Family Night at Sette with a Sweet Stop at Menchie’s

As it is Grammy’s last week in town (boo hoo ), we decided to go out for one last dinner before she left. She has been here for over a month, but it flew by so fast and we hate to see her leave again. Luckily, she’ll be back in May and will be here for Christmas 2011.
Kelly left the restaurant decision making up to Gabrielle and me. I had narrowed it down to three of the Dine With Sal restaurants: Long Point Grill, Mustard Seed, or Sette. Gabby, on the other hand, had it narrowed down to one cuisine: Italian. Off to Sette we went!
We were cheerfully greeted by the manager and immediately brought to our table. Per Tyler’s recommendation, I ordered Goat Cheese & Tomato Fondue appetizer with house made crostinis. Oohh you know this warmed my heart. Or maybe that was my glass of pinto grigio. Ooeey gooey cheesy madness. Sette’s menu has salads, pasta specialties, and traditional Italian entrees with a modern twist. All of us were torn between a couple – luckily our waiter was very patient! Surprisingly, Grammy was the first who ordered her entrée: Lasagna with Bolognese sauce, ricotta, parmesan cheese, and asparagus (13):I ordered something that was soooo my style: Pine nut crusted chicken with fontina, prosciutto, sage, salsa cruda, served atop parmesan polenta and asparagus with a balsamic reduction (14). Hot damn this was pretty. And heaven in my mouth. I was obsessed with the parmesan polenta – I could not get over the lovely texture.Kelly went a dish very similar to the shrimp linguine entrée at Mustard Seed: Shrimp pasta with capellini, garlic, parsley, lemon, capers, basil, and tomato in a white wine broth (16). We loved this dish because even for a pasta, it was light and refreshing.

Baby Zachary got a house made pizza that was the size of his entire 3-year-old body and Gabrielle got a children’s sized portion of the Chicken Marsala. Everyone was very happy with their entrees and stuffed to the brim!

But no, we didn’t stop there. I originally tried to convince the family that we should just have frozen yogurt for dinner, but Kelly told me that Uncle Johnny wouldn’t be okay with that. Drats. So after we ate “a real dinner,” we headed to Menchie’s!! I was so excited for my cousins to experience the wonder that is self-serve froyo. We all got such different treats…
My bowl – Country Vanilla, a bit of Strawberry, cookie dough balls, heath bar bits, and thin mint cookie bits:Gabrielle’s – Pomegranate Raspberry Sorbet, Strawberry froyo, rainbow sprinkles, cookie dough balls, and gummy worms:Kelly’s (chocoholic #1) – Cappuccino, with oreo bits, heath bar bits, walnuts, fudge sauce, and peanut butter sauce: Grammy’s (chocoholic #2) – Country vanilla with oreo bits, walnuts, and chocolate sauce:By the time I had photographed everyone’s cups, Zachary had demolished his and had moved on to the chalkboard. Here he is having a shy moment: And then embracing the camera like the baby super model he is!Then I joined the kids for some chalkboard fun. Sharing is caring, people. What is with all three of us having droopy jeans?! Guess we need more froyo to poof up our bums!