La Tradizionale
Wednesday, November 7, 2007; 7 p.m.
900 Seventh Ave., near 57th St., Manhattan

Come feast with celebrated food raconteur Arthur Schwartz at La Tradizionale, one of his favorite Italian restaurants—newly opened by his friend Shelly Fireman, the genius restaurateur behind Trattoria dell'Arte, Fiorello Café, Bond 45, Red Eye Grill and Brooklyn Diner.

You'll indulge in a delicious Italian menu prepared by Chef Shane Cash while Arthur introduces the food and wine and chats with the group.

Bene will provide goodie bags of Italian products.
$140 a person (incl. tax, gratuity & drinks); be sure to book tickets soon, as spaces are limited. To reserve, contact Lina Perl: Lina@benemag.com or 212-717-6380 (ext 104).

The Menu
A salad with shrimp and crabmeat, Shane's famous ricotta gnocchi with brown butter and sage, a choice of swordfish prepared Sicilian style (from Arthur's upcoming southern Italian cookbook) or braised short ribs, a specialty of Shane's.

For dessert, Mamma's Bowl is an Italian style chocolate sundae -- chocolate gelato, chocolate biscotti, and hazelnut-chocolate sauce (gianduia) that will be dramatically blended and served tableside.

Together with New York "Food Maven" Arthur Schwartz and his good friend Baronessa Cecilia Bellelli Baratta, who will fly in from Italy, Bene is celebrating the opening of Arthur Avenue legend Roberto Paciullo's new restaurant, Trattoria Zero Otto Nove. On Wednesday, November 17, we will meet in Bronx's Little Italy at the Trattoria at 7 PM, to savor real Salernitana pizza baked in Paciuallo's imported wood-burning oven, baked pasta, meatballs, baccala with potatoes, stuffed vegetables and of course, wine.

To reserve, contact Lina Perl
212-717-6380, ext 104
Lina@benemag.com
$95 a person (incl. tax, gratuity & drinks)

Friuli-Venezia Giulia is Italy's white grape bastion, producing an extensive repertoire of both indigenous and international varieties. Surprisingly, Friuli also possesses a healthy relationship with red varietals, and international favorites Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot more than hold their own with the native reds. Enter this discovery zone and find an all-around performer that plays both its whites and reds well...

Bene staffers are already salivating over the newest dessert in town. GROM, a gelato shop hailing from Turin, has long been a favorite in Italy. Featuring Italian flavors like stracciatella and nutella, GROM will celebrate its brand new Upper West Side location on May 5th from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. All guests will receive a free scoop to mark the occasion.

Chef Marco Canora and sommelier Paul Grieco have already graced New York with the casual elegance their East Village restaurant, Hearth. But now their teamwork has produced a new restaurant in midtown, fittingly called, Insieme, or together in Italian. Housed in the Hotel Michelangelo, Insieme offers a two menus- one featuring traditional dishes and Canora's family recipes, and the other adding a new spin to Italian cuisine. The 75-seat restaurant, which opened April 16, is open for dinner through the end of the month with lunch service beginning in May.

The second edition of the RomeFilmFest will be held from October 18th to 27th in the Rome Auditorium, along with screenings at movie theatres and events held around the city. The festival will feature twenty-two Italian and international premieres, fourteen of which will make up the official competition of the RomeFilmFest. There will be a retrospective of the Actors Studio, one of the world's best acting schools, as well as an acting workshop. The featival will also take an up-close look at some of today's most important actors and filmmakers and feature talks by great actors and directors.

LUXURYfiles, an international bilingual quarterly magazine, will be the festival's International Partner and will publish a special edition to cover the Fest, complete with exclusive interviews and features. Twenty thousand copies of the edition (publication date: October 17, 2007), will be given to all the attending guests and celebrities. The magazine will also be distributed at restaurants, bars, hotels, theaters, boutiques and night clubs around Rome. LUXURYfiles enjoys a wide circulation in Italy and around the world. www.luxuryfiles.com

Owners Alexandra Degiorio and Vito Polosa invite you into their "home-away-from-home" to celebrate Sundays with friends and neighbors over rustic Italian dishes and table wine. Choose from a three-course prix fixe menu, while being serenaded by Daniel Garcia's classical guitar. Monday morning's commute will seem worlds away.

Once a month, bar manager and Italian wine expert Eric Leskovar charms curious guests with his wine knowledge at special tastings. Fine wines from Italy's wine regions are paired with antipasti, creating combinations that are sure to satisfy.