TAZZA KITCHEN replaces Cafe Caturra in Cameron Village

TAZZA in Cameron Village

After five days being stuck inside because of the snow and ice, I was able to take Dan out on Sunday afternoon for an early dinner.  Cafe Caturra in Cameron Village was one of our favorite places to eat in the Village, but it has been replaced by TAZZA.  We read some reviews of this new restaurant online and decided to give it a try.  We had no regrets.  The ambiance, the staff, and most of all the food were superb.

A list of some of their farms on the menu.

They specialize in fresh, know your farmers food and use only antibiotic-free, hormone-free, humanely-raised pork, poultry, lamb and beef, and sustainably-harvested, chemical-free seafood. There menu offers Mexican cuisine and Italian cuisine, an unusual combination of choices. And of course pizza.  Our waiter suggested that the name TAZZA is a combination of Tacos and Pizza, but I think he may have been joking.

Dan is perusing the menu.

We shared a starter of Cast Iron Goat Cheese.  The cheese was melted in a marinara sauce and parsley and served with brick oven bread. The texture and flavor were perfect.

Cast Iron Goat Cheese with Brick Oven Bread.

Dan's entree choice was the Brick Oven Crab Cakes served with pequin chili slaw, micro greens and lemon dressing.  The slaw was a bit on the hot spicy side, but the crab cakes were quite good with lots of crab meat. The spicy slaw was because of pequin peppers, so now we know what that is.

Crab Cakes. 

I chose the Scallops with sweet potato risotto, fried sage, and brown butter.  The scallops were large, fresh and perfectly cooked and I would love to have the recipe of the sweet potato risotto.  The risotto was rich and creamy.  Yum!!!!

Scallops with sweet potato risotto. 

I had been avoiding sugar all week, so I thought I deserved a bit of something sweet.    We shared the Gelato & Cake. Two scoops of salted caramel gelato with a slice of almond and orange flourless cake, garnished with a basil leaf provided a perfect ending for a delicious dinner.

Salted caramel gelato with almond-orange flourless cake.  

We've decided we like TAZZA even better than Cafe Caturra, and I am ready to go again as soon as the now snowy weather permits.

Check out their link here.
The gelato came from gelati celesti in Richmond.  It rivals the gelato we've had in Italy.

Shopping at Ivy and Leo with Grace

My only granddaughter turns thirteen next week.  Where has the time gone?  She was over at the house giving me a hand with some things, and I suggested we go shopping for something for her upcoming birthday.  She chose Ivy and Leo at Cameron Village to look for a dress.  It's always fun shopping with her, since I had only boys and only grandsons (seven) until Grace arrived.  The ONLY girl. 

Grace checking out the rack of clothes.

I love the color of Grace's hair.

She just had her ears pierced last week.

I was intrigued as I watched her shop.  She has definite ideas about what she likes and what she doesn't like. 

I tried to get Grace to try these shoes, but she wasn't interested.

I couldn't persuade her to try these shoes for example.

She settled on this dress.  I thought it a nice choice.

She tried four different garments and settled on this little dress which I like very much too.

Her nail polish matches the trim on her dress.

 After shopping we headed over to Goodberry's for some ice cream---actually for a concrete. 

It didn't take long after we finished our ice cream until out came the cell phone.

I must admit I checked my phone too. 

It was fun shopping with my only granddaughter.

Living Walls in Cameron Village

Wall made of living plants in Cameron Village, by Greenscape.

Dan and I are beginning to downsize our book collection, and on Friday my friend, Boguska, and I took several boxes of books down to the Cameron Village Library to donate.  We arrived a few minutes early and as we waited for the Library to open, I noticed that some landscapers were installing a Living Wall near the entrance to the Library.  Although I had seen some of the Living Walls around Cameron Village, I had never observed the actual construction so we walked over to take a look. 

Daniel Currin, left, President of Greenscape, Inc. and Nathan Beasley, Landscape Project Manager.

Greenscape Inc. manages the landscaping at Cameron Village and it is always beautiful.  Cameron Village is one of the few places in the Triangle where the Living Walls are installed. 

After we deposited the books at the Library, we drove around the Village to see other Living Walls that had been recently installed.

Living Wall near the Village Deli in Cameron Village.

