Hotel Dining....Fillet n Peppers...

Not a repeat of the Rustico pizza mess on a plate....thankgoodness....it was a wonderful dinner. Man In Black and I have decided that we're going to eat and shop at Claro's market when we get home - and Trader Joes (because they carry several of the Italian wines I've been enjoying drinking here) and keep this experience going after we get home for a bit longer. I may have to cut back on the bread consumption though because it will only be a few short weeks before I have to squeeze into a bathing suit to enjoy the summer months at the lake. The bread is so wonderful.....dripping with olive oil and balasmic vinegars...a sip of wine....another half loaf of bread....and on, and on, and on. and before you know if you've just eaten an entire loaf. Here's some pictures of last night's meal.....the waiter was very nice and although I had originally ordered pork (most everything on the menu was lamb or veal - neither of which I eat, I found a pork dish that sounded good) he told me that it was still too cold and early in the season for the restaurant to be serving pork even though it was listed on the menu - he recommended the fillet with cream sauce with green pepper corns. It was very good and I knew immediately that it was served with wonderful olive oil and butter in the sauce. We also ordered a couple of different appetizers but we ate them so quickly that it wasn't until they were gone and Man In Black was chewing down the last bite that I realized that I forgot to take a picture.....there was only one other table of diners at this restaurant ( Dutch and one of the women spent a fair amount of time staring at our table probably deciding what and where we came from and were doing there). Man In Black ordered lamb and the others beef. Due to the late hour and few diners the restaurant wasn't serving pasta or salads....usually when folks go out they plan on eating a four course meal....like at home in the States, I've heard the economy has taken a hit here so I'd expect the locals are enjoying meals at home these days rather than the high cost of eating out. Our waiter recommended the house dessert and we enjoyed each and every sweet filled bite. It was served cold and had a wonderful light custard inside with a perfectly sweetened whipped cream topping. We finished dining at 11:00 p.m. (it was fun being outside and awake at that time of night taking in the wonderful lights of the towns below) at home I would have already been asleep for an hour and that makes me feel like such an old fuddy duddy. Some pictures of the restaurant and stairs leading up to the dining room....our waiter had a half moon shaped scar over his left cheek that I'm sure when it originally happened was quite gruesome looking - now it made him look like a really cool Italian ex- Mafia hit man. He was very sweet and Man In Black left him what Son said was a very generous tip (tipping is an American practice and not done by the locals.....at least not often). They appreciate the tip (you leave something but not the high percentage of the overall bill waiters and waitresses expect at home). It was a great evening out and we came home and watched a movie and played on the laptops.....yes folks, I broke down and bought a laptop....we'll talk about that later.....other than to say - I love it!!!! Ok, now where was I??? Food....we went shopping at a local grocery store near the house - I love it!!! They have the coolest markets here, the food packaglng is similar to home so it's easy to know what your buying but there are some major differences too....example? All the cashiers here are provided padded seats to sit down while they ring up your groceries...how do you think that would go over in the States? Can you imagine all the cashiers at Stater Bros, Albertsons, Target sitting down, the  H.R. departments would love to add that little perk to the workplace and the lawyers would have a field day saying the employee had a back injury because they were not provided the right height seat to sit on the job...the employees here look quite happy but they should provide a couple more...where you ask??? in the produce dept. The people here grow the most amazing produce I've seen but unlike home - they don't like you to pick it up and select it....they hire an attendant to stand near the produce and when you'd like something they come over and wrap it for you (also, the farmers market have the best way to bag your produce - something I think the locals at home should give some serious thought to doing) anyway, also, in the cheese/meat dept. they have someone who slices and bags (he was super nice and seemed to enjoy giving us a lesson in using the correct Italian words)....lastly,,,,,you always bag your own groceries and in some store you have to pay for the bag...at Ikea too. Do we pay for bags at Ikea at home - I don't remember?

So, enjoy some more pictures....I've got to go bake raspberry bars for Son to enjoy at work....I'm going to bake a plate full for him to share with his buddies....it's a great trip and Baby Z is a wonderful little traveler - she's got A LOT of traveling in her future. Have a great day - I've got more wonderful pictures to share and I've just eaten the best food I've ever had in my life....if I lived here I'd rent an apartment over the top of the restaurant to make sure I could eat this plate of food EVERY DAY...I'm going to work on duplicating this plate of food...not complicated but the best flavors I've had....so simple on the plate but amazing textures, flavors, smells....This is the perfect example that in life - less is more. Three pieces of bread with basil, tomatoes, olives.....so wonderfully perfect.