Elite Event At Firenze a Tavola

Boy, am I SO forgetful! This review is way overdue. LOVE this place and LOVE the FOOD that Firenze provided for us that Stormy Snowy evening.
This was my very FIRST Elite Event with Unilocal.Braved thru that snowy weather to chill out with fellow Elite Unilocalers and definitely enjoying the food.
The highlight meal for me is the Lobster Ravioli and Definitely the Ghiottone DESSERT!
Thank you Laura, Tiffany, Katie, Firenze and my Elite Unilocalers for making the evening memorable and enjoyable for me.

Neither rain nor sleet nor dead of night shall keep foodies from getting hammered on a cold winter’s eve. Never has the Unilocaler’s Code (Sc. 33 – 429) rang more true than this Tuesday evening at Firenze a Tavola. The weather outside was frightful, yes, but the food, and friends… and wine… well, you know the lyrics.
No stranger to Parisi, and conveniently located within walking distance from my house, the missus and I braved the elements to make it out for this event, and boy, am I glad Laura was well-​prepared! We shuffled downstairs, then cozied up to our fellow Unilocalers, some familiar faces and some new, and began to dig in on the antipasto. Breads and cheeses and meat slices, oh my! I feel warmer already.
While other latecomers continued to arrive, we kept popping appetizers as Laura thanked us for coming, then got to the main event: Unilocal Does Open Mic Night! Everyone who read a review earned the esteem of their fellow foodies, and I found myself laughing out loud at many of the readings (much to the chagrin of my IRL Unilocal friends, I’m sure). Since yours truly isn’t used to public speaking, I kept my own performance short and sweet (Kelly B’s bite-​sized review of The Shoppe). Big ups to Tiffany W. and Raj for their spirited renditions of 7-​Eleven and The Giant DIA Bronco. Also, a sincere ‘thank you!’ to Laura for allowing me to plug/​embarrass myself the Air Guitar comps next month! I made flyers! Did you get a flyer? FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, LET ME GIVE YOU A FLYER.
By the time the main course arrived (a delicious though slightly chewy lobster ravioli), I had already made my way through one and a half glasses of the night’s red wine, sangiovese. I will be the first to admit that I am the last person on Unilocal to be handing out wine reviews (mmm, this tastes like grapes!), but the folks at Parisi really did a knock-​out job going with Balistreri. My palette was sufficiently loosened up for a second review oratory when Laura broke the news that mother nature was going to be putting an early curtain call on the evening. Devastating… but understandable. Before we filed out, the owner and GM at Parisi both thanked us for coming, putting a perfect nightcap on an evening brimming with great food, wine, and service, to boot. Earlier in the evening, when the GM was helping me to my second glass of wine, I was impressed by his genuine hospitality and made a mental note to come back and write his business the glowing review it deserves.
Dear Laura (and Unilocal grand poo-​bah, Tiffany C.!), thank you again for a wonderful evening out of the storm. I can’t think of any place I’d rather be. Kudos to Hans for stepping in as shutterbug for the evening, and to Tiffany W. for making me feel like a proud papa while reading my 7 – 11 review outloud. I look forward to more Unilocal-​sponsored open mic nights in the future, if for no other reason than an excuse to appear super meta by reading this review aloud. *knowing glance to the audience*
P. S. Holy mackeral, I forgot to include the dessert! I hope this isn’t an auto rejection from the Elite club… the cakey, Nutella-​fueled dessert was the perfect finish to an outstanding dinner. Between that and the wine, my lips had plenty to be smiling about during the cold ride home.

my 1^st event.
aka…the Unilocal newbie. made clear by my name tag.
awkward.
ha :)
despite the yucky weather, i was surprised to see the number of people who showed up, only to politely introduce themselves to me… the newb.
the intimate lighting and cozy space, made me feel right at home. especially when a glass of red wine was handed to me. ahhh perfection :)
the food can only be described in three words: to die for.
the appetizers, fried dough, cheese and meat=delish.
(anything fried is good with me! ha!)
the main course, lobster ravoli=amazing.
lastly, dessert=my absolute favorite. i could eat nutella all day, everyday, with pleasure!
after much conversation, yummy food, delicious wine as the snow falls, i am proud to say i’m happy to be part of this group.
Unilocal elite. i love you all :)
ps. laura… you rock my world!

