Recovery Night In

I'm staying in tonight, yes I know, the second Saturday night home alone in a row... but I'm still recovering from surgery and have tested my crutches at a bar recently and it was somewhat of a fail so I have decided to put my nightlife on hold until I can walk without them.
It's been alright though, a few weekends ago some girl friends of mine came over for game night which was awesome and tonight I'm staying in and blogging and sipping wine.
The wine, though, is the key element here... it's my new fave that my friend introduced me to several weeks ago. Mascato, a white sparkling wine from 2007. It's amazing- fruity, crisp, not too sparkly and just perfection! It's from the Oltrep Pavese area in Italy, to learn more about the wine check out their website.
Salute!

Bottega Del Vino

A true Italian cafe in the heart of the Upper East Side, there are only two Bottega Del Vino restaurants in the world, one in Manhattan and one in Verona, Italy. Having studied abroad in Italy in college I have to say that walking into Bottega Del Vino did take me back to my Italian days. According to the restaurant's history, all the furnishings were imported from Italy, including the aged wood pillars, marble tops, etched copper and antique chandeliers. The restaurant offers a casual dining area for breakfast and lunch, a formal dining room, a private room on the lower level and an exceptional wine cellar.
I was impressed with the vegetarian items I ordered for lunch including the Caprese di Buffala, with real buffalo mozzarella, and the Carpaccio di Zucca (steamed butternut squash carpaccio with feta cheese, pine nuts and tomatoes). I liked the idea of the Carpaccio di Zucca but wish the feta cheese didn't totally cover the slices of butternut squash, it would have also been good with thin slices of Parmesan cheese.
It's a great cafe to stop into for lunch or dinner but just don't expected an inexpensive or speedy lunch.
Bottega Del Vino is located on the North side of 59th St. and 5th Ave, across the street of the iconic Apple store.

Caffe Primo

Another trendy spot lining Sunset Boulevard is Caffe Primo. Inspired by the coffeehouses and espresso bars in Italy, Caffe Primo attempts to bring European style America, where guests are encouraged to linger from early morning until late the night.Caffe Primo offers house-roasted coffees, salads, pizzettas, paninis and most importantly, gelato from Riviera’s renowned Primo Gelato, which was named among the “Best of LA” by Los Angeles Magazine and one of the “top five ice creams in the city” by Angeleno.
Primo Gelato contains only 6 percent butterfat (as compared with ice cream’s 26 percent butterfat) and their sorbet is made with fresh fruit and is entirely fat free and dairy free. Gelato flavors rotate seasonally but typically includes Roasted Almond with Fig, White Chocolate Hazelnut, Sicilian Pistachio, Fresh Melon, Wild Italian Strawberry and Pure Indian Mango.