The powers-that-be in my office must really like this place because this is the third year in a row that our office Christmas party has been hosted here. It also has a good reputation in the city for quality. This is my first year being able to attend the entire Christmas party because of my church choir ironically always seems to sing at Disney on the same day as the party. Fortunately, this year was different. Tables are set around a cozy room with archways separating every two or three tables to make the space not look as "shared." The entire back wall of the dinning area looks out over a beautiful garden and large gazebo on the lake. The staff is exceptionally friendly--all smiles and willing to help. The ladies restroom is bright and pieced together in different colors of blue, pink, and yellow. One of my coworkers even asked why there was an old-fashioned toothbrush holder in the same pink ceramic as the tiles cemented to the wall. However, if you ignore the restroom, the decor of the establishment is indeed warm and cozy.

Upon choosing a seat, our drink orders were taken and an hor d'oeuvre plate was passed. Three choices were available on the plate: a red olive paste, a mushroom paste, or a ham and cheese bite each on a small slice of French bread. Perhaps intentionally, the pink/red of the olives made the mushrooms look a tad green making the platter appear festive. Butter molded into flower shapes arrived at the tables followed by a basket of warm bread. Even the refills of bread were warm. My favorite of the two options was the thin breadsticks with flavorful rosemary baked into the dough. The generic salads came out with mixed baby greens, two grape tomatoes, two slices of cucumber, and a black olive (Caution: seed not removed). The salad dressing was a perfect complement with simple Extra Virgin Olive Oil and a hint of Balsamic Vinegar. If there were additional seasonings, they were unnoticeable. Paul and I agreed the salad was quite nice.

For those interested, the meat entree came out looking just as the photo on Enzo's website. However, the vegetarian entree is pictured above. Paul and I were more disappointed with the entree. Although our table mates were bragging about their dishes (especially the Salmon), we more-or-less picked at our pasta. The egg noodles were cooked in a light dose of Extra Virgin olive oil and had steamed arugula and crunchy shitake mushrooms mixed in. A bus boy came around with a bowl of grated Parmesan cheese as a garnish. I thought the mushrooms were nicely cooked, but expected the pasta to have more flavor--especially with the arugula. Paul liked the width of the noodles, but we thought they were thick in comparison to traditional pastas. I also thought the flavor of the egg noodles was heavy in comparison to the lightness of the rest of the dish. However, knowing Enzo's reputation, this may just be exactly what they had in mind.

For dessert, we chose the sorbet over the tiramisu. There was a small scoop of strawberry, a matching scoop of mango, and one of coconut. I thought the cocount was the best--which says a lot because I am not a big coconut fan. The strawberry tasted more like ice. And the mango was almost as good as the coconut. Not to mention, the presentation of the desert was quite lovely and colorful, which often makes foods more delectable.

So, it was more than an acceptable adventure, and I not only appreciated the meal, but honestly feel blessed to work for such incredible physicians.