An Italian Evening

This evening was a very pleasant experience for me in so many ways. My oldest son took me out for dinner for Mother’s Day. Delayed until tonight due to work schedules, it was a treat because we rarely have the chance to spend any one-on-one time together.

What made it even more special was that we went to a small Italian restaurant that he and my daughter-in-law discovered this past year. Ristorante Lombardi – Sun of Tuscany is the name of this wonderful establishment, and it is truly an authentic Italian restaurant featuring Tuscan cuisine.

I know you will be surprised to learn that I did not order pasta pomodoro but instead chose one of the special featured dishes not on the usual menu, Rigatoni Braciole. The waiter described it as rigatoni stuffed with spinach, ricotta cheese, and sausage in a creamy red sauce, and I was eager to try it. The rigatoni was green so I thought it had been made with spinach, and then was surprised that the spinach also was inside, just as he had told us. It was absolutely delicious, and I have never had it until now.

We also had an appetizer of mixed bruschetta, which consisted of three types of bruschetta.
One was the classic with olive oil, tomato and garlic, one was pesto with ham, and one was salmon with ricotta (I think, since I did not eat that one). The pesto and classic were excellent and my son loved the salmon also.

I felt almost like I was in Italy when the owner, Doriana, walked out of the kitchen wearing her black chef’s hat. I loved it that she was speaking with the customers in English with her wonderful Italian accent. She also spoke Italian to a table of what must have been regulars, since they were laughing and enjoying the conversation.

I was thrilled to have a chance to practice my Italian and speak with her, as she came to our table. She was impressed that I could speak the language and she talked to me in Italian, most of which I understood. It was just wonderful.

From what she had to say, she and her husband Giuseppe have been married for twenty-four years and they came from Tuscany. She is from Montecatini, a small town between Florence and Lucca. Her husband is from Parma, home of prosciutto and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

They had a restaurant in Vinci, Italy for twenty years. Doriana says they also had a gelateria. So they cook and serve authentic Italian food at Ristorante Lombardi like they did in Tuscany. Their last name is Lombardi.

The pizza here is supposedly out of this world, and Giuseppe came in second in the world out of 800 competitors, in a pizza making contest held in Montecatini. In case you aren’t quite sure of the authenticity of the statement, the documents line the walls to prove it.

Thank you David for a wonderful Mother’s day gift and a fun evening. I know I will return here, and next time I must try a pizza.

I didn’t take any photos but you can check out their Facebook page which has quite a few photos, including the food. Mmmmm.