Caffe Grazie

Upon leaving the Met, GK and I went on the hunt for dinner. Since it was such a cold night, we didn't want to venture too far out of our way before returning to my place for a girls' night in of movies and wine, so I suggested we hit up Caffe Grazie, a cute little Italian restaurant on 84th street that I had noticed while making my way to the Met on another day.  The friendly staff greeted us and showed us to a cozy booth right inside the door.

Caffe Grazie's vibe feels kind of like a trendy but relaxed bistro....the kind of spot that would be a great place to while away an evening with good friends and a bottle of wine after a day at the museum.  

Speaking of wine, we had some red to go with our starter of garlic crostini with goat cheese and tomato.

Isn't that presentation lovely?  Don't worry, that didn't stop us from devouring it in record time.  I'd like to kiss the person who originally thought up the whole goat cheese + tomato + crusty bread combination. 

After we had finished that (and waxed poetic about it), we decided to keep the carb fest going with some pasta.  GK went for the Linguine Amalfi with tomatoes, black olives, capers, mozzarella, garlic, basil, and olive oil.

I chose the Trenette with short rib ragu, peas, and carrots.

There's nothing like a plate of pasta on a cold night, is there?  Both dishes were full of bright, complimentary flavors and, while they might look like small portions in the photos, trust me, they weren't.  GK and I left feeling rather fat and sassy.

On our way back to the train we paused in a few places to admire some rather mysterious-looking architecture that would have been at home in a Gothic novel....

as well as the fairy lights covering the trees on the avenues...

Pasta, wine, a BFF, and fairy lights.  If you know of a better way to spend a Saturday evening, do tell me what it is.

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