I was thrilled to move to NYC, especially since I am now living close to my extended family on the East Coast. Apparently they are excited about this too, because to celebrate my aunt Mary, uncle Dick, and cousin Marisa invited me to a festive dinner at Quattro’s Italian Restaurant & Wine Bar. It’s located in Guilford, Connecticut, and is a cute, cozy restaurant that has won multiple awards.

After you sit down, you’re immediately given rolls dripping with butter and garlic, and served with a cilantro and garlic olive oil. Oh my gosh, are they amazing!

For a starter, my uncle and I both chose that evening’s special, the Seafood Chowder. It arrived stuffed with calamari, scallops, shrimp, mussels, and vegetables. I loved the amount of seafood and was really happy with my choice.

My aunt ordered the Belga salad, which has tossed pears, endives, and thinly-sliced celery with an orange balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

For her dinner, Marisa ordered the Gnocchi Primavera, which consists of homemade potato pasta sautéed with garlic and seasonal garden vegetables, and finished in a white wine and lightly-smoked tomato sauce. I almost ordered that too because I love gnocchi, but then I decided that I didn’t want all those vegetables! Marisa loved it, and we all tried some and agreed that the gnocchi was cooked perfectly.

My uncle ordered the Veal Sorrento. It has veal medallions topped with prosciutto, eggplant and melted mozzarella and served in a white wine sauce. He really enjoyed his meal too.

I wanted fresh, East Coast seafood, so I chose the Tilapia Florentine. It features egg-battered tilapia that is finished in a sherry lemon butter sauce and served over sautéed spinach. I was disappointed. It was much, much too lemony, and I couldn’t taste the fresh tilapia at all. I took a few bites and that was all that I wanted.

Luckily, however, my wonderful aunt Mary was generous enough to share her meal with me. And I do mean generous- her food was so good that only a saint would be willing to share!

She ordered the evening’s Lobster Special, which has lobster chunks, shrimp, and scallops on a bed of pasta. Oh my gosh, I loved it!

Since we were celebrating, we decided that despite being full we were still going to finish the meal with dessert.

My uncle ordered the special: Coconut Creme Brûlée.

I chose the Vanilla Bean Creme Brûlée Cheesecake. It was fabulous!

Aunt Mary ordered the Tiramisu, and really loved it.

If I went there again I would order the Lobster Special and be very, very happy! Quattro’s has a great atmosphere, and it was the perfect place to celebrate me!

Now if only I had some of those rolls right about now…

~A