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| - My mom, her friend, and I had dinner at VinciTorio's last night, and what a great dinner it was. A Pilates instructor actually suggested it to my mom and so, as a loyal Yelper, I called my boyfriend and had him check the reviews. Good prices and food? We're there.
We showed up around 7 without having called ahead to find that there was a small line of people ahead of us. The restaurant was packed with families and elderly people. A good sign. We waited and chatted with the hostess, who gave us some recommendations off the menu of her favorite items. The decor was really cute, all I can really think of to call it is busy. Lots of family photographs, fake vines and leaves, painted walls. Even the bathroom has some framed photos of someone's baby, which I found hilarious. There was also some live music, from a guitarist singing covers of sappy soft rock love songs (I'm not going to lie, yes I do know all the lyrics to "I'll Be". Judge me.)
We were seated quickly and immediately brought water. Our server's name was Josh and he came right after the buser left to ask us about drinks. None of us wanted any wine or anything and he was super polite and did not judge (appreciated), and took our calamari appetizer order while giving us time to further peruse the menu. He came back with a drink for my mom's friend and a basket of delicious bread: garlic bread on a toasted baguette, and some focaccia with tomato and basil sauce. I decided on their lasagna, my mom's friend got the seafood fettucine, and my mom ordered eggplant parmesan.
The calamari arrived and it was so frickin' good! The spicy marinara sauce was fresh and had huge chunks of tomatoes and a liberal sprinkling of dried peppers in it. The calamari was in large spiraled chunks (rather than the tiny ringed slices you usually get), with a light crispy breading. We finished it off right away with the bread; there is olive oil and balsamic vinegar at the table for you to mix yourself, and we definitely partook in it with the bread. Lots of grease, I know. We were then brought salads and soup; I had a Ceaser salad that had too much parmesan on it, and they both had the Italian wedding soup, which was like an Italian albondigas: a tiny orvo looking pasta, shredded veggies, white beans, and tiny meatballs. They both loved the soup.
At this point, we're already starting to fill up, when our entrees arrived. My mom's friend's pasta came in a large bowl: jumbo shrimp, clams, and mussels on fettucine, drizzled with a light tomato broth. My mom's eggplant parmesan had penne and a vegetable mix (not canned, but sliced and steamed zucchini, summer squash, and carrots).
The eggplant parm was great; I disagree with the review below that says eggplant parmesan is supposed to be cut thick. I've never been to Italy so I can't speak to that level of authenticity, but every Italian deli that I've been to slices the eggplant thinly, breads it, and then stacks it on thick. This is because eggplant has mild toxins it, people. It's purple for a reason-you're not supposed to eat it raw, EVER, and if it's cut thick and not fully cooked to softness, that chewy eggplant texture means it still retains some toxicity.
My lasagna was deliciosu and definitely very fresh; the ricotta was fragrant with basil, and the homemade pasta was extremely tender. There was too much mozzarella at the top but I think I'm just picky; I peeled the mozzarella off the eggplant as well because that much cheese really masks the taste for me. We were all too full to even come close to finishing, so we picked and picked until just packing it up.
Appetizer, one soft drink, and 3 dinner time entrees for $60. How's that for a nice evening?
Commendations again, on the service, the food, and an overall extremely pleasant experience. The ambience is very nice, and I could see this being a lovely place for a date or to bring your family to. It makes me feel good to support a family-owned business that is so welcoming to their clientele.
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