Like a true local.

And onto lunch now...having one of those great Fridays when the boss is out of town. That's not what makes it great, to be clear, I have a fantastic boss, but I always feel guilty taking a long lunch when other people are here "working." Quotes cause it's Friday, and we all know how that goes.

The husband was craving Luigi's last night, so we decided to have our weekly Friday lunch date there today. How do I describe Luigi's...hmmm. Luigi's is THE place to have lunch in Bakersfield. Very much a see-and-be-seen kind of place that has been around forever. Plus they have a decent deli next door—olives, sauces, a great wine selection, meats, cheeses...it's really the closest thing in town to a real Italian deli.

Decorated wall to wall with photos of local sports teams from the last, I don't know, hundred years, Luigi's is always stock full of people waiting both inside and outside for a table. Plus they have really limited hours, which doesn't help the crowding. (I took this pic during a commercial shoot we did there a few months back. That's the hubby. He's our favorite extra.)

The servers have all been here forever...it's all just very down-homey and local, if that makes sense. But the food is good. It's hard for me, though, since I want to eat everything and can have pretty much nothing. But I try my best to be good—my salad normally comes with a french roll from a local bakery, and as much as I wanted one, cause they are amazing, I declined. Our server thoughtfully asked if I still wanted all the side goodies. Um, yes please. Marinated carrot, salami and swiss rolled up, btw...yum. Better on a hard french roll, but I'm over it.

The husband, not surprisingly, ordered the side of 'tongue for one.' I've mentioned tongue is a huge Bakersfield fave, but I don't really get it. Maybe because, you know, it's a cow's tongue, and that doesn't really work for me. Though as often as I point this out, he doesn't seem to mind. People here l.o.v.e. it. If we recall, the husband has eaten it twice this week. (Keeps him strong, he says. Sure, babe.)

I meant to take pics of our entrees (New York steak and pasta for him, the Monica's antipasta salad for me) but we kind of tore into them immediately instead. Oops.

But had we ordered a pastrami sandwich, it would have looked like this. Again...from the photo shoot. I love my job.