5 Things You Need to Know Today

Two New Year's Eve Dinners in Winchester

A Tavola and Lucia Ristorante are both featuring special New Year's Eve menus tonight.

Today is New Year’s Eve, Monday, Dec. 31. Here are five things you need to know: 1.) A Tavola is offering a special New Year’s Eve prix-fixe dinner menu tonight (attached). The dinner is $65 per person (tax and gratuity not included). For reservations, call 781-729-1040. 2.) Lucia Ristorante is also having a special menu tonight, with favorites like lobster ravioli, vongole e calamari fritti and veal chop valdostana, as well as comfort foods like chestnut and lentil soup and osso buco. For reservations, call 781-729-0515. 3.) In case you missed Sunday’s news, keep an eye out for Marisol. 4.) Looking to try something new? Check out this recipe for “Easy Peasy Cheesy Potato Casserole.” 5.) Today should be mostly sunny with a high near 33, …

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A Tavola, Best New Restaurant of 2011, Makes Plans for 2012

Vittorio Ettore's new venture, A Tavola, was recently named among the best new restaurants of 2011 by the Boston Globe Magazine. Now, Ettore looks forward to 2012.

A Tavola had only been open three weeks when it was named one the best new restaurants of 2011 by the Boston Globe Magazine in mid-November. Today, after six weeks of running his newest restaurant, chef Vittorio Ettore reflected back on the restaurant’s beginnings and looked ahead to a new year. Ettore was harried last week during the run up to New Year’s Eve, when he was expecting full houses in both A Tavola and his original restaurant, Bistro 5. On Tuesday, after things had calmed down a bit, Ettore said New Year’s Eve went very well. “We were really busy in both places, but the good kind of busy,” Ettore said, meaning the restaurants were full but not so crowded that customers couldn’t get the level of service he likes to give. Ettore …

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Chat Transcript: A Tavola Owner Gives Thanksgiving Cooking Tips

Vittorio Ettore talks about cooking and his new restaurant in Winchester.

The owner of Bistro 5 Restaurant in West Medford will answer your holiday cooking questions and more from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesday. Vittorio Ettore is the chef at highly-acclaimed Bistro 5 in West Medford and is just opened a a new restaurant, A Tavola, in Winchester. To participate in the chat, just type a question into the text box. And don't forget to use your name to help us distinguish who's talking during this dialogue. Patch will moderate the conversation. If you can't stay for the whole chat or would like to go over the dialogue again, a transcript will be posted. Sign up for an email reminder (above) and submit a question early for the chat by emailing Medford editor Jarret Bencks. (This chat is being shared on Winchester Patch…

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Join Bistro 5's Vittorio Ettore for a Live Chat Tuesday

Chef of West Medford's Bistro 5 will be a special guest for a Patch live chat Tuesday to talk Thanksgiving recipes and more.

Local Chef Vittorio Ettore will be a guest for a live chat on Medford Patch at 1 p.m. Tuesday to talk Thanksgiving recipe tips and more. Ettore is the chef at highly-acclaimed Bistro 5 in West Medford and is preparing to opening a new restaurant, A Tavola, in Winchester. The chat starts at 1 p.m. Tuesday and will last about an hour, so stop by with some questions

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Parsons Table Shutting its Doors This Week

Parsons Table closes on Saturday and a new restaurant, A Tavola, is set to open in the same space on Nov. 22.

The restaurant changeover at 34 Church Street is nearly complete. Parsons Table will officially close this Saturday, Nov. 12. A Tavola will open in the same space on November 22. Chris Parsons, owner of Parsons Table, sent out an email to customers last week announcing the restaurant will close for good on Saturday. Last Friday, Parsons learned he might be forced to close a day or two earlier than that, due to the transfer of his liquor license. As of yesterday, Parsons did not know whether his last day would be Thursday, Friday, or Saturday. He hopes Parsons Table can stay open until Saturday but added, if they have to close earlier, at least they’ve had nearly two months to say goodbye and thank you to their customers. Reservations for …

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A Tavola Will Bring Eclectic Italian Cuisine to Winchester

Vittorio Ettore, owner of Bistro 5 in West Medford, plans to open a new restaurant in the current Parsons Table space in mid-November.

If you’re already missing Parsons Table, which is closing this month, don’t fret too much: Vittorio Ettore, owner of Bistro 5 in West Medford, is moving in. Ettore’s new restaurant will be A Tavola, Italian for “at the table,” and is expected to open at 34 Church St. in mid-November. Ettore describes A Tavola as “farm-to-table eclectic Italian.” The feel will be a bit more casual and rustic than Bistro 5, but with a continued focus on fresh, local ingredients. Ettore will bring cooking techniques from his native Italy to foods found here in the United States and will also add his own twists to the cuisine. Though he is still working out the full menu, he knows there will be two signature dishes. One is a whole roasted pig, an Italian …

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