Join us for a book club with a twist. Discuss characters and narratives over food and wine inspired by plot lines. We’re kicking off the series with a Tuscan themed dinner drawn from the pages of Andrew Cotto’s “Cucina Tipica: An Italian Adventure”

When disheartened American Jacoby Pines arrives in Italy on vacation, he has no idea that a family photograph from the previous century would start a search for ancestry through the streets of Florence and the hills of Tuscany.

Jacoby’s quest includes encounters with a septuagenarian ex-pat, an elusive heiress in hiding, a charming Australian museum guide, a Pearl Jam-crazed artisan shoemaker, malevolent hunters, a needy border collie and one very large wild boar. Along the way there are magnificent, wine-soaked meals at every turn and immersion in the sensory splendor and la dolce vita of Il Bel Paese.

Your ticket includes a copy of the novel, a Q&A with Andrew Cotto*, and a four-course dinner featuring:

Appetizers:

Individual charcuterie board with Pecorino Toscano DOP, Prosciutto Toscano DOP and schiacciata all’uva

Panzanella salad

First Course

Pappardelle with wild boar ragu

Main Course:

Bistecca alla Fiorentina with roasted vegetables and fragrant stewed chickpeas

Dessert:

Zuccotto

**Wine available for purchase or bring your own and pay a corkage fee

*Andrew Cotto is an award-winning author and regular contributor to The New York Times. He has also written for La Cucina Italiana, Parade, Rolling Stone, Men’s Journal, AARP, Italy magazine and more. Andrew has an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School. He lives in Brooklyn, NY.