Dolce Vita

For my friend Jackie's birthday, we went to this restaurant in the Montrose area called Dolce Vita.

Can I just say that if I had the chance I would eat at this place every night?

The restaurant is in this old 2 story, rickety floor board, fire-place-in-every-room, warm, cozy, house. I absolutely love the atmosphere- Everyone in the joint is laid back and there for delicious food.

Jackie's family is pro at everything food related- so we let them do the ordering, and I'll have to admit, I almost left the restaurant when I heard what they were ordering. Anchovie and bell pepper, calamari, octopus with rapini, and pumpkin and goat cheese rapini as appetizers.

Excuse me?

When the food came though, everything looked and smelled delicious. So I put on my big girl face, and with encouragement ("For the blog, Martha!") from my friends, dug into the foreign foods in front of me.

Anchovies? No problem.
Octopus? Bring it on.
Calamari? Hand it over.
Fried pumpkin and goat cheese things? Nom nom nom.

I tried everything folks... everything!!

That doesn't mean I loved everything, or even ate more than a bite of some of the appetizers, but next time, maybe I'll push on and eat more of the dishes.

For the main course, we ordered 3 different pizzas and gnocchi al ragu. Yum!

The pizzas were definitely way out there- Sausage, rapini, pecorino; tomato, mozzarella, prosciutto, and arugula; and telaggio, arugula, pear and truffle oil.

I ate a piece of each, and let me tell you, they were all DEE-LISH.

Needless to say, I was stuffed after this dinner, and had to waddle to the car after eating.

So what does this mean? Now that I've eaten anchovie, octopus, and crazy pizza does it mean this blog is over? After 4 posts?

Absolutely not. Because, duh, I haven't eaten shrimp yet! Or conquered other food fears for that matter.

However, this eating experience was a major turning point for me. I know I can eat anything and survive- all I have to do is pretend to be brave and take a leap of faith.

Because that's all that trying new things is really about isn't it- that leap of faith?

You've just got to grit your teeth, stab that sucker on your plate with your fork, and trust that this food won't hurt you.

No fear.