Celebrations Covered in Parmesan

If I had to guess, your family probably celebrates events like ours does, with food. Special occasions deserve dinner out with a little wine and some high calorie delights. And what says celebration better than Italian food?

Almost eleven years ago, Joe and I tied the knot in Omaha. We had a fairly casual outdoor wedding, but all of the weekend festivities began with a wonderful evening spent at Lo Sole Mio with 80 of our closest friends and family. I have no recollection of any food from that night, but I vividly remember walking into the party room and realizing that nearly everyone I knew and loved was there, waiting to celebrate with us and spend the next two days with us as we joined our families together. It was one of the best nights I've ever experienced. Relaxing, joyful, filled with speeches and memories from everyone in the room. Joe's parents, Sherry and John, were so generous and hosted the evening, invited every out of town guest and all of our close relatives and friends. It was perfect.

 

 

So I was thrilled when Sherry and John suggested that we have dinner at Lo Sole Mio this weekend to celebrate Sherry's birthday and mine, and our joint wedding anniversaries. I'd actually get to try the food that I remember everyone raving about! Notorious for a two hour wait on weekend nights, it's that good, we headed over a little early and were seated right away.

Red wine, delicious homemade salad dressings, fried artichokes, more red wine, and then overflowing plates of pasta and seafood, veal in rich Marsala sauce, and delicate angel hair pasta. I can totally understand the two hour wait. The food is traditional American Italian. It's not trendy, it's not organic and free range, but it's delicious. Perfectly prepared, excellent waitstaff, and cozy faux Italian decor complete with columns and Roman statuary looming at you over your table. It was a great night. We chatted and laughed and shared memories of that night eleven years ago when we were all here together.

 

Kim was delicious. Full bodied, slight woodsy notes with a hint of laminated name tag.

 

 

And since we were celebrating about four occasions, we had to have dessert. And it had to be tiramisu. It was one of those simple, merry evenings, tied to our past, tied to memories of our friends and family celebrating together and tied back to the beginning of our lives together. The perfect place to celebrate. And now I get to actually remember the food!