Saturday night Darren and I hit up the West Village with our friends Ryan and Caroline who were down for Super Bowl Weekend.  La Lanterna has been a long standing dessert favorite of ours so it was only natural we would want to share it with good friends.  The cozy, dimly lit atmosphere makes this restaurant very charming and appealing especially on a cold winter night.  There are several fireplaces and jazz on the lower level and an enclosed garden in the back which adds to the ambience.  The dinner menu is light casual fare…panninis, pizza and pasta.  But it is the dessert menu that has every kind of pie and cake imaginable.  From the apple crumb, to the strawberry rhubarb to the peach pie and mississippi mud cake there is something for everyone.  For the first time ever, we came for dinner. and not dessert.  We ordered a mix of salads, panninis and pasta.  The food was good but unfortunately for me about 30 minutes after eating I was deathly ill.  It was heartbreaking to know our favorite Greenwich Village place did this to me but it was just too coincidental.  For the next 36 hours (and still lingering today) I was severely sick and weak with all the classic signs of food poisoning.  It ruined my super bowl so you would expect me to harbor ill feelings but some how I can’t.  I’d like to say it was a really off night in the kitchen and something went awry.  I can’t say I will be running back for dinner but I would still stop in for some delicious pie and coffee.  It’s hard to be mad at a place that has long been a favorite.  My advice, just go for dessert!