Friday, June 4

Out to dinner night.  No pictures because I discovered that my cell phone takes horrible pictures in low light.  Even with the flash.

We went to Cesco Trattoria in Bethesda.  We had tried to go there a couple of weeks ago, but they had a power outage.  The reviews we read on the restaurant were generally and said they served authentic Italian food.  For an appetizer, we shared a mozzarella and tomato plate.  (They actually split the appetizer in the kitchen for us and brought it out in two plates -- very handy!)  Michael had the veal stuffed tortelloni with bolognese sauce.  Michael wasn't thrilled with his dinner, but I tried it and liked it.  (Perhaps because it tasted remarkably like Chef Boyardee.)  I had the veal scaloppine stuffed with cheese and mushrooms and served with Swiss chard and potatoes.  The veal was tasty, but a little fatty.  The mashed potatoes were excellent.  The Swiss chard was a little....um....slimy.  I'm really not a fan of slimy food, but Michael enjoyed it.  The portion was huge and Baxter enjoyed the leftover veal.

For dessert, we had the Bongo Bongo, profiteroles filled with cream and dipped in dark chocolate.  Michael ordered dessert and told our waiter we would share -- one Bongo for him and one for me.  Our waiter (who had probably heard the joke many times before) laughed and told Michael (in his Italian accent) that he "like his joke."  Dessert was good -- I loved the dark chocolate sauce.  I thought the profileroles were a little soggy, but Michael liked them. 

All in all, just an okay place.  I liked our waiter, but service was a bit slow (dinner took us over two hours), and the food was nothing spectacular.