Osteria Tulia, Naples, Florida

Housemade burrito with heirloom tomatoes and pea tendrils

For the past couple of years, I've been a loyal customer of Collier Family Farms, a local organic produce farm situated east of Naples.  Last season they participated in my local farmers' market, bringing with them a bounty of tomatoes of all types.  Farmer Steve tells me that the best tomatoes on their farm are earmarked just for Osteria Tulia, the "it" restaurant on Naples' famed 5th Avenue opened by Chef Vincenzo Betulia.  With the help of local purveyors like Collier Family Farms and local butcher, Jimmy P's, Chef Vincenzo extends the farm-to-table concept to rustic Italian fare and creates savory masterpieces that will make you want to come back for more.  And I'm not the only one singing Tulia's praises.  This past season, Tulia saw the likes of Harry Connick, Jr. and famed chef Emeril Lagasse too.  With a following like that, you can bet that Tulia will be around for a long time to come.  

Tulia is charming with its rustic wood flooring and inlaid brick, sophisticated but casual with the feel of a European farm house.  It's romantic enough for that long-deserved date night and at the same time perfect for a leisurely night out with friends.  Whether you are a party of one, two or more, it's easy to relax and enjoy yourself in Tulia's dining room.

Chef Vincenzo's first course appetizers are a hit with its visitors.  The most surprising favorite is Tulia's crisp fried pigs ears.  As off putting as it may sound, this is not your ordinary pork rind.  Only slightly chewy in places, crisp in others, perfectly salted and served with an optional lime wedge, its just the right thing to wet your palate and get you ready for the main course to come.  Don't feel like being adventurous, then stick with Tulia's warm bread service and traditional Italian caponata (just like my husband's Sicilian grandmother used to make).  If you'd rather skip the apps and get started on the courses, Tulia offers a delightful selection of salads.  Among my favorites is the soft and creamy house made burrata with some of Collier Family Farm's supplied heirloom tomatoes, dressed with olive oil, cracked black pepper and pea tendrils.  The watermelon and raspberry salad with frisee and feta is also a nice summer option.  

Garganelli with braised lamb and sheep cheese

But the pasta dishes at Tulia are where it is at.  Made on site, these pasta dishes are to die for (and for a little bit extra can be made gluten free).  I'm a short rib fan so the tortellini is one of my go to options when dining at Tulia.  And if Anna isn't with me, the garganelli with braised lamb is a nice choice too.  The meats added to these dishes are both cooked nicely, appropriately sauced and properly highlighted by these well made pastas.  Having difficulty choosing?  Wednesday nights this summer, Tulia offers a pasta tasting flight with a trio of selections.   Have picky kids?  There's no reason that they too can't enjoy Tulia.  I've been told the kitchen will oblige a finicky eater with buttered versions of these pastas.

If you are not into pasta, my newest Tulia recommendation is the seafood risotto.  Anyone who has tried to make risotto at home knows that a well-cooked risotto is not easily done.  It takes a lot of patience and practice.  So when I have an opportunity to order this traditional Italian rice dish at a restaurant with a chef as skilled as Chef Vincenzo, I don't pass that up.  Billed to be made with "all the seafood in the house", this dish is indeed chock full of bits from the goodness of the waters punctuated with fresh cut scallion.  When the risotto appears again on Tulia's regularly changing menu, I will definitely order it again.  

My biggest recommendation though is to come to Tulia with an empty stomach.  Why?  Because, after dining through all of these amazing dishes, you really don't want to miss the dessert selections.  Just like their is savory courses, Tulia's sweet plates don't disappoint.  Visually inviting and equally tasty, these desserts make for a great capper to a great night.

The best thing about Tulia?  Enjoying its fare doesn't really have to break your budget.  Don't get me wrong.  I'm sure you could really blow through quite a bit of cash here if you really wanted to.  But, sans wine and with careful selections, you could really get out of this place on the cheap.  On our first trip to Tulia, the hubby and I skated away with a bill just under $100.  Not bad when you consider we'd ordered a salume app, a salad, two pasta dishes, one dessert, coffee and a glass of wine.  Just the other day, my party of four dined on apps, salads, entrees, dessert, coffee and several glasses of wine for a total, with tip, of $210.  Not bad, right?!  If that's still too rich for your pocket, then head next door to Chef Vincenzo's gastropub, Bar Tulia, for high quality plates at more casual prices.

