Finished bottle #4 of Moroney’s Brunello 6-pack last night with great friends Kate Davis, David Heilbroner, their daughter Katrina, her boyfriend Andrew, Marcello and Charlie. Met at 7:30 pm at our apartment for full table of prosciutto, pecorino con pepe, a truffle cheese, smoked buffalo mozzarella, regular buffalo mozzarella, fresh pachino tomatoes, red bell pepper slices, ripe apricots. Kate friend baby artichokes with salt – startlingly. Started with Conegliano Valdobbiadene prosecco, followed by Moroney’s 2004 Peggio Antico brunello di montalcino. Around 9 pm we crawled over to Da Buccatino for pui cibo e vino. Charlie and I struggled to finish the Buccatino Romano artichoke – steamed, then smash-grilled with oil – an a artichoke-pecorino pasta. Made a quick stop at the gellateria where Charlie and Katrina ordered gelato – only they had capacity. Returned around 11:00 pm to our house for nightcap of Amaro Sabilla (without Marcello). Walked the Davis-Heilbroner clan to the Piramide cab stand around midnight. They left on 7 am plan for Morocco, so hoping they got at least 5 hours sleep. Probably not.

I only took a couple photos at dinner – other cameras were more active. The smiling Katie is in Marcello’s smart car.