Rosso Trattoria Italia

I'm happy to report the wait it finally over, Rosso Trattoria Italia is open!

C and I were lucky enough to get one of the soft opening reservations on Saturday night to get a sneak peek. The interior plays off the name Rosso, meaning red in Italian.

this photo courtesy of Rosso


Our table was close to the bar, separated only by the two large bistro-height communal tables (which I am guessing will be used for walk-in traffic).

Aside from the usual bar staples, they also feature almost the full line of Luxardo Italian spirits... from your basic sambuca and amaretto, to lesser the known herb appertif amaro abano.





Since I'm not sure if the menu is final, I will hold a full review until our next trip, but it's shaping up to be, what I would call, upscale-rustic.

* excuse the photo quality - I have a rule against ruining mood lighting with flashbulbs.

antipasto platter


the remnants of the antipasto, and the roasted half chicken


While we did notice a few kinks in service, nothing worth noting here... we're chalking it up to it being opening weekend.

Truely a great addition to the Columbia restaurant scene. We will be back, soon!

Rosso Trattoria Italia
Trenholm Plaza
4840 Forest Drive
Columbia, SC 29206
Phone: 803.787.3949

Vetri

1312 Spruce Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Phone: 215-732-3478
www.vetriristorante.com

Vetri is an intimate 10 table restaurant in Center City Philadelphia run by Marc Vetri. The Philadelphia Inquirer ranks it among the city’s top 5 restaurants, and there are some (including Mario Batali) who claim it be one of the best Italian restaurants in America.

My thoughts?

Vetri is a haven for foodies.

If you are not serious about food and wine, you will be disappointed. You will think it is over priced. You will walk away confused.

but

If you are the type of person who would plan a vacation around a restaurant, then I suggest saving your pennies for a trip to Vetri (but start calling now, reservations need to be made at least a month in advance).

The food is unpretentious and delicious.

We started with cocktails and their famous charcuterie platter. A rustic wood block arrived with a variety of house cured meats, sherry-charred brussel sprouts, grilled fennel, house cured pickles, and other delicacies (including one that I can only describe as a savory zeppoli wrap in a paper thin sheet of sweet creamy lardo).



The house made bread is also worth noting. A silent little man with a bread basket seemed to appear out of nowhere to keep our bread dishes filled... and we were happy to oblige and eat slice after slice of crusty goodness dipped in oive oil while nibbling on house cured olives.

We left our wine selection in the hands of their fabulous sommelier. After he and C had a lengthy discussion on the qualities of various gins, we got down to what type of wine we were looking for. He disappeared for a moment and returned with what turned out to be a perfect bottle. I had written down the name, but sadly the scrap of paper disappeared by the time we got back to SC.

Other highlights of the evening included...

Warm salad of wilted greens with pancetta and egg
When this arrived, I was suprised to see the egg was actually a scrambled egg. I tasted with trepidation, but it was really really good. There was something acidic (a vinaigrette of some sort) which really tied it all together.

Spinach Gnocchi with shaved ricotta and brown butter
I would prefer if they called these "spinach dumplings" instead of gnocchi. Don't get me wrong, they were quite delicious, but their texture was a bit unexpected.

Guinea hen breast stuffed with foie gras and prosciutto

Wood fire roasted capretto (baby goat) with soft polenta



As much as Vetri is a restaurant, it's also a dining experience. The first floor of the converted row house is dark and intimate, and you can see the excited anticipation of the diners as they walk through the door. You quickly, without trying, get to know your fellow patrons due to the close quarters. Although the space is large enough for the 10 tables, they are squeezed a bit tighter in order to accomodate a beautiful (but large) hutch and antique espresso maker.

Would I go back? Yes. But there are so many more restaurants in Philadelphia, and I want to try them all, so it may be a while.

PE - you are truly a wonderful gastronomic tour guide and brother. We will definitely be back to do it again soon.

Vaca - Part III - Philly

There's no doubt that Philadelphia is a foodies dream - there are almost too many choices. One great example of this is the Reading Terminal Market on North 12th Street. Fresh produce, meats, seafood, pastries, Amish specialties, sushi, (just to name a few) and my personal favorite - Cheese!



For one of our lunch stops, we took a quick cab ride down to University City to White Dog Cafe near UPenn (thanks RDM for the recommendation!)





White Dog is a barely converted brownstone which prides itself on fresh local ingredients. The dining areas are very cozy...



and the food is as unique as the decor.






Next Stop - Tria



If I were to open a restaurant, I think this would be it... a simple bar/winebar/cafe/tapas joint... a place that's all about good wine, beer, and cheese with a knowledgable staff to help diners have a fantastic experience.





We'll definitely be back next time we're in PHL.

An afternoon cocktail stop - Stephen Starr's The Continental

From the outside, The Continental looks like a retro-chrome diner, but inside is a swank tapas-style restaurant. The highlight for me was my cocktail, called the Buzz Aldrin: a mix of Tang, Absolut peach vodka and triple sec in an orange tang-rimmed glass... what could be better on a hot day?





