Jesse: You and I last week in this spot discussed getting together for dinner at Pomodori, and it happened sooner than I thought it would.

Maggie: It was on this for the moment as well.

Jesse: Yeah, it was the next day, I think Tuesday we were there.

Maggie: It was.

Jesse: We had dinner—your first time at Pomodori Too in Bluffton. You know we’re big fans of Pomodori on the Island. A wonderful, wonderful restaurant owned by our friend Amanda Cifaldi. But Pomodori Too, she’s had since I think Labor Day of ’23 they opened, so it’s been a little over a year, and it’s your first exposure to it. What do you think of the scene there under the live oaks in Old Town Bluffton?

Magie: Well, I mean what they’ve done there is just nothing short of magical. The whole thing—just taking that Old Town cottage and lighting it up, and the outdoor scenery with all the tables out on the porch and in the front yard having a little special spot for musicians to play—which we had that evening, Jack Kiser of Hilton Head fame was playing. I mean, just the whole concept too. And it’s really easy; you just go in, you order your food, you sit down, they’re going to bring it to you. So it’s a little bit different from the routine she has going on Hilton Head. But the same food, the same consistency, and I was super impressed, of course. And I didn’t expect that I was not going to be.

Jesse: Yeah, but you knew it would be different. I had the chicken piccata with the spicy red pepper flakes, which was the only other time I had that—I think I was with you at Pomodori on the Island. Nate suggested it: “Hey, you gotta get the piccata, but with the red pepper flakes.” So I did it again, and it was just so unbelievably good. I don’t remember—what did you have the other night?

Maggie: Well, I had to order the chicken marsala because you ordered my favorite.

Jesse: That’s right! You had the marsala.

Maggie: So we couldn’t order the same thing, and you ordered my thing. So that’s right—I had the marsala! And probably hands down, the top two chicken marsalas I’ve ever had. And you know, as you know, I don’t do a whole lot of gluten right now. So the side of linguine was delicious, but I didn’t eat all of it so I could eat half of my chicken and then take the other part home like I like to do—and it was even better the next day.

Jesse: I’m sure!

Maggie: And you know what I’m saying?

Jesse: Yeah! It’s funny that you say you ate some and took some home; compared to me, I think you eat like a bird! But compared to me—more also tiny! But that is a thing that I think Pomodori—especially at Pomodori Too—since so much of it is takeout, they’ve become known for their portions too. I, as much as I eat, have taken half of mine home sometimes and eaten it the next day.

You know, it’s funny. Just yesterday I was chatting with Amanda about Pomodori and told her we had been there and blah blah blah. And I asked her how things were going, and she said they’re going great! She thought there would be more takeout business—which there is a ton! It’s so convenient; they have all your food waiting for you in a shopping bag once you get there and you grab it and go if you order online.

But I told her—it’s interesting because the general manager Boris was telling me that sometimes on weekends when the weather’s right, there’s a line out the door with people waiting to order and enjoy the evening outdoors.

Maggie: So I feel they filled a niche that was empty that needed to be filled with a whole Italian thing. So eventually—you know—like shockwaves!

Jamie: It’ll just 100%, 100%. And you know there’s some good Italian in Bluffton to be fair to everybody. But this is just—you know—very family-forward comfort food Italian. Would you agree?

Maggie: I totally agree!