One of the things that I love about blogging is that I get the opportunity to meet a lot of wonderful people who share the same passions that I do. If you read my blog, you know that I love food - whether eating it or cooking it - and I love talking about it. Through my blog, I have met so many fantastic individuals who share this same enthusiasm for food. After attending countless blogger and social media events, some of these people even become your friends. So when my friend Kristen Haley invited me to a blogger dinner at Ristorante Villa Francesca last night, I was thrilled to see that some of my favorite blogger friends would be in attendance.
I met up with Alicia after work and we headed over to the North End a bit early to try to beat the impending rain. Neither of us have been to Villa Francesca before and we were surprised at how large it was. This wasn't your typical cramped North End restaurant. Alicia and I decided to order a glass of Sauvignon Blanc at the bar before the event and we were soon joined by my local wine expert, Meghan of Travel, Wine, and Dine. Eventually, we headed downstairs to the restaurant's private room to begin a wonderful evening of endless wine and food.
We were greeted downstairs with two of my favorite sights - prosecco and oysters!
After my recent first experience with shucking oysters, I have a new-found respect for those who can do it so quickly!
We all chatted for awhile from our love of western Massachusetts to our new tax-free purchases before we finally sat down for a wonderful meal.
We had course after course over what seemed like an endless flow of wine. This dinner felt so comfortable in both the conversation and the food that it felt like a blogger family dinner. Our courses started out with an antipasti plate.
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| Antipasti Della Casa |
Then we moved onto the second course, which was of course a pasta course!
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| Fettucine Con Gamberi |
This was only a half-portion of their house-made fettucine! There is nothing better than really fresh pasta and the shrimp was cooked perfectly in this tomato-cream sauce.
For my entree, I chose the Pollo Monte - a chicken dish that was layered with eggplant, mozzarella and artichokes in a delicious white wine sauce.
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| Pollo Monte |
The chicken came with a small side of potatoes and a bed of sauteed spinach. While the presentation wasn't fancy, the food was hearty and delicious. I actually barely made a dent in it and the owner Bill asked me if everything was okay. I had to sheepishly admit that I had eaten too much fettucine and that I was saving room for dessert. All that being said, I'm definitely looking forward to eating more of this dish for lunch today!
The dessert was definitely worth saving room for. This was a fresh house cannoli. We knew we were in for a treat when the shells appeared at our table.
Our server then filled it with this decadent and sweet ricotta filling.
We got to choose our toppings and I asked for chocolate and powdered sugar.
Despite my valiant attempt to save room for dessert, I was stuffed and couldn't finish this delightful treat.
This was a wonderful evening to check out a new-to-me restaurant in the North End. It had a great atmosphere for conversation and laughter, and the service was always accommodating. I think this would be a great place to bring a large group, which isn't always the easiest thing to do in the North End. In fact, our service went seamlessly with a large group of over a dozen people. I had a blast catching up with some old friends and meet some new ones, like Renee who I often tweet with!
Thank you to Kristen and Ristorante Villa Francesca for a truly memorable evening.
Ristorante Villa Francesca is located at 150 Richmond Street, Boston, MA in the North End.
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