wine

I can literally count the number of times I have cooked a real meal this summer on one hand. This blog, once full of recipes and food photos hasn’t seen a homecooked meal since our Bastille Day bouilliabase feast.  With such gorgeous weather, the thought of spending any time inside just hasn’t appealed to me, so there have been plenty of dinners out, calls to Shanti, and turkey subs. . . lots of turkey subs on the boat. I am okay with all of this, hoping that now with the depressing darkness and cooler temperatures, I will be more inclined to stay inside to cook and blog.

One of the best parts about the summer is that there have been lots of date nights, often spontaneous ones, that turn out to be incredibly special and memorable.  Our date night at Mamma Maria was one of them. We met up after work, our only plan to wander the North End, and when hunger started to set in, we found ourselves near Mamma Maria. In the past we have enjoyed cozy meals in their Piccolo Room, a dining room that seats four, overlooking North Square. It was just our luck that the Piccolo Room was open for the next two hours, and we were soon seated in our own private restaurant.

We caught up on our days over cocktails. I don’t quite remember what mine was called, but it was full of fresh peach puree, summery and delicious.

We decided to share a half bottle of wine with our meals, which consisted of several small plates. The Villa Bucci Verdicchio was perfect with food, acidic and full of floral and mineral notes.

To start, we shared the burrata with tomatoes and the zucchini special, which included zucchini blossoms stuffed with goat cheese and fried. Heaven is fried zucchini blossoms.

Our second course was all about gorgeous seafood. We shared the scallops, which were perfectly seared and accompanied by orange slices, fennel, and peppery arugula.

The lobster ravioli, a signature Mamma Maria dish, were full of sweet lobster and dressed with the perfect amount of rich sauce, asparagus, and mushrooms. The portion sizes were perfect for sharing, and every bite was absolutely delicious. The fact that we were all alone in the room with really attentive service made it a romantic evening to remember.

We decided to skip indoor dessert in order to take a neighborhood stroll, taking in all of the locals enjoying the warm summer evening. We eventually landed at Bova’s for cannolis, a sweet way to end the perfect date night.

If you live in Boston, what’s your favorite North End restaurant? If you don’t what’s your favorite place for a date?

Happy Birthday today to my mom, the most wonderful woman in the world!