La Tee Da

last night six (6) partook in italian fare on the charming patio of La Tee Da in Allentown. the patio was packed and the jazz quartet jamming. the only negative to the patio was that i could barely hear anyone else's conversations (even when they included me) which of course did not stop me from talking the entire evening much to the dismay of the group. despite this, our clan seemed to enjoy the atmosphere.

starting off, we ordered their eggplant wings - breaded eggplant sticks in a buffalo wing sauce - basically healthy chicken fingers served with blue cheese, celery and carrots - delicious. th group also ordered the stuffed hot peppers (good, see previous discussions). i also had their caprese salad which was disappointing - no balsamic (see previous discussions).

for entrees, i ordered their spicy chicken sausage over penne pasta in what i can only guess to be not a marinara sauce but possibly a vodka, red sauce served with peppery sausage. at first bite, i wasn't sure if i liked the sauce or the dish but the taste grew on me and i found it to be an excellent choice. others ordered their vegetarian caponata with red & yellow peppers, onions, garlic, eggplant, zucchini over spaghetti which was spicy and tasty. also sampled was their seafood bowl - shrimp, muscles, clams and scallions in a broth served over pasta - very good.

for dessert, the table shared one slice of casada cake which was truly fantastic, maybe the best dessert i've had since starting the group.

it was a pleasant evening enjoyed on the urban, natural and inviting La Tee Da patio. nothing outstanding (except for the casada cake) and nothing negative (except for the noise) therefore, La Tee Da gets a B+.