Not everyone is lucky enough to have a 17 year-old sister. And if you do, and she actually wants to spend time with you…her name is Kamryn and consider yourself lucky (I do!).
If she’ll even consider taking your suggestion when out shopping for prom shoes, consider yourself super lucky. If she looks at the shoes you chose (and you) in amazement and then you suggest a clutch to go with the shoes and she loves it…just stop while you’re ahead. You don’t want to totally freak her out, afterall, you are 12 years older than her and she may have the tendency to remove the sister lens and see you more as a mom-like figure and then the cool factor is gone for sure.
Girls in high scool are just “cool” by the sheer fact that they go to the same place every day with people the same age, with no other responsibility than to think solely of clothes, friends, boys, and school, of course. They radiate youth and sarcasm and see the world from an interesting perspective. Some of us manage to hang on to at least a few of these traits into adulthood, and it adds a unique spark to the every day.
After shopping for awhile, we decided to go to dinner at Villa O in Uptown. I had been looking forward to trying this place as both Kandace (#2) and Kristin (#3) had mentioned they really liked it and told me that Living Social had a coupon for it as well. For $25, we were able to spend $50 on food. Such a great deal. Danny was a Living Social restaurant believer after he saw our bill. We will most definitely use a coupon from here again.
The inside of the restaurant is contemporary and nautical in theme. We had difficulty finding a place to park at first, but after a quick phone call, the manager mentioned that we were free to park in the parking garage to the left of the restaurant. I knew they had valet as well, but was not aware that they shared this service with a restaurant next door. I wish they would have had a sign for Villa O next to the valet stand as well; it would be helpful for us first timers.
Villa O has taken an organic approach to Italian. The manager expressed that at first, he was skeptical as to if organic ingredients would actually taste better. His mind was quickly changed after being introduced to pure, clean food and he is most definitely now a believer. Villa O definitely impressed from the antipasto and cheese appetizer to the freshly prepared entrees.
Everything tasted great. We learned Kamryn does like Italian meats, but she definitely has an aversion to kalamata olives. The girl gaged a bit and I thought for sure I was about to see a half-chewed olive sail across the room. Thankfully, she handled it with grace. In her defense, they do have a sharp and tangy bite to them.
The olive oil was infused with rosemary and garlic and was quite uniquely flavored. The jar was on our table, but had Danny not have been such a lover of olive oils, we probably would not have been tempted to pour it ourselves and we would have missed out.
After much thought, we placed our orders. For Kamryn, it was the Lasagna Bolognese.
Danny ordered the Seafood Risotto Diablo.
I was a little surprised when Kamryn enthusiastically tried the squid. I know she loves calamari, but squid, minus the batter with extra tentacles, would make some pause. Not her though, so proud. It definitely redeemed her after the olive incident 🙂
After reading reviews, I knew I had to try the organic turkey meatballs and I was quite curious about their vodka cream sauce…so I combined the two with penne and couldn’t have been happier with my choice!
I saved half of it just so I would have something wonderful for lunch. Having a delightful Monday lunch to look forward to can make the beginning of the work week a little easier to swallow. Next time I will try a dish with their organic chicken, perhaps after making reservations for their Monday, free-entree special (all you pay for are drinks, tax, and tip!). The manager made the chicken sound so tender and mouth-watering…too bad we didn’t hear that sell at the beginning, but I’d say we ordered quite well regardless.
I had also read good things about their White Chocolate Tiramisu. Even though we were taking more time than we had planned, and probably would get Kamryn home a little late for whatever too-cool-to-tell-me-about plans she had going on, she opted to linger for dessert too. The berries were unexpectedly good alongside the chocolate dessert. Organic berries are so sweet and worth every penny!
Full and happy, we dashed out to get Kamryn back to the fabulous life of a high school junior, on a Saturday night, during Spring Break. Oh, to be that cool again.
What to Order at Villa O:
1. Antipasto and Cheese Plate
2. Penne with Vodka cream sauce and organic turkey meatballs
3. In house, filtered water – it was quite clean and refreshing!
