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 17^th 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!