We went to dinner with Simon and Stacy on Saturday. I had planned on taking pictures of them, but I'd lost daylight by the time I was able to get up and go. Instead, we opted to go to dinner. Originally, we were going to go to Maggiano's, but they had an hour and a half wait. On our way to Compari's, I suggested we go to Mi Piaci. My old favorite restaurant before we discovered (then lost because they closed) Paparazzi. I love this place because all of their food is fresh. Some of their entrees are heftily priced, but for the most part, I think they are reasonable for what you get.
We were celebrating 5 years of knowing one another. April 2 was our first date. While we don't normally celebrate it in an official way, we do like an excuse to get together and share in fellowship. To live it up, we ordered a bottle of wine to celebrate it. Actually, Don and Simon were going to drink it and Stacy and I were going to taste it, but our waiter, Gabriel, insisted we have our own glasses . I had my taste and this wine was delicious! Here is a picture of the bottle of wine we shared. Anyway, now we need to talk about the food. Holy tastiness!!! We started off with fried calamari. First off, these are larger bits of calamari with homemade batter. They are light,, tender, and fresh! No fishy-ness. Only perfection. The red marinara sauce was a perfect touch too! I wanted to drink it like a soup. Actually, Gabriel brought us an extra bowl and I was slurping it like soup. LOVED IT!! We dipped our fresh foccacia and breadsticks in it. It was just incredible!
Next up, our entrees. BUT WAIT! We enjoyed their house salad. Field greens tossed in a balsamic vinagrette topped with gorgonzola and proscuitto. YUM! Gabriel knew we were interested in the Osso Buco, but told us they only had some from the day before and he refused to sell it to us because it wasn't fresh. However, he brought out some for us to sample and to show us why he wouldn't sell it to us. Well, this was the tenderest piece of meat so good and it melted on our palate. I could see why this was disappointing! (I'm being sarcastic!) Amazing. Better yet, we didn't have to pay for it. This was a free sample. Man, I love free food!
Next up, our meals. Stacy had the Spaghettini al Pomodoro. This was a bit on the sour side and I know it had to do with the pairing of the Roma tomatoes with the basil and garlic. Still very, very good. Don had the Chicken Cacciatore. OMG...the green olives were superstars! Perfectly paired with all of the spices used, it was even better the next day when we had it as leftovers. Simon and I made custom dishes of their in-house pastas: Tagliatelle Bolognese, Ravioli ai Funghi, Fonduta di Tortelloni con Granchio. The Bolognese was my absolute favorite. They over used the white wine and lemon in the truffle sauce on the others, but nevertheless, they were pretty darn good. My soul was beaming, I was so happy!!
And we couldn't stop there, no. Every good meal must, MUST have dessert. We opted to share a pistachio gelato and homemade biscotti with fresh berries. Don had a port and Simon had a limoncello. That limoncello was incredibly sweet, a little too sweet. The gelato was light, creamy, and satisfying.
All in all this was one of the best meals of my life. Both the food and company were divine. I loved our server and the ambiance was perfect. And what about our little beloved? She slept through most meal. Towards the end, she had a bottle. So she was able to partake in eating as well.
Fantastic! What are some of your memorable culinary moments?
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