Occasionally-and I do mean occasionally-I enjoy venturing into the county to find the new hotspot happy hour and dining dish!

While it’s not exactly new anymore, just last month I made it all the way to Ellicott City’s Main Street ( if you haven’t checked out one of the three new vintage shops on the street, do it. Now.) to try out Portalli’s for some Italian fare!

I love the upscale casual vibe that they have managed to pull off beautifully. The lighting and color combinations paired with the amazing high quality food could make it an ideal swanky date night but the great prices, happy hour specials, and easy walk-in vibe it has being on the Main Street makes it inviting and not pretentious whatsoever.

Immediately, I went for the dirty martini. Their house cocktail list is lengthy and each one sounds up my alley with a splash of something that has a signature Italian twist.

My perfectly chilled martini hit the spot, with a few ice flakes in and a whole lotta dirtiness it went down all to smoothly!

Amongst the four of us out to dinner, we decided to split one of their flatbreads. 

The meatball flatbread was amazing. Surprisingly light and not overly cheesy or bready, we each were able to steal a square and enjoyed the chopped pieces of meatball scattered in the mozzarella that’s lightly topped with some fresh herbs and marinara. If it wasn’t for my, ahem, second and third course coming (I must admit, it was my birthday dinner) I probably would have dove in for seconds of this flatbread.

After the flatbread, everyone enjoyed some sort of ‘first course.’ I had what was probably one of the best caprese salads I ever had outside of Little Italy ( and could easily rival a caprese or two down there)!

The tomatoes were red and juicy, the mozzarella was thickly cut and lightly salted, all topped with basil and the softest hint of EVOO.

Others enjoyed the caesar salad which had two favorite components I love on a good caesar-hardboiled egg crumbles and a parmesan crisp! Yum!

After quickly and easily chowing down on first courses, our main events came out!

I opted for the salmon accompanied with string beans-so glad I did! The grilled salmon has a killer sun dried tomato basil butter that it’s lightly coated with the veggies made for a light sidekick. The salmon was flaky and had the best taste to it-such a creative pairing!

Others went for some more traditional Italian dishes-the signature spaghetti and meatballs as well as their lasagna, which has two different cheeses as well as veal and beef Bolognese sauce in layers. 

As crazy as it sounds, after these delicious main courses-dessert was actually being entertained!

The great thing about this restaurant is that as amazing as the food all was, not one dish is too overpowering with garlic, or too heavy in cream, or too rich in basil. Which is perfect because it allowed for one of their very tempting desserts.

If it’s any indication at how incredible the dessert was, it was absolutely killed by the time it hit the table. Literally spoons went flying and it was done within moments-sadly, allowing for no time to take a picture.

Here are the remnants of their delicious “S’More”-a mixture of a chocolate mousse topped with a caramelized marshmallow and a few shortbread cookies on the side for dipping. Let’s just say, those cookies didn’t stand a chance on the table.

Overall, the dinner was out of this world! I’d easily go back to try one of their numerous dishes since they all read so beautifully and what we had is clearly a great indicator of their gourmet abilities!

If you plan to check our Portalli’s, make sure to grab a window seat for prime people watching on Main St, grab a happy hour cocktail, and be ready to have a hearty and delicious Italian experience straight out of the mother country!

If there’s one place in Baltimore that I know is consistently good, delicious, and can go from casual dinner to fancy dining it’s Little Italy. I’ve made a point this past year to try more Little Italy hotspots (somehow I always would wind up at Sabatino’s-not a bad thing, trust me!) and branch out a bit. From Rocco’s to Chiaparellis to now Caesar’s Den, I’ve been loving all the menus and wine options!

This past Friday night, it was time to hit Caesar’s Den! Perfect timing for me it was the night before the Little Italy Festival-the streets were awash in red and green and you could feel the community excitement over the hopping festival. I highly recommend anyone to check it out-there’s another in August-from great deals on anything from garlic bread to meatballs and vendors selling funky art pieces to watching older couples dancing in the street, it’s truly a magical experience! 

Upon arriving at Caesar’s, I placed my obligatory order for garlic bread. Of course you get regular bread on the table with butter but what Italian restaurant experience is complete without garlic bread?! 

Warm, buttery, rich in oils and spices, the garlic bread was one of the best I had in a while! I think I can easily say here and Rocco’s are the two places I’ve found quality garlic bread! My date and I easily ate two pieces ( I made sure to eat light for lunch in preparation for this dinner) which is probably best so that neither of us can detect garlic on the other! As a super huge garlic fan, whether it’s in my guac or bread, this had the perfect amount!

We decided to split their prosciutto di parma, mozzarella e peperoni. Absolutely amazing! The peppers were sweet and had a hint of both garlic and oil while the mozzarella was cold and fresh and the proscitto had that great flavor with a touch of salt and sweet. 

I would absolutely order this again as way to whet the palate while sampling some true Little Italy staples. Great for a light summer app (and it went wonderfully with my glass of Riunite Banfi, a super sweet rose that was akin to juice) and is a great display of how good Caesar’s is with staples! 

Filling up quickly on starters, I opted for one of my favorite Italian/summer salads-the caprese. Their mozzarella caprese was fresh and not overly saturated with EVOO but instead carried a light flavor of it. The tomatoes were hearty and sweet while the mozzarella was wholesome and hearty! 

My date ordered their fettucinni al salmone. A huge dish came out laden with fresh salmon, a portion big enough for the hungriest of men. The salmon was fresh and flaky, a perfect touch against their creamy and cheesy pasta. The light cream, capers, onions and smoked salmon was one of the more beautiful presentations I had seen-and the flavor far exceeded expectations!

To cap off our delicious dinner, I indulged in a tiny demitasse of espresso. A great way to slow down and enjoy the meal, the espresso came with various sugars (but honestly, it may not even need it) and was truly enjoyable on that rainy night.

Caesar’s was delightful and I’m looking forward to returning and trying more of their pastas and chicken dishes. The generous portions, huge flavor, and fresh Italian fare, along with a very knowledgeable staff, made for a very upscale dining experience that will leave me returning very soon! Great parking options and valet also add to the downtown dining experience!

Be sure to add Caesar’s for your next date night or family outing and enjoy quality dishes at very reasonable pricing-a great Little Italy must-stop!