Florinda's Pizza and Italian Ristorante

Florinda's Pizza and Italian Ristorante

114 S. Main (On the Square)

Taylorville, Il

(217) 287-2226

I went out to eat an one of my regular eating places called Florinda's. I have decided to start posting my food critic reviews here instead of my other blog so it is easier to manage. Now that there is category tags, I can just create a link off of this blog to the food critic category.

Florinda's is an authentic Italian-owned restaurant that serves many tasty dishes. The atmosphere has a quiet romantic touch, (even if you do bring the kids). It has a small dining area with tables. If you want to eat some really good Italian food, this is a great place to go. This particular night I ordered some "dough nuggets" for an appetizer. They are baked pieces of dough that are a little crispy on the outside with a soft chewy center. They are dusted with Parmesan cheese. They are also served with a small dish of marinara.

For the main entree, I ordered the tortellini with Alfredo. My wife ordered the stuffed shells. They are filled with ricotta and mozzarella cheese. The tortellini is filled with seasoned meat. They both were excellent. (I got to eat some of the shells too because my wife could not finish it because she was too full.) On other occasions I have ordered pizza and another time gyros. The price is not bad. The portions seem a little smaller that I would expect, but I am usually full by the time I leave. They also have a very delicious Italian Cannoli. It is a must to save room for that.

Florinda's does fairly well even though it has stiff competition with another local Italian restaurant called Angelo's. But I like Florinda's at times because of the variety they offer.

Hours are Tuesday-Thursday 11 am to 2 pm. Then opens at 3:30 pm to 9:30 pm. Friday and Saturday they have the same hours as the rest of the week with the exception of staying open until 10:00 PM. Sunday they are open from 3:30 pm to 9:00 pm. And Closed Monday all day.

The menu offers several different types of specialty pizza's like taco, Hawaiian, white Alfredo and a new "Rustica" which has tomato, olive oil, garlic, cheese and oregano. They also have a 'stuffed' pizza that is really good. The menu is not too "kid friendly" but they do offer smaller portions to accommodate the younger appetites.

I recommend Florinda's to anyone who would like to forget the Italian chain restaurants for an evening and try a good locally owned authentic Italian "Ristorante". The drive to Taylorville is a lot shorter that waiting for a table at Olive Garden on a Saturday night.

If you do try it, please return and comment on what you thought of it.

Thanks and please enjoy the following photos from Florinda's Pizza and Italian Ristorante.

Ace of Spades

I Won!

I don't mean to brag but I just one a lottery that I did not even enter.

The National Lottery
P O Box 1010
Liverpool, L70 1NL UNITED KINGDOM
(Customer Services)
Ref: UK/9420X2/68
Batch: 074/05/ZY369

WINNING NOTIFICATION:

We happily announce to you the draw (#1113) of the UK NATIONAL LOTTERY,online Sweepstakes International program held on Wed. 6th December, 2006.Your e-mail address attached to e-ticket number: 56475600545 188 with Serial number 5368/02 drew the lucky (lotto) numbers:

06 16 20 21 23 37

Bonus ball (#40) which subsequently won you the lottery in the 2nd category i.e match 5 plus bonus.You have therefore been approved to claim a total sum of £541,022 (Five hundred and forty one thousand,twenty-two pounds sterling) in cash credited to file KTU/9023118308/03.This is
from a total cash prize of £3,246,132 shared amongst the (6) lucky winners in this category i.e Match 6 plus bonus.All participants for the online version were selected randomly from the World Wide Websites through computer draw system and extracted from over 100,000 unions, associations, and corporate bodies that are listed online.

Your prize award has been insured in your name and is ready for claims.To begin your claims therefore, you are advised to expeditiously contact our licensed and accredited claims agent for Overseas Lottery Winners within a period of 10 days (date of this email inclusive) for the
processing of your winnings and remittance to your designated bank account after all statutory obligations have been satisfactorily dispensed
with.

Please note that your lucky winning number falls within our European booklet representative office in Europe as indicated in your play coupon.In view of this, your £541.022 (Five hundred and forty one thousand, twenty-two pounds sterling) would be released to you by any of our
payment offices in Europe.

Please be informed that claims not processed within the stipulated period may be forfeited to the pool without further notice. Our European agent will immediately commence the process to facilitate the release of your funds as soon as you contact her. For security reasons, you are
advised to keep your winning information confidential till your claims is processed and your prize remitted to you in whatever manner you deem fit. This is part of our precautionary measure to avoid double claiming and unwarranted abuse of this program. Please be warned.

Although I am breaking the rules by posting my winning announcement on my blog. Anyway, I am very excited about winning. Some much things I can do with the money...I think I will donate it all to an organization that fights SPAM email. And "Please be warned." I mean come on, who says that anyway?

60's Sunrise (Mouse Over Please)

This is a sunrise I took this morning. Then edited it with Photoshop.

Solarizing the Sun (Mouse Over Please)

This is a sunrise I took this morning. Then edited it with Photoshop.

Polished Stone Sunrise (Mouse Over Please)

This is a sunrise I took this morning. Then edited it with Photoshop.

Red Sunset (Mouse Over, Please)

This is a sunrise I took this morning. Then edited it with Photoshop.

Pink?

See! Real men do where pink!

Octogon

Too much sun

Even a tree gets sunburned.

Perspective (Fire escape beside the Hilton)

What Time is it, Abe?

Statutes of Abe Lincoln with the new clocktower of Union Station, Downtown, Springfield, IL

Sugar and Spice

Why does it seem like everything that is not good for you tastes good and everything that is healthy taste bad. A four year old will choose a Swiss Cake Roll over something healthy so trying to get him to eat right is almost impossible. If only salad tasted like chocolate.

Cows, cows and more cows.

Vincent: Why do cows have bells?

Randy: I don't know why?

Vincent: Because their horns don't work.

Here is a picture of said cows...

Art Contest Entry

Taylorville did an art contest for this winter. The medium was a door or window that needed decorated, painted, etc. I chose to use a theme of old landmarks of Taylorville. Here is the finished work. I also posted some close ups of some of the paintings.



I won an honorable mention.

Painting of a Coal Mine in Taylorville

This is a painting I also entered into the contest. It is done in sepia tones from a photo I found. It is also 8X10.

Grain Bins in Sharpsburg, Il

This is seen taken from the new Rt. 29 by-pass of the Sharpsburg Grain Elevators.

Old Barn near Assumption, IL

Sunrises and Sunsets

Here is some additional sunrises and sunsets I have taken the last few months.







Sorry about the powerlines...

New Oak HIll Cemetary Bridge

Another painting for the same art contest. This was in acrylic and is about 8X10 in.
It is a bridge that I believe no longer exists here in Taylorville.

Christian County Court House Painting in Acrylic

I did this for a Art Contest in Taylorville. It is about 16x20 inches and is done in all black and white from a black and white photograph.

Moweaqua, Illinois Grain Elevator

No Parking

Downtown Springfield

Logan County Courthouse in Lincoln Il

Union Station Construction, Springfield, IL, 2-14-2006

Staircase and framing of the tower during a snowfall.

Union Station Construction, Springfield, IL, 3-9-2006

Union Station Construction, Springfield, IL, 3-19-2006

Installation of the flag pole