I went to Grazie for Valentine's day, which can often be a difficult time to be a vegetarian (with all the prixe fixe menus full of the romantically dead lobsters and cows). My boyfriend had reservations for us at a wonderful vegetarian friendly place only to find out that they would not be offering a vegetarian option for Valentine's day. (Nothing says "I love you" like "you can't eat here"). This left him scrambling to find another place to eat, and he stumbled upon the vegetarian friendly Grazie.
As we approached the restaurant, you could hear how full of life and energy it was, even for such a typically quiet, romantic night. I'm not one for an overly stuffy restaurant, so I love it. There was a beautifully lit patio that stretches around the building completed with a large fireplace on the side.
The wine list was presented first, which was actually something of a disappointment from someplace calling themselves a wine bar. I'll drink just about anything, and I liked the way it was arranged, but they were definitely lacking in a few more options. However, we did enjoy a nice glass of Spanish chardonnay that went well with our food for the evening.
To begin, we chose the cheese platter, which was worth every penny of the $15 price. Unaware of what exactly to expect (the menu did not list the cheeses), we were pleasantly surprised to find the 5 or 6 different kinds of cheeses presented in generous portions. This certainly was not the skimpy cheese plates I'm used to. However, because there was SO much cheese, we felt that it was almost overkill without some tomatoes or bread to cut the the richness. (I'll never complain about too much cheese though).
For our meal, we split the Marcello pizza, which was delicately seasoned with garlic and topped with Roma tomatoes. The crust was thin and crispy and held up well to the rich sauce.
Overall, Grazie is a place that I would recommend and visit again for some indulgent food and a beautiful ambiance.