Bravo Cucina Italiana at Rookwood

Notable Italian cuisine 

and service at a moderate price

The Bravo Cucina Italiana Dining Room

      Dining at new restaurants in their infancy can be a dicey situation.  When we received an invitation to join the new Bravo at Rookwood for a gratis dining adventure during one of their training sessions, we promptly accepted.  Who wouldn't?  We tossed our hesitancy aside and slid into one of their

Mad Men: 6 more episodes and already it’s “Uh-oh”

We hope its best days aren’t behind a TV classic

     Yes, we’ve praised Mad Men up one season and generally up even more the next.  I wasn’t certain about season 6 since it got off to a rocky start until “The Crash” episode.  The second half of the last season just started and a tiny wretched crack of the English language showed up and in an episode written by no less than series creator Matthew Weiner.  One of Peggy’s

National Grilled Cheese Day

Celebrate Sunday, April 12th 

with $3 off at Panera Bread

      The Grilled Cheese Sandwich began its lofty climb to comfort food stardom during WWII when it became a favorite of the Allied Troops. Shortly thereafter, homemakers and schools followed by making it a mainstay in their menu planning. It's made a resurgence in recent years as gourmet

The World of Suzie Wong's on Madison

There's nothing mysterious 

about this straightforward Asian cuisine

      We didn't see Nancy Kwan (Suzie Wong in the movie) posing at the bar as we met the Food Hussy and husband Larry for dinner.  We chose Suzie Wong's after some back and forth suggestions, landing on one that we had not reviewed and Heather had not reviewed since its opening in 2009.  Heather recalled a couple of memorable dishes, which made

Andrea Levy’s "Small Island", Jayne Anne Phillips’ novels

Excellent writers who 

unconsciously disappoint in some works

Andrea Levy

     Andrea Levy’s Small Island (2004) won the Orange Prize, which is given to female writers (yes, lots of controversy about that from a wide swath of political stripes, but I’m not going there) and then the Orange of Oranges (the British really get into that best of best mentality because they had the biggest empire of all until relatively recently).  It’s set before, during, and immediately after World War II in England and Jamaica – a proud dominion of the British

Peller Estates Winery Restaurant in Niagara-on-the-Lake

It was a great, 

memorable experience

Peller Estates Entrance

     Neil and I have toured the Peller Estates Winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake a couple of times in the past few years.  The tour hasn’t really changed, which is fine because the spectacular vineyards have retained their beauty and that’s