Free-standing Living Wall.

Living Wall dedicated to victims of domestic violence.

Closeup of plants in Living Wall.

Along the way we saw one of the Walls being watered. 

Maintenance by Greenscape.

Watering to keep the Living Wall alive.

To see how these walls are designed and created, check out this article by Daniel Currin, President of Greenscape, Inc.

CV Living Wall for Cameron Village. (Photo by Greenscape.)

While talking with Daniel, I asked about constructing a Living Wall at a residence.  I could just see such a Wall on the brick wall outside our back patio.  When I found out the cost, a Living Wall at our house is NOT on my bucket list.  But I'm glad we live near Cameron Village.  I can go down anytime and admire the beauty of the Walls there. 

The finished Read Living Wall outside Cameron Village Library.

Lunch with Helen at Cafe Caturra

Friend Helen came by today, and we finally got around to exchanging Christmas gifts---a little over a month after Christmas.  We hadn't seen each other in quite a while, and we managed to get caught up on things.  We went down to Cameron Village and had a nice leisurely lunch at Cafe Caturra.  Caturra advertizes itself as "a hip, casual burst of flavor and color."  And it is that--casual, colorful and flavorful.

You place your order at the counter and then find a comfy place and wait until they deliver your food.

Counter where one places order.

Helen, an avid Duke fan, in comfy chair waiting on lunch.

When it's warm, there is a nice sidewalk eating area out front, but today it was much too cold.  No one out there today.

Colorful outside dining area is nice in warmer weather.  Not today!!!

It was a good soup day and they had a marvelous rich tomato basil soup on the menu. We both chose that.  In addition Helen enjoyed a tomato/cheese panini, and I had a hamburger slider.  Actually somehow I ordered three sliders, but two of them went home with me and Dan enjoyed them for his late lunch.

Tomato basil soup and tomato/cheese panini.

Soup and hamburger sliders.

Caturra has a nice wine bar where you can sample one of their 20 or so wines they have on tap, and the interior is decorated quite nicely with lots of artwork.

The wine bar.

Artwork on the walls of Cafe Caturra.

If you find yourself in Cameron Village at lunch time or even tea time you might stop by Cafe Caturra for a nice leisurely bite or drink.

Learning to Use My IPhone as a Camera

My new IPhone.

I usually have my camera with me, but recently there have been a few times when I didn't so I tried to capture some pics with my new IPhone.  These are some of the first ones I've made with it. 

Briggs, the grandchildren's cat, jumps up on their fridge.

Granddaughter Grace amused at Briggs, the cat.

Briggs is down off the fridge and Grace is happy.

My grandson Zach, number 20, being introduced at the beginning of the game the other night.

Baby squirrel in tree (largest lower left branch--brownish).

 

 

 

Wall of living plants in Cameron Village. 

Greenscape designs and plants these living walls.

Another living wall in Cameron Village.

 It's hard to ignore these living walls too.

Not as good as a camera, but pretty good for a phone.  At least I always have my phone with me.

Shopping for Cotillion Dresses with Grace

The clerk shows Grace dresses of her size.

Eleven year old granddaughter, Grace, begins her Cotillion classes next week at the Carolina Country Club, and we went shopping for dresses the other afternoon.  Having never had a daughter, I'm lucky to do a lot of "girly" things with this one granddaughter of mine.  Grace had been shopping with her Mom earlier and had found a couple of dresses she liked and had bought her little white gloves.  But on Saturday she knew exactly where she wanted to go, Palm Avenue in Cameron Village where clothes for babies to women are sold.  They had a limited number of dresses in Grace's size, but they were all cute.

Palm Avenue in Cameron Village.

First she tried a black dress with white trim and matching black cropped sweater.

The first dress she tried.

I persuaded her to try a playful white dress with black cats.  A black sweater would complement this very well.  This was my favorite.

I liked this little dress with cats and a big black bow in front.

She finally tried a pink dress with a soft not shiny gold trim around the neck and sleeves with a matching cropped sweater.

Grace getting help with the dress of her choice.

She likes this one.

Her final choice.

I must admit, I've never really liked to "shop", but shopping with and for a granddaughter makes it a little more fun.  The next thing I know, she will be shopping for makeup.  Kids grow up too quickly these days.