I (Jen) can safely say Minestrone Soup will be a new staple in our home. I love it for many reasons. First, it’s something that I was eating as a baby when my Mom and Nonna (Grandma) would prepare it for me before I even had teeth. For that reason it’s a soup that not only warms the belly, but also warms my heart.
Julia enjoying some vegetables – pre-soup
I also love that it’s a hard dish to mess up. You can throw in whatever you have in your pantry and fridge and even though it may not taste exactly the same as the last time; it will always be good. I also love that I feel good about serving it to my family. It’s a healthy, complete, meatless dish that tastes good and leaves everyone feeling satisfied. I love that it works for all ages. As I mentioned I ate this as a child. This is a perfect dish to blend up for your baby once they start eating real food. And I love that now my daughter asks for this soup by name, nearly every day “mom-mom… ZUP!”
So here are very simple instructions for how to make this soup. Keep in mind I have made this a dozen times since and it’s always different. I will try to include ways I have switched it up.
INGREDIENTS
>1/4 of extra virgin olive oil, plus more garnish
>Three (3) carrots
>Two (2) sticks of celery
>One (1) small onion
>Half (1/2) vegetable bouillon cube (possibly a full cube depending on taste preference)
>Four (4) potatoes
>One (1) tomato or four (4) small cherry tomatoes
>One (1) green vegetable, on this evening I used an Italian vegetable that I don’t even know the name of. You can instead use a cup of peas or a zucchini
>Farro (a grain similar to barley, I think you can get this at Wholefoods)
>Green lentils
>Orzo (this is a pasta shaped like rice)
>Two (2) cans of beans, you can use the ones you like the best. I think it tastes the best when you use fresh beans though
Fresh vegetables
Your grains
Your beans
DIRECTIONS
My “cookbook” – pictures from Claudia making the soup earlier
>In a bowl set aside faro, orzo and lentils and let them soak.
>While they soak clean vegetables and chop into bite sized pieces. I chop the onion and celery into smaller pieces.
Washing…
Peeling…
Chopping…
>In a large pot cover the bottom of the pan with olive oil. Add all the vegetables*, drained and cleaned beans and the rinsed farro, orzo and lentils. Cover the ingredients with water.
Place all the washed, peeled and chopped vegetables in a pot
>Bring the pot to a boil and add the bouillon cube along with about a teaspoon of salt.
>Once it is boiling turn the heat down.
>Cover the pot and let simmer for about an hour. Stir often and be careful not to let the soup burn on the bottom of the pot.
Dadi (bouillon cubes)
Pot simmers with the lid closed
To serve, drizzle with high-quality olive oil and cover with grated parmigiano cheese.
The finished product!
ENJOY! I would love to hear how your soup turns out.
*another method is to add the finely chopped onions, celery and a single carrot (leaving the others carrots cubed) to the olive oil and cook until tender and fragrant (approximately 4 minutes). Then add all the remaining ingredients and proceed as outlined above.
No, we didn’t oversell it in the title. This meal was
LEGEN…wait for it…DARY!
Like Odysseus who fought heroically in the Trojan war and embarked on a long journey rife with cyclops, lotus-eaters, sea monsters and hostile giants; we too fought our own heroic battle of hunger and embarked on a journey rife with wrong turns, communication challenges, unpaved roads and hostile baby cries. In the end however, it worked out better for us than Odysseus.
We decided to visit the neighboring town of Lecco and grab a bite to eat. When I quickly opened my browser and selected a restaurant from Trip Advisor based solely on someones comment “good food, family friendly” – we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. We plotted our course in the GPS and set out to eat at Osteria Belvedere Montalbano, a thirty minute-minute drive.
Lecco – a lake town on the east “leg” of Lake Como
A panoramic of the lake that I stitched together – the view on our way to the restaurant
Thirty-five minutes later, we pulled up. To a house. This couldn’t be right. We tried again. Twenty minutes later we ended up in the woods. Hmmm??? Twenty five minutes later we pulled up again. To another house. How many Via (Street) Montalbano’s could there be?! Jen dug a little deeper and translated a few google posts. She discovered that the restaurant is in fact, in the woods. So we were right when we were in the woods??? We tried that route again and hit a dirt path that looked to be traveled only by horses. As frustrated as you are reading this, you can imagine our displeasure. We’d had enough… time to throw in the towel.
