and fresh basil sprigs forms the backbone for this delicate salad that’s really more of a meal than a starter!

The keys to a caprese salad are fresh ingredients and the right dressing. We make our mozzarella fresh in-house every day. Added to fresh, vine-ripened tomatoes and fresh sprigs of basil, we finish this “salad” with our house-made garlic balsamic vinaigrette.

A specialty of the house!

Suggested Drink Pairings – Enjoy a caprese salad with a glass of Wine Guerrilla Zinfandel or a bottle of Red Stripe Jamaican Lager.

Livornese: Grown-Up Spaghetti-O’s?

Okay, so technically it’s “Calamari alla Livornese,” but since this is the only dish we prepare in this style, you can find it on the YABO menu under “Livornese!” In Italian cooking, livornese-style dishes are usually centered around seafood. Fish, shrimp, or squid are sautéed with herbs and then served in a tomato sauce.

For our spin on this Tuscany staple food, we start with fresh calamari and sauté it in a blend of olive oil and garlic. Once the calamari is tender, it comes off the pan and right into a bowl, where it’s smothered in our spicy roasted garlic and tomato arrabbiata sauce.

This dish is easily one of our most popular opening acts! Come by and try it for happy hour or as the start to your delicious YABO dinner.

Suggested Drink Pairings – Try the Livornese with a glass of Carchelo “C” wine or a pint of one of our craft-brewed India Pale Ales.

 

Photo by Sean Ocean | www.sean-ocean.com

Simple, Sophisticated Italian

Spaghetti alle Vongole (or just “Vongole,” as we call it here at YABO), is an extremely popular dish throughout most of central Italy. In the Campani region, especially, vongole is a staple dish in traditional Neapolitan cuisine.

We start with oil and garlic, salt and crushed red pepper in a hot pan. As the flavors start to blend, locally-harvested Pine Island clams and chopped clams are added along with fresh basil and parsley. A dollop of our parmesan cream sauce in the pan rounds out the cooking process. This delicious mixture is piled on top of warm linguine and covered in your choice of red sauce, white sauce, or “YABO Style” in a cajun cream sauce.

This dish has been on the menu here at YABO for years! Come by and try it this September.

Suggested Drink Pairings – Try the Vongole with a glass of C.H. Berres “Impulse” Riesling or with a pint of Stella Artois Belgian Lager.

The Ultimate Chicken Dish

Our Rock-N-Rollo Pollo is a YABO original, coming directly from the culinary creativity of Owner/Chef Ryan Kida. In fact, the Rock-N-Rollo  has been a staple on the YABO menu since we started this thing way back in 2006. You might remember it as “Pollo Chole” on the old menu.

This dish starts with a generous breast of chicken perfectly sauteed then topped with crispy pancetta (Italian bacon), smoky provolone cheese, cherry tomatoes and rich demi-glace. We serve up this tasty dish with a side of vegetables and our housemade mashed potatoes. Stop by this month and enjoy the Rock-N-Rollo Pollo!

Suggested Drink Pairings – Try the Rock-N-Rollo Pollo with a glass of Plungerhead Zinfandel or with a pint of our own YABO Red American Ale.

Pork Chop – Simple But Effective

It could be argued that barbecuing is the oldest culinary art in the world. A fresh piece of meat cooked over an open flame, on a grill top or in the oven has been satisfying appetites for centuries. And while there is a lot that can be done to “dress-up” something as simple as a pork chop, we thought it better to let the meat speak for itself.

Pork is a versatile meat that can be prepared in so many ways. We take a generous cut of tenderloin and cook it to perfection. Topped with creamy goat cheese for texture and a tangy raspberry chipotle sauce for just a bit of tang, the flavor of the meat is allowed to shine through.

 

Suggested Drink Pairings – Try the Pork Chop with a glass of Gunsight Rock Cabernet Sauvignon or a pint of Yuengling American Lager.

Rigatoni Bolognese – A Comfort Food Classic

Coming to your plate all the way from the town of Bologna, Italy, bolognese sauce has been an Italian comfort food classic since at least the mid-18th Century. Just like the Italian artisans of old, we don’t take any shortcuts with our meaty bolognese sauce. It’s a complex recipe that involves a variety of different cooking techniques. But we think you’ll agree that the outcome is worth the work!

We serve up our traditional, Old World-style bolognese with tender rigatoni pasta. Then we top it off with a generous scoop of creamy ricotta impastata cheese.

 

Suggested Drink Pairings – Try the Rigatoni Bolognese with a glass of our Carchelo C Wine or with a pint of Fat Tire Amber Ale.