something old - something new

Well in the continuing saga, we tried a new place tonight - Pisolino (which means "nap" apparently LOL)

While not high end dining, it was good for what it was - a pizza and panini and pasta place, pretty close to home.  The service was five star and the corkage fee is reasonable... All and all we give it a thumbs up for sure as a lunch place and maybe only slightly less so for dinner.

and last night at the last minute we decided on the easy and nearby Ruyi (formerly Anna's Asian Grill) still good but I doubt it will be here next year we were literally two of three customers -

So we're still not starving LOL and we have a few days respite from extensive dining - as we watch the hurricane track move its way across the state of Florida towards our county - so we are glued to the forecasts to see how things go....

Another Anna's

So last night we decided kind of last minute on having a meal - a second one at Anna's Asian Grill. The food was very good but I am not sure they will be in business long term- it was Saturday at 8 PM and we were the only people in the nicely appointed restaurant.  Mind you, is has been unseasonably cold so maybe every one was ordering in pizza and snuggling up in front of the fire and watching the NHL playoffs but still....

 however- the food was worth it-

avocados stuffed with tuna tartare-  then two kinds of buns duck and pork belly-

then spicy Asian chicken wings (I'd give these a pass next time)

marvelous ribs with sake sauce-

a Saigon roll - basically salad in rice wrapper - very fresh!

the Samurai roll - followed by the geisha and the full moon rolls- all good- the full moon was quite spicy

we will definitely return - and on the way out we saw the delivery guy which might explain the dearth of people there LOL - for summer they have a patio too - and since it is BYO I bet it is popular then!

and today I begin work in earnest on the DART photos so I promise you won't have to wait much longer LOL

zooming by

yes that would be time- since I last posted I have been on another trip and then moved north for the summer and been in a whirlwind social schedule for the six days I was in Chicago before heading back down to Florida to close the condo for the summer season.... so I will get back to my trip in a bit but for now this will be a post about the social whirlwind we have been in...

I arrived on Sunday with Lucy and eight cases of wine and the computers etc etc... crashed after the 20+ hours of driving... Monday we had dinner with Mike & Leslie who were in town for a meeting Leslie had for business... We went to Salero with them.  On Tuesday we met Ron & Mary at Anna's Asian Grill and then Wednesday we had dinner with Suzanne (in from Portland for business meetings) at Tanta and Thursday dinner with Steve (in for a visit with us! LOL) at Ruxbin and Friday dinner with Steve & Suzanne at Oriole which will of course be its own post... Saturday morning I am headed back to SRQ for ballet on Sunday and all kinds of other errands - car recall getting handled and the usual end of season clean up etc.

So here we go on photos-

The first dinner was Salero - with Mike & Leslie- and we had many good things but the wines were all that were recorded LOL-  we loved the suckling pig and the octopus and olives with manchego- liked the hamachi crudo and jamon serrano and marcona almonds - we also had the halibut and the paella and a couple of other dishes along the way so we definitely didn't go hungry LOL

the next meal on the calendar was Anna's with Ron and Mary- and of that I managed to capture the starter of stuffed avocado - but here it is- a work of art for your mouth! LOL

you can see we had many other dishes - all excellent - but we got wrapped up in conversation LOL so no photos-  LOVED the sake baby ribs and the buns with pork belly and peking duck.... all the rolls were excellent too- and they have a patio for outdoor eating in the summer! Definitely a place to return to!

Then on to Tanta with Suzanne on Wednesday night - two cebiches and two tiraditos as well as the corn cake and the Chaufa and octopus and empanadas and the very good chocolate mousse dessert with cocoa nibs ...that was yummy!

then Ruxbin on Thursday with Steve- LOL - this was interesting because they have redone the interior and I didn't think it was for the better- less intimate setting for dining -

we chose the wedge the foie gras and the pork belly and then followed with the fruits de mer and the duck and the steak and we all had the chocolate dessert

we all LOVED the foie gras course-

and the pork belly got three thumbs up-

 two views of the fruits de mer-

perfectly prepared duck was another fave

hanger steak was tender and had terrific flavor!

so to make it to our next meal we tried a neighborhood place for lunch of pizza - new to us and it was good pizza not brilliant but good pizza (I liked it better than Phil) and tonight we are all pumped for the big meal of the visit - ORIOLE- which will get its own post.... then I will go back in time and cover the DART trip with TB to Maryland and Delaware--- many things to recount with that travel... but I am off to a computer less location for the next five days - back in May to fill you in again...

sometimes it gets busy LOL- so stay tuned - eventually we will be up to date - we will get the DART done before we head to NYC and the NYC done before cousin Michele visits for memorial day and then Ireland LOL - so always something to report on....