If you have followed this blog for any length of time you know that Roberto loves his pizza. Being from Rome, Italy, although not THE capital of pizza that Naples is, he still knows a thing or two about what pizza should really be like (if you would like to see what we think makes a pizza great, check out this article ). So as always, when we change living locations we are always on the quest for the best pizza around (if you want to see where the best pizza in the US is that we have found so far, check out this article ).

If you live in Saint Augustine, Florida or have ever spent time here, you know there are tons of pizza joints. One night we were in the mood for a slice so we decided to check out Pizza Time’s Brooklyn style pizza on St. George’s Street. Now as you know, generally we are not big fans of New York style pizza. The crust is much more floppy than the classical Italian version and so it never quite meets up to our crunch standards. But Pizza Time displays many of their pie choices in the window and they looked really good. Plus I loved the sign in the window saying: “I’m Italian, I don’t need a recipe!”
Continue Reading »

This restaurant which is often touted as a place for tourists is in fact, great for tourists because it has a fantastic view of Matanzas Bay and The Bridge of Lions. You can see seagulls, fish and even dolphins playing in the water below you. But it is also a fun place for locals when you need to get your fix of watching crazy seagulls and attempt to feed them without getting your fingers bitten off! Kids will love it, too, as this place is more than food, it is also entertainment.

We had a great experience at The Santa Maria when my Dad and Stepmom were visiting a few weeks ago. We were going to take them to the A1A Alehouse, so they could get a nice view of the water and city, grab a pint of beer and enjoy the food, but they were closed for renovations. So A1A missed out!By this time we were so starving we didn’t know what to do. The belly was taking over the mind, so we ended up at The Santa Maria. I am really glad we did because I am sure this is exactly the kind of place I would have overlooked since it is right on the water and I have a theory that a good view does not always equate to good food. But I was happy that The Santa Maria proved me wrong.
Continue Reading »

I always have a few rules of thumb when dining at a new restaurant. I like to try places that serve food I normally do not prepare at home. I love eclectic restaurants, small establishments that are family owned, that cater to people with various dietary habits, not because I have one, but because it means the chef is usually creative and cares about satisfying a wide variety of patrons – not just mainstream palates. I especially love restaurants that tell you about their food – what ingredients are in the dishes, what sources they get their food from, is is organic, fair trade, etc. This tells an awful lot about a place and I care a lot about the answers. It has to do with quality. I care about quality. I fancy myself a pretty good cook – I have a whole other blog devoted to it, so if I am going to go out to eat, I want the restaurant to have some of these aspects. That or a killer ambiance, but that can be another whole kind of experience.

All of the times we came to St. Augustine before we lived here I wanted to try Casa Maya. It is known for its Mayan cuisine, which to me, means real Mexican / Northern Central American food – not the stuff you get at Taco Bell or Moe’s. By self describing as “Mayan” - you can already surmise that it is done to set them apart from that contingent. I love when I go to an ethnic restaurant where the real cuisine is unfamiliar to me and I don’t recognize anything on the menu. This usually is a signal that the food is authentic to that region. Such was the case at Casa Maya. After being disappointed by Acapulco, several months ago, I was loosing the battle with trying to convince Roberto that Mexican food is really good.
Continue Reading »

They should really call it Italian Restaurant Row. The North End of Boston is full of Italian restaurants, specialty food shops, café’s and apartments. It is a section of town devoted to all things Italian and most of the residents, shop keepers and restaurateurs are also Italian keeping the authenticity alive. You rarely see something like this is America anymore. As I discussed here growing up, when I went to visit my grandparents in Western PA, it was a little like this, although most of the ethnic groups were kind of mixed together even though each had their cultural Mecca’s. But here in Boston’s Little Italy, it is all Italian all the time. You actually hear Italian being spoken in the streets and everywhere you go. The TVs in the cafés have Italian stations playing soccer matches, in Italian. You can really get the flavor of Italy here just walking through the streets, but when you go into the restaurants and sit at the table to eat, it gets even better.

