La Piazza - Happy Hour - The Grove
by Maren Swanson
by Maren Swanson
Dear Love,
I recently had a much needed ladies night. The women and I had wanted an open patio on such a beautiful afternoon, so we headed to The Grove and found ourselves seated at La Piazza. Did I mention the other reason we headed to The Grove? I can't lie, it was opening week of Magic Mike and a few pre-cocktails at a nearby happy hour seemed like the perfect start to our opening games.
It was the beginning of a great night; four chicas on the hunt for cheap drinks and cheap thrills. La Piazza, an Italian eatery, was bustling as usual as we seated ourselves at their outdoor patio. We were immediately greeted by a server with a thick Italian accent, "buongiorno." She was smart and quick, politely cutting us off before we talked incessantly for hours of buff men with "moves like Jagger." Per her recommendation, we began with the Tuna Tartare and four glasses of the happy hour Savignon Blanc ($6.50). We enjoyed the Tuna Tartare; one piece for each of us topped with a balsamic reduction over corn crisps.
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Our night continued to get better as we ordered a another round of wine and a few more dishes. Next to arrive was the pizza and calamari. The pizza had a bubbly crust with even cheese and sauce, but a little more basil would have knocked it out of the park. Calamari can be tricky, but La Piazza gave us restaurant quality presentation and some side kick marinara sauce. Lastly, we opted for the artichoke dip with dipping toasts. The warm toasts were crispy and rustic, brushed with olive oil, however the artichoke dip was slightly oily and a little bland for my taste.
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After we had cleaned our plates, we noticed that too much fun had practically made us miss seeing Channing Tatum on the big screen (please don't be jealous). I'm sure the La Piazza servers deal with this all the time: "We are about to miss our movie! Can you close us out please!" Our Italian Stallion server was all business and hooked us up stat. What a night! A little buzz went a long way, as we joined a clearly rambunctious audience inside the movie theater.
La Piazza was a perfect happy hour before our second round of "movie happy hour." If you decide to go, stop in Monday - Friday, 4:30pm - 7:30pm for $5 select beers, $6.50 select wines and $3 - 6 appetizers. And if you don't plan on watching a movie, you can definitely people watch.
XXOO,
Maren
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