Via Matta
79 Park Plaza
Boston, MA 02116
617-422-0008
Via Matta, nestled in Park Square, brings the cuisine of Piedmont, Tuscany, Liguria and Emilia Romagna regions to Boston’s Back Bay via a seasonal, creative and unpredictable menu that takes its cues from the day, the season, the tides and the chef’s daily disposition.
With a warm, mosaic tiled caffe that serves dinner until 1:00am, a convivial bar that manages to be both spacious and cozy, a seasonal outdoor patio and an elegantly graceful dining room, Via Matta, has the perfect space for whatever you’re in the mood for.
Enjoy F.A.M.E. at Via Matta
Extend your fifteen minutes of fame into an entire evening at Via Matta.
Via Matta Hosts Vino da Tavolo
Via Matta revives its Vino da Tavolo series on Monday, February 22nd with a culinary foray into Italy's northernmost ...
Via Matta Gets F.A.M.E-ous
The folks at Via Matta once again prepare to throw their doors open to Boston's most fabulous with the ...
Mike Pagliarini
Chef at Via Matta
Though Chef Mike Pagliarini would likely say his culinary roots are in Umbria, where until recently his relatives had a lentil farm in a hilltop town near Perugia, the source of his love of food and cooking is a bit more multi-faceted.
Pagliarini learned what it means to cook from his mother, who regularly used her talents in the kitchen to fill their house with warmth and love. To this day, there's almost always something on the stove and he'd rather turn on the oven to warm the house than turn up the thermostat.
He learned how to eat from the French during his time as a student in Paris and as an English teacher in the northern town of Douai. While traveling throughout France, Spain, and Italy he explored the street markets and wine bars and discovered the leisure of an afternoon table and the ceremony of an evening meal.
Actually learning how to cook proved to be the most difficult component of Pagliarini's culinary education. He studied at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, graduating in December of 2000. Serendipity brought him to Hamersley's Bistro where he secured an externship (he actually followed the produce delivery into the restaurant and began working). From there he landed his first full-time kitchen job as Garde-Manger at Radius. During his two years in the kitchen with Chef Michael Schlow he was pushed beyond his limits. Yet this was only the beginning.
After scaling a few peaks at Radius, a few twists and turns led him to Chicago, where he met Henry Adania, owner of Trio, which had an incredible reputation for developing new talent. Adania had just hired a former Sous Chef from The French Laundry to run his kitchen. Pagliarini did a stage with Chef Grant Achatz and spent the next two years working in his highly disciplined, meticulously organized kitchen.
A trip to London and Paris in the summer of 2003 proved quite significant. Not only did he stage with Heston Blumenthal, Chef of the Michelin three starred restaurant The Fat Duck, but he and his wife Pam got engaged after a fine meal on the Isle-St.-Louis.
Having decided that they wanted to move back to the East Coast, Pagliarini headed back into the kitchen at Radius where Schlow was looking for a Sous Chef - though for a prolonged moment, a move to Umbria and a life farming lentils was equally appealing. In the fall of 2007, Via Matta needed a Chef and Pagliarini could hardly turn down the opportunity. The farm in Umbria will have to wait - though there are Umbrian lentils on the duck dish.
- Aïoli
- 1. noun A blend of ail (garlic) and oli (oil) in the parlance of the Provence region of southern France. Around here, we'd call it a garlic mayonnaise.
- Chiffonade
- 1. noun Vegetables cut in thin strips or shreds.
- Confit
- 1. noun Meat (usually goose, duck or pork) that is slowly cooked in its own fat and preserved with the fat packed around it as a seal.
- Crostini
- 1. noun The Italian word for "little toasts" (referring to bread, not grappa).
- Deglaze
- 1. noun To dissolve the remaining bits of sautéed or roasted food in (a pan or pot) by adding a liquid and heating. The resultant mixture often becomes a base for a sauce to accompany the food cooked in the pan.
- Gourmand
- 1. noun A person who appreciates eating and drinking, sometimes to excess.
- Infuse
- 1. noun The flavor extracted from herbs, spices, tea or coffee by steeping them in boiling water. The liquid derived from the process of infusing is also called an infusion.
- Insalata
- 1. noun Italian for salad.
- Jus
- 1. noun French for juice, jus also refers to the unthickened juices from a piece of roasted meat.
- Lemongrass
- 1. noun A lemon-scented herb used liberally in Thai cooking.
- Nori
- 1. noun An edible, dark green seaweed frequently used in Japanese cooking for wrapping sushi.
- Pancetta
- 1. noun Cured Italian bacon.
- Panna cotta
- 1. noun Italian egg custard.
- Pâté
- 1. noun Ground meat, fish or vegetables blended with fat and seasonings; can be smooth or chunky, served cold or hot.
- Pâte
- 1. noun French for dough, paste or batter.
- Pesto
- 1. noun An Italian sauce traditionally made with basil, olive oil, garlic, pine nuts and Romano and Parmesan cheeses.
- Pistou
- 1. noun The French version of pesto, a mixture of basil, garlic and olive oil.
- Polenta
- 1. noun A slow-cooked cornmeal porridge popular in northern Italy; can be served soupy or firm, sometimes fried.
- Poussin
- 1. noun A small, young chicken.
- Roulade
- 1. noun A French term for a thin roll of meat or cake around savory or sweet fillings.
- Salsify
- 1. noun A root vegetable with oyster-flavored flesh.
- Semolina
- 1. noun Very coarse flour used to make pizza and bread. Also refers to rounded parts of wheat used to make a pudding of the same name.
- Skate
- 1. noun Firm, white and sweet-tasting, the wings of this kite-shaped fish are showing up on more and more menus.
- Tagliatelle
- 1. noun What they call fettuccine born in northern Italy.
- Tartare
- 1. noun Ground or finely chopped, seasoned raw meat (traditionally beef). May or may not come mounded, and with a raw egg.
- Verjus
- 1. noun Sour liquid made from unripe fruit; used to flavor sauces and condiments.
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