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Chef Maria

Watermark Adds Lunch Service

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Chef Maria has given in to the requests to serve lunch at her Miamisburg eatery. Starting Thursday, November 5th Watermark will begin serving lunch on Thursday and Friday from 11am – 2pm.

She says “the lunch menu will feature many favorites from their dinner and brunch selections, as well as the regularly featured creative and delicious dishes you expect from Watermark!”

The Menu:

Watermark Restaurant

20 S. 1st St

Miamisburg, OH 4534

937-802-0891

Watermark serves lunch:
Thursday from 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Friday from 11:00 am – 2:00 pm

Watermark serves dinner:
Tue – Thu from 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Fri – Sat from 5:00 – 10:00 pm
Sun from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm (Brunch)

The Italian Feast Returns!

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Eric Walusis, co-owner of Watermark in Miamisburg, says they’ve gotten so many request to bring back the Italian Feast that they’ve decided to do it on Tuesday, May 8th at 6:30pm

Inspired by the classic 1996 restaurant movie starring Stanley Tucci and Tony Shalhoub, Watermark invites you to experience the Big Night – complete with the incredible Timpano!  Watch the party guests enjoy it in this clip:  il Timpano  (Note – language alert!)

 

All paired with wonderful Italian wines, from Allied Wines, who will be there to help host the event and answer your questions. This Italian Feast – served in the traditional coursed fashion – is an incredible experience for only $79/pp!

 

Antipasto

Charcuterie Platter Warm olives, grilled vegetables, cured meats, red pepper pipperáde Paired with: Caluso – Erbaluce Fiordighiaccio Erbaluce grapes, cold macerated. Scents of exotic fruit and wild flowers, flavors featuring pineapple, banana and apple. Suitable as an aperitif or with fish.

Primo

Fresh Asparagus Risotto Tender asparagus tossed in our special risotto, with fresh Parmesan Paired with: Vignamato – Versiano Verdicchio 100% Verdicchio grapes bring you lovely golden hues, dry and smooth on the palate. Hints of ripe fruit, peach and apple. Excellent accompanied with pasta, fish, and white meats.

Secondo

Timpano Indescribably delicious pasta crust overstuffed with ‘the most important things in the world’. Paired with: Sapaio – Volpolo Bolgheri A lovely blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, with Merlot & Petit Verdot. Aged in French oak, this wine has an intense ruby color. A nose of black currants and blackberries is framed by toasty oak. Full-bodied with a mixture of dark fruit and spicy vanilla, with a very long finish.

Formaggi e Frutta

Tallegio with fig jam and walnuts, with crisps Paired with: Tenuta Giustini – QVID Primitivo An intense nose of plum, blackberry, and cherry leads to a full and rich experience, fruity with well-integrated tannins.

Dolce

Almond Cake Dusted with powdered sugar, toasted almonds, schmear of chocolate budino, candied orange peel

Digestivo

Limoncello or Sambuca

 

Please note that for this special event, they  are taking reservations by phone only-Please call 937-802-0891! Due to high demand for seating, they will be requiring a credit card hold for all reservations. They expect this event to sell out quickly, so please call for your seat soon! This wonderful Italian Feast will be served banquet style.

Mangia!

Last Call For Nibbles

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Construction of the new Watermark restaurant in downtown Miamisburg is wrapping up and soon they’ll open their doors to the public to serve.

 

Which means that this is the very last week you can dine in Nibbles intimate dining room.

They are still serving the amazingly popular Pork Belly Tacos, New England Shrimp Roll, Fried Green Tomatoes, and Sweet Corn Bisque!

Desserts include Tres Leches Cake, an Intense Dark Chocolate Ganache Torte, and the new (and insanely good) Kona Stout Ice Cream!

Nibbles serves dinner Wed – Sat from 5:00 – 10:00 pm and Chef Maria would like to invite you in for one last meal.

Nibbles  will continue to be the brand name for their catering services and at Watermark you can host private parties in the new PRIVATE ROOM.

You can view the dinner menu HERE.

 

Stanley Tucci’s Big Night Inspires Restaurant Special Event

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Back by popular demand. Chef Maria at Nibbles, located at 105 S. Second St in downtown Miamisburg.hosted this event in the fall and sold it out quickly.  Due to popular demand she’s brought in back again for 2 nights, Tues & Wed, March 21 & 22.

 

Inspired by the classic 1996 restaurant movie starring Stanley Tucci and Tony Shalhoub, Nibbles  invites you to experience the Big Night – complete with the incredible Timpano!  Watch the party guests enjoy it in this clip:  il Timpano  (Note – language alert!)

FIVE DELECTABLE COURSES

All paired with wonderful Italian wines, from  Allied Wines who will be there to help host the event and answer your questions!

Don’t miss it this time!

Antipasto

Charcuterie Platter

Warm olives, grilled vegetables, cured meats, red pepper pipperáde

Paired with: Astraio Viognier

This sur lie wine calls to mind honeysuckle and juniper on the nose, well-balanced with fruit and acidity, a touch of mineral on the finish.

Primo

Fresh Mushroom Risotto A blend of savory mushrooms in our special risotto, with fresh Parmesan

Paired with: Nero d’Avola These wonderful grapes bring you a wine with an ample bouquet, filled with plum, cherry, and spice. Flavors of mushroom and espresso join the exquisite tannins leading to a long finish.

Secondo

Timpano

Indescribably delicious pasta crust overstuffed with ‘the most important things in the world’.

Paired with: Sassabruna An incredible blend of 80% Sangiovese, with Merlot & Syrah. Aromas of ripe red fruit, spice, and licorice compliment a rich, medium-bodied, savory palate with mixed berries and milk chocolate.