As we were heading back down the hill we saw a final beacon of hope. We stopped two bikers and asked about this seemingly nonexistent place. They smiled and said, “turn around and follow us – but the road is pretty treacherous, so take it slow and be careful.” We spent another 15 minutes creeping up that very same dirt path; full of rocks and branches and no leeway on either side. Finally, we arrived and thanked our very kind guides.
Our “guides”
“Follow us, but go slowly”… uhhh yeah, no problem guys!
This was actually the nicer part of the road
Getting a little dicier – hood shown for perspective
“SERIOUSLY?!”
We pulled into the clearing in the woods and soaked up the view of the beautiful lake. The restaurant, a converted home – looked unassuming and inviting. But we were still a bit nervous as we walked up and were instantly relieved when we walked in and found that we had made it to the right place.
Osteria Belvedere Montalbano
As we seated ourselves, we knew we would be in for a treat. Our waiter Fabio, who also doubled as the cook – greeted us warmly and asked if we would like a half bottle or full bottle of wine. We responded that we’d like the half-bottle. He brought a full bottle.
Our host, Fabio
A delicious house wine
He also told us about the menu, which was not your typical explanation of specials and meal descriptions. It was him telling us what we would be eating. We didn’t quite understand, so we nodded politely and got ready to dig in. He started with a pasta dish, conscrigno tagliolini fungi bresaola e` tartufo (air cured beef over thin pasta noodles with mushrooms and truffles).
Primo (first course)
Before we were finished with the first dish, he brought caramelle al ragu` di cinghiale (wild boar ragu with a caramel drizzle).
More pasta as primi
Next was freshly-made raviolini di grano saraceno (hand-made ravioli made with buckwheat).
Third pasta dish
We couldn’t eat another bite. We begged him to stop… but then he described the next dish and we caved. We told him that we had to try it, but we needed to split one portion of the controfiletto con radicchio e gorgonzola (filet over radiccio with a gorgonzola sauce).
Secondo – meat dish
Then we moved onto dessert (delicious gelato) and coffee.
We were the last to leave (from the lunch crowd) and sauntered back to the car with a natural high that lasted all the way home. The road home was a lot more fun… but not nearly as much fun we expect it will be on our way back soon!
The indoor lighting
We were joined by a visitor for part of our meal
The only sign we saw for the restaurant… after we had eaten
I would also be remiss not to mention that when I walked up to pay, I discovered I didn’t have too much cash for this meal that would have to cost a fortune. I was quietly praying they accepted credit cards…until I got the bill. 30 euros for everything! I’d say Osteria Montalbano is the best deal in Lecco – if you can find it!!
We made a discovery recently about Italians that contradicted an earlier belief of ours. So it got us thinking… what other misconceptions do many Americans have about Italians? Let’s dig a little deeper and see what we discover. This is a collection of observations we’ve made since we’ve been here and we will likely have additions over time (and possibly corrections).
*Disclaimer - this post is meant to be fun and in no way itself, factual! These are simply things that we have observed [and this is important] in this region. One of the first things that we learned is that there are dramatic differences throughout the country - cultural, culinary, lingual... you name it! So, while something may be fact or fiction based on what we've noticed; it's highly probably that it could be the opposite somewhere else.
FACT OR FICTION – ITALIANS LOVE GARLIC…THE MORE THE BETTER!
While garlic is prevalent in many dishes, like most other things… they prefer it in moderation. In fact, what appears to us like a little amount of garlic in a dish is probably already far too much. Interesting Italian tidbit – eating raw garlic is good for you, but cooked garlic has no impact. Vampires beware, I’ve been gulping the stuff!
Answer – FICTION
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FACT OR FICTION – ITALIANS LOVE THEIR COFFEE?
Given the name of this blog, you most likely have already surmised that coffee is enjoyed several times throughout the day. However, the experience is very different than the US. Instead of going to any Starbucks in the morning and ordering a 20 oz coffee that you’ll guzzle in your car on the way to work, Italians prefer several small cups of espresso throughout the day. Sometimes with milk (con latte or a machiatto), sometimes very small (corto) and occasionally a bit bigger (lungo) – but always in an espresso cup and never “to go”. An enjoyable custom is visiting various “bars” throughout the day, ordering your coffee, chatting with your friends, plunking down your €1 and heading out only to return a few hours later. CAREFUL – one of us (and it wasn’t your author) learned a couple years ago that you NEVER order a cappuccino after a meal.
