On a recent trip to Venice, my sister and I found ourselves eating one of the most delicious meals of our lives at Osteria Ai 40 Ladroni, or The Forty Thieves. It is an exceptional restaurant not only for its to-die-for squid ink pasta dish but also for the fact that it’s where my sister got married.

There was a charming and virile-looking Italian waiter serving us. And my sister is famous for her Strega-Nona-like love of pasta, so she turned to me midway through the meal and said, “This waiter is cute, right? And he could serve me the most delicious homemade pasta, and he lives in Venice, a beautiful city.” Since her horoscope had recently informed her that she would meet the love of her life that day, one thing led to another … and before we knew it, Maurizio (as he was called) was announcing to the packed room of Italian families: “I present to you my wife!” Everyone was clapping and laughing and drinking limoncello.

Enough with the emotionally unavailable men — here’s to Italian princes bearing plates of pasta and seafood delicacies. Though Maurizio doesn’t have an email address, he promised to do some email writing to my sister by way of the restaurant’s office. After all, unfulfilled love affairs are usually more romantic.

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