Saturday Treat at Pizzeria Lola

This was a great weekend, largely due to my husband's efforts in taking time off of work on Friday to have a family day with Tate and I.  Even more restorative and energizing was a wonderful "date day" that we were able to have on Saturday, thanks to my parents-in-law babysitting, and my husband's planning ahead.  It was nothing extravagant--just lunch and an afternoon movie, but we had a great time catching up and being a couple again.  Plus, we tried an awesome (new to us) restaurant.  If you're in the Minneapolis area, I strongly recommend heading over to Pizzeria Lola for great food and a fun atmosphere.

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A few pics of our lunch:

Diners eat off of vintage plates, and I loved the pattern and colors of mine.  It reminded me of this fabric, which everyone is in love with right now:

kelly wearstler

The vibe in the restaurant is warm and eclectic, and the ceiling is dotted with these great light fixtures--made from sauce cans--so clever!

Here's a better shot (taken by someone else, and not my iPhone :)) that shows off the warm vibe in this space:

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I love how they used the tracks for the pendant lights to create a starburst pattern on the ceiling.  And notice the giant copper wood burning oven on the left hand side.  It produced this yumminess:

Pizza number one:  The Iowan La Quercia prosciutto, ricotta, mozzarella, garlic confit & arugula.  Look at that gorgeous crust!

Pizza number two:  Lady ZaZa house-made kimchi and Korean sausage, serrano peppers, scallions, sesame & soy chili glaze.  I'd never had kimchi before (what is kimchi anyways?), and this was spicy deliciousness.  My skeptical husband even liked it.

As if we needed anything else to eat (and no, we didn't finish the pizzas, there were leftovers!), we couldn't leave without trying their house-made vanilla soft serve and homemade dark chocolate & sea salt cookies....

We started devouring this so quickly after it came that I almost forgot to snap a picture.  Indescribably good.

All in all it was a great weekend, and I'm so grateful to my husband for recognizing that we needed some alone time together, and instigating this little treat.  Love you honey!