Aroma Kitchen Winebar Selects Workhouse Publicity



Workhouse Publicity announced that it has been selected by Aroma Kitchen & Wine bar as the Agency of Record for U.S. marketing and domestic publicity.

Aroma Kitchen & Wine bar is a new Italian restaurant intent on taking guests to refreshing levels of Italian food and wine enjoyment. Located next to the Bowery Bar in the East Village at 36 E. 4th Street between Bowery and Lafayette, Aroma feels like a secret wine bar in Rome. From the moment Alexandra Degiorgio greets you at the door, to the first scent of wine selected by Vito Polosa, to the taste of that first bite of Chef Chris Daly s cuisine, visitors to Aroma experience the unexpected bonus of fine dining in a casual, honest environment.

The kitchen turns out Italian cuisine with surprisingly big flavors. It's classically trained chef prepares regional Italian food with a sharp focus on local ingredients. The wine list includes over 100 Italian wines, divided by region, including an extensive "by the glass" program. With seats comfortable enough for dining at the bar, two dining booths in the back and sidewalk seating, the restaurant seats 30.

To schedule an Aroma tasting or an interview with owners Alexandra Degiorgio & Vito Polosa or Chef Chris Daly, interested media should contact the Workhouse Publicity CEO, Adam Nelson, directly by telephone 212. 645. 8006.

2005-2006 MENU
Inspired by New York s seasons, Chef Daly s menu is influenced by a different region of Italy in Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter and reflects his understanding of healthy eating. His winter 2005 menu focuses on Tuscan dishes, emphasizing warming risotto rather than pasta. He lightens his signature dishes as the seasons change, relying on locally available produce from the Union Square Greenmarket and upstate New York, near where he grew up.

This spring 2006, he ll be cooking with fresh white asparagus, bright green fava beans, spring peas and hand-harvested wild arugula and braising greens. The menu moves further south in Italy as the weather in New York heats up.

Summer will bring Sicilian and Sardinian flavors: spicy green olive oil, eggplant and tomato. You won t see tomatoes on the pasta in winter at Aroma. We wait until they are coming from Long Island or New Jersey, says Daly.

This summer, he ll be cooking with heirloom Italian tomatoes from the Hudson Valley and tristar strawberries with 100-year-old Balsamic vinegar. Daly s cooking relies on beautifully balanced flavors; sweet and savory, spicy when you least expect it, and wonderful textures, crunchy balanced with smooth and rich flavors.

The fresh pastas are made in-house. They include black pepper straccetti with a ragu of meaty wild mushrooms and gratin of gnocchi with swiss chard, fontina and nutmeg béchamel. Signatures include: braised duck salad with baby frisee, poached egg, pancetta and walnut oil, double lamb with mustard caponata and 28-year old balsamic vinegar and monkfish with sardinian fregola paella in lobster broth.

All desserts are made in and include pomegranate sorbet with florentine cookies and white chocolate, signature new york style cheesecake, with poached dried fruits, brandied cherries and hot fudge sauce and a decadent chocolate mocha cake with walnut and peanut butter pesto. Vito is also available to suggest the appropriate dessert wines to match.

ATMOSPHERE
Aroma is a study in contrasts: The urban/rustic interior features exposed brick, a dark wood bar with natural edges juxtaposed with mirrors framed with brushed steel. The room is softly lit by both contemporary chandeliers and flickering candles.

Brought together by their shared passion for food, wine and entertaining, owners Degiorgio and Polosa are both as active behind the scenes as they are in front of the house. Alexandra, a native of Malta, was formerly a consultant for American Management Systems (AMS), an international information technology firm. Vito, from Potenza, Italy (just South of Naples) has extensive experience in service as waiter, head waiter or manager at such NYC restaurants as Fiamma, Da Silvano, Bice and Il Gattopardo.

Polosa and Degiorgio found their perfect counterpart and match in executive chef Christopher Daly. Trained at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA), Daly has bicoastal experience. His CIA externship was in the kitchen of Jean-Francois Mettingmer at L Orangerie in Los Angeles, he was chef de partie for Thomas Keller at Checkers in LA, and taught at the Los Angeles International Culinary Institute alongside world-renowned classic cooking expert, Raymond Hoffmeister. In New York, he was executive chef at West Broadway Restaurant Gallery Bar in Soho, The Edwardian Room at the Plaza Hotel, and co-created the progressive American restaurant, Bellew. In 2000, Daly founded HIP4Kids, Hospitality Industry Professionals for Kids (www.hip4kids.org), a New-York based non-profit initiative to spotlight his concern for obesity in children and to teach kids good eating habits in a fun way.

HOURS
Aroma is also open for Brunch, Saturday and Sunday from noon to 3:30 P.M. Italian variations on the standards take brunch to the next level: Polenta waffles with Amaretto syrup and crispy pancetta; wild boar bacon BLT with olive oil potato chips and desserts such as Nutella brioche and Arborio rice pudding with poached fruits as well as aperitifs such as tangerine mimosa, and white peach bellini. Aroma is open for dinner Tuesday-Thursday, 6 P.M. 8211; 12 A.M., Friday-Saturday 6 P.M.-2 A.M. Brunch Saturday-Sunday from noon to 3:30 P.M. Aroma is located at 36 E. 4th Street between Bowery and Lafayette. For more information call 212-375-0100.





Aroma Kitchen Winebar Selects Workhouse Publicity