THE LANFORD ADVENTURE GETAWAY FORMULA

When I showed up at coffee yesterday, one of The Muses began the conversation by saying "Well, I read your post about the Austin Motel adventure this morning, and all I have to say is - the next installment had better involve food!" HaHaHa! Silly Outdoor Woman. Of course there was food involved. In fact, it's #1 on our list of Lanford Getaway Priorities!

Once we had checked into our hotel, we did a bit of splorin' up and down S. Congress, pointing out some dining possibilities along the way.

We ended up choosing the little Italian place below, introduced to us by our kids, and which is easy to miss if you're not paying close attention. Hint: it's right next to that fabulous hat store, above.

There's a lot more to Botticelli's than it's tiny storefront would lead you to believe, including an intimate trattoria up front, and a great little beer garden out back. It was such a beautiful evening, we opted for the beer garden.

The one thing mandatory about eating at Botticelli's is that every meal must begin with Botticelli Bread...

which is a long loaf of grandmothers homemade bread rolled into thin layers and wrapped around prosciutto, rosemary ham, salami, fresh mozzarella, parmesan and roasted red peppers. Don't worry. If you are not a meat eater, there is a vegetarian version as well! Paula and I could easily have made a meal outta one slice of that and any one of their fabulous salads. But, of course, we didn't. We went on to share this...

the Filetto de Manzo, which involved a tender beef filet with a currant demiglace atop a cheesy risotto, and crowned with shaved roasted Brussels sprouts.

Hubby opted for the Tagliatelle con Polpette (veal, beef, and pork meatballs)...

while Mr. Tim went for the Pollo Alla Picatta with Polenta.

Did I mention that a substantial portion of their ingredients comes from local, organic sources? And, guess what else I discovered just now, when I went to their website to look up the names of these dishes. That newish restaurant just up the street, called Little Barrel and Brown? The one Hubby and I haven't got around to trying yet? It's owned and run by the very same people!

After dinner, the ladies grabbed their take-away dessert from Amy's walk-up window, and went off to do some more walking and exploring, while the guys went back to the motel to grab their cigar stash, then went off to find the perfect place to enjoy them.

When we were done with our exploring, Paula and I settled into a couple of those surprisingly comfy chairs just around the corner from our guys, so as not to invade their "Man Time".  We gabbed until it grew dark, and tried (unsuccessfully) to figure out how to take a decent "selfie".

(I think it must have something to do with keeping "chin up, shoulders back", instead of the opposite, which I did in every dang photo!)

P.S. More about the Lanford Adventure Getaway Priority List tomorrow.