Gisella Restaurant Review

Yah, even the restaurant names are fancier in Aspen. I actually heard a waiter pronounce it like "Gizz-ella" rather than "Gee-zella." Yikes. Aspen is where fancy-schmancy comes to die and be reborn uber-fancy-schmanced.

Luckily, however, our meal was actually very good, and we were able to sit outside on with Haruki tucked on the side of our table.

We do not feed her human food, and yet here she is, staring at David's focaccia like she owns it.

Despite plowing our way through some pretty average focaccia and olive oil, David and I decided to stuff ourselves with entrees and appetizers! (Vacation = a valid reason for ignoring hunger/satiety cues--my favorite!)

David had the minestrone, which was surprisingly yummy: lots of really fresh veggies, some kind of nutty and hearty grain, and a broth that tasted like more than water!

I had the misto salad, which was a complete rip-off at $12--though it was also the cheapest salad on the menu. And I'm not talking about entree salads here, people, I'm talking about starter salads that cost $12-20. There's a big part of me that will always see spending $12 on a starter salad as absurd--even if it did have a great lemon vinaigrette and even if I become a rich and famous vagina scholar.

For our entrees, David and I both had the Whole-Wheat Veggie Pasta, which was.so.good. As you might recall, I don't like pasta so much, but this I really enjoyed. The WW pasta was hearty and filling and perfectly cooked. There was a diverse range of veggies from spinach to peas to string beans to artichoke to tomato to mushroom, all of which were coated in a subtle but yummy and thick sauce (and later topped with parmesan cheese)!

I kept telling David that I wish I knew what made this pasta dish a success while previous pasta dishes have been crap--any ideas? I would eat pasta a lot more if it tasted like this. (OK, realistically, I'd cook dinner occasionally and occasionally cook pasta instead of what I've been doing lately, which is eating a s%&*ton of kale and then filling in all my additional caloric "needs" with chocolate and cereal. (Please see my post on girl hormones.)

After dinner, we took a walk around the swanky neighborhoods of Aspen. And! We saw a bear! Eating trash! I didn't get a picture, though, because it was literally six feet from us and I was too busy freaking out and trying to get away quickly without alarming the bear. (Given my emotional state lately, I'm surprised the bear didn't sense my voracious appetite--yes, even for trash--and attack me as a food competitor.)

*Do you ever post blogs without proofreading them? (Ummm...just curious...)