Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Vivo Ristorante

We checked out Vivo Ristorante, a semi-new Italian restaurant in Parma this weekend and loved it. It has a cool atmosphere with an open kitchen to watch the action from the large bar. There was a wait but it was worth it! We started at the bar, and decided to stay put even when our table became available, because the bartender Jim took such great care of us! The food was outstanding. We started with Arancini (risotto balls), which were half-priced at happy hour time, and made them an incredible deal. They were delicious, as was the accompanying marinara and pesto drizzle. I had the Gnocchi Rosa (minus the sausage, since I'm vegetarian) and he had the Pistachio Crusted Grouper. Both were very generous portions, cooked perfectly, and very flavorful. By the way, there were plenty of vegetarian options and I'll be back to work my way through them

Friday, July 15, 2011

Bistro 185

Went to Bistro 185 last night for one of their VEGAN nights and my tastebuds were dancing. I wish I could go back and have it all again tonight!

It was a 3 for $30 and included a Grilled Caesar Salad, a Barbecue Tofu over a roasted sweet potato and this amazing grilled corn and edamame succotash, and this sweet little jalapeno cornbread, and then a strawberry shortcake complete with vegan ice cream to finish.

I have been a vegetarian for over 20 years, and have not had a great version of a Caesar until last night - Bistro 185 finally nailed a vegan caesar salad!

It was one of those meals where every other word out of my mouth was OMG. Thank you Bistro 185! Absolutely delicious.