Lunch At The Lake, May 2015

  Lago Trasimeno has a real pull on Johnny & I.

  We think it must be that we live near the ocean here in California, so the water element is close to our heart and soul.

In the heart of Italy, Lago Trasimeno shines on.

  There are several favorite spots along the shoreline that we spend time at every year…We have favorite places to relax, paint, walk and sip wine….

Hanging out lakeside.

A view from one of the islands that we hike around on….

Public Art on the lakeside.

Johnny thinks it looks like a spider….

  It's a perfect area to just take in the beauty that this area is known for. 

  There are several small towns dotted along the shore, each with it's own particular charm. Here, we are just below the largest of the lake towns, Castiglione del Lago.

  We spend a lot of time around here, and we were looking for a new spot to enjoy a glass of wine. 

  Though we had walked pass this place before, we had never really noticed it. What caught our eye were the funky cool planters out front...

La Capannina.
Cute!

  We asked if we could see a menu, and that was it. Plenty of vegetarian choices, and there was room for us outside. Perfect!

  What was going to be a break for wine turned into lunch. I didn't mind...

Artistic flair all over the place..Me like!

Outdoor table with a view..
The lake is just beyond the trees.

  They actually featured a vegetarian antipasti plate on the menu. Wow! We normally have to ask if the kitchen can whip something up for us. This was so tasty, and there was a nice diversity of flavors and textures here. 

  I could have made a fine meal with just this, but there were too many other temptations!

I know what you're thinking…We shared, ok?

Just waiting for whatever is next...

  I love the way lasagna is made here…often there are several super thin and silky layers of hand made pasta , instead of one or two thick layers, which seems the norm in the states.

  There is lasagna for every season, as well. Not just cheese and/or meat and marinara sauce. In this case, it was leek and asparagus in a super light sauce, with just a little cheese to make it creamy…wonderful.

I'm loving the good amount of well toasted goodness on top.

  Johnny was happy with his umbricelli pasta with a classically simple tomato sauce. It was great.

Looks good, right?

  We ended with mixed green salads…no dinner that night, if I remember correctly!

  

After we finished, we took a closer look around the restaurant..It had some nice details…The outdoor patio looks out across the way to the lake, which is a big plus.

  Inside, it's modern, with a theme of 'Recycled Chic' going on. We both loved it.

Fun storage stacks!

Bet this is nice at night.

Magazine rack gets all jiggy…..

Just fun and creative.

  The decor is whimsical as well as thoughtful. The food is a modern take on traditional dishes..I would…scratch that…I will go back again. 

  Hmmm…maybe next week…?

  I'll be posting more soon…from Italy!