We are very excited to see Vanda serves Bucatini Amatriciana. This is my SO's favorite pasta / sauce and the fact that they make it with guanciale made it a 'must try'. As soon as I told him about this restaurant he wanted to go. We took a chance and arrived on a week night without a reservation. The place was packed! If you are thinking of going, be sure you make a reservation, even on a week night. The hostess offered us the last two seats at the bar which we were happy to take.
The bartender introduced herself, put down cocktail napkins and asked us what we would like to drink. I ordered a negroni and my SO got himself a Peroni beer served on tap. The negroni is well made and served in an appropriate glass. (I enjoyed the taste of this one much more than another I recently had, in a more trendy bar, that served it inappropriately, in a martini glass.) The Peroni is 'just as I remember' for my SO.
Menu's were brought out and the specials recited in detail. While talking with the waitress about Amatriciana she asked where we get our guanciale and gave us a tip on where to source it locally. Thanks! She also let us know the fettuccine, gnocchi, agnolotti and one other pasta (sorry I forgot which) are all house made. They imported the Bucatini from Italy as it can not be locally sourced.
After placing our order, a paper sack of house made focaccia and a small bowl of olive oil were brought out. We have seen this style of serving bread in Italy, and it always confused me a bit, but it really is an authentic Italian experience. Two styles of focaccia were in the bag, one plain and the other salty with seeds. Both were very tasty and moist.
We shared a Stuffed Cabbage antipasti with beef and arborio rice, served in a fontina cheese sauce, topped with a bit of house tomato sauce and fresh basil. It is served in three small appetizer sized portions and is very tasty. I was pleased to find the cabbage had more crispness to it than I expected. Not over cooked, it held it's shape. The beef and rice mixture is very tasty, the fontina sauce is luscious (we dipped our bread in it too), the fresh basil and tomato sauce compliment the cheese nicely. All together a very enjoyable dish.
I ordered the Minestra from the verdure section of the menu as my entree. This is similar to 'peasant soup' you can find in most European cultures. A hearty piece of bread is served in a bowl, and the white bean and vegetable soup poured over the bread at table. This soup is so nice. The greens are tender crisp, the Calabrian chili adds just the right amount of heat and spice. I would totally order this dish again. It was tasty and filling.
The bucatini pasta was cooked perfectly al dente and the Amatriciana sauce had the salty taste my SO remembered, although not as spicy as at his favorite Roman restaurant in Milan. He asked for a bit more pecorino and some hot pepper flakes and now it was perfetto! Next time we'll try to ask the chef to prepare it 'spicy'!
It is common in Italy to order all the courses when going out to dinner. I have often wondered how people so thin can put away so much food! The appetizer portion sizes here allow you to sample more courses without exploding, although the pasta serving was quite enough for two to share (as we saw other tables doing) and my vegetable selection filled me to the gills. I definitely want to return to try more dishes.
My SO and I both ordered an Amaro Montenegro; an Italian after dinner liqueur with a sweet start and bitter finish. There is another Amaro that tastes like anise if you prefer the licorice taste and of course there is always the lovely, sweet Amaretto or more tart Limoncello.
I was determined to try the tiramisu no matter how stuffed I was. The presentation, served in a jar, is not uncommon in Italy and I have seen this in several locations during our travels. What I thought, and expected, was sprinkled on top was not cocoa, but cinnamon. This makes me sad. In all the lovely tiramisu's I have consumed in Italy, I never came across anything other than cocoa and espresso flavors. Their creamy layer seems thinner than the traditional mascarpone cheese mixture and instead of being layered cheese/cake/cheese/cake etc, it was completely cheese with one layer of cake at the bottom soaked in what I think is coffee liqueur. The thin cream layer explains why it is served in a jar. It would never hold up as a slice.
All together I am happy with our experience at Vanda. Our bartender / waitress was very friendly, not to mention busy with a bar full of dining guests besides making drinks for every other guest in a full house. The decor is reminiscent of an Italian trattoria, although the food is more in the style of a ristorante. Although the 'tables for two' by both the kitchen and bathroom as too small, the food quality and the presentation are good and people have taken notice. read more