First Harvest and Delfino

Yesterday I decided to weed our jungle of a garden.  We have one good sized one with veggies and two other areas where we planted herbs, veggies, and flowers.  When I examined and evaluated the overgrowth of the weedage, I wanted to quit before starting.  It was not a pretty sight.  You couldn't even see the cucumber vines growing on the ground because of the grass like weeds that infiltrated our garden.   After working for three hours, I was covered in dirt from head to toe and sweating like...well you all know where I am going with that one.  I was hot and exhausted.  Gardening is seriously an actual workout and pretty much kicked my butt.  Unfortunately after all my hard work, I didn't love the end result, as there were still some areas with weeds.  At least it didn't still look like the forest it was a few hours prior.  Although I can identify every plant in my garden, there were a couple fatalities.  A flower plant in the front garden, a cuke vine, and some celery stocks lost their lives.  But the outcome of the harvest was well worth the blood, sweat, and tears.  I picked two kinds of peppers, a cuke, two zucchinis and some rhubarb (which I hate).   Yay summer!

Yesterday evening, the hubs and I enjoyed a date night at one of my favorite places to eat in the world...Delfino!!  It is a little slice of Heaven right in Rozzie Square.  In my opinion, Delfino is superior to many of the spots in the North End. It is a cute little restaurant that specializes in authentic Italian cuisine.  It has a cozy atmosphere and it is always busy but in a good way.  They don't take reservations but you can call ahead.  We went at 8:30 and we were seated immediately.  That never happens so I was psyched!  We usually have to put our name and cell phone number on the waiting list and head over to the Birch Street Bistro which is around the corner.  We can get a quick drink there and depending on how hungry we are, a snack, as well.  The quality and freshness of Delfino's food is remarkable.  The service from Michael, the accommodating host, to the bussers, to the waitstaff and servers, to the chefs is beyond incredible.  They are attentive, friendly, and knowledgeable about the menu, the specials, and most importantly the wine.  I usually get the house Chianti.  It is very tasty.  Felix, our waiter was great.  There were several parties still eating so he was a bit busy but it didn't affect his attentiveness to us.  He immediately came over with a bowl of their fresh and crusty bread to dip in olive oil and to let us know the specials.  The salad special was an arugula one with Gorgonzola, caramelized, spicy walnuts made with greens with a delish vinaigrette dressing.  We totally had to have that after the mouth watering description by Felix.  I ALWAYS get their Caesar salad which is the best around but we decided to get a little crazy and try a new option.  We were very glad we did because it was amazing.  Felix listed several other nightly specials including a tuna with mango salsa over greens as an appetizer.  The four entree specials were swordfish, salmon, gnocchi with sausage (gnocchi is at the bottom of my list), and smoked then pan seared pork loin which I ordered.  They were all served with awesomeness but I can't remember all the ingredients for each dish.  Mine included a savory sweet sauce served under the medium well cooked meat topped with the mango salsa perfection, served with carrots and grilled asparagus and Delfino's delectable mashed.  The dish was scrumptious and the hubs agreed.  He had his and many others' usual...the open faced lobster ravioli.  It is served piping hot with lasagna like pasta on the top and bottom filled with generous sized lobster pieces and scallops in a cream sauce.  As  you should know by now, (haha) I am not a seafood type of girl.  But everyone I know who has tasted the lobster ravioli absolutely loves it.  They usually end up ordering it every time they go to Delfino.    I have eaten several dishes on their diverse menu including various pasta dishes (the bolognese is incredible), chicken dishes (the chicken Parmesan is the bomb), the steamed mussels (weird I know but I love them), to the aged sirloin (phenomenal).   The portions are sizable and I always have some to take home.  You can not leave Delfino without having a fresh cannoli made with the most rich ricotta filling in a crusty, sweet shell topped with pistachios.  OMG!!!  Others love their homemade tiramisu and chocolate bread pudding.  There is not one horrible thing I can say about Delfino and if you haven't been already, you need to go asap.  I give Delfino in Roslindale on South Street, an A.