If I’m on the guest list at one of Laura’s Elite events, you can bet that I will brave whatever forces are out there because I know it will be worth my while. And sure ’nuff, I wasn’t disappointed. Cold, wet, yuck weather always makes me crave warm, comfort food and what better way to say comfort than rustic Italian?
There’s little I can add to all of the previous reviews, except for perhaps the mental note that I made about how Firenze clearly focuses on fresh, superb ingredients — from the quality of the cheeses, (I basically pulled one of the plates out of the waiter’s hands because I didn’t want any of that delicious reggiano to go to waste), to the wine selection, to the fresh made pastas and tapenades.
Thanks to Laura and to Katie (welcome!) for putting it all together! And, what a cool surprise to see Tiffany again!!!

What a nice evening! I hopped on the 44 bus and prayed we wouldn’t skid off the road. I arrived and warmed up with some sangiovese, and all was well.
The crowd was small but friendly. Laura had me read one of me reviews, and I revealed to the crowd my ridiculous stash of booze.
The food was a wonderful surprise. I had a just-​okay meal at Parisi’s, but this food really made a good impression. The sheep’s milk cheese that came with the cone of puffed bread (wish I could remember the name) was excellent.
And since the event was elites-​only, I brought home some takeout from Parisi’s upstairs to the SO I’d left at home. The cream of parsnip soup was rich and delicious: I’d return for that alone. HIs taglietelle brasciaola had a depth of flavor from the pancetta and mushrooms. Both items far exceeded our expectations after our first visit.
it was a fun, intimate affair with old and new friends. You can’t really ask for more on a snowy Tuesday night.

Five huge stars for the wonderful event tonight!
The breakdown:
Plus three stars for the fantastic planning by the Unilocal team.
Plus three stars for the awesome review readings.
Plus three stars for the wonderful food and wine.
Plus two stars for the great company.
Plus two stars for the great service.
Plus one star for the lovely atmosphere.
Minus two stars, one for each of the hours I spent on the road home (stupid snow).
Total: 5 stars. I stand by my math.
The appetizers and wine were delicious. I did not partake in the lobster ravioli or the dessert, but my, they looked good! I can’t wait to come back and explore the menu fully. The Community Table dinners mentioned by the owner sound wonderful, I hope they bring them back soon!
I hope everyone got home safely! Thanks again to Laura, Katie and Tiffany for the fun evening!

What a lovely escape from the weather. Springtime in Colorado, as we all know, varies from blizzards to 80-​degree days in rapid succession, and this was one of the «it’s snowing like crazy» nights with terrible visibility. As soon as you got your windshield cleared, it was covered again. No matter, intrepid Unilocalers braved the elements and got to Firenze a Tavola in Parisi’s lovely, warm, brick basement. The drive was definitely worth it.
If it had just been me and a reservation, I would have cancelled. I’m not that crazy. But the chance to meet with Unilocal folks and have a meal and wine together with the reading of favorite reviews? I’m there, definitely. I’m glad I was.
Tiffany W. did not indulge in the ravioli, so she can be forgiven for not knowing the main course was lobster ravioli in a light, pink, creamy sauce — delicious. The appetizers were fantastico, razor-​thin cheese, crusty toasted Italian bread, roasted pepper spreads, fried dough with prosciutto and a tasty soft cheese called stracchino, fried risotto balls (which unfortunately I missed, they looked great), and other tidbits. The dessert, as Dave mentioned, was enough to make people give up their Lenten resolutions against sweets. Delicious Nutella spread (chocolate and hazelnut cream) over a calzone pastry filled with bananas.
Brave presenters read favorite reviews written by various Unilocalers, and we all laughed and applauded. Tiffany C.‘s review was one that had actually inspired me to to visit the Broadway candy and appliance store that covers its windows at 5:30 in the afternoon — I remembered it well as a fun place to shop, and I never would have gone if it hadn’t been for her review. Ah, the power of Unilocal.
Of course the best part of the evening was visiting with all our friends. I mentioned to one of the servers that it’s always hard to determine how much of the fun is the great food and drinks and how much is the camaraderie. No matter, this place is one I would recommend without hesitation! Take your lover, your family, your buddies, and go enjoy a nice dining experience «at the table in Florence.» It is a lovely respite.

