Chef Spotlight
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
Wild for Cinghiale
Chef Julian Marucci
It starts with the name:
Cinghiale. Say it a couple
of times (ching-GYAH-lay)
and let your smile light
up. That’s the smile of
delight, the same smile
that comes with your first
sip of crisp white wine
and last bite of delicious
Northern Italian cuisine.
Cinghiale is Italian
for wild boar, practically the mascot of
Northern Italy. And that’s perfect for a
place that aims to bring the style and flavors of Northern Italy to Baltimore. That
means wild game, pork, salami, cheese,
seasonal vegetables, plenty of great wine
and, most of all, plenty of smiles.
Cinghiale is ideal for the traveler,
who can usually find a seat at the bar
(where dining is encouraged) or one of
70 other seats in the “Enoteca.”
“It’s really important to me to have
a comfortable bar,” says Tony Fore-
man, who is, with Cindy Wolf, half of
the Baltimore dynamo
that added Cinghiale to
its stable of restaurants
a little more than three
years ago.
Foreman works hard at delineating
not just the major regions of Italy but
the villages inside those regions.
“Wine is about place,” he says.
“That’s what’s fun to learn. And
it’s about people. That’s what’s fun
to share.”
In the bar, or in the “Osteria” (din-
ing room), the logical pairing for Fore-
man’s wines are plates of prosciutto,
speck with pickled forest mushrooms
or mortadella with preserved ramps.
Or let chef Julian Marucci slice up an
assorted plate of cured meats. The
salumeria is right in the bar so you can
watch him work.
On the regular menu you’ll find, for
first courses, risotto, gnocchi, pap-pardelle, house-made spaghetti and
more, prepared with seasonal accompaniments from local farmers who’ve
been with the Foreman-Wolf team
for years. Main courses might bring
roasted halibut, duck, steak, veal,
lamb or rabbit.
“I personally don’t have a favor-
ite dish,” says Marucci. “I change the
menu so often things come and go with
the season. I love change, I think that’s
one of things that excite a lot of diners
who come to Cinghiale.”
Come by yourself or with a group.
Have a plate of salami and a glass of
wine in the Enoteca or grab a bottle and
move into the Osteria.
Cinghiale, Foreman says, can be
whatever you want it to be. And the
smile is always on the house.
Cinghiale
822 Lancaster St.
Baltimore
410-547-8282
cgeno.com
