VinciTorio's Restaurant

I hadn't been to a new restaurant in awhile, so I was looking forward to trying out this place with a few girls from my Sorority Alumni group. Two of them are regulars at VinciTorio's and had been wanting me to host one of the dinners there, so I finally gave in and planned the dinner there for a Friday night. I had called at noon that day to get reservations, and it was good that I did, because there were quite a few people waiting when we arrived, but we were seated right away.

The interior of the space has a very homey feel, with pictures of the owners family all over the walls. I estimated that there were only about 20 tables in the restaurant, so it was a nice atmosphere. After our waiter took our drink orders he came back with a basket of hot bread. My friends, the regulars, informed me that all the bread was made in house, making it very fresh. There were two types in the basket, a foccacia and a garlic bread. Both of them were excellent, the garlic bread was crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle. The foccacia seemed to be scented with rosemary, and it was delicious dipped into the self-serve olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette that was on the table.

The menu had lots of options, pasta dishes, meat dishes, salads, sandwiches and pizza...so much to choose from! While we looked over the menu, we decided to get some soup and salad to start with. Katie was raving about the Mushroom Soup, and while I am usually not a mushroom person, once I saw hers, I decided to give it a try since my meal was going to come with a choice of soup or salad. It was a rich, thick soup made with mushrooms, cream and red wine. As I was eating mine, I just felt that something was missing, so I added a dash of salt, and then the flavors really came alive. It was delicious, and I may have cured my mushroom hatred (although it still applies to raw mushrooms....yuck!).

Laura, Whitney & Cynthia all decided to start with the Caprese Salad. The presentation of the salad was lovely, and it came with some pleasant surprises that were not indicated in its description on the menu; roasted red peppers, marinated artichoke hears and kalamata olives! They gave me a bite to try, and while it was a decent version of a Caprese salad, it was nothing spectacular. The tomatoes seemed to be a bit under ripe, making them a bit hard and flavorless. The fresh buffalo mozzarella was good, and we really did enjoy the little extras on the side.

After we had finally decided on our main courses, it wasn't long before they started rolling out of the kitchen. Cynthia (one of the regulars) ordered the Gnocchi al Pomodoro Fresco, but substituted the fresh Pomodoro sauce for the Bolognese sauce. A huge bowl of little pasta and potato nuggets arrived, drenched in the meaty sauce. This is one of the usual things that she orders here, and she was not disappointed a bit. She gave me a gnocchi to try, and while I thought the dumpling was good (maybe a little tough), I was not a fan of the sauce. I think tomato based sauces are very personal, and what is amazing to one, just doesn't do it for another. I liked the ratio of the meat to the red sauce, but I think there was just a bit too much oregano for my taste, plus, I usually like my gnocchi served in a Vodka sauce!

Whitney was torn between two dishes, but ultimately decided to order the Ravioli di Zucca, which were butternut squash ravioli in a four cheese sauce. The presentation of these was beautiful, and she was quite amused that the ravioli were actually in the shape of large hearts! She felt the sweet squash filling paired well with the savory cheese sauce, and was very happy with her meal. It was definitely a rich dish, but not in a heavy way.

Katie (the other regular) ordered the Eggplant Sandwich which was served with homemade potato chips. The sandwich consisted of lightly breaded eggplant slices, tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese all baked into a fresh roll....the sandwich was huge! Katie said that it was very good, the eggplant was not soggy in the sandwich at all, and there was just enough sauce and cheese as a compliment. She gave me a chip to try and they were amazing! There is just something about homemade potato chips, they were still a bit warm, and seasoned perfectly with a touch of salt.

Laura wasn't in the mood for anything heavy that night, so she ordered the Chicken Caesar Salad. The salad was a good size portion with strips of seasoned chicken breast perched on top. She really liked the chicken, and felt that it was cooked perfectly. The salad was dressed with just enough dressing to retain the crispness of the lettuce. Laura really liked this salad, and said it was definitely something that she would order again.

When I saw the Cannelloni Rossini on the menu, I need to look no further! I have always loved Cannelloni, but it is not found on a lot of menus, so I was excited to try it. This one was filled with a mixture of ground veal, chicken and ricotta cheese, then topped with a duo of bechamelle and marinara sauce. When the plate arrived, I couldn't wait to dig into it, but I was ultimately disappointed. The filling was really dry, and there wasn't quite enough sauce on top to make up for the dryness. Also, once again, the red sauce just didn't suit my taste buds, making it taste a bit odd to me. The bechamelle sauce did have good flavor, and I ended up dipping some of the delicious bread in it. I was bummed by my dish, but at least everyone else seemed to enjoy theirs.

At the end of our meal, both Cynthia and Whitney decided to get a Cannoli for dessert. I am not a fan of Cannoli, but they both assured me that they were very good. They were a good size, filled to the brim with cream, and accented with a sprinkling of chocolate chips, powdered sugar and a cherry on top!

Laura decided that she wanted some dessert also, but opted for gelato instead. She had her choice between chocolate and vanilla; she chose the chocolate. After just one bite, she declared it to be the best gelato she had ever eaten! At that review, we all grabbed a spoon and took a taste, and it was amazing! It was rich and creamy and had just enough chocolate to make it feel decadent, but it wasn't overly sweet. She happily cleaned her bowl and was glad that we stayed for dessert!

Overall, we had a really nice time at VinciTorio's, it is a charming neighborhood Italian restaurant. The service was excellent, and for the most part the food was really good. I would consider giving it a second chance because there were some other items on the menu that were very appealing to me, but for next time, I just know that I need to stay away from anything with red sauce!

VinciTorio's Restaurant
1835 E. Elliot Rd., Suite C-109

Tempe, AZ

www.vincitoriosrestaurant.com