Lombardi's Pizza: New York City

One of the items on my NYC bucketlist was "eat pizza." Really simple, right? Well apparently when you do a Google search on "best pizza in NYC," there are tons of listings. However, one pizza joint that seemed to be a recurring one on the lists was Lombardi's Pizza. This particular restaurant is actually considered to be America's First Pizzeria. Pretty cool, huh? Lombardi's embodied the typical New York hustle and bustle, as the servers hurried around to take orders and carry out pizzas. All I know is, I checked off another item on my bucket list after Lombardi's, and I got to do it on a satisfied stomach!

The walls were decked out with various awards, photos and autographs from celebs and athletes.

The menu was pretty simple - the pizzas all start out as Margherita pizzas with tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and basil. Then, you choose your toppings from their options!

We went with wild mushrooms and sweet Italian sausage.

One of the best pizzas I've ever had!

Lombardi's is located at 32 Spring St. in New York, NY.

Capisce/Lake Tahoe

Two summers ago, a group of us went on a weekend trip to South Lake Tahoe. While we were there, we found ourselves a little gem - Capisce. This family-run, traditional Italian restaurant was located in Zephyr Cove, Nevada, just a few miles away from our cabin. We decided that when we were in the area again in the future, we would plan a visit to Capisce for dinner. Needless to say, two years later, we made that visit to Capisce, and the food was just as tasty as I remembered it to be.

Hanging out near the lake pre-dinner.

Capisce? = "Understand/You got it?" in Italian.

Balsamic vinegar and olive oil with focaccia.

Tortilla soup with shredded chicken breast, vegetables, crispy tortillas and cheese.

A split order of lasagna and chicken pesto.

Capisce is located at 178 U.S. 50 in Zephyr Cove, NV.

Cook St. Helena

As the weather warms up and the leaves turn green, I'm reminded of one of my favorite places to visit in the Spring - Napa. After a tour of Castello di Amorosa, I used my handy Yelp app to research Italian restaurants in the area (I should probably add here that I LOVE Italian food). According to my phone, there was an Italian restaurant located about 6 miles from the castle. Less than 10 minutes later, my date and I arrived at Cook St. Helena on Main Street in St. Helena. 

A quiet Friday late afternoon.

The dinner menu consisted of appetizers, salads & soups, house made pastas and entrees (including sauteed dayboat scallops, roasted airline chicken chop, braised shortrib and seared bistro filet).

Fettucine alle vongole with clams, spicy white wine broth and mixed herbs.

Spaghetti & meatballs with sun dried tomatoes, mushrooms, parmesan broth and basil. Definitely my favorite of the two dishes we tried.

Cook St. Helena is located at 1310 Main St. in Saint Helena, CA.