Agliolio Italian Bistro & Wine Bar

2258 N Congress Ave, Boynton Beach FL

Did you ever notice that you seem to find some great places when you aren't really looking?  Brian happened to drive by Agliolio Italian Bistro & Wine Bar the other day while picking up a package from the post office, and hasn't stopped mentioning this place ever since.  We both constantly crave Italian food, and its just minutes from where we live.  How have we not been here sooner?

Anyway, we decided to try this place out for a belated Valentines Day dinner last night.  The name of the restaurant 'Agliolio' is derived from the Italian words for two prominent ingredients in many Italian dishes, aglio meaning garlic, and olio for olive oil.  Their menu covers pretty much all of the traditional Italian favorites--chicken parm, bruschetta, pastas, and pizzas--you get the picture.  But their "Pasta-Bility" concept is a fun little feature, allowing you to choose from a selection of their homemade pastas and then choose the sauce and additional toppings of your choice.  So smart!  I mean, how many times have you gone to an Italian restaurant and either you, or someone in your group, asked the waiter to either change the type of pasta or sauce from what the menu lists?

Brian stuck to his typical pick, the chicken parmigiana, and asked for linguine with vodka sauce (P.S...that's my handsome dude above--charming right!!? HA!)
I chose to try the eggplant rollatini, breaded eggplant sliced thin and stuffed with a creamy ricotta filling, with melted mozzarella on top.  For my pasta choice, I went with linguine as well, but opted for the creamy pink sauce and a topping of roasted garlic.  Both of our meals came with a garden salad and bread, too.  I was so stinkin' stuffed afterward, but we left verrrry satisfied!  (I actually just finished my leftovers for lunch today, yum!

The restaurant was packed on a rainy Friday night in Boynton Beach, but getting a table didn't take long at all--we sat at one of the hi-tops.  We're going to have to come back during their happy hour 1/2-price drink specials--daily from 3pm until 6:30pm, with extended happy hour until 10pm on Wednesdays.

Note: For those living just a bit further north of Boynton, there's another location in Wellington too.

Buon Appetito! 

101st South Florida Fair

9067 Southern Boulevard, West Palm Beach FL
Open January 18 until February 3, 2013
Monday through Friday 12pm until 10pm
Saturdays and Sundays 10am until 10pm

It's opening weekend of the South Florida Fair! And because its a gorgeous day--and football isn't on until 3pm today-- I talked Brian into going to the fair for a little Sunday fun day.

There's something about these fairs that I just love.  The idea of fried ANYTHING, donut burgers, corn dogs, funnel cake with powdered sugar everywhere, the huge turkey legs, and anything else you can imagine that you wouldn't ever EVER eat any other time.  The bright lights and shrills of enjoyment coming from the sky-high rides.  The giant stuffed animals, noise makers, and plastic toys hanging high over the water gun-shooting, ring-tossing, baseball-throwing, and balloon-popping games.

We munched on a corn dog, chicken wings and kettle chips when we first got there (You know, the healthy stuff! Ha!)  After walking around and taking in all of the fair's happenings, coupled with some excellent people-watching, we tried our hand at a few games.  Brian played about 10 rounds of the baseball throwing game until he finally broke two bottles in a row to win a giant jamaican-looking stuffed toy monkey (I got 3 free shots on the house thanks to the guy manning the booth--however I clearly don't throw hard enough).  Next, we tried our best on the buckshot--shoot the entire red star out of the middle of the paper from a certain distance and win a prize.  I tried once--Brian tried about 15 times until winning a GIGANTIC smiling chili pepper wearing a sombrero (I tell ya, he is determined!) We didn't get to any rides, solely because the two prizes were getting kind of hard to hold!

The fair is going on until the beginning of February, and takes place every January for 17 fun-filled days.  I think we're planning on going back again within the next couple of weeks, I'm dying for a ride on the ferris wheel!

P.S...we came home and scared the daylights out of Brewster when we brought the prizes in the house.  He's being VERY cautious when he comes close to them right now--what a cutie patootie!