(Absolutely nothing like James and the Giant Peach.)
Since I planted a butt load of tomatoes, I needed to visit the giant tomato for a photo outing. Ralph has a giant tomato. Really. He does. Ralph is Italian. Really. He’s from Italy and he has a giant tomato. Ralph also has a restaurant in Bakersfield called Frugatti’s. He and his wonderful family have a great restaurant and catering service. The giant tomato is the centerpiece to the entrance of his Italian eatery.
We went to have a wonderful meal; but I wanted to take some pictures of Ralph’s giant tomato before the sun went down and some more photos after the lights came on. 
We always have a wonderful meal whenever we go to Frugatti’s. Always. The food is great and the place always seems to be buzzing with happy customers. I prefer to eat at a place that has the clatter of dishes and chatter of people enjoying themselves. The music is always great too – Rat Pack, Clooney, Prima, Damone, etc. Friday and Saturday nights are extra special though. Bob Iorio is at Frugatti’s. Bob plays the accordion and Bob rocks! Thankfully, I paced myself on this night. I had room for triple chocolate cheesecake. Mama Mia! They make a Reese’s peanut butter cup cheesecake too. Dieters beware.
Take a look at the menu. There are tomatoes everywhere. Tomatoes mark menu items that are Frugatti’s favorites. Tomatoes are on the logo. And there are most definitely tomatoes in the dishes to choose from.
Maybe you’ll be inspired to visit Bakersfield before the heat arrives. Even if you wait until the summer, Ralph keeps it nice and cool at Frugatti’s.
Thanks for keeping it cool, Ralph. (Grazie per tenerlo fresco, Raffaele. Per inciso, hai qualche foto di Bob?).
Here’s a gardening challenge for those that follow Maybelline’s Garden: Ralph is planning on building an arbor to follow the arch of Frugatti’s doorway. He would like some kind of vine to grow on the ironwork. The area is shaded for most of the day; but, POW! It really gets hit at sundown. If you have a suggestion for a durable vine that would thrive in zone 9, forward your suggestions to me. Thanks.
5 comments:
Well, probably the easiest and most trouble-free vine would be the potato vine - solanum laxum (also called jasminoides, which is drought tolerant and has a long bloom of small white flowers - but other ideas come to mind, too. How about a vitis vinifera purpurea, the ornamental, purple-leaved version of a wine grape? It would be perfect for an Italian restaurant!
So that's what you do when you have a buttload of tomatoes. Open a restaurant!
I learned a little Italian today. Now I'm off to make a fool of myself. ;)
No! I planted the butt load of tomatoes. Ralph has the restaurant.
Grazie per i vostri commenti.
Maybelline--I saw your request for an explanation. Mrs. G. will do a whole write up tomorrow.
Long story short--PW deleted the rudest comments on her site (but she also deleted comments in support of Mrs. G.), but she did nothing when people started leaving terrible comments at the Colony, for Miss G, and tracked down Mrs. G's daughter on FB. She should have (in my opinion), posted something asking her readers letting them know she supported Mrs. G and asking them to stop. PW and I had an email exchange that has left a very bad taste in mouth. She has certainly turned out to be someone other than who I thought she was.
Oh my. I've not had my dinner and I've just clicked over to the menu. Why oh why do you torture me this way!? Someday I would like to visit the US and eat and an American Italian restaurant. All the good food and big flavours, but with that "call me Ralph" American charm.
I really need to eat something now.
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