Spectacular Italian Dining in Rural Indiana
On Sunday, we traveled to Delphi, Indiana, 25 miles northeast of Lafayette, to wife Linda’s hometown, for a birthday celebration dinner for brother Stan, with sister Dr, Pat.
We dined at Paretta’s Italian Ristorante on the courthouse square, city center Delphi, adjacent the Delphi Opera House, immediately opposition the Carrol County Courthouse - “La Tavola Where Everyone is Family”.
In their words, “We carry on our heritage of immigrants who ventured to the United States in the late 19th century, seeking a fresh start and carrying with them the rich culinary traditions of Italy. At Paretta’s, we believe in doing things the hard way because it’s worth it. That means hand-rolling fresh pasta, creating mouthwatering dishes from scratch, and taking no shortcuts in our quest to serve you the finest Italian cuisine.”
What an incredible culinary discovery of this dine site - quant, rustic, unpretentious, the food was outstanding, rivaling our favorite Italian dine sites at home, in Chicago, even New York City.
 |
| The siblings, Linda, Stan and Pat |
We could not have imagined such a delightful dinner, in a rustic Tuscan Mediterranean setting, with such extraordinary imaginative and thoughtfully prepared dishes.
From the “Start the Table” appetizers we ordered the Bruschetta Board - Crostini Bread with Three Flavors - Margherita, Ricatta Honey and Pesto - three different preparations of bread and toppings - all were delicious, and the Fried Ravioli with Marinera, Alfredo and Pesto Sausage - both were artfully presented and delicious, albeit the portions were small, suitable for two or three, but a stretch for four.
For Main Course entrees we ordered the Baked Pasta - from the menu - choice of two types of pasta, penne or spaghetti, and choice of five preparations Marinara, Vodka, Alfreda, Bolognese or Pesto, and choice of addition of one of four meats, steak, meatballs, Shrimp or chicken.
Linda ordered the Penne, Pesto and Steak, while Stan and I both ordered the Spaghetti, Bolognese and Meatballs. Both selections were extraordinary, artfully presented, delicious and ample proportions.
 |
| Spaghetti, Bolognese and Meatballs |
A surprising delightful and memorable outing, worthy of the journey.
Our server Liz was great.
Afterwards, on our way home, we drove seven miles north of town into the country to visit Arvin’s Acres Winery for a tasting flight of locally crafted wines. We’ll cover this in a separate follow on blogpost.
