My Birthday

Thursday, February 5, 2009

A group of us decided to go to Vivo Cucina. 5 of them had not been before so we set the day. It was not intended to be a birthday dinner but it just happened to fall on that date. Several people did not know about it anyway.

After doing a Zin tasting at Wine Country I drove to Vino Cucina which is within a few minutes of the wine store. I arrived before 7:00 and we were not meeting until 7:30. I decided to inside and let them know there would be 8 for dinner. The place is small and they have to rearrange tables to accommodate larger parties.

I spied a couple of friends who were dining there for the first time. It was Luann's birthday also and Vino Cucina is where they decided to go. They liked the food as much as I do and they will be back.

After the restaurant set up the table for 8, Remy called on cell phone and told me John's flight had been delayed and they would not be joining us. So after a small adjustment 6 of us sat down for dinner.

I had forgotten my wine at work so I ordered a bottle off the wine list. The prices are reasonable and they are all Italian. So naturally they go well with the food. Three other bottles were brought and all the wine was good.

I ordered an appetizer that was sauteed mushrooms on polenta topped with shaved parmesan cheese. Very good but with the polenta I filled up fast. There was the fried artichoke dish ordered, bacon wrapped scallops (which I will get next time), caprese and a salad. Everyone liked their dishes. My entree was a risotto with shellfish and white wine sauce. Rose ordered it also. It was very good. Two people ordered the porkchop with a caramelized peach sauce. The chop was good size and they indicated it was good. It sure looked good. A dish of beef & sausages and a seafood linguine rounded out the entrees.

A couple of desserts were ordered. I had bite of a creme brulee cheesecake which was awesome

They brought be a couple canolli's with a candle in it and sang happy birthday in Italian. There were 3 birthdays in the restaurant that night so the cook was kept very busy.

I really like this place and hope to get back there in a few weeks. Great food at reasonable prices. Good service and nice people.