Pittsburgh: Lucca

Several of us adjourned after the conference to Lucca, an elegant Italian restaurant near Carnegie Mellon's campus. The restaurant is named after a charming town in Italy. The restaurant reflects that charm with gracious atmosphere and welcoming service.

The meal started, of course, with some wonderful bgread.

Several of us ordered the tomato soup. The contrast of the tomato's acidic brightness with cream makes for the special appeal of tomato soup.

My main course was a dish of ravioli with pesto sauce. The pesto was alive with floral and nutty notes. A few whole pine nuts made a nice highlight. The pasta had a perfect texture.

We shared some excellent roasted brussels sprouts.

After the main course came an espresso.

For dessert, I ordered a cannoli. Amazingly, two showed up. I enjoyed the first one laced with chocolate, then took the second one back with me for later.

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