The long, dreary and grey months of the Winter nee The long, dreary and grey months of the Winter need a little bit of color, so here you go. 😍 Love this chest of drawers. Discovered it buried in a local shop and bought it specifically for the green color (one of my favorites). Vintage Coke crate was a $10 score from a garage sale place on Facebook some ten years ago. And the assorted markers in Roy G Biv order (natch) that aren’t used anymore because my kids have sadly left that phase. 🙃
Weekend Photos in Review, old school still photo s Weekend Photos in Review, old school still photo style, hope you had a good one! ✨
A friend was taking a trip to Ireland and asked if A friend was taking a trip to Ireland and asked if I wanted her to bring me back anything. Would you believe me if I told you I asked for salt? I love picking up different varieties, whether we’re traveling or I’m just visiting a new shop. Maddie grabbed me a super cute one from her trip to Paris last year, and the Magic Unicorn Salt I get locally is another favorite. What’s yours?
One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a serious case of FOMO on the daily, gets hiccups more than anyone we know and has perpetual bed head. She’s quite the unique roommate but may be exactly what our home needed. 💛
I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw th I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw that @njdotcom had picked six bagel shops at the “best in the state,” and one was reasonably local, all the sudden I needed one. I was never one to fall prey to peer pressure, but I’m very definitely a marketer’s dream. 😂 Alfa Bagels is on Route 10 in Randolph and has a good assortment of bagels, including all the usual suspects, but with a few others like rainbow, Asiago and French Toast throw in for good measure. Their bagels always seem to have a nice chew, which I appreciate and I love their sesame one. My go-to order lately is a double toasted flagel with lox spread and tomato. Their lox spread is a little ho hum, but the bagel is delish. Check them out next time you’ve got a craving (or get motivated by a local news story 😝). What’s your bagel order?
✌🏻 ✌🏻
When you really really really want to be best frie When you really really really want to be best friends. 💛
When a stressful week with deadlines ends with Nat When a stressful week with deadlines ends with National Cheese Lovers Day, how could I not partake? Tbh, I wasn’t especially hungry, and the appetizers are always the best section of any menu, so the queso blanco from El Mejicano in town wasn’t too hard a choice. It’s smoky and cheesy and I could have licked the bowl clean, but a girl’s gotta have some boundaries. Happy weekend, friends! ✨
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Sweetnicks

Food and Life

Restaurant Review: Amici’s

July 16, 2006 · Narrative

Tonight we celebrated my Mom’s birthday and her dinner choice was Amici’s Restaurant in Madison. A small place (only 10-12 tables), my parents go there often enough that the waitress knows them by now. I hadn’t been there before, not since it took over for Dee’s Hot Dogs, a very casual place that The Husband and I used to frequent years ago.

While we were checking out the menu, the waitress brought over plates of hot, crusty bread for dipping in olive oil (similar to Macaroni Grill), and plates of chunked Parmigianno cheese. Not having had lunch today, the cheese was a welcome sight.

Being part pizzeria, I knew finding Nicholas something to eat wouldn’t be difficult, given his penchant for black olive pizza. They don’t have a specific Children’s Menu, but have a very cute and accommodating notation that “our Children’s Menu is anything that will make them happy, in smaller portion and price.” How’s that for a smart move? Doubly smart … the waitress brought Nicholas a plate with a hunk of pizza dough to play with while waiting for his food to come. Needless to say, he loved that, especially since I’m not big on having playdoh in the house.

We ended up starting with Cold Antipasto (marinated artichokes, prosciutto, mozzarella and roasted red peppers on a plate of greens), and The Brother-in-Law ordered a small plate of meatballs. Interestingly, they were served on pieces of white bread, and then covered with homemade tomato sauce. The sauce was exceptionally fresh and delicious.

The menu is not very large, but everything sounds good enough to make the entree decision difficult. I ended up ordering the Amici Buccatini, thick tubular pasta with a saffron cream sauce, mussels, and shrimp, and then topped with fried calamari. I almost didn’t order it, because their description sounded a little heavy, but it turns out it’s one of Mom’s favorites. I would definitely get it again … the sauce is fragrant and creamy, without being too overbearing. I would swap out the buccatini for a different pasta next time though — buccatini is a pain to twirl and not as malleable as its counterparts. I was happily surprised with the calamari. Calamari is one of those things that is hard to get done right. It seems restaurants either turn it into tough, rubbery rings, or they serve up perfection and it just melts in your mouth. Unfortunately, it seems that the places that do it right are few and far between. So far, the one to beat is Mama’s in Hackettstown.

