For my recent birthday, we were looking for something a little more special than the places on our usual list. Nothing super high-end, which we have come to appreciate less and less over the years, but a place with atmosphere, top-quality food, great wine, and really good service. We had only been to Maialino once, several years ago, and had enjoyed it, so I thought this would be the perfect occasion to experience it again. It did not disappoint.

Note that prices are more reasonable than they appear on the menu as there is no tipping, so the service is built into the price.

I started with tripe in tomato sauce, while Stanley had the crispy suckling pig face. I love tripe, but the pig face, with its wonderful crisp skin and rich meat, takes the prize. For the main course we shared the whole roasted rabbit. I was expecting a whole rabbit, and wondering how they would get all the parts to come out right, as when I cook a rabbit I make the different parts in different ways. As it turns out, they brought out a plate of parts, including thin strips of leg meat with skin, the loin, which had been pan-roasted as I would have done, liver and kidneys lightly sauteed, and the best part, sausage made from the leg meat and broccoli rabe, something I could never have duplicated at home. Served on a bed of Swiss chard, it was truly a wonderful dish. We also ordered a side of mushrooms, which was heavenly.