Lunch and dinner by Simone

Simone wants me to work on his restaurant's website, so we decided to meet up today for a lunch meeting. He came over to my apartment because he doesn't have a computer or Internet at his place. The plan was for him to pick us up some take-away sushi from a new place that just opened up on via Ghibellina, and come over. There are now three of them in centro (downtown), which pales in comparison to number of kebab places that seem to be opening up all over town.

Because he was serving sushi at his restaurant tonight as well, he decided at the last minute to make an insalata di farro (spelt salad) with asparagi (asparagus), menta (mint), uova sode (hard-boiled eggs), and piselli (peas). I set the table outside on the terrazza (terrace) where we gobbled up his insalata di farro in a matter of minutes.

We had talked about eating sushi since Monday, so before he left, I told him that I'd be coming to his restaurant later that night by myself to eat sushi. The sushi is so fresh and delicious at his place that I can't help myself. It's hard for me not to go to his restaurant every Wednesday when the sushi chef comes.

A friend of mine found out through another friend (news somehow travels fast) that I was going to Simone's restaurant, Canapone, by myself. She called to invite me to eat with her and her friend. I agreed even though I was planning on having a quick bite at the bar in the back, not even at a table, so that I could return to work straight after.

We all met there a little after 8PM, had a quick drink at the bar, and went to our table. As soon as I sat down and began to talk with my friend and her friend, I wasn't in a rush to leave.

Simone came out to tell me that he made me my favorite Japanese chicken dish, Tori kara, and his delicious cheesecake, so I obviously had to order them both. Because I still had sushi on my mind, I ordered a half-order of sushi to start. My friends also had a primo (first course), secondo (second course), and dolce (dessert): miso soup, tempura and sushi, and gelato (ice cream).

Surprisingly we finished rather early at around 10.45PM. My friends accompanied me to Ponte Santa Trinità, and from there I cut through Piazza Repubblica and in front of the Duomo to get to via dei Servi. I was happy to walk back to my apartment after all the food I enjoyed.

It was fairly nice outside as well, so it was pleasant to be walking around in centro. There were quite a few people outside, as usual, but it didn't feel too crowded. There were a number of people sitting on the steps of the Duomo when I walked by, but as soon as I turned onto via dei Servi, I only saw a few people outside.

It was a treat to be fed by Simone all day today. I don't think I've ever eaten anything that Simone made that I didn't like, which is odd for me because I'm rather picky. I still need to invite Simone over for lunch some time soon, but because he's such a great chef, I'm almost embarrassed to make him anything. Although, he does like the desserts I make, so there's that. But, we can't have only desserts for lunch. Or can we?

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