We are into our second week of new weekly specials and I thought that I would take a minute to talk about them. The Chefs and I feel as though we captured a good balance on this menu with meatless options, game, and wonderful seafood.

On Monday we are featuring our take on Eggplant Parmigiana served with a baby kale Caesar salad. First, we crisply fry the eggplant (just like we do for eggplant sandwich on the menu), and from there we layer it with an herbed ricotta cheese and pomodoro sauce, which is a rustic and chunky style tomato sauce. We then top it with shredded mozzarella and get it all melty (yes that’s a word…I think?). The baby kale Caesar is made with a vegetarian caesar dressing recipe, so no fish here! It’s tossed with our house made croutons and shaved pecorino romano cheese.

Tuesday’s Bison burger is one of my favorite creations. It’s served on a toasted brioche with gorgonzola aioli, frisee, tomatoes and balsamic onions. We will grill the burger to your liking and serve it with a side of truffle asiago French fries.

Wednesday’s Spanakopita pie was the brain child of Chef Steve. He wanted to make a version of the appetizer that you’d find at parties but bigger. It’s a large wedge of spinach and feta cheese baked inside phyllo dough. It’s served with a creamy parmesan orzo and grilled marinated artichokes. I’m sure it’s going to be crowd pleaser!

Thursday’s special is hoisin braised duck Pad Thai. Hoisin is a Chinese plum sauce that adds a unique sweetness to the dish. We first rub the duck with five spice and let it marinate overnight before we braise it to add another layer of flavor. The Pad Thai comes with rice noodles, scrambled eggs, fresh ginger, Fresno chilies, mung bean sprouts and chopped peanuts. We are also offering a meatless option with tamari grilled tofu if you would prefer that.

The Old Brown Dog marinated Steak tips on Friday have been a customer favorite on our function menu. If you didn’t know, we offer our Lapanza Lounge Monday through Friday for you to host a private event. Anyway, these tips have been on the function menu for years and so many people have asked me why we don’t offer them on our regular menu. Well here they are! We will grill them to your liking and serve them with a leek and cheddar gratin, grilled asparagus and an OBD bourbon demi-glace! I’m sure they are going to be a fan favorite.

Saturday’s special will be the Maple Scallops. The scallops are pan seared with house made bacon lardons and local maple syrup. They are served with a celery root puree, roasted parsnips and local carrots. The dish is finished with some micro arugula to add a bite to the dish.

Lastly, on Sunday we have our chicken cacciatore with black pepper pasta! Chicken cacciatore is a hearty Italian tomato braised stew with local mushrooms, onions, peppers and house made sausage. It’s definitely a comfort food dish! The black pepper pasta is homemade here at the Brewery and gives it that finishing touch.

The Chefs and I are extremely excited about the new specials and we hope to see you here at 56 Market enjoying them.  Stop in today as they will only be running for the next three months!

Chef Jon