My co-worker John joked with me last week: “You got to go to Dazies before you go to Italy; you might hate their food when you get back!” With kiddings aside (containing some grains of truth), we planned to eat lunch at Dazies. However, he developed tendinitis of the toe, so it was postponed :(.

Today, I was feeling restless and was looking good, and I will be leaving on Monday night…so, a solo trip to Dazie’s! 

Today I ordered the Chicken Martini. (It sounds like a chicken liquor in a martini glass, but it wasn’t…the waiter did have some fun with the joke. Also, he thought I was 21ish, which was pretty awesome!) Anyway, this dish is a Parmesan crusted, pounded chicken fillet with brown sherry wine sauce, fragrant with jullianed onions and herbs, with asparagus on top.

Some interesting history on Martini liquor:

Martini liquor, or Italian vermouth, was invented in Turin, Italy in 1847 by Luigi Rossi; his partner Alessandro Martini joined the team a few years later, he became director in 1863 with Teifilo Sola, and in 1879, Sola bowed out of the company, thus creating “Martini & Rossi”. The first Martini cocktail recipe was made in 1888, using Old Tom Gin and sweet (Italian) vermouth. 

(I’m not a fan of gin personally, so I like vodka martinis. This drives my husband nuts; he likes gin. I point out James Bond likes vodka martinis, shaken, not stirred…but in every Martini made, vermouth is used.)

Today, I had the chicken dish, which was rich, fragrant, picquant, savory and wonderful. It came with a side of steamed vegetables. I needed another bread basket to finish off the sauce on my plate.

Dessert: fresh strawberries with Grand Marnier. So simple, so fresh, with a welcome kick of orange-flavored liquor. I am now very happy, and a bit tipsy.

Next time, I must bring John and any of my other co-workers along with me. Dazies is perfect for special occasions, for any type of party to cure any known pain. 

(Although, I hope that my upcoming sojourn to Italy won’t poison me for this special place…)

Enjoy!