Giuseppe’s Ritrovo

We haven’t gone to an Italian restaurant for a few months so it was time to add another one to our list. We really like these small family owned restaurants and found another in Giuseppe’s. It’s located right down from Drexel Theatre in Bexley. It was a really warm night so we parked down the street and had a nice walk down the block.

We arrived right at 5, which is when they open their doors. We didn’t get reservations so we got there early in hopes we wouldn’t have to wait. And the kids are always hungry right after school so it worked out well. We were able to snag a half booth next to one of the exposed brick walls. So by now I’m sure you’re wondering why Alex is so snazzy for this one. He has a band concert on Sunday and was instructed to dress up for school today. He didn’t change when he got home so this was his school outfit today.

Chloe was able to make her decision rather quickly. She’s very similar to me in that when we go to an Italian restaurant, we gravitate toward our favorite dish. Before our entree’s came out, we were provided some bread to snack on. After taking a bite or two of the bread, Chloe told me to make sure that I commented on our blog about how good the bread is. So I’m living up to my promise and letting you all know that the bread was delicious.

After about 5 minutes of eating, Chloe had a strange look on her face. After asking what was wrong, she told me that her lip was swelling up and her throat was feeling scratchy. This is the reaction she gets when she accidentally eats peas, which she’s allergic to. We were trying to figure out what it could be so that she could continue eating. The only two possibilities would have been the meatballs or the gnocchi that Alex had in his meal which she tried. After asking Josh, our server, he went and checked with the kitchen. They said there wasn’t any peas in anything that we would have had but there was obviously something in there. I told her to just eat her spaghetti and no more of the meatballs and that seemed to work out as it didn’t get any worse.

Alex asked me to look over the menu for him and find something that was new to him that he would like. There was a few seafood dishes which are off limits to him for his allergy of shellfish. I had him look at the Short ribs description and he was on board. I was a little nervous again about him trying something new that he may not like, but I told him if he didn’t like it that I would trade meals with him. Alex really liked the dish. He ended up putting some of the short rib on the bread and making a mini sandwich. He often doesn’t finish his meals but he ate pretty much the entire plate!

I kept the tradition going of ordering my favorite Italian dish when at an authentic Italian restaurant and ordered the lasagna. Josh brought a nice hunk of real parmesan and a metal grater and gave me all the cheese I wanted on top. Again, I was not disappointed with my choice. How can you go wrong with layer after layer of meat, cheese, and noodles? I’m glad Alex liked his meal so I didn’t have to give up mine!

I will admit that part of the reason I selected this restaurant was for their desserts! You can view everything they have on their menu online before you go. Alex and Chloe decided to split the cannolis. You get three, but Alex quickly snagged one before I could snap a picture of them. Chloe also ate one and they didn’t want the third so I got to have one too. They were excellent. But the real reason we went was for the dessert I ordered, which was Blueberry Bread Pudding! As soon as I asked Josh for it, he said he’d have to check because he thought they were out. My stomach sank a bit thinking about not getting my beloved bread pudding. After a few minutes he came back and told me he was sorry for scaring me and that they did have it!!

I was a little worried about the blueberry part of it. I was hoping that it didn’t overpower the normal flavor of a good bread pudding. My hopes came true and it tasted like a classic bread pudding. There were very small blueberries in there that you could taste but it didn’t overwhelm it. The bread itself was soft as should be, which was such a nice difference from the one I had at Old Bag of Nails which was too hard. This bread pudding was the perfect end to a perfect meal with the kids.