Answer – FACT
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FACT OR FICTION – ITALIANS HAVE TWO HOUR LUNCHES?!
Pranzo circa 2006 when we were here for Jens cousin’s wedding
Perhaps not two hours exactly, but pranzo (lunch) is an event that is not to be missed or rushed. In most households, pranzo is the most important meal of the deal – a wonderful moment to spend time with family. You’ll find most shops close around 12:00 and don’t re-open until after 2:00 in order to allow shopkeepers and workers time to make it home and eat. Many households will regularly serve pasta as a prima (first course), sometimes followed by a secondo (second course of fish or meat) and usually rounded out by a salad at the end. Of course, wonderful bread and cheese are present and many households will happily open a nice bottle of vino (wine) and finish with caffè (coffee). With a younger generation and big box stores ushering in new norms, pranzo may not have as much emphasis as it did in the past – but the act of eating an enjoyable lunch will always have a place in Italian culture.
*We have the benefit of wonderful cooks both upstairs and in our own home – we have enjoyed many wonderful two-hour lunches ourselves; even though my waist line isn’t too appreciative. Future posts on Claudia and Jen’s delicious cooking to come.
Answer – FACT
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FACT OR FICTION – “SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS” IS ALWAYS ON THE MENU?
No meatballs here
While pasta is very common (and spaghetti, a type of noodle is one of the most popular varities) – polpette (meatballs) are never served on top of spaghetti and oozing with marinara. In fact, the only time we’ve ever had polpette was a second meat course and they tasted very different than what we’re accustomed to.
Answer – FICTION
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FACT OR FICTION – ITALIANS DRINK TONS OF SAN PELLEGRINO SPARKLING WATER?
This was something Jen and I assumed, not necessarily something that is commonly thought of. Every time we have gone out to eat in the states with Italians, we order aqua frizzante (sparkling water) and 9 times out of 10 they would deliver San Pellegrino to the table. Given Jen’s Italian upbringing, we actually became quite accustomed to stocking the delicious “bubbly stuff” in our own home (thank you Costco for selling cases). So, naturally we assumed that the big player in the US market would dominate on their own turf. But the truth is – we haven’t seen a single bottle! Not at a restaurant, not at a friends home, not at the supermarket. It’s like they bottle almost exclusively for export! Don’t get me wrong… there is a bottle of frizzante at every table we’ve graced – just not San Pellegrino.
Interestingly enough, Illy and Lavazza (the two espresso brands most dominant in the US) are not only very prevalent in Italy – they are regarded as the best quality.
Answer – Fiction
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FACT OR FICTION – ITALIAN SUBS ARE BETTER IN ITALY?!
Well, this just seems like common sense. We’re in the mecca for the cured meats, wonderful cheeses and incredible bread that could make the world’s greatest submarine sandwich. We have access to carefully aged vinegar and the most delicious olive oil. The lettuce and tomatoes… well, OK – they’re pretty much the same. So, of course they should put them all together and give it the namesake of their own country, right?
I dare you to go into any restaurant and order an “Italian Sub”. You’ll get a look like you have three heads, because for some strange reason twelve inches of layer after layer of mixed meats, cheese, vegetables and oil smashed into a piece of bread doesn’t sound appealing to them at all. Weird – I’m getting hungry just typing!
Italians prefer to keep most things separate, so that they can taste each item. Sure, they have sandwiches (post on our sandwich adventure), but not of the “sub-sandwich” kind. In fact the place we went in Milano is quite rare. Most places simply put one type of meat on bread (salami or prosciutto or prosciutto cotto) sometimes accompanied by cheese and maybe some arugula.
Sorry Jared – we have no use for you here.
Answer – FICTION
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FACT OR FICTION – ITALIANS ARE VERY LOUD…YOU CAN HEAR THEM A GREAT WAYS AWAY?!
“I already TOOOOOLD you!!!!”
I feel as though I am credible to be able to write about this, as I have known a great many Italians over the years and been privy to many, many conversations. As it’s been explained to me… they’re not loud – they’re passionate! And they’re not always passionate – only when topics of conversation requires it. Like politics or religion…. or what to cook for lunch, or who’s right or wrong, or what the temperature is, or if the sky is actually blue, or if breathing is important, or whether the neighbors can hear them. That sort of thing.
Answer – FACT
Well, we hope you had as much fun learning about what’s Fact and what’s Fiction in this great country as we did creating the list. We’re hoping to learn a lot more so we can continue to add to the list.
