* Eating 52 Countries In 52 Weeks - Week 17 - ITALY

After a whirlwind birthday weekend and a super busy work-week, I finally found time to blog, hours before we leave for our overseas trip.

Italy - the land of bold romances and even bolder tastes passed through out table at Villa Roma this week and might I say "left its mark!"

Villa Roma is another favorite restaurant for us where they serve Italian and Argentinian food with a side of live music. This place always feels like everyone at other tables are your extended family members. Older couples take the floor to show some flirty dance moves to educate the youngen in sensuality. Such a lovely place... If you are wondering why the food from two countries oceans apart live under the same roof, the answer is WWI. During WWI many Italians migrated to Argentina and of course brought their cuisine with them.

Bread, olive oil and balsamic vinegar were the opening act as expected and soon after a glass of Chianti and a glass of Moscato joined in and stayed for the rest of the night.

It makes me feel like I actually can speak Italian just saying the names of the appetizers we got: Carpaccio di Manzo and chef's specialty of the week Insalata di Barbabietola.

From the Italian part of the menu, I picked Vitello Cimabue. Who can say no to the veal scaloppini topped with eggplant, tomato sauce, fontina cheese and a touch of white wine...

Rick's pick was the Risotto al Fruto di Mare - a family reunion of mussels, clams, shrimp and calamari in a sea of rice decorated with white wine, garlic sauce.

If you hear the words "Italian" and "dessert" in the same sentence, it is highly likely you will also hear Tiramisu next. We ordered one to share and I was glad they did not stick a candle in it and sing the birthday song when they served it.

As the closing act for our dinner, we chose to drink Cappuccinos. Though we hesitated at first knowing that Italians drink cappuccino for breakfast, we justified our order by saying "it is morning now in Italy". I chose the regular kind while Rick ordered Cappuccino Roma - the not so virgin one ;)

This was a dreamy dinner and a perfect ending to the day of my birth that started with a hot-air-balloon ride that left me floating still with great joy. I am one lucky gal, in every sense of the word.

Buon appetito!

And see you in two weeks when we come back with more culinary adventures to share with you...