celebration Archives - hungry and fit

First and foremost, you’ve probably noticed a lack of content lately! You’d think that the lead up to the holiday season would be packed with important content, and that would be our intention, but we’ve been extremely busy and haven’t had the opportunity to write. Well, Fit has been writing two books, actually. She is going through her fourth revision of her first major novel, but also taking part in a November writing program (NaNoWriMo) where you write a novel within the month. Hungry is taking his fourth course in his program, on his way to his Masters degree. Both of us are working our full-time jobs as well, and taking care of the babies.

Speaking of which, Noke turned five years old on Thursday, November 8th. Originally adopted on Valentine’s Day in 2014, we’ve always celebrated her birthday based on the date of birth that the shelter estimated. We generally don’t invite a bunch of people over for a party, or bring her to play Laser Tag, but we do a little bit more than your average family. It doesn’t take much to get her excited, and you could certainly make a point that this is more about giving us a good time than her. Either way, she really enjoys it and has a major sensory overload when we celebrate.

For one of our celebratory dinners, we decided to go to Dagabi Cucina after a little debate about where we wanted to go. We’ve been eyeing this place for a while (and I can’t help but call it Dagobah), so we decided this was the night to go. To celebrate our promotions and hard work, this would be the perfect place. We went around 7:30 Friday night, not sure what to expect. It was a hybrid of Spanish (Spain Spanish) and Italian food.

Preview of what’s to come..

Right off the bat, we were pleased. The flamboyant host asked us whether we wanted to sit outside or not and we couldn’t decide. He then says, “Well most people fight each other to get outside” (I couldn’t place his accent, Chris thinks Barcelona) so we opted for that. They have a beautiful outside arrangement and we were lucky enough to sit next to a nice flower box. Stringed lights hang around us, making it very romantic and relaxing. There were a few other people around us, but nobody was loud or obnoxious. It was a nice summer night, no need for a jacket.

Beautiful night

Our waiter was excellent. She may have been slightly overworked, but she didn’t miss a thing. To start ourselves off, we got a caraffe of Tinto de Verano (summer red wine with sparkling lemonade). It was definitely worth it as we each got at least 3 glasses out of it. It was delicious, light, and refreshing–very glad we got that. Food-wise, we got Ensalada con Melocoton which was beautifully-made, very light and not overdone with flavor. And of course, we had to get the bread. On Yelp, people rave about their balsamic sauce and boy were they right. The bread came fresh out of the oven, actually too hot to touch at first. Once we could get our hands on it, we couldn’t stop. The sauce was absolutely wonderful, full of complex flavors, a true pleasure to eat. I can’t wait to go back during “happy hour” and just get bread. Our last appetizer was Antipasto Dagabi which sampled meats, cheeses, and olives. It was a good choice: all the cheeses had different flavors, there was some fruit too to pair with cheese, and I actually ate some olives! You can tell in our pictures that the night gets progressively darker…

Delicious drink next to a beautiful flower bed

Bread, oh man, I want some more!

Wonderful appetizers

By this point, I am already near full (what a surprise), but we still have our entrees yet. I ordered the special, which was wild boar meatballs with gnocchi (yep–I finally got to have some meat!) and Chris got Filetes Rusos which was kind of Spanish-styled hamburger with mashed potatoes and asparagus. We both agreed that the entrees were good, but they weren’t of the same caliber of the appetizers. I couldn’t finish mine, so I got had it wrapped ate it on Sunday. For dessert, we got a raspberry creme brulee (Chris pressured me into it, I swear!). Usually I like it plain, but it was very tasty. Chris, who normally doesn’t like creme brulee, shared it with me and enjoyed it as well.

Wild boar meatballs with gnocchi

Spain-styled hamburger

Creme brulee!

Overall, it was truly a wonderful experience: a beautiful setting, delicious food, and attentive wait staff made the night a success. We will definitely be coming back here at least for the appetizers and the atmosphere. Fit gives Dagabi Cucina a big thumbs up and can’t wait to get some more bread and balsamic–happy hour is every night, right?! This place is definitely a contender for best Spanish food in Boulder. Eat at Dagabi Cucina to stay hungry and fit!

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