Aeolia Restaraunt

Last night we tried ANOTHER restaurant, hoping to finally find that good Italian food we had anticipated eating here.  So far, we haven't been impressed. 

First of all, Italian restaurants don't open for dinner until 7:30pm and your meal is in courses.  We have yet to order all the courses since you get so much food at each course and I can't imagine sitting at a restaurant for 3-4 hours just to eat.  I wonder if the Italian way of life will get me in the end?

We decided to try out this place that is actually right across the street from our new home (which we move into on the first of April).  It's considered one of the best places and for those of you who are planning on visiting us, I hope to take you there. 

I ordered what they are famous for, Fagottini Pasta Pouches Filled w/ Smoked Prague Ham and Fresh Pear.  That was soooo good and they could have doubled what was on my plate! 

Landon ordered (just to be Landon) Australian Kangaroo Filet w/ Pineapple & Salsify.  He ate it and Les finished it off for him.  They said it was good, just a little chewy.  I tasted the pineapple and liked it.

Les ordered Saddle of New Zealand Lamb , w/ Sweet Chili & Braised Swiss Chard.  I tried it and it was OK.  I liked mine better.

Grayson just got plain pasta with olive oil and Parmesan.  He isn't as adventurous as the rest of us. 

We finished with a little dessert.  Gray and I had gelato, Les had a baked ice cream thing (I liked it, he made fun of it) and Landon had a banana split, Italian style. 

At the end of the evening we were invited to see the fresco room of the restaurant.  It was beautiful.  They do special dinners there. 

This restaurant has an interesting history.  Galileo once hung out and slept here and so did the great architect Palladeo, a native of Vicenza.   The painter  Mantegna who lived in our soon-to-be-home, painted the frescoes that were later pillaged by Napoleon’s soldiers. The building is from the 1400s and has wind tunnels that the people used to cool their places.  Our house has the same thing but our landlord uses them for his wine making so they are closed off to us. 

"The ground-floor dining room, all rustic wooden beams and gleaming vintage copper, was once a stable for a way station between neighboring villas here in the foothills outside Vicenza. Upstairs is a grand entry hall and an even grander private dining room (formerly used to house and refresh guests and travelers), which is topped by a dramatic dome covered in 16th century frescos.

Beneath it all lies a medieval-looking warren of stone tunnels and wine niches–a source of natural ventilation and cooling that gives the restaurant its name. Aeola was the Greek god of the winds, and this deep, cool maze of tunnels reaching into the hillside was known as 'The Prison of the Winds.' "