an italian feast at home

this weekend could be called a splurge weekend-at least when it came to food. and to end it all, V and i started Sunday with brunch at Cafe Luluc. i'd always heard great things about their brunch, especially their pancakes, and since V usually has a sweet tooth for breakfast, i figured it'd be a good suggestion.

lo and behold, the one day where V doesn't want to eat too much. turns out he'd had a fast food junket the day before and he wanted to try and eat healthier, a la yogurt and fruit for breakfast. 

however, undeterred, i forged ahead with our walk over to Cafe Luluc. arriving around 11:15 a.m., the wait was a reasonable 10-15 minutes. shortly before 11:30 a.m., we were seated at the counter and ready to order. 

a sucker for savory breakfasts, especially eggs benedict, it's no surprise i ordered the eggs benedict with smoked salmon ($10). it's served with french fries (hooray! i'm actually not a big fan of homefries-i always prefer french fries) and a small salad. overall, i wasn't that impressed with their dish. the eggs were overcooked and the salmon portion was meager. 

courtesy of blissfuleats.com

V on the other hand ordered the goat cheese and spinach quiche, which was a special for the day. the spinach was well seasoned and was perfectly paired with the creamy saltiness of the goat cheese. also served with french fries and a small salad. this was clearly the winner amongst our 2 dishes.

their service was impeccable and friendly, even though the restaurant was overwhelminingly full with diners. i also noticed that they have dinner specials Monday-Thursday and Sunday which were interesting, especially the drinks specials (all $5). definitely worth looking into.

you would think that after such a bountiful brunch, V and i would've relegated ourselves to a light dinner. but V, who clearly possesses the metabolism of a teenage boy, was already planning our dinner before we'd even left Cafe Luluc.

his interest had been piqued for Durso's Pasta & Ravioli Company after seeing it featured on Throwdown! with Bobby Flay. and so a few hours later, we found ourselves at the quaint italian shop purchasing the featured osso bucco ravioli and accompanying osso bucco sauce. to add carb on top of carb, V purchased half a dozen garlic knots ("to soak up the sauce" he said). in an attempt to balance out our carb feast, i got a half pound of broccoli rabe sauteed with garlic and some hot peppers.

in total, we spent about $50 for dinner for the both of us, which included all of the above and a box of lobster ravioli and spicy fra diavolo sauce. the osso bucco with the accompanying sauce was pretty epic. the sauce isn't a traditional red sauce, but instead more of a gravy which accents the taste of the ravioli perfectly. plus those garlic knots were heavenly with a strong garlic scent but not an overpowering garlic flavor. and it really was the perfect vehicle to sop up that amazing sauce.