Vitale's
Tonight we went out to eat at Vitale's (which is the only realistically Italian place in town). We spent about $60 (with tip) for three people. Me and Teale got the Gnocchi Primavera and the Seafood Alfredo, and Yoda got the Chicken Fettucini (and a glass of Chianti). As the evening wore on, the dining experience began to seem like a little girl that tries on her mom's mink coat and pumps, and smears lipstick all over herself--she's really cute, but not ready to go out on the town. Vitale's is at first glance a very upscale place, but the closer you look the more you doubt this impression. For example, there are cloth tablecloths, but ours was extremely wrinkled. As for the rest--well, you'll see.
Coffee (me)
Gnocchi Primavera (me)
Seafood Alfredo (Teale)
Glass of Chianti (Yoda)
Chicken Fettucini (Yoda)
Clam Chowder (Teale & Yoda)
Side Salad (me)
Bread (all of us)
The Coffee
...Was pretty good. Strong, and the cream came in a cute little pitcher, but I had to ask for my first few refills (and when I asked for the first refill, she thought I wanted a whole second cup of coffee--as in a separate drink order--and ended up charging me for two coffees, which had to be taken off our bill). 7/10
The Gnocchi Primavera
Nice shape, nice texture, a bit flavorless, but the white wine sauce was good, and the chicken was good. Had to ask for Parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top. 7/10
Seafood Alfredo
When it originally came out it had lots of big, beautiful shrimp in it, but no scallops or oysters (per the menu description). So we had to ask for the rest of the seafood. While they were preparing that, we enjoyed a very rich sauce, good pasta, but not a spectacularly flavored dish. However, the portions were very generous, and once the scallops arrived they were AWESOME (jumbo and perfectly cooked--soft and flavorful). The oysters were apparently little bits in the sauce, not whole oysters, but what can you do. Could have been an 8/10, but including service, a 6/10.
The Chianti
Very good. Dry, spicy, complex. The one thing that they couldn't screw up. 9.5/10
Chicken Fettucini
Came without a knife. Kind of bland, but the flavors that were there were good. The Parmesan we requested rounded it out well (as it did all three entrees). 8/10
Clam Chowder
Thick and flavorful, redolent with potato (probably too much potato--really thick with potato). Excellent flavor. Oyster crackers a plus. 7/10
Side Salad
Ordinary. Came with an edible blue cheese dressing (not great, not bad). 5/10
Bread
Crusty, hot, wonderful. European and authentic. Thin loaves/sticks that were partially cut for ease of tearing. However. We had to ask for it. And there was a bottle of olive oil on the table (in a fancy bottle etched with the restaurant logo). And I tasted it. And it was not so good. So I asked Teale to taste it. And she almost gagged. It. Was. Rancid. Oil. So I asked for a new bottle. And the second bottle was...also rancid! After that, it was butter all the way, baby. Also, they didn't bring us more bread after we polished off the first basket. Bread: 10/10, Olive oil: -10/10
Stuff We Had to Ask For
Salad and soups (she never even ordered them till we asked)
Water
Bread
Olive oil
New side plate for olive oil (never received)
Coffee
More water
Knife
Seafood
Parmesan cheese
More water
Coffee
Fixing our bill
Our time back (it took forever for them to take our payment--we were hostages)
Other notes
Our waitress cried (about a problem with another table's order and an apparent disagreement with the cook). Apparently she was somewhat new (and it showed). It was too expensive for the quality of the food. For about $20 a person, your whole dining experience should rock. We could have gone out for sushi and probably spent less money and had SUSHI. But the scallops were really good. And we stole a bunch of hard candy mints to make up for the meal when we left. Unfortunately, when we got home we realized that they were all melted. And they were hard candy.
Final Rating
Food 7.5, Service 3/10, Ambiance 5/10 (no privacy, you can hear everyone's conversation, and then they started playing Sabre Dance). Total: 6/10
Coffee (me)
Gnocchi Primavera (me)
Seafood Alfredo (Teale)
Glass of Chianti (Yoda)
Chicken Fettucini (Yoda)
Clam Chowder (Teale & Yoda)
Side Salad (me)
Bread (all of us)
The Coffee
...Was pretty good. Strong, and the cream came in a cute little pitcher, but I had to ask for my first few refills (and when I asked for the first refill, she thought I wanted a whole second cup of coffee--as in a separate drink order--and ended up charging me for two coffees, which had to be taken off our bill). 7/10
The Gnocchi Primavera
Nice shape, nice texture, a bit flavorless, but the white wine sauce was good, and the chicken was good. Had to ask for Parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top. 7/10
Seafood Alfredo
When it originally came out it had lots of big, beautiful shrimp in it, but no scallops or oysters (per the menu description). So we had to ask for the rest of the seafood. While they were preparing that, we enjoyed a very rich sauce, good pasta, but not a spectacularly flavored dish. However, the portions were very generous, and once the scallops arrived they were AWESOME (jumbo and perfectly cooked--soft and flavorful). The oysters were apparently little bits in the sauce, not whole oysters, but what can you do. Could have been an 8/10, but including service, a 6/10.
The Chianti
Very good. Dry, spicy, complex. The one thing that they couldn't screw up. 9.5/10
Chicken Fettucini
Came without a knife. Kind of bland, but the flavors that were there were good. The Parmesan we requested rounded it out well (as it did all three entrees). 8/10
Clam Chowder
Thick and flavorful, redolent with potato (probably too much potato--really thick with potato). Excellent flavor. Oyster crackers a plus. 7/10
Side Salad
Ordinary. Came with an edible blue cheese dressing (not great, not bad). 5/10
Bread
Crusty, hot, wonderful. European and authentic. Thin loaves/sticks that were partially cut for ease of tearing. However. We had to ask for it. And there was a bottle of olive oil on the table (in a fancy bottle etched with the restaurant logo). And I tasted it. And it was not so good. So I asked Teale to taste it. And she almost gagged. It. Was. Rancid. Oil. So I asked for a new bottle. And the second bottle was...also rancid! After that, it was butter all the way, baby. Also, they didn't bring us more bread after we polished off the first basket. Bread: 10/10, Olive oil: -10/10
Stuff We Had to Ask For
Salad and soups (she never even ordered them till we asked)
Water
Bread
Olive oil
New side plate for olive oil (never received)
Coffee
More water
Knife
Seafood
Parmesan cheese
More water
Coffee
Fixing our bill
Our time back (it took forever for them to take our payment--we were hostages)
Other notes
Our waitress cried (about a problem with another table's order and an apparent disagreement with the cook). Apparently she was somewhat new (and it showed). It was too expensive for the quality of the food. For about $20 a person, your whole dining experience should rock. We could have gone out for sushi and probably spent less money and had SUSHI. But the scallops were really good. And we stole a bunch of hard candy mints to make up for the meal when we left. Unfortunately, when we got home we realized that they were all melted. And they were hard candy.
Final Rating
Food 7.5, Service 3/10, Ambiance 5/10 (no privacy, you can hear everyone's conversation, and then they started playing Sabre Dance). Total: 6/10
posted by Anoush: | 7:48 PM
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