It’s been a few years since we had dinner at Teatro ZinZanni in San Francisco, but I never tire of looking at the great (and ridiculously expensive) plates we bought afterwards in their gift shop.  Two oval and two round – they were like $45.00 a piece!  Damn, I used to make good money!  But I digress…

Billed as “Love, Chaos, and Dinner”  it is most certainly all three – especially the chaos and dinner!

Teatro ZinZanni is a bit difficult to describe.  It’s like having dinner in the middle – literally – of a three-ring circus.  There is so much going on around you, in front of you, and often to you, it’s difficult to remember you’re also eating really good food!  Chaos, indeed.  And fun.  Acrobats and contortionists, comics, food literally flying through the air – the contraption they use to distribute dessert is unbeliveable!  It is serious fun.

So, you ask… what does Teatro ZinZanni and tonight’s dinner have in common?  Absolutely nothing.  It was just a bit of a walk down Memory Lane.  And the walk just saved me $300.00.  On our last night in San Francisco next month we’re staying at the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero.  I just went online to buy tickets, and – alas – they are closed on Monday nights.  But… Harrington’s is right down the street.  I haven’t been there in quite a while.  i used to meet two of my sisters there for lunch once or twice a week about 25 years ago.  French Burgers and lots of alcohol…. I digress some more…

I like using the plates for  big pasta dinners in the winter and salads in the summer.  They’re the perfect size and they really do evoke some fun memories…

So tonight they wwere filled with beef ravioli, frozen from the grocery store.  I did make the sauce, though.  Ground beef, garlic, onions, bell pepper, mushrooms, red wine, crushed tomatoes and tomato puree, and Italian Seasoning…  Pretty much the same way my mom made hers…

I heated the focaccia Victor made yesterday, and dinner was served.

And there’s more cake for dessert…..