Lupa Lupa's

It's been said home is where the heart is and I have to believe that my heart lies in Italy. As a child I couldn't get enough pasta, as a teen I was deprived of it to keep my weight down, and on my travels through Italy I devoured it like a starving orphan. There's just something about farfalle, and penne, and orzo, and bavette, no matter how you slice it my heart goes out to Italy. So tromping my way through NYC has become a game, of how many dinner invites, and Italian pizzeria's I can shun. Who has the best red sauce? Where does the tastiest lemoncello reside, how many bowls of this can I really eat before I'm officially weighing in 10 lbs over weight? (Yes people, we are weighed in at the agency) I have my tricks for combating these weight issues, but I also have dreams and those fantasy's include eggplant parm, and tatufo.

Away we go to Lupa's Osteria Roma. The coolest damn Italian restaurant in Soho. The interior is warm, inviting, and chill. The servers are knowledgeable and have pizazz. We started off with a mixed dish of speck and prosciutto. I have had better prosciutto but the speck was purrfect, sliced evenly and thin at room temperature just the way it should be. Then came the pasta.. I could go on and on about this simple dish but I won't. The bavette cacio and pepe... What a winner. This dish had just enough butter, the right amount of pasta and extremely fresh pepe. Couldn't have been better. How could I follow this dish...

After my al dente to perfection pasta, I decided to indulge in one of my favorite flatfishs, the fluke. This fish was light, crispy and served with spinach and fried shallots. Another great dish with a portion size that was right on the money. I don't know about you but I don't like wimpy portions but I also don't like to feel overwhelmed or obligated to eat everything on my plate. Another model rule, taste everything, eat nothing.

I broke my rule of no sweets for this dinner, tartufo was calling. I had just seen "It's Complicated" and there were so many references to chocolate I had to give in. The chocolate infused with hazelnut and vanilla ice cream was just what I was looking for, absolutely delish!

Meal well done! As a heads up..... fashion week is approaching so my entries will be less and possibly non-existent. The diet has begun. No more bavette, or ice cream for awhile. The pasta will have to remain in my dreams probably until March, who knows what Miami will bring...

xoxo