Ellie’s Restaurant at the Mills Park Hotel in Yellow Springs, Ohio, is launching a series of special events this fall with an Italian Night dinner on Tuesday, September 24, 2019. The menu, designed by chef Matteo DiCecco, is a traditional five-course Italian dinner with wine pairings and some “surprises.” Authentic Italian background music performed live by the Pandini Brothers. Prix fixe $60 per person, $90 with wine pairings. Two seatings, 5:00 PM and 7:30 PM. Reservations obligatoire: 937-319-0402. Menu details

• Antipasti – Seared scallop, artichoke, lobster consommé, white honey truffles, focaccia tuille

o   Sensi, Pinot Grigio delle Venezie, 2017

• Primi – Agnolotti stuffed with house-made ricotta, variety of beets, black summer truffles, caraway, pickled fennel

o   Sensi, Sicilia Nero d’Avola, 2012

• Secondi – Veal Osso Buco, Gremolata, polenta, sugo di Pomodoro

o   Natale Verga, Chianti Classico, 2015

• Insalata e Formaggi – Grana Padano, frisée, chocolate hazelnut powder, chestnut purée, berries

o   Bebedieti & Grigi, Montefalco Rosso la Gaita del Falco

• Dolce – Panna cotta, Peifer Orchards apple cider gelée, apple chips, caramelized while chocolate

o   Rive della Chiesa, Prosecco Frizzante Music Live background music by the Pandini Brothers will feature a well curated repertoire of traditional Italian selections, performed on classical Neapolitan mandolin, mandola, classical guitar, and bass. The group is named in honor of the luthier Gabriele Pandini, who handmade the mandolin and mandola in Ferrara, Italy, after an XIX^th Century design. The group has performed widely in the region, at the Dayton Opera and Garlic Fest locally. Audiences often describe the Pandini Brothers’ music as “transporting,” as it conveys listeners on a journey of the heart to a romantic, seaside Mediterranean café.