As many of you who have kept up with this blog and my other blog The Leftover Queen,
you know that Roberto and I have been on a quest for the perfect Italian pizza. We have tried making it at home and have gotten close several times. We have also spent endless trips all over town trying each pizza joint, hoping to find a bit of pizza gold! But to no avail…yet. Until we found Pizza Regina in Boston’s Little Italy. We should have expected something good when we saw the line coming out the door and onto the sidewalk. When we got in, the place was packed and full of the hustle of a great pizza place: lots of yelling back and forth between servers and cooks, pizza dough flying in the air as a backdrop and smells of melting cheese and tomato sauce. Roberto and I shared a Napoletana - a huge pie with anchovies, capers and olives. Rachel and Gwen, Roberto’s daughters shared a half mushroom, half meatball.

As soon as Roberto picked up his slice and it held up, with no drooping he was feeling inspired, when he flipped the slice over to reveal the tell- tell sign of flour on the bottom of the crust, he got more excited, and when he took that first bite, enjoying all the flavors of a pizza cooked to perfection, he was in heaven and declared that his search for real Italian pizza in the US was over! Big accolades for Regina’s!

After eating we decided to go for a walk and check out some of the shops. We were on a search for some real Parmigiano-Reggiano and Italian Salami. We checked out the Salumeria Italiana a specialty food shop full of Italian cheeses, meats and non-perishables. There was also a table full of fresh baked bread. We picked up some Parmigiano and some assorted olives for snacking.

We then moved on to Café Graffiti where I enjoyed a deliciously bitter macchiato.

Roberto had a childhood favorite, Crodino – a bright red bitter (that matched his shirt that day!), which to Rachel, Gwen and I tasted like cough syrup (same color too)
and the girls each enjoyed a fruit nectar. Here is Racehl enjoying hers.

Refreshed we spent the next few hours walking around and enjoying the sights sounds and smells.

We stopped by the Old North Church, where on April 18, 1775 the church sexton, Robert Newman, climbed the steeple and held high two lanterns as a signal from Paul Revere that the British were marching to Lexington and Concord by sea and not by land. This fateful event ignited the American Revolution.

As well as St. Leonard’s Church, the first Roman Catholic church in new England built by Italian immigrants. All of these sights can be found in the North End.

Before leaving we had to make one more stop – we had to get Gelato, of course. I have been to The North End before and have always loved the nocciola gelato at Café Vittoria, a historical North End Café, and was dying to have it once more. Much to my dismay, they were out of Nocciola, so I settled for Coffee. Roberto had his obligatory Pistachio, Rachel went for Chocolate Chip,

and Gwen not knowing what to get opted for Spumoni after I told her my Grandfather used to get that for me when I was her age! We all enjoyed it AND our trip to little Italy!

*NOTE*: Some of these photographs were taken by Rachel Campus, Roberto’s daughter, who is a budding photographer. I guess she took after her dad on that one!

(image courtesy of Jupiter)

There are only a few Sushi restaurants in Ocala. We have been to Tony’s Sushi, which is nice - good food, beautiful ambience and inventive salads (one I remember specifically was a conch salad in rice vinegar). But I hate to go to the same place twice, especially if there is a restaurant of the same cuisine in the area that I have not tried yet.

I heard about Aki Sushi because they sent a menu out to businesses downtown, and it just so happened that I saw it in the pile of mail that was received at the new Genesis Heaven and Health Juice Bar and Cafe (that will be opening SOON!).
Continue Reading »

This weekend we were in Orlando. Roberto and I promised each other after we moved to FL that if any of our friends ever came to the state of Florida, we would make a point to visit them. It so happened that my friend LaLa was in town visiting the parks with her family so a meeting time was planned. Since Roberto and I weren’t planning to go to any of the parks, LaLa suggested that we meet at Downtown Disney. Even though I live in Florida, LaLa is the expert when it comes to all things Disney. Not only has she spent most of her career in the Travel industry, but she is also a huge personal fan.

I mean check out her nails! We decided if things ever get bad on the job front, she can always open a stall to airbrush nails at Disney and probably make a mint!

