Two years ago, my husband and I were married on Pensacola Beach.

He proposed in Tuscany. We honeymooned on the Almalfi Coast.

It’s only appropriate that on our anniversary, we give you an impression of an Italian restaurant!

It had been a few years since we’d been to Arezzo Ristorante. I guess it’s technically located in {south} Minneapolis, but I like to say Edina, because that’s what I think of when I think of 50th and France.

The last time we were at Arezzo, we went with my friend Bridget and her husband. This time, after we parked, Rob said, “Hey, we should have invited Bridget and Digits!” It made me laugh. Rob gave Bridget’s husband the Poker moniker “Digits” because he works with numbers. Isn’t it funny how certain places, foods and wines remind you of people, places and experiences?

Well, we had a couple of Groupons to Arezzo. So that’s what brought us back. On our first return visit, we were in search of a good affordable bottle of Chianti Classico. Rob never liked Italian wine until our trip to Tuscany, a trip I earned doing Wine Tastings with The Traveling Vineyard. We decided on that trip that the Italians kept all the good stuff for themselves and sent the crap to the U.S. {Or maybe we just weren’t spending enough money when we bought Italian wines.}

In any case, we found one that lived up to our standards:

We liked it so much that we ordered it on Groupon Visit #2. It gets better as you give it time to evolve and open up in the glass. 😉 And at $39, it’s a pretty decent price for a restaurant.

After you place your order, this will be brought to your table:

I also like the fact that they use real candles, rather than the stinky oil kind:

Rob said that if we hadn’t gone to the Lexington {post coming soon!} a few months back, he would have given this his seal of approval that it was the best spaghetti carbonara he’s had in the Twin Cities. However, he did order it again on Groupon Visit #2 and said that it does come in second place as the Twin Cities’ best spaghetti carbonara and will order it again and again and again…

Rob was also intrigued by a side item to another entrée and asked if he could order it à la carte:

The Verdict: Meh. They smelled of truffle oil, but the flavor was lost. To be fair, maybe they would best accompany the steak they were supposed to on the menu. Nonetheless, we were glad we gave them a try.

I ordered different entrées on the two visits:

I saw this item on the menu and they had me at San Marzano tomatoes and sausage. I don’t normally order red sauces at restaurants because, more often than not, they end up being too sweet. But when it comes to San Marzanos, it’s another story. The spinach {verdi} pasta was cooked perfectly al dente, the sausage spicy and I loved me the San Marzano sauce. 😉

On Groupon Visit #2, I was intrigued by the advertisement of “Neapolitan Pizzas”. I’ll be the judge of that, I thought. A nice margherita pizza sounded good anyway.

The Verdict: It was good. The first bites were really yummy. However, as I kept eating, I wondered why I was… It wasn’t great. In true Italian fashion, they served a whole pizza. And somehow, I ate the whole thing. My complaints about the pizza were that they should have used San Marzano tomatoes {if they did, I couldn’t tell} and there should have been more cheese {just a personal preference from a Wisconsin girl!}. I would have liked basil leaves rather than chiffonade pieces, too. {Boy, do I sound like a food snob right now or what?} Would I get it again? Probably not. There are too many other things on the menu I’d like to try!

Still, Arezzo Ristorante is certainly an authentic Italian restaurant in the Twin Cities. You’ll find simple Tuscan ingredients and flavors, interesting combinations and portions that are much more reasonable than you’ll find at your local Italian chain restaurant. It’s a great place to enjoy good wine, good food and good company.

What’s your favorite Italian Restaurant where you live?