So there’s a new fancy pants Italian restaurant in my old hometown. It’s done up in a big small-town, big-restaurant style, complete with a fountain on the inside. Met up with my sister and mother for (a really lovely) lunch there today on a trip back to oversee some renovation details on the house. It was summarized best as, “The nicest place in town since the Fabulous West!”

Have to say though, changing Cove from a dry county to a wet one has done so much for restaurant potential. And it was really nice to see a menu with selection on it that wasn’t entirely Olive Garden 101. There was a pesto penne dish there that was a twin to my old Pizza Nizza favorite, and the fish dishes were pretty tasty. Still doesn’t beat my favorite Korean restaurant in Texas, though.

Also! Saw Anthony Bourdain’s Holiday Special. I love Tony, but his love of Ted Nugent is bordering on something bordering hero worship and that’s a little much for me.

(P.S. — no amount of Googling will unearth a photo of the famed Fabulous West Steakhouse. What a shame.)