Thursday, February 21, 2008

Good food, good wine, good company...

Tonight, my roommate and I braved the never-ceasing cold winds, and walked down lower Thames street with the simple mission of a bit of shopping and some dinner at Mamma Luisa Restaurante. A better writer would be able to justly describe what the walk was like - quaint New England architecture, cozy little shops, kids who obviously think nothing of the cold and wear clothing more suited for September... but I'll just cut to the chase, and tell you about what a fabulous place I think Mamma Luisa's is.

Granted, as a vegetarian, any restaurant with a whole sort of submenu devoted to meatless appetizers and entrees automatically receives plenty of bonus points from me. And, decor and ambience also rank high in my book, so Mamma Luisa's was doing really well before any food was actually served. The restaurant is formally a house with only minimal renovations, so in some ways you feel like you're having dinner at a friend's house. It has warm yellow walls and dim lighting, and we got a little booth by the window so we could make up stories and wonder about the people who live across the street.

So I started with a salad of arugula, dates, goat cheese, walnuts, radicchio, & grapes. The main course was a ricotta and basil-stuffed ravioli with a tomato-based sauce including fava beans and plenty of garlic. And then, of course there was the chocolate cake, and the wine... It was all so satisfying, so delicious, I could have sat there for three more courses. There were so many other things on the menu I wanted to try: different kinds of bruschetta, the butternut squash ravioli. I cannot imagine a better meal.

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