Well, we have heard a lot from Greg so I thought it was time for me (Jen) to give this blogging a go. I have had a lot of people ask me how to make sauce. Growing up in an Italian family this was a staple in our house. I didn’t even know until college that most people buy pasta sauce from a jar! Sorry, but… yuck.
I am by no means an expert cook but I have had many very talented woman in my life that have taught me a lot. Until recently everything I know has been taught to me by my nonna (grandma), my mother and my mother-in-law, who are all incredibly talented in the kitchen.
Even though my Mom isn’t Italian she learned from the best Italian cook (my nonna) how to prepare all of my Dad’s favorite Italian meals. In the beginning of their marriage she made all the foods she grew up eating – good Ohio cuisine. This consisted of meat and potato cooking such as meat loaf and casseroles. Don’t get me wrong, all these foods are delicious… just not to my Dad. It wasn’t until maybe a year or so of eating this food that my Dad admitted he missed his mother’s cooking and my Mom’s path to creating mouth watering Italian dishes began. One of the best things she learned from my Nonna was how to prepare Sugo (sauce). My Nonna’s recipe requires a lot of chopping and it is time consuming to make. Since I have been living in Como I have had the opportunity to learn from another very talented woman, my Zia (Aunt) Claudia. She recently taught me a quick and easy way to make delicious sugo with ingredients you probably already have in your pantry and refrigerator. I hope you enjoy the sauce as much as everyone here enjoys eating it.
Marinara Sauce
This should be enough sauce for one pound of pasta (4 to 5 servings). I would suggest doubling the recipe and putting half in the freezer. It will save beautifully for about six months.
Simple ingredients you can find anywhere
INGREDIENTS
>Canned tomatoes – can be whole or chopped (must be San Marzano from Italy)
>Four (4) raw cherry tomatoes
>Two (2) Garlic cloves
>Half (1/2) bouillon cube (a quick shortcut to avoid lots of vegetable chopping)
>Extra virgin olive oil
>One (1) pound of pasta (I recommend Delverde or DeCecco)
>Sea Salt
“Put me to work, Mom!”
DIRECTIONS
>Peel two cloves of garlic
>Cover the base of your pot with extra virgin olive oil. Heat on a low setting and do not adjust temperature.
>Leave the garlic cloves whole to put in sauce (Italians prefer just a hint of garlic flavor). If you prefer a stronger garlic flavor you can chop or mince the garlic.
>Put the garlic in the pot with the heated olive oil and cook long enough to extract flavors. Be mindful not to burn.
Garlic should be lightly browned
>Add can of tomatoes (must be San Marzano, which is the region in Italy – there are various brands)
Canned tomatoes
>Dice raw tomatoes and add to sauce
Diced, raw tomatoes
Tomatoes added to pot
>Add half of a vegetable bouillon cube and stir
>Add sea salt (approximately a teaspoon… or Italian style, this much)
About this much salt… adjust based on hand size
>Remove the garlic and set aside (it gets added again)
>Blend the sauce with a hand mixer
Blend with hand mixture to get the correct consistency
>Place garlic back in pot
>Let sauce simmer over medium-low heat for approximately 30 minutes
>Finish with a dab of butter
>Remove from heat and serve
Pasta
>Add cold water to the pasta pot with coarse sea salt (my mother always taught me to pour the salt until you finish saying “Father, Son and the Holy Spirit”)
>Boil water as your sauce nears an end
>Place pasta in water
>Cook to a nice al dente – the appropriate time will be listed on the spaghetti package
>Drain pasta water and cover pasta with sauce until it is covered but not drenched
The requests have been flooding in by the virtual truckload…
“Now that you live in Italy… what are you cooking?”
Well, we’re here to tell you two things:
1) Not a single person actually asked the aforementioned question (I just thought the subject might make a fun post).
2) Some things are not that different – some things are very different.
And since I’ve thrown myself headfirst into this “blogosphere” and haven’t posted in a couple days… I’m starting to feel like an addict without an outlet. So here we go – we’re going to let you into our kitchen and show you our pantry and refrigerator. You’ll be able to get a first-hand glimpse at what we’ve been eating (when we eat at home that is)!
OUR PANTRY (my favorite)
Pantry Overview
It’s my favorite because I can so easily organize and stack everything neatly, as you see above. This image was not “doctored”. I did not straighten up before taking this shot, but I must confess – I did just unload some groceries and so it was freshly organized. For those that now me best, they won’t be surprised to see all labels out. OK… let’s break it down.
