Friday, February 17, 2012

Birthday dinner at Davio's with a hint of Basil...

For my special birthday dinner, my hubby took me to Davio’sNorthern Italian Steakhouse on 111 South 17th Street in Philadelphia and it was soooo good! You take an elevator from the street to the second floor and when the doors open a beautiful bar awaits you to the right with plush, lounge-like seating to the left and you continue straight through to the hostess stand that opens up to a beautiful room with wide, rustic columns and high ceilings-just gorgeous. Their service there was impeccable and our server, Renee, was by far the best server we have had in a long time at a restaurant-be sure to ask for him if you go. Anthony went for the veal chop and I sunk my teeth into their 8 oz filet Oscar style, with a side of mashed potatoes, sautéed spinach and a glass of merlot. And to top that off, we finished our wonderful meal with a peanut butter and jelly cheesecake, OMG so good!

On a side note, at  the bar when we came in they had a promotion going on for VeeV: TheWorld’s First Acai Spirit. They were serving this spirit in a VeeV Basil Gimlet (recipe listed below). It was so light, basil-ly and refreshing! I think I had two at dinner, whoops!
  • 2 ounces Veev Acai spirit
  • 4 fresh basil leaves
  • 1 ounce fresh lime juice
  • ¾ ounce simple syrup
Tear and slap basil leave to release oils and drop into the shaker. Shake all ingredients well with ice and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a floating basil leaf.

I highly recommend this restaurant if you’re visiting the town of brotherly love-and on Sunday’s they are doing BYOB, how great is that! They also have locations in Boston, Foxborough, and Atlanta!