5 Stars if for no other reason than having the event come rain or… SNOW. And lots of. But you know, the (reading of reviews) show must go on! And go on it did. Despite the snow (’tis a Colorado spring, after all), the traffic, the numerous (understandable) no-​shows, this event still went down… in the basement of Parisi.
But 5 Stars for more than just the above mentioned weather challenges. This event was something different (again!). Something cozy and intimate and so perfect for a night like tonight. The food? In the words of Hans O., «Anything fried is good.» But I think even if they’d just plawped down the balls-​o-​risotto without frying them they still would have been amazingtacular. I wanted, oh, at least 11 of them. I could have eaten THOSE for my dinner.
I had to save room though for (more fried) dough puffs. Or clouds. Or pillows. It doesn’t matter what you call ‘em, as long as you call ‘em tasty. I personally preferred them with the tapenades, but I noted how the pancetta served alongside was gobbled up, so that must have been good too. The main seemed equally popular; I was super impressed with their willingness to get me a vegetarian sub without issue. HOW NICE! And how good. Some kind of… squash (maybe?) ravioli. Must be something they serve on a regular basis – something worth going back for for sure.
Excellent taste in choosing wines from Balistreri – extra points for drinking locally. I did not take part in the wine or dessert (sigh), but both were in my stomach in spirit. That’s kind of weird. Nevermind that thought.
Many thanks and cheers to Parisi/​Firenze a Tavola for hosting (this would be a nice setting for some sort of rehearsal-​type dinner for a smaller group). Good job (once again) to Laura for putting together ANOTHER awesome event. Thanks to Tiffany C. for guest MC’ing. Hats off to all the performing Unilocalers. All in all, this event deserves a round of applause :)

Only the bold were privileged enough to take part in this event. What a great event, very charming setting, in a place I honestly never knew existed. As always, dinner with my fellow Unilocalers is fantastic, but hats off for the event itself, and for the Parisis.
Just as I walked in the door, as a reward for braving the elements, was a glass of Balistreri Sangiovese. It’s like they knew I was coming or something. Other options were a Pinot Grigio from Saturn, and and Italian beer, Peroni. I stuck with the sangiovese because it just the right thing, and if it ain’t broke…
As we mingled around, antipasto appeared for us to nosh on, a mix of cheeses, breads, tapenades, fried pizza dough with Stracchino cheese and Prosciutto. Now, I am partial to my Wisconsin cheese, but these were multo bene!
As the entrée, a huge plate of Lobster Ravioli. Sadly, I had to share, fortunately, there was a TON of it. Normally, I am not a fan of lobster, especially in Italian dishes, but this was delicious. The lobster taste didn’t overwhelm the sauce, the pasta just slightly al dente. Perfect.
And, my favorite part, DESSERT. Ghiottone, which is a Nutella calzone with mascarpone and banana. I don’t care if I gave up chocolate, cream, and anything indulgent for lent… this might be worth the trip to hell. Oh, would you look at that, there’s some left. I don’t mind if I do have another piece.
A great event, though I think Unilocal needs a 6 star system since 5 star events are the norm. A big GRAZIE to Laura and the folks at Firenze a Tavola/​Parisi for everything, I will be back. As always, great to see the lovely Tiffany Childs. =o)

What a lovely event! I was expecting light appetizers and was pleasantly surprised to receive a full meal… although my jeans would disagree! It was so much fun to hear everyone’s favorite reviews and it made me realize I don’t explore Unilocal nearly as much as I think I do, ah well another excuse to waste time, erm, I mean multitask at work.
Thanks Laura for another wonderful event! Also it was nice to meet the intern Katie (I think that was her name) and see Tiffany again!

The weather was rough but it was worth the trip. We got to hear some very funny reviews read aloud, and I discovered that I’m an amateur Air Guitar fan. I was very fond of the Lobster ravioli and the dessert was Bananas and Nutella. I didn’t know about this place but I’d love to go back for dinner now. Thanks Laura!