Formaggi e Frutta

Tallegio with fig jam and walnuts, with crisps Paired with: Negroamaro Fragrant notes of cherries and coffee lead to flavors of cracked pepper and exotic spice. Chewy tannins and a rich mineral finish.

Dolce

Almond Cake
Dusted with powdered sugar, toasted almonds, schmear of chocolate budino, candied orange peel

Digestivo

Limoncello or Sambuca

Reservations by phone only! (937) 802-0891 This event *WILL* sell out, (Wed is sold out, still a few seats for Tues)  Please reserve your seats as soon as possible! Please note that a credit card hold will be required for all reservations. This special Italian Feast is being served banquet-style. No private tables.

This wonderful Italian Feast will be served banquet style, so we regret that no private tables will be available.

Interested in learning a bit more about the movie (and the food)?
Try these stories:

Bon Appetit Magazine Interviews the Cast of Big Night

Big Night and the American Food Revolution

NIbbles Launches 12th Seasonal Menu

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Right in the center of historic downtown Miamisburg, is a quaint little 800 square foot restaurant run by Chef/Owner Maria Walusis (learn more about her in our DMM 10? interview).  It is also home to Chef Maria’s catering business. Nibbles seats just 35 guests at a time, and features a a new menu with each season. 

Chef Maria  just recently posted Menu # 12.  Highlights include savory fried oysters, Butternut Squash Bisque, a Wedge salad that Chef declares is the best you’ll ever taste, a seared scallop appetizer or goat cheese ravioli and that’s just to get you started!

Entrées will include a Pork Saltimbocca with prosciutto and sage and braised red cabbage, a Pan Seared Cod, Smoked Beef Brisket and a Roasted New Zealand Rack of Lamb

f6c89a39-d92d-433d-8a7a-4577ec3ab364 Dessert will feature the return of the Baked Apple Rosette (pictured left), a Campfire S’mores Cake and a Pumpkin Tart.

If you’d like to dine at Nibbles, reservations are suggested and they are open Thursday – Saturday from 5-10pm.  You’ll find them at 105 S. Second Street, where you can park on the street, and then follow the walkway to the entry around the building.

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10 ? With Chef Maria from Nibbles

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sxou03rnqvukicxc_400After 20 years as a dental hygienist, Maria Walusis decided it was time for a career change.  So she began to apprentice with accomplished chefs from L’Auberge and  Cumin in Cincinnati, restaurants that have since closed.  She launched her catering business about 6 years ago and then in Jan of 2015 she opened the intimate  800 square feet fine dining eatery Nibbles at 105 S. Second Street, which is the former Hamilton Hotel building in historic downtown Miamisburg.  Seating just over 30 guests inside, patio seating doubles the occupancy when weather permits.

Chef Maria shares that she customizes her menus “each season so you can have a unique food experience and not the same old thing you see all the time.”  With the start of summer, she introduces her 11th menu starting with a shrimp roll, fried green tomatoes and lobster hush puppies.  Entrees include her amazing chile relleno, jerk chicken or a tomahawk pork chop. See the full menu here.

 

Chef Maria agreed to take a break from cooking long enough to answer our 10 ?’s interview:

 

Vodka-cured Salmon with Soy Cubes, Yuzu Gelee

Vodka-cured Salmon with Soy Cubes, Yuzu Gelee

What is your favorite ingredient to cook with?    Hard to pick just one!  I love all seafood and there is always a variety of seafood items on our menus!  The current menu has lobster hush puppies!  I am already craving some.

What ingredient do you dread?
Artichokes are a pain in the butt.  They are prickly, and quickly turn a yucky shade of gray. I love to eat them but hesitate to work with them.

What’s your favorite dish to make?
I have a thing for braised meat of any kind. It’s some comforting and homey and smell amazing when cooking and just falls apart with a fork.

What’s your favorite pig out food?
Definitely pizza!  Pizza is amazing and when you want something late at night it’s the way to go!

What restaurant, other than your own do you like to dine at in the Miami Valley? There are so many great places and great chefs here in Dayton!  I like to support all the chefs as much as I can. Favs are Rue Dumaine, Meadowlark, Wheat Penny and Salar!  Very excited about some of the new places coming to Dayton soon like Basils!

Brown Sugar Shortcake with Rhubarb and Candied Ginger

Brown Sugar Shortcake with Rhubarb and Candied Ginger

What’s your best advice for home chefs?  Cook! Cook! Cook!   Read cookbooks and study and just cook. Try  new things and have fun creating.

If you could invite any 4 guests to a dinner party who would they be and why?
I would invite all the local chefs who could get away from their restaurants!  We all work so hard and its difficult to actually get together for any sort of social time, so to be able to get us all together and cook some great food and kick back together would be awesome, and spoil them a little bit with some great food.

Who do you look up to in the industry and why?
I have had some mentors who have encouraged me along the way to becoming a chef and are a source of support, and answers to my sometimes silly questions.  Chef Anne from RueDumaine has taught me a lot along with Chef Michael from Michael Anthony’s at the Inn in Versailles.  Two amazing chefs with different styles and strengths who have both influenced my cooking and how I run my restaurant.Nibblesoutside

What do you do in the Miami Valley on a day off?  Well, since I haven’t had a “day off” in weeks I’m not sure!   We go out to dinner/drinks when we can to enjoy someone else cooking for us!  WE enjoy spending time with family and friends, our daughters and parents.

Share a kitchen disaster, lucky break or an interesting story:
I was running a private party for another chef as a favor, a private party in a home. As I was trying to get the filet cooked to temp it was taking forever and I finally realized the oven wasn’t working. I opened the door to the pro-viking range and the entire door literally fell off the oven into my arms! I was completely horrified and had to figure out how to finish cooking steaks for 60 guests with no oven!!