Alright folks, all for tonight. Having a get-together here tomorrow afternoon, and I, for one am tired and could use some shut-eye. After the party, The Husbands take over the kitchen. Tune in to see what they cook up for dinner. Until then…

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Comments

  1. juliebean says

    July 16, 2006 at 7:09 pm

    Again, Happy Bday, Mom! Amici’s reminds me of a place that we go to here in this area, Joe’s Italian Villa…yummy!

    Reply

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The long, dreary and grey months of the Winter nee The long, dreary and grey months of the Winter need a little bit of color, so here you go. 😍 Love this chest of drawers. Discovered it buried in a local shop and bought it specifically for the green color (one of my favorites). Vintage Coke crate was a $10 score from a garage sale place on Facebook some ten years ago. And the assorted markers in Roy G Biv order (natch) that aren’t used anymore because my kids have sadly left that phase. 🙃
Weekend Photos in Review, old school still photo s Weekend Photos in Review, old school still photo style, hope you had a good one! ✨
A friend was taking a trip to Ireland and asked if A friend was taking a trip to Ireland and asked if I wanted her to bring me back anything. Would you believe me if I told you I asked for salt? I love picking up different varieties, whether we’re traveling or I’m just visiting a new shop. Maddie grabbed me a super cute one from her trip to Paris last year, and the Magic Unicorn Salt I get locally is another favorite. What’s yours?
One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a serious case of FOMO on the daily, gets hiccups more than anyone we know and has perpetual bed head. She’s quite the unique roommate but may be exactly what our home needed. 💛

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The long, dreary and grey months of the Winter nee The long, dreary and grey months of the Winter need a little bit of color, so here you go. 😍 Love this chest of drawers. Discovered it buried in a local shop and bought it specifically for the green color (one of my favorites). Vintage Coke crate was a $10 score from a garage sale place on Facebook some ten years ago. And the assorted markers in Roy G Biv order (natch) that aren’t used anymore because my kids have sadly left that phase. 🙃
Weekend Photos in Review, old school still photo s Weekend Photos in Review, old school still photo style, hope you had a good one! ✨
A friend was taking a trip to Ireland and asked if A friend was taking a trip to Ireland and asked if I wanted her to bring me back anything. Would you believe me if I told you I asked for salt? I love picking up different varieties, whether we’re traveling or I’m just visiting a new shop. Maddie grabbed me a super cute one from her trip to Paris last year, and the Magic Unicorn Salt I get locally is another favorite. What’s yours?
One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a serious case of FOMO on the daily, gets hiccups more than anyone we know and has perpetual bed head. She’s quite the unique roommate but may be exactly what our home needed. 💛
I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw th I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw that @njdotcom had picked six bagel shops at the “best in the state,” and one was reasonably local, all the sudden I needed one. I was never one to fall prey to peer pressure, but I’m very definitely a marketer’s dream. 😂 Alfa Bagels is on Route 10 in Randolph and has a good assortment of bagels, including all the usual suspects, but with a few others like rainbow, Asiago and French Toast throw in for good measure. Their bagels always seem to have a nice chew, which I appreciate and I love their sesame one. My go-to order lately is a double toasted flagel with lox spread and tomato. Their lox spread is a little ho hum, but the bagel is delish. Check them out next time you’ve got a craving (or get motivated by a local news story 😝). What’s your bagel order?
✌🏻 ✌🏻
When you really really really want to be best frie When you really really really want to be best friends. 💛
When a stressful week with deadlines ends with Nat When a stressful week with deadlines ends with National Cheese Lovers Day, how could I not partake? Tbh, I wasn’t especially hungry, and the appetizers are always the best section of any menu, so the queso blanco from El Mejicano in town wasn’t too hard a choice. It’s smoky and cheesy and I could have licked the bowl clean, but a girl’s gotta have some boundaries. Happy weekend, friends! ✨

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