Top shelf – cookies, biscotti, baby biscotti (yes, it exists), dry cereal, etc. Jen’s convinced the fiber in those biscuits make them good for breakfast. I’m still too Americanized and prefer a bowl of cereal.
Top Shelf
Next is “Jen’s shelf”. I call it “Jen’s shelf” because I have no interest in it other than making sure it’s straight and tidy. Here you’ll find the dried beans and canned goods she uses to make her various soups, her tomatoes which are sometimes used as a base in her delicious sugo (sauce) and some other stuff I know nothing about. Oh, I picked up those artichoke hearts – they were on sale. Can’t figure out when/how we should eat them.
Jen’s Shelf
Next is my favorite shelf, because it’s easy to put stuff away and very easy to keep clean. So, I guess I’ll call it my shelf. Let’s see… we’ve got (from left to right) acqua naturale (flat water), acqua frizzante (sparkling water), milk… ok let’s pause a moment. Yes, I said milk. You see, milk is sold here in an aisle as well as the refrigerated section. Initially, we were only getting the refrigerated milk – but it goes bad after a couple days, so after my insescent “encouraging” – we tried this stuff and it’s actually pretty good. Plus, you don’t have to drive frantically to the store if you’re low on milk – you just go the pantry. OK… where were we? Ah, yes. Wine. You’ll see one of our new favorites in the front there. Just picked up four of these puppies for the low-low price of 3€ a piece! And it’s goooood! Moving on we have a row of various vinegar’s and then several types of olive oil – including a special one in front from Civitella, the town of Jen’s nonna (grandmother).
Greg’s Shelf
Our Fridge…
“Shut the damn door!”
We don’t have anything too fancy, several common things based on Italian dietary habits. Yogurt, for your afternoon “snack”. Beer (for Greg) – sold in three packs (weird), bitters (for Jen… I hate the stuff), minestrone soup fresh from last night’s dinner, herbs, frutti di mare (seafood mixtures) that we’ll have for lunch tomorrow over spaghettini (thin spaghetti), Illy coffee, salad and water.
Oh, the good stuff you can’t really see. At the top is a slide out drawer where we keep the ever-present salami, prosciutto, parmigiano cheese, and today we got a real treat… a hunk of speck from Jen’s Aunt upstairs.
A peak inside our fridge
Well, it may not have been the most exciting adventure into our lives – but now you know what we eat on a normal day. I have to say, with Jen’s culinary skills improving at a rate much faster than our lingual skills – I’d rather stay home and eat any day!!
I had originally come up with an inventive and funny way to start this post. I was going to draw a parallel between myself and Joey Tribbiani from “Friends”, as we both share an intense love of sandwiches. I scoured the internet for a clip I can so vividly remember, but could not find it. When quizzed about his favorite food (which many people assume is pizza), we learn that his favorite food is in fact, sandwiches!
For those of you that weren’t fans of the show, “Friends” (all 3 of you) – Joey Tribbiani is a fun-loving, womanizing, “foodie” who craves [among other things] sandwiches. Perhaps this love of meat and cheese folded between two pieces of bread comes from his Italian heritage, because as I’m learning – Italians have perfected the art of the sandwich (hereafter referred to as panino or the plural – panini).
On Sunday, Jen and I decided to go to Milano – a forty-five minute drive from our hometown in Como.
Julia playing with pigeons in front of the Duomo in Milano
Jen had heard about a wonderful flea market that is only open the last Sunday of every month. We bundled up with lots of layers and departed at the wee-early hour of 11:00am (and that was rushing to get out the door). On the way, we consulted the internet to tell us what else to do for the day and found out about a wonderful restaurant with over 100 types of panini. We cross-referenced Trip Advisor and read some wonderful reviews of the food. In my mind, it was a lock we were headed to Bar della Crocetta for lunch! By the time we finally got to the flea market (after a few wrong turns), it was already time for lunch – so instead, we re-routed the GPS to Bar della Crocetta.
Bar della Crocetta
Unassuming façade matches the charming interior perfectly
When we walked in, we were greeted by several friendly, buon giornos and found a nice cozy spot in the corner. After reviewing the menus for several minutes (in both Italian and poorly translated English), we gave up and asked our friendly server to help us pick two sandwiches and something for Julia. Her selections were wonderful. And since Julia didn’t want to wait for her panino, they gave us a plate and told us to help ourselves to the bar full of food.
