Here’s yet another update on Shells and Sauce. But first a quick note that although I’ve written about Shells and Sauce a few times I have no relationship with them or financial incentive. They are an above average restaurant within blocks of my house, and add a good flavor to the Congress Park neighborhood. I’d hate for anyone to think I’m in bed with them, the whole lot of us rolling around in fresh cooked wheat pasta.

So the patio is open – And although it doesn’t double the floor space like I predicted it’s a superb place for summer evening dining. There are about 12 tables in an L shaped setup, with the ones along Elizabeth street giving the feel of a Swiss Family Robinson treehouse where birds might hop right out of the tree and snatch your bread. The biggest surprise during my inaugural day visit was the full bar, which is equal to if not bigger than the main dining room bar.

Our waitress told us there were no plans to completely enclose it for winter dining, as that would require sprinklers, but eventually some awnings may be put in for shade. Speaking of sprinklers: The management installed a small mist tube around the upper frame of the structure. It was timed to “mist us” every 15 minutes or so. We found this extremely annoying, as did the group one table over. We told the waitress and bartender our opinion, (they turned them off,) and hopefully this will be communicated to the owners. Misters are for amusement park lines and downtown festivals like “Taste of Cinco de Gay Peoples Fair Creek Arts Festival.” Even if the weather is stifling nobody who dresses up to go to a nice neighborhood Italian joint wants to be “misted.”

Being a hot Sunday afternoon we didn’t order a full mean, but two appetizers with some cold beer, and an espresso for dessert.

Overall it’s a great place, and the new deck will make our out of town visitors “oooh” even more when we walk a few blocks and they see such a cute neighborhood place. It adds a refreshing area for a summer evening meal.

Their half assembled website is at shellsandsauce.net

Related: Shells and Sauce – 07
Lovely Confections . Shells and Sauce