One of our favorite local chefs recently made a shift to a brand new restaurant in town, Stanza. We’ve followed Phelix Gardner as he’s helped open new restaurants and changed up menus over the years, always enjoying what he comes up with, so, in a way, we knew we would love Stanza.

Not too long before Stanza opened our favorite ‘special occasion’ restaurant closed, Fresco.  This cosy spot had been our place to enjoy a comforting bowl of house-made pasta for years, celebrating anniversaries, pregnancies, and birthdays.  All that to say, not only were we excited about Stanza because of Phelix but we also we’re suddenly in the need for a new special spot for pasta.

We instantly enjoyed our Italian meal at Stanza, quickly throwing back big bites of cheese filled arancini, followed by a healthful bowl of arugula salad then onto our main squeeze… pasta.  I tried the agnolotti, small pillow-like pastas filled sometimes with cheese but in this case with pureed peas and served with fresh shrimp, early summer green veggies and topped with a shellfish sauce. It was elegant and tasteful and perfectly comforting, filling my pasta void. 

My masculine date ordered the special of the day, Bolognese, also served on housemade pasta.  He ate it up as if he were in Italy for the first time (he loves Italy and eats all of the Bolognese style pastas he can possibly find while we’re there!).

Finally, we ordered dessert, whether or not we saved room for it because… cherry buckle with buttermilk gelato, who can resist that?! We also tasted a few other gelato flavors, spicy honey and thai basil, both nearly stole the show at the end of our very tasty evening.

So, did we like Stanza?  Not only like but NEED!  There was a sudden void for good pasta and gelato in our lives and Stanza came through with flying colors!

Stanza
454 East 300 South

I’m always looking for new healthy spots to dine out in town. While we definitely like to splurge on food and eat whatever we want from time to time, our main diet is pretty health conscious and light.  Mollie and Ollie is definitely a place you could dine-out to weekly or more and feel great about.

My toddler and I first tried the Strawberry Fields Salad and Green Smoothie, sharing the two and equally fighting over them both.  The strawberry salad is filled with roasted beets, strawberries, broccoli, feta and almonds, tossed in a horseradish vinaigrette.  On our second visit we also tried the Citrus Lime Roasted Garlic Stir Fry which comes with red quinoa, honey brined chicken, kale, green beans, red onions and summer squash in a savory sauce.

Both meals at Mollie and Ollie were equally satisfying and nutritious.  A few tips for eating here: while the menu is pretty awesome and easy to enjoy on its own, you can also create your own bowls and salads, which is great if you’re with a group or have anyone with dietary restrictions or picky palates in your party.  Another thing I noticed is that you can trade out meats on any of the menu items or ask for them to be lightly dressed.   Their meats are all antibiotic-free and their veggies are sourced carefully and seasonally.

Their new peach smoothie is a seasonal item and definitely worth trying but I’m guessing it will only be on the menu for a short time so grab it while you can! I could barely get a taste of it, my kiddo was pretty tight fisted with that one!

Whether your a health conscience person, like myself, or someone with a picky palate, more like my toddler, I think you’ll find something your body and mind will both enjoy at Mollie and Ollie.