We were looking for La Rocca's off Buffalo Road on Pixley Road and we kept driving right by Pixley Road. There are so many malls and chain restaurants clustered near this intersection that it was impossible to see the road sign. We stopped at a well lit Tim Hortons but it wasn't open yet. They were just installing the lighting. Further down the road we spotted Casa d'Amici (another Italian restaurant!) and we asked for directions to LaRocca's. I snapped the photo above and we plan to return here to eat soon.

We spotted an article in the business section of the D&C about Casa D'Amici. If you eat there on Wednesday and bring your receipt to Tinsel Town down the street, you get one free admission to the movies. So we returned to Casa D'Amici in the dead of winter, 2003. The place looked especially cozy through the hand painted signs on the window.

Established 2002 and still around. That's a good sign. Italian American music seeped from the tiny speakers in the ceiling.

They sat us next to the football Christmas tree. In order to get to "About Schmidt" in time we found ourselves seated for dinner in time to take advantage of the Early Bird Special as well. So we had Chicken French and a platter that included eggplant and manicotti and a free glass of wine each. The bread was stale enough to have been sliced at noon but edible.The manicotti was fantastic. I would return for this.

We got to the movie and it was freezing inside. We kept our hats and gloves on and we were still cold but the movie was so good that we stuck it out. On our way out of the theatre, the manager was apologizing for the lack of heat and passing out more free movie tickets.