Buono Thanksgiving! (11/24)

Well it's Thanksgiving and we decided to do the grand feast Italian style. We dined at La Pergola, a Michelin two star restaurant on top of our hotel. If you saw our view from our room, imagine it 10 stories higher -- fantastico! Our table was right next to the window so we had a perfect view of the city. Our feast began with a menu for the food, vino and acqua! That's right -- a menu for some 40 different kinds of mineral water from all over the country. That's pretty much when we knew that we were in for a culinary ride of our life. We chose Acqua di Nepi -- mostly because Nepa is the Etruscan word for water and Shannyn admires the Etruscan civilization. It was pretty good water! We also chose a merlot wine from the local area -- a fine choice for our dinner. On to the food! The meal started with a "treat" -- a sample of 5 different forms of funghi (mushrooms). Each were bite sized but loaded with taste. That's what made this meal so amazing -- the tastes were off the chart. Next, we each had our appetizer. Shannyn chose the Variation of duck liver on grape consommé and I chose Emincé of lobster with orange sauce and basil. I can't describe the greatness of our food from this meal, so just accept that all the food we had was wonderful. A "10" if you will. Our primi came next and Shannyn had Potato and Taleggio cheese disks in pumpkin mousse with white truffle from Alba and I chose the Tomato and rucola risotto with tartare of tuna and pecorino (a "10" on the risotto scale -- I mean, cmon, tuna tartare and risotto? Not fair for the others). Shannyn wasn't as impressed with her primi as she thought it was like gourmet macaroni and cheese. But she was far from complaining! Next on the plate was the Fillet of beef in vanilla and cinnamon sauce on purée of topinambur for Shannyn and Variation of lamb for myself. Shannyn is all about beef and it hit the mark -- perfectly cooked and just the right amount to hit the spot. Mine was very interesting -- a ground lamb rolled in a pastry, lamb cooked in a tomato-based sauce, a roasted lamb dish and a baked lamb piece with a mushroom paste on the top (I believe). We were very happy campers. And of course, we had to have dolci for this meal. Shannyn had to try the Italian souffle so she ordered the caffe souffle with mocha gelato as pictured below. Mmmmm! I chose the "Grand Dessert" that included 8 different desserts -- among them gelato, souffle, chocolate, mousse -- etc. They also gave us a tray of small candies to sample as we were waiting for the dessert. A oustanding way to finish our meal. By the end of the meal, we were both falling asleep -- victims of food coma. Fortunately, our room was just a quick elevator ride down and by the time our heads hit the bed, we were out. A wonderful day!