Grazing Rites

I’ve decided to let the genie out of the bottle and tell you all about my favorite restaurant of all time. It actually has about 6 different names and multiple business streams including fine French-Italian dining (La Rustica & La Lorraine), a tapas bar, a heritage house built in 1894, a travel agency, and a casual dining restaurant (La Spaghetteria).

My father actually discovered this restaurant when he came to see my graduation with my brother. Back then we went to the fine dining side with ninja-like waiters. Seriously, my brother knocked over a glass of milk and before the glass hit the table the response team was already half-done. Don’t be surprised if your water magically refills itself if you, you know, blink. But with meals in the $50+ range this really is for special occasions but if you do have a special occasion I promise you won’t be disappointed.

But the real story, and indeed what should be the strength of any restaurant, is the food. Now the entire restaurant is served by the same kitchen so you can go to the casual side and enjoy the same food at nearly half the price. But that’s not all – you can get a $10 coupon if you have an Entertainment Book (or use just your Entertainment Card on the fine dining side) or even if you don’t have an Entertainment Book there is a $10 coupon on their website that they’ll even personalize for you! http://www.laspaghetteria.com/?q=coupon

The food would be a steal at twice the price. They make the best tortellini I’ve had in my life. Some of the best Margaritas I’ve ever had were there. Last year my semi-surprise Birthday dinner was held there and everyone present were absolutely blown away by the food. Not a single guest had a critical thing to say.

Even the bread is fantastic. I’m not big on balsamic vinaigrette but at this place you better watch your fingers when it’s out if I’m around. The desserts are fantastic what few I’ve had, the portions are so significant and filling it’s almost a mission to make it to dessert with enough room to continue.

The service, while not ninja-level on the casual side, is still very warm and the experience and charm of the staff is impressive and welcoming. The speed at which your food arrives will make your head spin.

A full meal for 2 people even with drinks should be less than $50 with the coupon even after tip – fine Italian food and a little old world charm doesn’t come more reasonably priced than that and I challenge anyone to find a place that can match their quality of product.

Located on 6th Street near 3rd Avenue in New Westminster, just a few blocks up the street from The Standard, I highly recommend you check it out – it’s an easy and affordable cure to the winter blues.

I went last weekend and I’ve already planned what I’m having there this Saturday night!

This entry was posted on January 13, 2009 at 4:26 pm and is filed under Food. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.