Gone Glam Gone

Today, Glam, Bax, and I went to Di Pilla's Italian Restaurant for what may be our last lunch with Glam for a long time. Why? Glam is six months pregnant, and her doctor recently put her on bedrest. ARGH! I'm so sad for Glam. She is so fun-loving, full of life, and totally not the type who wants to be stuck in bed!

Of course, being the selfish bitch I am, I am extraordinarily sad about this for my own sake because Glam is one of my favorite lunch pals. She is adventurous, open-minded, and can handle the heat! Lunch bunch minus one. So very sad!

Di Pilla's is ok. It's not gourmet by any means, but, once you step through the doors, you feel at home. It's very much like an old-school family-run place. (Whether it actually is a family-owned restaurant, I have no idea, but that's the general vibe.) Dark wood. Cozy booths. The only things missing were red and white checkered tablecloths and an animated spoiled Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and scrappy mutt sharing spaghetti.

You'll have to forgive me. I left my iPhone charging in my office, so no pics for you. I did take some pics with Glam's phone, so maybe I will update later with those.

We started with a huge complimentary basket of hot buttery salted bread. So. Damn. Good. We paired this with vinegar and olive oil. The three of us kept saying, "Mmm." Bax was particularly excited about the bread, and Glam informed us that this bread was the only thing she remembered from her last visit to Di Pilla's two years ago. Insanely delicious bread. No exaggeration. You should come to this restaurant just for this crack bread.

Glam had the spinach fettucine al salmone in a light cream sauce with mushrooms and capers ($11.95). Glam raved about the dish, and the bite of salmon I had was great -- perfectly cooked and moist.

Bax ordered the pesto pasta with fresh basil, pine nuts, garlic, and romano cheese ($8.95). I had one bite. The pasta was al dente, and the pesto fairly flavorful.

I got the combination plate, comprised of lasagna, ravioli, and mostaccioli ($9.25). This plate was huge! Di Pilla's is exceedingly generous with its portions. It was a like a mountain of different pasta, smothered with a heaping load of marinara meat sauce. Definitely no skimping here! The sauce was rich and savory, although the sheer quantity of it made it somewhat difficult to tell just how good (or bad) the pasta was. In any event, I liked my dish. I can't wait to eat it again tomorrow, as I took about two-thirds of it home with me.

The only thing lacking was good timing. Oddly, my strange clam chowder (which was orange and creamy -- a bizarre mix of Manhattan and New England that sort of resembled thousand-island dressing) came out almost immediately, while my dining cohorts waited at least another 10 minutes for their Caesar salads, which were followed nearly instantaneously by our main courses.

We also had a timing problem with Giggles. It wasn't until I got back to the office that I saw an email from her about lunch. Damn! Alas, timing just wasn't our friend today, especially for poor Glam.

Oh, poor Glam! Please cross your fingers that her pregnancy proceeds swimmingly, and she encounters no complications!