CARUSO RISTORANTE ITALIANO: AUTHENTIC ITALIAN DINING IN BORACAY!

        We arrived at the The District at a little past 12:30pm, much earlier than what we had expected. Nevertheless, as you can imagine, after our land, sea and air trip, we were absolutely famished. We were extremely disappointed because Air Asia's in-flight meals weren't applicable to the Kalibo flight, because it was just around an hour. Rina and I deliberately didn't eat breakfast in anticipation for our meal in the sky, and instead we ended up with a small bag of peanuts. 

              When we arrived, Naomi of The District Boracay informed us that we had a meal waiting for us at Carsuso Ristorante Italiano as soon as we settled in our room. 

            Just what I was looking for.. An authentic Italian meal to fill up my empty stomach!!

MOTHER KNOWS BEST: LUCIA RISTORANTE IN HOTEL CELESTE

            *Cue in Jeopardy Music*

      Contestant Number 1: I'll take "Unlucky Food Blogger Problems" for $500, Alex.

       Alex Trebek: The Answers are, Authentic Italian Tomato based Spaghetti, Gooey Lasagna, and Crisp Pizzas.

       Contestant Number 2 *Buzz*: "Food that the Pickiest Eater In The World Can't Eat!".

        Alex: Correct! 

          Yes, it's the sad truth. My hyper acidity makes eating those beloved Italian classics quite difficult for me. But some nights I can't help myself and be a little naughty. And my dinner at Lucia Ristorante at Celeste Hotel in Makati, was one of those nights.

A Night At Lombardi's!

One can never have too many Italian places to go to. It’s actually my favourite cuisine. It’s everybody’s comfort food. It’s one full meal. You have your carb and a number of delicious toppings from veggies to meat and tasty sauces. That’s why it’s a delight to know that another great Italian Restaurant has opened at the 4^th level of the new East Wing of Shangri-la Mall Plaza, which is kind of near our place.

NO CLOWNING AROUND AT PAGLIACCI, AUTHENTIC ITALIAN FOOD - RINAZ

It has been years since I last stepped my foot inside the Podium. I don’t even remember the restaurants that I have tried there. I think there was just one and I don’t even remember the name. It was only until a few days ago when I came back to have dinner with blogger friends that I realized how many establishments were there already, and how much I have been missing, particularly a little Italian cuisine heaven called Pagliacci.

LOMBARDI'S: AMERICA'S FIRST PIZZA PLACE

         When looking back at the greatest tragic love stories, the following star crossed lovers come to mind:

1. Romeo & Juliet
2. Heathcliff & Catherine
3. Marc Anthony and Cleopatra
4. Kim Kardashian & The NBA/NFL
5. RichieZ and Pizza

     Yes it's true. I love Pizza, but Pizza and I can never truly be together. All great tragic love stories have obstacles.. Something that tears our couple apart.. Ours is my hyper acidity. 

      You see, Tomato is my number one enemy. Anything tomato based wrecks my digestive system. Making stuff like Pasta, Tacos, and yes, even pizza, quite tricky for me to eat. 

     All those worries got thrown out the window the moment I found out that we would be going to Lombardi's in New York. Why? Well, it's not everyday one gets a chance to visit the first pizza parlor in America.

ITALIANNI'S WITH MY GIRLS

     There are many special women in my life.. all of them members of my family (and yes, I consider my Yaya as "Family"). Naturally, the first two females that come to mind would be my darling wife, Rina, and my beautiful baby girl, Rain. Prior to Baby Rain coming in to my life, being a part of my niece Cara's growing up served as my "training" to becoming a dad. 

      I learned a lot from helping raise Cara.. Especially about how to deal with an adolescent girl. Though she wasn't by any means a bad girl, I couldn't help but become a protective (often accused as "overly") uncle. And I'd like to think some how she learned a lot from me too. 

    Cara. My "Little Star", as I used to call her, now lives in the United States where she's completing her college education. She's back to the country for her summer vacation, as well as to being her On Job Training at a prestigious law firm. 

    Since she's not going to be here for a very long time, I asked if she could join us for lunch, so she could spend more time with Baby Rain before she left. Since she the most convenient place for her to meet us was High Street, I decided that the best place to have a family style lunch would be at Italianni's. 

A GEM IN THE SOUTH: MAMA LOU'S ITALIAN KITCHEN

           I was going through my blog, and noticed that there was an alarming lack of Italian restaurant entries. In fact, there is only one entry.. My Italianni's post which was a food trip from even before I was a blogger, and resulted in some pictures I can only describe as "Ugly Ass". With dishes such as Pizza, Lasagna, and Canneloni, all meals that I grew up on, I actually really love food from the beautiful boot in Europe. 

       Unfortunately, my aversion for Italian food stems from my hyper-acidity. Given that Italian food is predominantly tomato-based, eating a dish with Pomodoro or Marinara sauce would ruin my stomach if consumed in large doses (Unfortunately, I don't know how to consume food in any other dose).

     I first heard of "Mama Lou's Italian Kitchen" during my trip to Soderno, and got a taste of their "Panzarotti", which is basically a "Pizza Pocket", similar to a "Calzone". They had a cream based sauce variant called the Bianca Panzarotti that, when mixed with the Bleu Bheese dip, is phenomenal. A little research revealed that Mama Lou's was actually a restaurant in BF Homes, and anyone who has heard of it, has only heard nothing but good things about it. In fact, I've been planning to meet my online buddies from the South, Kevin, Roxy, and Jaime (All whom I've met through my blog but not yet in person) and our choice of location is..? You guessed it! Mama Lou's!

     Rina and I took Baby Rain down South with us on a Beautiful Saturday morning with the sole purpose of finally trying Mama Lou's!

EATING ITALIANNI'S

The bread basket is empty.. I wonder who could the guilty party be..?

         
              When I was young, my favorite dish was Lasagna. I have an eerie feeling though it had something more to do with my love of the comic "Garfield" than it did the actual dish. As I got older, and my acid attack became more and more frequent, I had to lessen my intake of Italian food, especially considering that tomatoes are a very prominent ingredient in the dishes I love, (Lasagna, Spaghetti, Canneloni, etc). 

              All that gets thrown out the window when I visit Italianni's. I sit down and can't wait to get started! Their diverse menu offers a lot more than tomato based dishes, so If you're hyper acidic like me, you'll have no problems at all trying to find something to eat. In fact with all the choices in their menu, you won't know where to begin.