Nomming on Italian Grub in Reisterstown, MD: Ristorante Firenze

Last Thursday, I hit up Ristorante Firenze in historic Reisterstown, MD with my bf and the lovely Heidi Klotzman (of HeidnSeek Entertainment) for lunch.  I don't know the area very well so I was excited to explore, but we actually didn't have much time to walk around because I was running late due to another meeting I had in Baltimore.  No worries though, that just means I have to go back soon!  

Anywho, I'm sure you guys know this already, but I'm all about supporting small + local businesses so I was beyond pumped to eat at this family run restaurant.  Larry and Brian Leonardi are Baltimore natives with roots in Little Italy.  Their grandparents moved to the US when they were young and settled in Baltimore!  They started off as bus boys, servers, and then cooks in their uncle's restaurant, Velleggia's before opening Ristorante Firenze.

We started our meal with drinks:  a Florence Sunset and a white sangria and then placed orders for apps.  There were tons to choose from, but we ultimately decided to go with the bruschetta ($13) and eggplant caprese tower ($13).  The former came with crab meat, and the latter featured crispy fried eggplant, fresh mozzarella and tomato drizzled with pesto vinaigrette.  The tower was on point!  I enjoyed eating every bite, and I loved that they didn't skimp on the cheese!

A close-up shot of the eggplant app!  And yes, it tastes just as good as it looks.

Next up came our salads + soups.  The pollo and pasta soup was really delicious! It came out piping hot, and the pasta was cooked perfectly - al dente, just the way it should be.  Each spoonful was packed with filling + flavor.  

 A closer look at my hearty soup!

Now onto entrees!  We ordered the signature trio and lobster ravioli and shared noms.  The trio came with 2 meatballs in marinara, fettuccini, alfredo and pesto spaghetti ($15), and the lobster ravioli ($19) was served in a old bay cream sauce.

We finished our meal off with a cappucino and the Spumoni Bomba ($7.45).  Imported from Italy, it contained chocolate, strawberry, and pistachio ice cream in a dark chocolate shell - perfect to share with a date!  

Alright guys, that's it for today! A HUGE thanks to Ristorante Firenze for hosting us.  Make sure you guys keep an eye out for my next food post.  I've been eating out a ton so there will be a new yum post out super soon.  Andddd make sure you guys follow along via instastories to stay in the know.