A birthday amongst my closest friends is always an occasion to celebrate, but when we visited Alfio’s Buon Cibo on Hyde Park Square about a week ago, I knew before the evening started that it would probably be epic. (Do I sound like a 19-year old frat boy? Perhaps.) Several in the group planned to meet at Teller’s for a drink before dinner. Somehow this evolved into a smaller portion of the group meeting at Cock and Bull for a drink before meeting at Teller’s for another drink. Confused yet? I almost am and I was there. Let’s just suffice it to say that by the time the eleven of us sat down for our 7:30 dinner, most of us were already well on our way to a good time. (Well, perhaps not the friends who ran out of gas on the Brent Spence bridge during Friday rush hour. I think they caught up in no time though.) Add to that countless bottles of a wine that for the life of me, I can’t remember and several shots of Fireball whiskey and there were so many ways that this evening could have gone wrong. But, it didn’t.

I have to give most of the credit to the unflappable staff at Alfio’s. We can be a tough crowd, but they handled us with ease. Perhaps the excellent food had something to do with it. Alfio’s describes their food as modern Italian with an Argentine flair. I have no idea what that means exactly, but the food is so good that I hardly care. We started with several appetizers including the Empanada Trio, lightly fried Argentine puff pastries stuffed with various ingredients including spiced beef, spinach and cheese, and prosciutto with roasted red peppers and mozzarella cheese. I have made empanadas at home before, but in comparison mine taste like they come from the kitchen of a preschooler. We also ordered the Sausage Sliders that were served with a side of chimichurri and mustard mayonnaise. Both appetizers disappeared from the table as if it were the last supper. I know that there were several other appetizers ordered at the other end of the table, but they also disappeared so quickly that I’m not certain what they were.

I do however, remember what entrée I ordered, mostly because it was so spectacular that my inner fat kid wanted to order another serving. The Five Cheese Angus Ravioli was the best ravioli that I have ever had in my life. No lie kids, it was that good. Several people at the table also enjoyed the Five Cheese Ravioli as well as the equally superb Short Rib Ravioli, stuffed with tender braised veal shortrib, served in a creamy truffle mushroom marsala sauce. I don’t particularly care for mushrooms, but I thought it was delicious as well. It has been brought to my attention that not everyone at the table loved their entrees as much as I did, but since I carelessly forgot to take any notes while I was eating, I’m not 100% sure what those dishes may have been. However, several of the menu items at Alfio’s did garner “Best of Taste” awards at the 2014 Taste of Cincinnati, so I must not be alone in my enthusiasm.

Is this my most concise review? Umm, no. I was in no condition to be reviewing anything. Was this this the most budget-friendly restaurant in the book? Certainly, not. I cringe when I look at the liquor tab alone. Did we have a rip-roaring, inappropriate for our ages, good time at Alfio’s? Definitely. Most definitely. Will I go back to Alfio’s? It is certainly likely.