Dining Out

So I know I had intended to cook a delicious home made dinner, but rather I treated my mother to a (very belated) mother's day dinner. But! We kept it Italian.

We went to La Lanterna Cafe & Grill. It's this great little Tuscan restaurant in Ridgewood, NJ. First of all, we ate outside. They have this great little semi-enclosed eating area outside. Wrought iron furniture, exposed brick walls, an all around nice ambiance. It was nice sitting outside, but staying dry thanks to the above head enclosure. Secondly, the restaurant is family owned and operated. The wife and husband that own the restaurant both work there, he is the chef and she manages the floor. She was very friendly and his food was delicious!

So the important thing: what did we eat? Well this place is BYOB, so I stopped at a liquor store and picked up some Hoegaarden while walking over from the Ridgewood train station to this restaurant (another nice thing, this restaurant is a five minute walk from the train! So convenient). We shared an appetizer of calamari, and for entrees, my mother had a crab dish with broccoli rabe and I had pesto with penne. The calamari was really light and refreshing. Not overly fried or battered like a lot of places like to do. It was cooked really well. My mom felt the pesto was on the creamier side, but I didn't really think that so much. I thought it was good. The basil was very fresh! My mom liked the soft shell crab and the broccoli rabe, she had fewer leftovers than I!

I think my mom and I are going to go back over the summer, on a warmer, less rainy day! This place is definitely enjoyable for many reasons and if you live in the Northern New Jersey I would recommend you go!

Anyway, I am in the middle of packing. I am going away for the long weekend (No, not the shore. We're not all stereotypes here in Jersey). No cooking or updating for a few days! But check back in June (a new month-time flies)!