my stomach dances to the sound of piccolos

I did indeed check out Piccolo Forno last night, thanks to E-dawg's recommendation. But, I didn't end up trying the dish she had with sage butter (spinach ravioli), but rest assured I plan to go back another time to check it out!

We started with the Crostini di Polenta which were baked polenta squares each with their own topping--a gorgonzola sauce, roasted cherry tomatoes, and the menu says the third is mushrooms, but I'd nearly stake a pinky finger that it was actually an olive tapenade. The presentation was rustically beautiful with slivers of artichoke hearts and kalamata olives liberally and artfully sprinkled on the plate. And, it was a large plate, not that we wasted any!

For dinner I had mushroom crepes in the "canneloni style". They were good, but I felt like they were missing something. They were really heavy and rich with a boatload of white cream sauce. I'm thinking maybe less sauce, and some kind of acidic inclusion? But, still really good.

Then dessert was limoncello gelato. Whoa. For real. This was gorgeous and delicious! I love lemon desserts, and this one is maybe in the top three. So amazingly good. Creamy gelato with candied lemon (in limoncello!) within and scattered about. So fantastic. My mouth just literally watered thinking about it.

Oh, E-dawg. You steered me right again. You are the wind beneath my wings.

In other news, I always wonder if, when I have a specific food craving, it's related to specific nutrients my body needs. I used to get spinach cravings all the time. I don't so much anymore, but I do still love spinach. Now I want a spinach salad right now...

Anyway, I stumbled across this interesting article, "The Science of Scrumptious", while perusing one of the food blogs ( in the roll (see the blogroll to the right). The blog is really interesting too. A Lucid Spoonful here. Check it out. I just joined this Foodie Blogroll a few days ago (created by The Leftover Queen, and I haven't been added to the list yet, but will be soon. I'm trying to check out each one in the list. There are tons!

And, now an unrelated update as of three minutes ago:
My Diva Cup will be making her maiden(head) journey this evening. Wish us both luck! (if it gets, um, stuck one of you earth-lovin' hippies all high on reusable menstrual cups is totally in charge of fishing it out. i'm looking at you, Ani and Kramer. fyi).