Cafe Borgia

My friend, Shannon, had a birthday last week. It was her 49th. So, to celebrate her last birthday in her  40s, she invited a few friends to have dinner with her and her family at her favorite local spot, Cafe Borgia in Munster. It's a favorite local spot of mine, as well, but I hadn't been there in a long time.

Our group was in a private room in the back. We started with warm bread. I always say I could eat my weight in bread and that's totally true for the bread here. It's absolute carb perfection. Next was margherita pizza. The crust is thin, crispy, authentic, just the way I like it. It was topped with lots of fresh mozzarella and a slightly sweet sauce. 



For dinner, we had a few entree options to choose from. I honed in on the chicken limone. I love dishes that are heavy on lemon and this was so good. My friend, Michelle, was seated next to me and she ordered shrimp and seashells. She's another foodie friend who I've dined with a lot - and she suggested we get different dishes and split. I was definitely in on that one. I love when I can try multiple things at a meal. 



I expected the shrimp and seashells to have mussels or something similar, but it actually was shrimp served with seashell pasta in a delicious tomato vodka sauce. It was super filling and I haven't stopped craving it since the birthday dinner.

Shannon's bro got the lasagna, so I snapped a pic of that, too. I've never had it there, but it looked really good.

I've always been in love with their tiramisu. It's one of my favorite places to get it. It's so deceptively light and fluffy - like you forget it has any calories. 

So, for dessert, Shannon's cake was a big pan of tiramisu with candles. That's my kind of birthday cake!



Have to pop a little in here about my friend Shannon. She's one of my favorite people. She's always up for anything, always so upbeat and definitely motivates you. She's a PE teacher and I'm like the least athletic person on the planet - but she doesn't care. She's very patient with me as I attempt to play pickle ball or lag behind on an impromptu hike at the dunes after a day of watching the kids play soccer or hitting the farmer's market. She loves food, music, theatre, movies, travel...all the things I love, too. She's just a joy to be around and I always feel happy after an outing together. So, a big Happy Birthday to Shannon. So glad that she's my friend!