Recently published Wine Bar Food: Mediterranean Flavor to Crave with Wines to Match by Cathy and Tony Mantuano offers readers and cooks a look into foods featured in large Mediterranean cities modern wine bars. Wine Bar Food may leave your mouth watering and the desire to create these foods in your own kitchen. Filled with large colorful photos of numerous recipes, the recipes are based on the types of Mediterranean foods found at non-traditional wine bars along the Mediterranean. The book also suggests affordable wine pairings.

Wine Bar Food is divided into chapters based on major European cities including Venice, Milan, Florence, Rome, Barcelona, Nice and Lisbon. Recipes include Marinated Olives, Prosciutto with Grana, Shaved Artichokes and Hearts of Palm, Onion Bread Soup, Rice Balls Stuffed with Lamb Spinach and Cheese, White Asparagus Salad and Catalonian Pizza. Many of the recipes use ingredients that are quite easy to find here in the United States although resources are listed for hard to find ingredients.

Wine Bar Food is delightful in its presentation of Mediterranean foods and wines. Many food and wine lovers would enjoy having this book in their collection.

The Mantuanos own the prestigious Chicago restaurant, Spiaggia. They are opening Enoteca Spiaggia in Miami in Fall 2008. They write in the Introduction: “Creating flavorful menus and pairing them with great wine is our work and our passion.” Wine Bar Food represents their passion.