If there’s one thing my mother-in-law says that I wholeheartedly agree with, it would be “life is too short – eat dessert first.” And when it comes to desserts, boy, do I know my stuff!  One of my favorite restaurants in Tyler is Oliveto Italian Bistro that is neatly tucked into a strip center at 3709 Troup Highway, just south of Loop 323.  With an incredibly well-rounded menu that has everything from Asiago Spinach Dip and Woodstone Pizzas to outstanding pasta dishes, soups, salads and some of the best plank roasted salmon around, there’s something there for nearly everyone to enjoy.

My husband and I went to Oliveto for dinner recently.  Of course, I’m a born sucker when it comes to pasta, and as usual went straight to my comfort zone of spaghetti and meatballs.  Even though both of us were completely stuffed from our meals, we couldn’t pass up the dessert menu.  It was a definite toss-up between the Dulce De Leche Bread Pudding and the Eight Chocolate Brownie Bliss – what we like to refer to as “Death By Chocolate.”

Seeing as how it was Valentine’s Day and nothing says Valentine Day, chocolate was the winner.  As we all but buried our faces in the Ghiradelli brownie that is made with five types of chocolate, served warm with a scoop of Blue Bell ice cream and drizzled with white and dark chocolate sauce and sprinkled with cocoa, it occurred to me that perhaps once, just once, maybe my mother-in-law was right – eat dessert first or at least be sure to leave some room for the sweetest course of the meal.  http://olivetobistro.com/menu/tyler-tx/?location=tyler-tx