Piazza Pellegrini Pleases

I heard a horror story about stop #37 Piazza Pellegrini, so I was skeptical about dining there. Luckily my fear subsided with my amazing meal. The atmosphere is festive, service is friendly, and the portion sizes are plentiful. They gave us complimentary bruschetta that they claimed was for making a rezzy. It was really good, garlicky with juicy tomatoes. FZ had the Salsicce con polenta: grilled spicy Italian sausage in a roasted 
bell pepper sauce, served over polenta. It was quite tasty, the polenta was some of the best I’ve ever had. It was also enough food for FZ, who never seems to get full. I had the Saltimboca alla Piemontese: chicken filled with prosciutto 
& mozzarella in cream sage sauce. This was delish. Large variety of sautéed veggies, crunchy seasoned potatoes & two large chicken breasts. The sauce on the chicken wasn’t too heavy and was really flavorful. There was so much food, I was able to bring an entire chicken breast home for leftovers. Pellegrini is slightly pricey, but for the portion sizes and food quality it’s worth it.

http://www.piazzapellegrini.com/index.html

 4 Ciabatta loaves

Michelangelo's Ristorante & Caffe

Two years ago when I first moved to NB, Goose and I dinned at Stop #36, Michelangelo Ristorante, funny that it would line up for the two of us to do so again for CC.  Last time we were lured in with the offer of a free glass of wine, both ordered a pasta dish and agreed that the food was just alright. Dining there this past weekend was like deja vu. Again we had a card for a complimentary glass of wine and appy. We both did not want the house wine so we passed on that and were offered a free soda, which I took them up on. They then brought olives, bruschetta, and my Sprite to the table- free of charge before we even ordered our meal. Very kind of them. Goose had the Chicken Alla Valdostana: breast of chicken topped with fontina cheese and ham in a rosemary and white wine sauce. It was decent. I had the  fettuccine pasta with homemade meat sauce. It was decent as well, but a little bland. The service was good, the prices were average, and the atmosphere was nice. Although we did witness a bit of drama at the table next to us when a husband & wife were arguing about disciplining their children. The man got so angry he stood up, pounded his fist on the table spilling drinks everywhere and quickly left the restaurant. Awkward. The best part of dinning at Michelangelo’s is what is delivered with the bill- cookies & gummy bears! Who doesn’t like gummy bears?  

Two Ciabatta loaves

Mario's Bohemian Cigar Store Café is smokin'

Stop #35, Mario's Bohemian Cigar Store Café brought two of my favorite things together: Consuming Columbus & book club. I got to dine with six girlies while discussing our latest novel- Bond Girl. A must read for chicks who love chick lit, btw. The conversation was great and the food complimented it well. Mario’s is cozy and not set up for parties of seven, but they were very accommodating. Not all of us ordered food, but those that did were really satisfied. Laura had the lasagna, which had a bit of a sweet flavor to it. Jenn had my fave dish of the night, the oven baked meatball sammy with swiss cheese, onions, and marinara on onion focaccia bread. The focaccia, which came highly recommended lived up to the hype. The crunch of the bread, melted cheese, tender meatballs, and the warm sauce was a perfect combination. Megs had the grilled chicken #1 sammy- dijon mustard, pepper jack cheese, and onions on the amazing focaccia bread. This one was good too. I had the caprese salad- fresh mozzarella, sliced tomatoes, and fresh basil pesto. This was tasty, the pesto was awesome. The consensus was the same as it was for the book, we loved it. Mario’s is priced right, the service is excellent, and the food is terrific. To quote Bond Girl, “I’m a buyer of this place in size”  

4 Ciabatta loaves

Volare- Very, Very Good

Stop #34, Volare is another NB staple for me, so I was excited when it became the largest dinner group so far. The service & food is always great and this time wasn’t any different. For appys we had carpaccio, bruschetta, and because I think it’s the best thing on the menu, the gnocchi agli spinaci, Volare’s own homemade spinach and potato dumplings in a gorgonzola cream sauce. Gnocchi is not typically ordered as an appy, but because of how amazing it is I felt it was necessary to get an order for the table to share. Everyone one agreed it was absolutely delish. The carpaccio was good, but the bruschetta was really dry. As for the main courses, Shawn, KO & Goose all had the saltimbocca. The consensus was that is was really good, just a little on the salty side. I find it funny when peeps think this dish is salty, I mean it tells you that right in the name! Mendy Poo had the pollo piccantina & FZ the pollo marsala, which they both really enjoyed. The two pasta dishes that were consumed were by Carolyn who had the linguine primavera & Kimmee who had the spaghetti Bolognese. Both of them were happy with theirs, and Kimmee said hers had good texture & flavor. Gosling had spaghetti with butter & cheese, her comment was “yummy”. Stealing a bite of it myself, I had to agree with her. Little Lakyn seemed pleased with all the bites she was given as well. I had the scampi sauté- prawns sautéed in white wine, garlic, lemon, parsley and extra virgin olive oil with veggies & smashed potatoes. YUM! Overall there were no complaints, except for KO who hates smashed potatoes. We also had a coupon for $25 off from restaurants.com, which I’ve found are regularly available. So, if you are looking for good service and food, I recommend Volare. Get the spinach gnocchi, but maybe not to share.

5 Ciabatta loaves