What can I say, I love Osteria Tulia.  It's one of the places I bring anyone who is new to Naples.  It's a place I go to celebrate a holiday.  Because this place itself is something to celebrate.  

Dining cheque rating:  $$$

Dining spoons rating:  4 1/2 spoons

DeRomo's Gourmet Market and Restaurant, Bonita Springs, Florida

Assortment of my holiday cookies from DeRomo's Bakery

A few years ago, I had the opportunity to wander the NYC city streets on my own and found myself in the epicurean paradise called Eataly.  Its a one stop shop for all things food - grocery, bakery,  fromagerie, deli, restaurant, coffee bar.  It had me at "hello".  I never thought I'd find any place close enough to my own backyard that would come close.  I'm very happy to stand corrected!  In the upscale shopping enclave of the Promenade now stands DeRomo's Gourmet Market & Restaurant, a little slice of Italian heaven in Bonita Springs, Florida.    

Set in old world rustic decor, DeRomo's offers a multitude of offerings.  The grocery offers a wide selection of items including produce, fresh breads and bakery items, homemade and specialty pastas and gourmet snacks.  DeRomo's also has a well stocked meat counter boasting beef, veal, pork and poultry cuts alongside house made Italian sausages and ready-to-cook specialities like braciola.   The variety of available selections makes DeRomo's an ideal shopping location for party hosts and home chefs.

Among my favorite sections in the market is the bakery.  Each trip to DeRomo's guarantees that I will leave with a box full of homemade cookies and pastries.  The pastry case rivals any authentic Italian bakery in Little Italy.  My go to selections include the amaretti and pignoli cookies, both of which have a soft chewy and lightly sweet center prefect to pair with an after dinner cappuccino or espresso.  But if you prefer a sweet with a bit more crunch, DeRomo's bakers do not disappoint with its assortment of biscotti.

In addition to grocery offerings, DeRomo's also boasts prepared foods and ready to order items from its deli area.  Sandwiches, pizzas, flatbreads and hot soups are all available for the lunch diner on the go.  Comfort foods like meat stromboli and Italian wedding soup will not disappoint you.  Don't want to "take out"?  "Eat in" and enjoy your meal on the outside patio.  In the springtime, on a nice temperate day, the patio makes for a nice mid-day lunch date.

For those looking for a more elegant dining experience, head through the market's back door and right into DeRomo's restaurant.  The menu features many of the traditional offerings of fine Italian dining, including my perennial favorite, eggplant parmesan so nicely breaded and sauced.        Those dining alone can also enjoy the upscale experience and set themselves at the bar situated between DeRomo's indoor and outdoor dining areas.





DeRomo's is a unique experience in the Southwest Florida area, one that I have been enjoying many times over since its opening in just over a year ago.   Admittedly, the quality of the fare is reflected in its prices.  But it is quite true that you do get what you pay for.  And when you are looking for something comforting and delicious, DeRomo's is an ideal place to go.