Even bowling takes on a gourmet twist in Philadelphia - North Bowl is unlike any bowling alley I've ever been to.



with food that you actually want to eat!

Miso at a bowling alley??


But how can you beat six types of Tater Tots?

Terra, West Columbia

100 State Street
West Columbia, SC

The night before Craig left for his business trip to Atlanta, we decided to try a new-ish restaurant downtown - Terra. It probably sounds sad, but in an effort to get home in time to watch the Phillies, we made a reservation for as soon as they opened at 5pm.

We ordered a bottle of Le Volte and were pleasantly surprised to have our waiter Robert decant it table side. A note on the wine ... a nice/affordable super tuscan - we both thought it benefited from decanting.

While waited for our appetizers we were served some hot-crusty bread and butter - yum.

On to what we ordered...

Appetizers

Jamison Farms BBQ Lamb Stuffed Mac & Cheese Gratin with Poblano Peppers, Fontina, Goat Cheese. This was FANTASTIC! I'm already debating what I will order the next time we are there and I think this may have to be on the list.


Braised Rabbit Leg Risotto with Marsala Braised Rabbit Leg, Artichoke, Asparagus
Another winner. Rebecca & Ed ... we thought of you while savoring this dish!


Entrees
Braised Beef Short Ribs with Mascarpone Polenta & Haricots Vert


Steak Frites with House Made French Fries, Simple Salad, Blue Cheese Butter
(Sorry no photo ... too busy eating!)

At this point, we had been at the restaurant for over 2 hours. We finished up with a beautiful fruit/cheese plate (which I will probably detail in other entry). Tasty. Some restaurants make you feel like you wouldn't want to see them in bright daylight, but the decor here is beautiful... I especially loved the large skylight near the bar that let in wonderful natural light. Overall, a fantastic meal - pleasant service, a beautiful space & food, and a decent winelist. We will definitely be back.

Marco Island Eats

Because of the threat of Hurricane Ernesto, many of the restaurants on Marco Island were closed, but we made due.

Pit stop at Steak 'n Shake on the drive down


Across the street from the hotel we found a small sports bar.


Rookies Dijon Horseradish Beef Sandwich


Craig checks out the wine list at Campiello's Restaurant.


We ate at Kurrents Restaurant at the Marriott two nights. On top of the great food, they offered valet parking (which saved us from running thru Ernesto's rain).

Dumpling Appetizer (the Wasabi Cream sauce was amazing... or as our waitress kept saying, it was "to die for")

The restaurant was pretty dark, so unfortunately most of my photos didn't come out very well. This was one of my entrees - it was their take on a Bento Box... each compartment had something different to taste - included tuna, shrimp, scallops, and the top right corner is Lobster Mac & Cheese!!

Savannah: Garibaldi's Cafe

Garibaldi's Cafe
315 West Congress Street
Savannah, Georgia 31401
912-232-7118

Garibaldi's Cafe is located on the outskirts of the City Market not too far from Paula Dean's restaurant, The Lady & Sons. If you can fight your way past the flocks of people waiting two and a half hours on the sidewalk to eat her fried chicken, you will find the two story Garibaldi's Cafe. We had 7pm reservations and were promptly seated at a table for two overlooking Congress Street. I liked the atmosphere of the restaurant - it was elegant, but unpretentious and comfortable at the same time (does that even make sense?)

While we looked over the menu we ordered a bottle of wine and snacked on their homemade bread... both were very good.



The bread was crusty with a topping of salt that reminded me of the kind they put on soft pretzels.


Appetizers

Grilled Tomato Stack ~ tomato slices layered with asiago cheese and spinach.
(This dish was drizzled with a thin creamy-garlic dressing that was outstanding. Craig was sure to help me soak up as much as possible not to have it go to waste.)


Denver Lamb Ribs ~ sweet ginger soy sauce with a pear cabbage relish.
(almost as good as Mom's, but not quite)




Entrees

Linguini primavera with a steamed lobster tail and a pat of goat cheese.
(I wasn't wow'd by this dish. Don't get me wrong, it was fine, but besides the giant lobster tail it was just average.)


Crispy Duck with mushroom risotto and green beans.
(Although the risotto was tasty, this was probably the most disappointing dish of the night ~ the duck was very dry.)


Dessert

Kentucky Derby Cake
(All Craig needed to know was this dessert was soaked with bourbon and he was sold.)


Flourless Chocolate Cake with unsweetened whipped cream (Before)


Flourless Chocolate Cake (After)


Overall...
- nice atmosphere.
- decent food ~ not genuine Italian, but hey this is Georgia.
- staff was attentive and seemed genuinely nice.
- somewhat expensive.
- if I was a local I would probably go back, but I won't be putting it on our list for our next road trip to Savannah.

Savannah: Random Eats

Breakfast at J. Christophers
122 East Liberty
Savannah, GA 31401



A beer sampler at Moon River Brewery
21 W. Bay St.
Savannah, Ga 31401

Browsing at Savannah's Candy Kitchen
225 East River Street
Savannah, Georgia 31401-1220





A pint at Murphy's Law Public House
409 Congress Street
Savannah, GA