Disclosure: We partnered with Piattino to host this giveaway. As always all thoughts and opinions are completely my own.

A few weeks ago, we tried a new local restaurant and it made for the perfect date night. I had been wanting to try Piattino for a while, because there’s a location near my elementary school that so many people have raved about. I was thrilled to find out they opened a location closer to us in Summit, NJ. We booked our sitter and met up for dinner. We met up because Piattino is very conveniently located across the street from the Summit Train station. Sometimes weeknight dates are tough because by the time Tom commutes home and gets to our house, it’s late and we don’t feel like going back out. This was the perfect spot to meet him en-route home from work.

After spending a month in Italy this summer, there are two things I miss tremendously when it comes to dinning out here: Apertivo and Italian cuisine true to different regions in Italy. Piattino offers both. So while I don’t often spend time to write an entire blog post about 1 spot to eat, I am sharing Piattino because it’s a unique spot for a date night.

Piattino’s Food:

The menu at Piattino is superb. In addition to the main menu there is a special menu that focuses on a specific region of Italy. This regional menu changes about every 6 weeks. When we were in Italy, we loved that when we visited different regions, the foods were so different and that each region had foods/meals that were their specialty. In our area, most Italian restaurants are just “Italian” and it’s tough to find some of the Italian regional specialties that you find in Italy. It’s awesome that Piattino takes time to really focus on certain regions and their cuisine and then offers the meals on their regional menu. It’s a great reason to continue to visit Piattino over and over again.

When we visited the region was Sardinia, so there were many amazing seafood dishes. I am planning a trip back because they just started the Piedmont region which is one of my favorites.

Piattino’s Apertivo:

If you’re not familiar with apertivo, it’s kind of Italian’s version of happy hour. In Italy, many places offer apertivo and it’s when there are drink specials with complimentary food. It was one of my favorite times in Italy because if you found a good spot outdoors, you could enjoy your drink and some light food while the kids ran around playing. There are some places in Italy knows specifically for what a great apertivo offering they have. When I was a student in Italy I finding a good apertivo was a tresure because your drink were cheaper and the food was free (but I’m way more mature now ha). I have not found any places in the area that offer apertivo so I was thrilled to find our Piattino had one.

Piattino’s aperitivo offering is available in the bar area of the Summit location Monday – Friday from 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM. In addition to offering a variety of complimentary small bites and discounted appetizers including homemade pastas, grilled meats and seasonable vegetable preparations, Piattino also offers $5 glasses of Prosecco on tap, $6 negronis and martinis and a variety of Italian wine specials for $6 each including rose, white and red. The complimentary offerings feature canapes including fresh baked focaccias, salads, dips and cheeses.

A bit more about Piattino:

Piattino brings its authentic, new age Italian dining experience directly to New Jersey. Sourcing artisan ingredients from around the world and our own backyard, Piattino’s scratch-made, chef-driven menu includes a variety of mouthwatering antipasti’s, insalates, pastas and entrees. Piattino is also known locally for its delicious, hand-stretched Neapolitan style pizzas and sandizza’s (its own version of a Panini) baked at 800 degrees in its imported Italian stone-fired oven using premium ingredients, ranging from truffled wild mushrooms to 24-month-aged prosciutto di Parma.

Now for the Giveaway:

One lucky winner will receive a $50 gift card to Piattino!

All you have to do is follow @piattino_nj & @thechirpingmoms on Instagram and comment on the photo (or on this blog post) telling us you entered. Here’s the Instagram photo with details: Piattino $50 Giveaway. Good luck!