Eataly, New York, New York

Recently, I took a trip to New York City.  While I really wanted to eat my way through the city, I'm a petite gal and I can only pack away so much food.  It's just a shame because there is so much good food in the City.  But, things are what they are and if I wanted to appreciate all of the good food planned for my day, I needed to take some breaks between bites.  On the suggestion of a good friend and fellow foodie, I scheduled some "food wanderings" in between dining venues.  On the advice of my good friend, I wandered my way from the Doughnut Plant (review to come soon) in the direction of Eataly, an Italian food and dining venue right in the Flatiron District in Midtown Manhattan.  This was the perfect spot for a respite between doughnuts and British gastropub fare.  And a great spot to pick up Italian imported arabica coffee beans for my Sicilian husband and European chocolates for my two kids.  Situated on famous Fifth Avenue, near the corner at 23rd Street, this upscale food market has everything one would need to satisfy an Italian food craving:  plump ripe vegetables and fruits, house made pasta, olives and oils, fresh baked bread, chocolates, coffee, salumi and other cured meats, hard and soft cheeses, Italian sweets and more.  And if you are an out of towner like me, unable to fill up on those perishable goods that won't survive the flight home, you can partake at eleven different cafes and restaurants for big or small bites, whatever your pleasure, all in the midst of this bustling market.  I had only thirty minutes to take it all in before heading to lunch at the Spotted Pig, but it was thirty minutes very well spent.  But don't think that Eataly is a place you can or should just quickly cruise through.  There is so much here to see and enjoy and a half hour is definitely not enough to completely appreciate all that this upscale Italian market has to offer.  It's too bad I didn't have more time.  I'm definitely going to allocate a couple of hours to this amazing marketplace the next time I have a chance to visit the Big Apple.  For now, I'm just going to have to enjoy these pics.  Hope you do too!

Cheese, cheese and more cheese!

Fresh fruit and veggies, good enough to eat right off the cart

They had me a prosciutto

Making the pasta ....

and baking the bread.  

Blue Moose Pizza, Vail, Colorado

Outside of Blue Moose Pizza in Lionshead Village

Not every restaurant we dine at is the four or five star type.  I admit I'm a food snob and when I travel I have a habit for tracking down all the James Beard Award nominees in my chosen destination.  But, from time to time, I do want food that is simple and straightforward.  Sometimes, I appreciate a really good pizza.  Vail is miles away from both New York and Chicago but that doesn't mean it's lacking in fine pizzerias.  Blue Moose Pizza is one of them.    With locations in both Beaver Creek and Lionshead Village, Blue Moose Pizza is a favorite for Vail visitors.   Blue Moose is especially loved by families.  Their walls are adorned with pizza box-sized  framed artwork of younger diners.  Tables are topped with butcher paper and cups of crayons, ready for drawing.  Kids are kept happy and busy until the pies arrive to the table.  It's no wonder that the Blue Moose is a hit with parents and children alike.

What I loved:   As a Chicago native, I know I ought be to be loyal to the deep dish.  But, I'll apologize to my fellow Chicagoans now and confess that I love a good thin crust, especially the crispy cracker kind.  Some may say that's more flatbread than pizza, but I don't care.  It's how I love my pizza.  And what I love most about Blue Moose pizza is their crisp thin crust which I understand is a well kept secret.   I have no idea what is in it or how it's cooked, but I assume it must be cooked in a brick oven.  The crisp browned bubbles on the bottom of the crust prove that it is cooked through, not soggy, chewy and droopy like other New York style pizzas.  I also like that Blue Moon uses ground sausage to top their pizzas when sausage is ordered.  I am just not a fan of that sliced sausage stuff.  When I want pepperoni, I order it so I don't need my sausage to fake being it.  Ground sausage is the way to go and I love that Blue Moose gets that too.  What's the other thing they get?  Just how much sauce a pizza really needs.  In my mind, sauce doesn't need to drown the pizza; it just needs to be there enough to lend its flavor.  So on a Blue Moose pizza, the sauce is applied thinly where the cheese is applied liberally.  And right where the cheese stops and the crust begins, which is my favorite part, is a nice, sweet ring of tomato.  Just enough to flavor the bit of bread that finishes off the slice.  I don't need to dip that crust in marinara because Blue Moose has brought that marinara to me.  I'm getting hungry just writing about it.

What I didn't love:  I can't really say that there is anything that I don't like about Blue Moose.  It's a fun place to come for a quick bite to eat.  I think I can only say that I don't love visiting on a rainy day.  The outdoor seating is the best place to be.

How Much I Spent:  ($) Our family of four ordered a 15" "build your own" pizza with sausage on 1/2 and four sodas for a total of about $32, with tip.

My overall rating:  3 1/2 spoons (out of 5).  Now I can't comment on any of the other menu items because, frankly, the only thing I've ever ordered at Blue Moose Pizza is the pizza.  But, I assume with pizza this good, the other menu items are at least worth a try.