Tuesdays with Lawrence

It's becoming a habit, I suppose. Last week we did Bunker Hill and Free State Brewery. This week we went a little further south on Mass St. and ate at a new (to us, at least) restaurant, Genovese, and saw Nightwish at the Granada.

The restaurant, Genovese (that's Jen-oh-vay-say, not Jen-oh-veez), is Italian brought to you by the people who brought you Mexican at La Parrilla and East Asian at Zen Zero. It advertises itself as northern Italian cuisine with fresh seasonal ingredients. Well, I can't tell northern from southern, but I could tell local and fresh. The basil on our flatbread appetizer tasted like it had been plucked from a plant just before reaching our table. We did their Tuesday special - 2 people split one appetizer, one soup or salad, one pasta or pizza, and one dessert. More than enough food, and everything was just wonderfully delicious. It's a great option in Lawrence for Italian food - especially if places like Teller's or Paisano's aren't in your budget.

After dinner, the concert. Nightwish is a symphonic metal band. If you're into the genre, you may object to the classification - I've heard fantasy metal, progressive metal, operatic metal - whatever. It's amps, guitars, drums...a female vocalist and symphonic instrumentation. And they put on a hell of a show. Awesome high energy, decent but not over-the-top lighting and smoke effects, and a good mix of their songs. I was screaming like a little fangirl by the last couple songs. Go check out a couple of their songs on YouTube or something.
I was surprised at The Granada also. I'm a little embarrassed to admit it, but that was my first time being there. Being smoke-free makes it really nice. And it had better ladies' bathroom facilities than the Beaumont (honestly, guys, 2 stalls?). The reentry policy was also more forgiving, which ended up being useful. Finally, it had a lot of multi-tiered standing area, which meant even if you're, say, 5'4" and got there a little late, you might still see some of the show.