Al Lago: A Place for Romance

"Isn't it Tuesday?" I said to my hubby as we entered at Lake Tapps. Thinking we would be one of the only customers on a cold and rainy Tuesday evening in December, we were surprised by the number of people in the quiet Italian restaurant. Maybe everyone else was there celebrating my husband's birthday and they all forgot to sing to him before we left. We asked the waitress for a birthday dance. "Maybe later," she lied. We are still waiting.

As if the atmosphere was not wonderful enough upon entry, we saw on the reader board that the day we visited, Tuesday, was Martini Special Night. Can I just say, "How lucky are we?"

We were given a special 'tini menu, which was, you guessed it, tiny in comparison to the regular beautifully bound dinner menus. Don't be fooled, the martini menu had at least 30 choices. I settled on Karissa's Li'l Krush, which is now Christy's Li'l Crush as well. Not too sweet or sour, with the perfect mix of Absolut. This paired wonderfully with our complimentary warm, fresh-baked bread served with a flavorful herb and butter spread and my favorite, extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Since we were quite hungry when we arrived, we quickly ordered the Garlic Cheese Bread Appetizer made from homemade Italian peasant bread, drizzled with olive oil, and then baked just long enough to lightly brown the Pecorino parmesan and mozzarella cheeses. I did not ask, but the marinara dip tasted freshly made. I resisted the urge to slurp the remaining amount out of the dish when we finished our bread.

My absolute favorite salad was on the menu and I was not disappointed when it arrived. The Insalata Al Lago was made with fresh romaine, crunchy (this is imperative) apples, walnuts, Gorgonzola cheese, dried cranberries and a light raspberry vinaigrette dressing. As a relatively small person, I was very pleased with the size of the side salad. It was enough to satisfy my love for this scrumptious Italian starter course, but not so much as to say, "Fill up on salad, so you won't know how unexciting the main course is, because you will think you were just full." I finished my salad and was still looking forward to the next go around.

Usually I go for fancy when we decide to dine at Al Lago, but the pizza is too delicious to pass up. Ever since we found out our son was allergic to milk, however, it just seems cruel to order a cheese-smothered pizza and eat it in front of him. Since we were kid-less, I ordered the pizza. While I don't usually consider pizza fancy, Al Lago proved me wrong.

My small pizza, for starters, was not "small" at all. The wonderful smell of garlic arrived before The Bianca did. I love garlic! This odd-shaped pie had a homemade crust that was obviously hand-tossed and hand-pressed, which, as silly as it seems, added to the ambiance. The crust was spread with a garlic and olive oil sauce and then topped with mozzarella, fresh tomato, and fresh basil. It was as beautiful as it was delicious. I don't know how they did it, but the cheese was not greasy or too stringy and the basil complemented the flavor of the garlic sauce without overpowering it. I could have handled more tomatoes, but that stems from my personal love for tomatoes.

After only one slice of pizza, I looked over at my husband, who was hoovering down his Pollo Parmigiana with a very satisfied look; I stopped and reminded him how wonderful the Crème Brûlée was here. He reluctantly asked for our food to be boxed.

We were so full we could barely move just enough to sit forward to share a small dessert dish. However, we managed to wolf down the entire dessert in record time, pausing only long enough to break the recently caramelized still-warm sugar on top so as to divide it equally between us.

As we leaned back, fully sated, we still had enough take-home food for my husband's lunch and our family's dinner the next day. We noticed that, even at 9 p.m., every booth in the lounge was occupied as was a fair amount of restaurant tables. To me, this speaks volumes about an establishment in our economy, in Bonney Lake, on a Tuesday, in the rain! Obviously, I am not alone in my love of this place.

I was a little worried when the bill came, I had not really looked at the prices that closely and was not sure what to expect. Luckily, I had a buy-on-get-one coupon from the Valpak and was happily surprised at how affordable it was. My meal was just under $20 and his was just over. 

What pushed our bill higher was our Martini madness, though I only had one, since I was driving. As for hubby ... well, it was his birthday after all. With a few cocktails, an appetizer, dessert, a coupon and a tip, we still get out for under $100. That is an amazing price for the trifecta -- beautiful surroundings, wonderful food and a dinner with my husband alone!