Throwing a Holiday Party? We Can Help!

It is almost that time of the year when everyone gets together to celebrate the holidays. And whether it is a large corporate office party or a family dinner, Pizzeria Prima Strada on Bridge Street can help!

With a holiday menu available, booking an amazing party is as easy as telling us how many people are coming on what day. Let us take care of the rest. The menu offers two different price options and is available for groups of 8 or more. Also, our Bridge Street location features long family-style dining tables making it comfortable for large groups to sit together.

If you are interested in booking a holiday party with Prima Strada please email Andrew@primastrada.com for availability and menu options. Grazie!

Umbria Candlelight Long Table Dinner Recap

Wow the last couple days have been fun, am I right? For those of you lucky enough to get a spot at our coveted Long Table Dinner the last two nights I want to start by saying thank you! You were all absolutely wonderful people to have at the dinner and made our romantic ambiance very enjoyable.
The region of the month was Umbria and the food was phenomenal. Also, in cooperation with BC Hydro, we reduced our energy consumption and lit the dining room with only candles!
To kick off the dinner, we started with a Piatto di Salumi. On the plate was house-made bread and butter pickles, oven roasted roma tomatoes, house-made dried fig mostarda, house-made quince paste, spicy cappicollo and lomo from Choux-Choux Charcuterie, with lardo salami and cacciatore from The Whole Beast. A good salumi plate really is a thing of beauty. Paired with this lovely mix of goodies was the wine Est!Est!!Est!!! Di Montefiascone by Falesco. A great wine with a great name!
Next on the menu was what most people considered to be the best dish of the night, the Trota e Funghi. It was an elegant presentation of rainbow trout with chanterelle mushrooms and fingerling potatoes. Served with the trout was a white wine some loyal customers might remember, the Orvieto Classico from Ruffino.

The third course was a Minestra di Farro, which is a house cured ham and spelt stew complete with braising greens. A nice hearty dish for the cold weather outside. It was paired with a wonderful Merlot by Falesco.
And last, but certainly not least, dolci! The dessert of the evening was a Zuccotto which is a sponge cake dome soaked in liqueur and filled with chocolate and hazelnut ice cream. And yes, it is as delicious as it sounds.
Next month will be our last Long Table Dinner of 2011 as we will not be doing one in December. But have no fear, we saved one of the best regions for last. The November Long Table Dinner Series region will be Tuscany! Known for its great wine and amazing food, it will surely be a great meal. Also, because we want to showcase some of the outstanding wines Tuscany has to offer, November's dinner will cost $60 before tax/tip. To book your place for the Tuscany Long Table please email longtable@primastrada.com. Grazie!

Best Staff Party Ever!

I want to start off this post by thanking Cristen and Geoffrey Dallas for throwing such an amazing staff party! Every member of the PPS team had a great time and it was fun to see everyone together outside of work. Thank you again.The party began with a little socializing at Bridge St. The team suited up in some Prima Strada baseball t-shirts and started mingling. Thanks to some Driftwood beers and the guys at Puerto Vallarta Amigos serving up some Mexican fare, the soiree started on the right foot. After having our fill we all hopped on a bus and headed down to Sidney for some five pin laser bowling! All in all, the night was wonderful. Bowling with buddies is the best way to spend an evening! To see more photos of the evening please check out our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pizzeriaprimastrada

Sardegna Long Table Recap!

Although it is hard to believe that it's the last week of September already, this month's Long Table Dining Series has come and gone. If you are unfamiliar with what the Long Table Series is, I'm going to break it down for you.
On the last Wednesday and Thursday of every month at Bridge Street we host a four course meal accompanied with three wine pairings all focused on a particular region of Italy. The tables seat 24 guests and reservations are a must (to reserve email longtable@primastrada.com). The entire thing is reasonably priced at $50/person (not including tax/tip) and is a great way to meet some new adventurous people! Who wouldn't like to enjoy a dinner with guys like Mark and Jean, who were at last night's Long Table.

This month's region of choice was Sardegna, one of Italy's Mediterranean islands. To begin the night, diners were treated to an Insalata Pomodoro with heirloom tomato, shaved percorino, red wine vinaigrette, basil, and red onion. I managed to snap a photo of Andrew bringing one over to the table before it was devoured. This course was paired with a Cannonau di Sardegna from Santa Maria la Bombarde.

