A commentary on Italian restaurants . . .

So my fabulous husband planned a little getaway for our anniversary. We spent a couple of days in Skaneatles, NY, a charming little town with historic buildings, a lake, and a few restaurants we heard rave reviews about. We ended up having dinner at "Rosalie's Cucina", an Italian restaurant. The ambiance is lovely, the decor reminiscent of an Italian kitchen. The restaurant was very busy even on a Tuesday night, which I actually don't mind because it usually means it's very good!
They brought us some fabulous Italian bread with really good olive oil and parmesan for dipping. Since we were starving we also ordered some Pizza Margherita as an appetizer. Pizza Margherita is my new food addiction, I've been making it at home. However I have to admit Rosalie's was much superior to my own! Lots of chopped tomatoes, fabulous mozzarella, and we think maybe a basil-infused olive oil. YUM!
So, here the commentary starts. We got our meals and they were just okay. I ordered the house shrimp scampi and my husband some beef braciole with ricotta gnocchi. Both dishes were heavy on the garlic without a truly good melding of the other flavors. I also thought the shrimp in my dish was a little fishy and rubbery.
So, here's my question about Italian restaurants. The times I've gone to Italian restaurants that were supposed to be very good (and very authentic), I've felt the same way. Heavy on the garlic, not super-impressed with the other flavors or really overall quality of the dishes. For this reason, we don't usually choose Italian when we eat out. Is it just me? Should I stick to pizza??

A New Project . . .

Confessions first of all . . . I was inspired by the movie "Julie and Julia". And heartened by the scene where Julie's trying to stuff the chicken and it falls on the floor. And she's so frustrated that she ends up on the floor. What can I say, that scene could have been shot in my kitchen. So I started thinking how fun it would be to blog about my cooking attempts. Successes AND failures alike! And, I thought it would also be fun to blog about restaurants we've been to and what I like and don't like. It may be just for me, but that's okay. Here goes!
Okay, already an addendum to the original post. I posted a list of some of my recipe sources, if you're interested. I actually get recipes from all over and am always bugging someone for a recipe for something! But, these are my most common sources. B