That's Italian!

Last night we were invited to enjoy a family dinner out at an Italian restaurant we had never been to before. We've become friendly with Annabella's parents over the past few months (remember our venture to the snow?), and they told us we simply had to try this place.

So with kids in tow, we all headed down and met up at the water adjacent locale.





Wowzie. How could we not have known about this gem of a place? Best known for their homemade sausage, we enjoyed not one, but two, sausage platters, grilled halibut, and fall-off-the-bone osso bucco, not to mention the most enormous red pepper we had ever seen, stuffed with a mixture of sausage, risotto and cheese. Washed it all down with some good chianti, and it's a miracle we could even get up to leave.

And the kids? Angels, really, all three of them. Spent the entire time coloring, playing with little ponies Lauren brought as gifts, and laughing hysterically at jokes only they could understand.




[That's a kid's water in that cup, just so ya know ......]


[As you can see, neither Lauren or Annabella have yet to master the art of the small bite of pasta. Guess it's a privilege that goes along with being 5, so I'm going with it.]

The air temp on the outside patio was perfect, with the lights twinkling and the tables starting to fill up as we approached the 7'o clock hour. And one of the highlights of our evening? The rosy-cheeked guy sitting at the entrance with what looked like nothing more than a laptop in front of him and a microphone in his hand. From the Sinatra-esque sounds permeating the patio, I swore for most of the meal that he was playing a soundtrack and merely lip synching along. Was I wrong! He was singing, and belting out Rat Pack tunes like nobody's business.

He very quickly earned the awe and appreciation of three little girls.





Who, after overcoming their initial shyness, completely let go of any inhibitions and turned the space in front of the crooner into their own personal dance floor.


[Yes, their twirling and high kicks almost took out several members of the wait staff trying to balance heaping plates of pasta, but their ridiculous cuteness won over pretty much everyone in the place.]

When it was time to go, we let the girls get the last remaining drops of their sillies out (exhausted children on a Saturday night equals happy parents).



Then vowed to make monthly visits with our families to this magical spot. Even pinky swore on it.