Next on the menu was Calamari Ripieni, which is squid stuffed with anchovy, breadcrumbs, pecorino, garlic, and parsley served with salsa verde. For this course the wine was Vermetino di Sardegna from Argiolas.
And just like the rest of Italy, Sardinians love their pasta. The calamari was followed by a hand made Malloreddus, which is a saffron pasta with sausage and tomato sauce. The sausage was gorgeous, with a slight hint of orange flavour coming through. The chefs work hard to get the pasta to the table while guests sip on a Montessu from Argicola Punica.

And what meal would be complete without a little something sweet? To finish off the night, diners indulged in some Torta di Mandorle which is an almond cake with a berry compote.

Are you left feeling like you missed out? Have no fear because the Long Table Dining Series happens every month! Next month's region will be Umbria and will be held on October 26th and 27th at Bridge Street. (Insider tip: Oct. 27th will also be our Conservation Candlelight Dinner with BC Hydro. We will be conserving energy by lighting the room by candles!) It is bound to fill up quickly so once you know are committed to attending email longtable@primastrada.com to reserve your spot! Hope to see you soon!

Why can't every weekend be Rifflandia?

Those people who made it to the four day festival know exactly what I'm talking about. We proved that there's more to Vancouver Island than giant trees and beautiful beaches. There are also a lot of seriously cool people who love to have a great time! It made me proud to be an Islander and I couldn't be happier that Prima Strada sponsored such an amazing event.

The Prima Strada mobile pizza oven was a part of the action at Royal Athletic Park. We were perfectly sandwiched between WannaWafel and Pig (not bad, right?) and had an unobstructed view of the mainstage! After Kurt, Matt and I got the tent set up, the sun broke through. (I actually heard someone asking for sunscreen!) It was the ultimate weekend for an outdoor festival in Victoria.

Of course, many people took the opportunity to dine al fresco. What could be better than listening to Mother Mother and eating a Margherita?

A couple lucky Facebook and Twitter followers got a free Prima Strada bandana. Check out Bridge Street regular Chris rocking his bandana in the beer garden. Looking good, Chris!

The best part about Rifflandia was that there were so many different venues. Although the usual haunts hosted concerts, this was my first time going to the Phillips Brewery for a concert and it was amazing! I got there just in time to see KO put on an amazing show for the near capacity stage/loading dock set up. And for a day that started off pouring rain, Sunday quickly became my favourite. The sea of afternoon partiers grooved to De La Soul as a final farewell to Rifflandia. The worst part is that I'm already looking forward to Rifflandia 5. Only 364 days and counting! See you all there!

Summer events

As the weather turns warm, Black Beauty is excited to make appearances all about town. Here is a short list of events for the month of May:

May 01 - Averil Creek Winery opening day

May 22-23- Victoria Highland Games

May 29 - Selkirk Waterfront Festival

May 30- Defending Our Backyard

Be sure to book these days off on your calendar. More exciting events coming soon!

Want to book your own event with Black Beauty? Call the Events Hotline @ 250-590-4388 or email andrew@primastrada.com.

Bridge Street excitement!

Hello faithful blog followers,

This past weekend, we kicked the first of many fabulous events at Bridge Street with a wonderful wedding reception. Our guests were treated to lovely food, great service and a chic and intimate venue to share their special day. It was a total success! This week we've got our grand opening on Saturday for everyone to check out the new digs! On April 10th we have a beer makers dinner featuring our Rock Bay neighbors, Driftwood Brewery! Drop by our location at Cook street for details and tickets!

Be the envy of the Victoria scene!

It's time to get creative and start thinking about your spring and summer events with Pizzeria Prima Strada! We are ready to create events you and your guests will be talking about all year!

At Bridge Street we've got a chic and urban space for celebrations - weddings, birthdays and small meetings -to name a few ideas. Best of all, you and your guests will have Pizzeria Prima Strada all to yourselves (imagine the envy)!

Interested in having Prima Strada come to you? Our mobile wood-fired oven is the answer!

Check back soon for even more photos from the new (and nearly finished room)!

To begin planning your event, please contact Andrew: 250-590-4388 or andrew@primastrada.com .

We look to forward to seeing you at the hottest party of the year: yours!