Anyway, she and her husband Dave try to visit as much as possible, so I really relied on her to pick a good meeting spot, and provide she did.
Continue Reading »

I am always looking for good getaway spots. Somewhere you can go to just relax, eat some good food, sit on a beach and just get away from it all. Granted I do enjoy busy vacations full of historic sites and things to do, but lately, I have really enjoyed just sitting back relaxing and watching the waves come in. Anna Maria Island, near Bradenton Florida, just outside of Sarasota, looks like a good candidate. Unfortunately the day we went, it rained…all day. No sitting on the white sugar sand beach for us, no strolls along the surf looking for shells. But we were not to be deterred. We came for relaxation and a nice day trip, so we were just going to have to make the best of it, by eating our way through Anna Maria Island.
Continue Reading »

There is a new restaurant that has opened its doors in Ocala that everyone is talking about. If it is not their beautiful décor and “to die for” salad bar the topic of conversation usually turns to the prolific amounts of meat one ingests while dining at Ipanema Brazilian Steakhouse. This is not a restaurant for the faint of culinary heart, but surprisingly it CAN be for vegetarians! For someone who is always trying to cut down on their meat consumption, the salad bar at Ipanema is more than enough to fill you up while at the same time allowing you to indulge in top quality ingredients without straining your stomach or your purse strings.
Continue Reading »

I had been hearing about Bella Luna for a while. I heard that is was independently owned, that it had a beautiful ambience and inventive upscale Italian cuisine but what really got me to go and check it out was that I heard they had a beautiful gargantuan Cassata – Sicilian wedding cake – with layers of sweetened ricotta cheese, white cake and candied fruits . I love a good Cassata and it was a night on one of these rare occasions that I was craving some pasta (mostly I am a really bad Italian, as I do not like eating lots of pasta) and in celebration of our pending nuptials that we decided to check out Bella Luna, celebrate a bit with my mom and see for ourselves!
Continue Reading »

This is my submission for the
W is for Writing Challenge Jeff has put forth on C is for Cooking

Isn’t it amazing how a taste of something can bring you back to the past? One minute you are sitting enjoying a sweet treat at the end of a pizza and pasta dinner wondering what your angle should be for yet another Italian restaurant review and in the next moment you are an eight year old child sitting in the Italian hall enjoying the same sweet treat with your Pap-Pap. Sometimes, it has been so long since you had that particular taste that you forgot that it even existed. In that same moment that you are tasting this long-forgotten delight, moments in your life you had also forgotten come flooding back – now full of emotion because they had been forgotten for so long you did not realize how much you missed those simple, wonderful moments that you had no idea you would miss so much later at the original time you experienced them.
Continue Reading »

DeLeon Springs Florida, named for the famous explorer Ponce De Leon is one of Florida’s most beautiful natural springs. It has been voted one of Florida’s best State Parks on several occasions. It may not give you eternal youth, but you can sure spend the day feeling as care free as a child! It is pristine and unique – the swimming area, which is always 72 degrees F (as all other springs in Florida) is large and enclosed, which means no gators, although fish and turtles are often spotted! It is a wonderful place for the whole family as there are lots of great activities for every person - snorkeling, skin-diving or just lounging around on your raft.
Continue Reading »

We were in Orlando this past weekend celebrating our engagement and were looking for some good Mediterranean food. There is every kind of restaurant imaginable in Orlando, but what we experienced at Ali Baba’s was more than we could have dreamed up.
Continue Reading »

We have been to The Copper Pot several times since we moved to Ocala. What brings us back is that it has a unique dining experience that fits these criteria: intimate, quiet, interesting drinks and gourmet snacks with the whole package being budget-friendly!