Delectable treats to hold us over
Our excitement grew as we watched delicious panino after panino come from the kitchen. We were not disappointed!
They tasted as good as they looked!
AMILACARE – golfetta (salami), brie, scamorza cheese, lettuce, tomato, etc.
BIG – prosciutto crudo, fontina cheese, shrimp, lettuce, tomato, etc.
Julia’s Ham and Cheese – prosciutto cotto, fontina cheese
We couldn’t be happier. Julia jumped right in and preferred to take big bites on her own as opposed to the small pieces her mom cut for her.
Big bites from a little girl
“Boy is that goooood”
When we were winding down, Julia was just getting started! She decided she didn’t want any more of the prosciutto cotto (cooked prosciutto, basically ham) and wanted her favorite… salami! If I can ever get the video to load properly… we have a funny video of her demanding salami after her first discovery of it’s deliciousness!
We could hear the staff laughing and repeating her cute request of salami – or as she says it… “lami” (here’s a video of her requesting it). The trouble was, we had already finished our sandwiches. What we didn’t know was that they weren’t just discussing her unique accent – they were actually putting together a plate of her own salami.
A plate of salami – brought just for Julia
“I’m in heaven”
With our bellies full and our moods elated… there was only one thing left to do in order to finish the meal. Have our espresso!!
The necessary post-meal caffè
If you find yourself in Milano – please go enjoy Bar della Crocetta and tell our servers we said “Ciao and grazie!”
What a wonderful tradition happy hour is! A time when friends can gather and join in a few post-work drinks and perhaps a little nibble to eat. We’ve always known happy hour to be a 5:00pm – 7:00pm (ish) time to partake in a few cocktails at a discounted price.
Caffè Mazzini – Our favorite Happy Hour in Como
We were pleased to find that the tradition of “happy hour” also exists in Italy and it’s even called the same thing (just imagine saying it with a funny little accent… drop the sound the “h” makes). However, it’s a bit different here.
Instead of discounted drinks and food, you usually pay the same price for the drinks (which always tends to be low anyways… between $4 – $6) but get a big bonus. ALL YOU CAN EAT heavy hors d’oeuvres – Italian style!!! Imagine a bar full of pasta, pizza and other wonderful treats. If you’re not to embarrassed to fill a plate – you can easily have enough for dinner.
Since eating and drinking are two of my favorite things to do thus far on this trip, we have explored a few of the best happy hours the city has to offer (literally every place that serves drinks or coffee puts some sort of food out after 5:00pm).
However, on this particular day (after exploring the markets of Como), we encountered our first bad happy hour experience. We came across Specialita` Apretivi – a place where the food looked better than any we had seen before. The combination of a desire for a good glass of wine, a hungry baby and my grumbling stomach drew us in like a magnet.
Jen and Julia out front of Specialita` Aperitivi
Since we’re still a bit embarrassed to just start eating the food after ordering a drink, we also ordered two panini’s to feign the appearance of reputable patrons. This did not impress the waitress. She gave us more attitude than a teenage girl with a limited texting plan. My perfect command over the pronunciation of our hard-to-pronounce Montepulciano and Nero d’ Avola did nothing to win her over either. Attitude = Strike ONE!
While we waited for our wine to come, I kept glancing over at the delectable spread presented before us and decided which treats I’d try first. The wine came quickly and it was the smallest pour we had seen in any restaurant this entire trip. Cheap = Strike TWO!
Some of the food at Specialita` Apretivi
Nevertheless, I shrugged these things off and made a beeline for the tomato and mozzarella panini. Insert screeching halt sound here. Wait a minute, these treats are only for people that ordered an aperitif, not a wine (even though they’re priced the same). ME: “OK… well, can I have some of your free food anyway?!” WAITRESS: “No… you cannot!”
While my family that reads this shrieks in embarrassment… I did not actually say that. But my body language sure suggested it. And still, the answer was “no.” Strike THREE – we’re out of here!
Some more images of the tasty food we couldn’t eat…
…all because we ordered the wrong drink!
So… we headed home to much better meal, prepared by Jen (pasta in a pesto sauce and a finnocio (fennel) salad with fresh bread and wine). Also, don’t feel too badly for us after the crushing happy hour experience. Since we believe in controlling your own destiny, we stopped and got ourselves a “pick-me up” to make up for it!
