Hand Made Pasta at Grato in Morris Plains, NJ

This past Sunday my husband and I ventured out to a new restaurant.  I decided that we had to go to Grato in Morris Plains, NJ.  I wanted to go here because their pastas are made by hand except the for the whole wheat linguine. 

I ordered a fig, arugala salad and my husband ordered the tri color chopped salad topped with slices of apples. 

 We decided to try the hand made pasta and both dishes were perfectly presented and were delicious! He ordered the Nonna’s Spaghetti Special and I ordered the Goat Cheese Tortelloni in a light tomato cream sauce.

The atmosphere is rustic and very comfortable and the restaurant offers a very good wine list, with many wines form Italy,  and wine by the glass.

I would definitely go back and next time I would like to try their pizza.  I know that JohnandElana would give this place a thumbs up!

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Dinner at the Bernards Inn in Bernardsville, NJ

My husband and I met friends for dinner at the Bernards Inn over the weekend.  The chef, Corey W  Heyer, presented his fall menu which was fantastic to say the least!  I ordered the sweet potato ravioli (sorry my picture does not do it justice) was out of this world!  They were so delicate and  delicious that you must order it!  My cod fish was tender, tasty and wonderfully prepared. My dessert, which is what I live for – an apple tart with vanilla icream was soooo delicious. So I highly recommend you make a reservation for dinner at the Bernards Inn.

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Mamma Agata at the Bernards Inn this November.

 

 

 Join Gourmet Getaways on November 1 at the Bernards Inn for an evening of Italian wine, food and travel.  Chiara, Mamma Agata’s daughter from Ravello Italy, will be doing a book signing.  Chiara has published an extraordinary collection of Mamma Agata’s recipes that have been in the family for many years. This long awaited cookbook reveals Mamma’s culinary secrets. It is a cookbook that will be cherished by all food lovers especially those that have taken her cooking class on the Amalfi Coast.  Don’t be left out!  The cost of this wonderful cookbook is only $50.00

 

Gourmet Getaways will be presenting a special travel opportunity to the Amalfi Coast featuring Mamma Agata for September 2011.

 

There will be over 150 wine vendors from Italy and the chef at the Bernards Inn will be presenting some of Mamma’s favorite antipasti recipes.

 

It is sure to be a fun filled evening so please make your reservations by calling the Bernards Inn at 908 766 7300 ext. 155 and ask for Traci.  The cost of the event is $60.00 which entitles you to wine and food!

 

Hope to see you there! Mark your calendar for November 1, 2010.  The event begins at 6:30pm and lasts until 8:30pm!

 

See you there !

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A Visit to St. Louis, MO

Have you ever been to St. Louis, MO?  We, the family, attended a wedding over Labor Day weekend because my son was bestman for his childhood friend.  My husband, daughter and I decided to explore the city before the festivities started.  We had a good amount of time so off we went to the downtown area by cab.  Our cab driver was very informative. So for about 15 minutes he took  us on a scenic tour to downtown St. Louis.  We saw the famous Gateway Arch!  Then on to the Anheuser-Busch Brewery for a free one hour tour ending with two free beer tastings!  Free! Did you know that St. Louis has free admissions to other sights such as: S.t Louis Science Center, St. Louis Art Museum, National Great Rivers Museum and more!

By now it was close to lunch time and we had read about a great Italian restaurant in ‘The Hill’ district of St. Louis.  Being Italians and we love good food, we called a cab and off we went!  To Rigazzi’s!

We ordered the ‘toasted ravioli’and two different pizzas.  First came the ravioli, which by the way is not toasted, it is fried! ! with sauce on the side. We all looked at each other and wondered what the pizzas where going to taste like!

Before long they were being delivered to our table.  With our taste buds ready to attack we indulged.  One was a white pizza with roasted garlic, and the other was the pizza margherita – with gorganzola cheese? And how about the crust!  Does the phrase ‘stale fortune cookie’ have any meaning for you? Basically it had to be a loser in the Betty Crocker baker-off.   I must say we were a bit disappointed.  Coming from the New York metropolitan area maybe our expectations were too high!  We decided it was a waste of calories! 

Overall, we did have a good time touring St. Louis and we were all quite impressed with the city.  Well worth a trip !  By now it was time to get back to the hotel, Ritz Carlton, to get ready for the wedding, which by the way, was outstanding!

I would highly recommend the Ritz Carlton in St. Louis!  A very elegant hotel and it was enjoyed by all.

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