Again, this is a case of don’t judge a book by its cover. We have found that with the exception of dining establishments in the downtown area, all the best places to go are in strip malls. If you want a free standing restaurant, you will generally have to eat at a chain restaurant. However, when you walk into The Copper Pot, you know that you have found a unique spot. The ambience is definitely there, every room has a low light and all the furnishings are done in dark wood colors with jewel toned fabrics. There are beautiful flower arrangements everywhere. If you decide to spend your evening in the lounge area you will sit in nice plush booths with the focal point of the room being the beautiful copper bar. Everything is sleek, shiny and stylish.
Continue Reading »

Sometimes, when you are looking for something to do on a weekend and you don’t feel like going to the movies, or going out to eat, or just getting stuck in front of the television again, there is a wonderful alternative in Downtown, Ocala! It is the Ocala Wine Experience. This little gem is a very unique place, indeed. Downstairs it is a wine shop where they sell every kind of wine imaginable as well as gourmet treats and their own beer, named for Ocala – The Horse’s Ass. But there is more, oh so much more to this place.
Continue Reading »

It has been years since I have had a good Sticky Toffee Pudding.
Honestly I have only had it 3 times prior– once in Ireland, once in Scotland, once in New York City. Do you know how hard it is to find it in America? Yes, yes you can get it in a can from Heinz, but is that good sticky toffee pudding? I don’t know, I don’t think I have ever had it, unless it was served to me in one of these places. God forbid. But in just those three occasions it has become my favorite dessert. I don’t like toffee in general, so I probably never would have had it if I ordered it from a menu. But once, I was in a restaurant and I saw a server walk by with this beautiful shining pudding, plated on top of a pile of silken vanilla custard the smell was out of this world! I decided right then and there I wanted it! Sticky Toffee Pudding despite its name does not taste like toffee. It tastes almost like a spice cake, and since that first time I have been hooked.

As I have a sixth sense for finding anything Gelato related, my powers must be growing. I must have a sixth sense for all my foodie favorites. Lucky me. We arrived in St. Augustine and as we were driving up and down the side streets looking for parking, I suddenly screamed: “Sticky Toffee Pudding!” There it was written with magic marker on a white board outside The Prince Of Wales Restaurant . Again the Foodie Gods were smiling upon me.
Continue Reading »

Welcome to post 10 bazillion of Gelato Nation! I feel like all I do lately is write about Gelaterias. I guess that is because I seem to have a sixth sense for them. Any town we go to, I can always find the tell-tale signs. I look for people in the streets walking with those quintessential shovel-spoons, I scan store windows for neon or painted signs with letter combinations beginning in G and ending in O with a T in the middle. I sniff out the smell of cones baking in the oven. I search the faces of people for that Gelato-Blissed-Out look.

And then I spring and devour in delight! This has become a joke at home now, everyone thrilled with my new my super-gelato-powers to scope out the good stuff!
Continue Reading »

You know the saying “Ask and you shall receive”? Well I asked for good Cuban Food and St. Augustine, Florida delivered big time! I had a great foodie experience in St. Augustine enjoying Cuban food and all of my favorites, in one day! It was a big challenge, but I was totally up for it!
Continue Reading »

Well there was so much to see and do in Ft. Lauderdale that I could probably write posts about it for the next 2 weeks. But in lieu of the fact that I just got back from yet another great destination, I am going to give you all the highlights instead! First I must say Ft. Lauderdale is perfect for a romantic getaway. Romantic Getaways to the beach is a no-brainer. There is nothing more romantic or relaxing than having nothing to do all day but sit at the beach, watch the water, play in the waves and eat, drink and be merry. We had a great time and would recommend it to any interested parties!
Continue Reading »

I am going to start off by saying that I feel kind of like I failed at this. I went to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida this weekend, in search of good Cuban food – at the very least a good Cubano Sandwich. I didn’t think it would be a challenge, I mean Ft. Lauderdale is known for Cuban food, so how hard could it be?
Continue Reading »

Our quest for authentic Italian Gelato in America lead us to Ft. Lauderdale this weekend, and it fulfilled our greatest hopes! Owners of Gelato Dream and Ciao Café (right on the strip on Ft. Lauderdale Beach Blvd), Leonardo and Silvia Baldi are building a Gelato empire in the US and that is a good thing for all of us! They came to Ft. Lauderdale from Asti, Italy 5 years ago and opened their first Gelato stand – Gelato Dream. It was so popular that they had to open Ciao Café a mere 3 years later. Even though there are 2 locations now, we still had to stand in line – something I have never seen before and it boded well!
Continue Reading »