Pride comes before a fall, as they say, and I had just congratulated myself on negotiating safely through the obvious dry-cleaning hazards of pasta and meatballs with sauce – by stuffing a napkin into my shirt, just like Joe Pesci in the gangster movie Goodfellas.
With a satisfied grin towards my wife, who has witnessed some spectacularly splattered shirts in the past, I set the napkin aside without a mark on my bright pink shirt.
I then managed to pour a dollop of chocolate ice cream down myself instead.
Luckily, nobody seemed to notice or, at least they did not pay much attention, as I dabbed away furiously with the napkin.
You see, they are a very relaxed lot here at Borsalino, with a convivial atmosphere as deep as the layers on their rich desserts.
They are proud of their reputation, which stretches back 40 years – with a statue of Rob Roy just over the road, they have a lot of competition in that respect around here.
But the only people falling over are those beating a regular path to its door, which could increase when they open a new bottle store selling a variety of wines.
As far as I know, Borsalino established itself in a tiny former pie ship and then just expanded: it now resembles a stretched out strip of pasta in a low, eye-catching building familiar with one and all who use this busy route to Royal Deeside, on the outskirts of Aberdeen.
They were doing a roaring trade on a Saturday night we visited, with a wedding party thrown in for good measure. Yet the service was swift and assured.
Luca Balsamo, who has taken over running the restaurant from his father, greeted us personally and kept stopping for brief, friendly chats even although it was busy.
That was a nice touch, as was his reassuring e-mail, a few days earlier, when I dropped him a line after a dodgy phone meant I could not get through to book.
Our trip out from Aberdeen was not straightforward, either: roadworks at Milltimber shut the road and almost threw a spanner in the works.
We had to double back towards Aberdeen and find another way through to Peterculter, via Maryculter. Stressed out, I rang Borsalino’s in a panic, but there was Luca again – telling us not to worry, the table would be held for us.
As we finally arrived, he offered us a seat and a calming drink: he could see I was suffering from Victor Meldrew syndrome.
We were soon skipping through the menu and could see a delicious range of pizzas was proving popular, with a family group of four sharing a large one nearby. Risottos, pastas and specials were also vying for attention.
For starters: duck, chicken liver and brandy pate, served with tasty Italian bread and oatcakes, on an orange glaze, for my wife, and for me, a starter portion of risotto a la marinara – a seafood dish with king prawns, squid, hot smoked salmon, garlic, white wine and cherry tomatoes. You can have many dishes here as a starter or main portion.
These were an excellent introduction to life at Borsalino – bursting with flavour and an authentic Italian feel.
Even although she was tempted by beef and veal medallions as a main course, my wife switched direction to another risotto.
This time, it was risotto funghi, polo e pancetta, with diced chicken breast, lardons of bacon and mushrooms, with parmesan and a touch of cream.
I heard my wife saying it was delicious, but I was concentrating on my dish of polpette – rose veal and pancetta meatballs, flavoured with sun-dried tomato, basil, chilli and parmesan, served over spicy spaghetti Napoli.
Sorry, I am just a sucker for this classic dish. I shall have to do a Rick Stein and say, as he often does, that it was the best I’d ever tasted (apart from when my wife does it, of course).
We rounded off with Borsalino’s own creamy profiteroles and chocolate ice cream cake. They have to be seen to be believed, but judging by the number of times they swept by, held aloft by staff, they were popular with everyone else, too.
I read somewhere that Giuseppe Borsalino founded a hat company in Italy known for its fedoras. So, what can I say – hats off to Borsalino.