Food and Wine of Southern Italy

Friday night Joe and I ventured out of our little town of Monroe to head to the part of Seattle called Capital Hill. A co-worker had suggested this little Italian pizzeria for a night out and I'm so glad she did.

Via Tribunali has five locations in Seattle. Capital Hill is their first pizzeria that was opened in 2004. The restaurant was built in an auto body shop of all places. It's very small, but absolutely brilliant. There are high ceilings, glowing stained glass fixtures, a long bar made out of dark rich wood, cozy booths and of course a true wood-fired oven. A team of mason's actually came from Naples to build it bringing the bricks with them.

Our waiter was a darling little man who had such a thick Italian accent it was hard to understand him. Their menu is basically all types of authentic Neaopolitan pizza, but here was our experience: Joe ordered me a glass of red wine from Southern Italy that was delicious. Our appetizer was all sorts of prosciutto, olives and chunks of parmesan cheese. Heaven! Our pizza was exactly what I would imagine having if I were in Naples myself. It was called Quattro Stagioni and it had pomodora, mozzarella, prosciutto cotto, mushroom, salame picante. The pizza was soft and fragrant and melted in your mouth. Joe and I were overwhelmed with the flavor.

It was a wonderful authentic dinner and we will be back! Buon appetito!

Delicious Tea!

Have you tried the new Starbucks Taza Vanilla Rooibos Full Leaf Tea? It's a sensational tea and I can have as much of it as I would like with no guilt because...it's tea! This is what Starbucks says about it, "A lush and indulgent blend of rooibos, Tahitian vanilla, sweet cinnamon, apples and peaches". If you like tea, you will probably love this! Try it and let me know what you think.

Can you say yummy!

By far my favorite dessert or sweet treat in Leavenworth is a Gelato Chocolate Crepe. It's rich chocolate ice cream wrapped in a crepe topped with chocolate syrup, berry sauce, whipped cream and toasted nuts. My mouth is watering just writing about it. You will find it at Pavz, a casual cafe bistro on Front street. It can definitely be shared by two.

My First Pick!

I thought I better start off by letting you know about my first pick in life! His name is Joe and he's my best friend, the love of my life and husband. Although he's not available for you to pick too (ha ha), I thought I should introduce him to those who don't know who he is because you will probably see his name mentioned a lot in my blog. Thank you baby for your support, love and inspiration! I love you.

Pine River Ranch

This past weekend Joe and I went to stay at a new B&B in Leavenworth. We really enjoy the B&B's for their uniqueness and hospitality. Not to mention we are both such social people that we really enjoy having breakfast with...yes, strangers. We have stayed at many places in Leavenworth, but this so far is my favorite. It's called Pine River Ranch. http://www.prranch.com/ The place makes you feel like you are staying in a modern day cabin in the middle of the beautiful woods. The main farm house is very cute and has rooms you can stay in and there are also a couple of other buildings which is where our room was. I took a lot of time picking out the right room for us. After much consideration, I chose the Natapoc Suite. It was complete with a four poster pine log bed that was extremely comfortable! A jetted tub that fit two comfortably, fireplace and more. This place is a little different than your normal B&B. They bring your breakfast to your door in the morning! The food was good and my favorite was the cowboy casserole. It's definitely a romantic place to stay if you ever want to plan a little get away.

Introduction

"I'll have what she's having", "What would you serve at the party?", "Do you have any recommendations on restaurants?" "What's your favorite recipe for...". These are all things I hear or am asked pretty frequently from my family and friends. About a year ago I had a girlfriend suggest I start a blog with my picks on social activities, dining, food, recipes, etc.. Then this past weekend my husband said the exact same thing to me. So what the heck! I'll be posting my picks on things I'm doing in my life. Hope you get some helpful tips and enjoy my picks!