When Adrienne and I first arrived on the East Coast in early August of 2005, we stayed in a suburb not too far from our current home. One of the first meals we had was at a little Italian restaurant there, and the experience remains with us both. It was a classic local place, where the waitress called you “hun” in her Jersey accent and knew all the customers. The food was great and the portions HUGE.
To mark the anniversary of our arrival, I’ve tried to get us back there at least once a year around that time. Turns out last August was a bit busy for us, but we finally got there yesterday after a hike in a nearby reservation. We got the same waitress as we had the very first time. (When we walked in and Adrienne saw her, she immediately got excited.) Mallory got a high chair (in which she looked hilarious, it so big and she so little). We order the Tony salad for one (it’s big enough for two) and one entree (we’ll still take half of it home). While we’re feeding Mallory her solid food dinner, the waitress comes by and remarks how she’ll be eating meatballs in no time.
Throughout the night I can’t help but think this is our Lino’s (Rockford restaurant used for Tallacksen special occasion celebrations) and wonder how that tradition began.
Anyway, here are a couple photos. Sorry for the crappy cell phone pics.
