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Italian Kitchen with Heavenly Food

What is it about Italian food that makes it so easy to adopt as one's own? No matter what one's ethnic background, "eating Italian" is like coming home, enormously comforting, always satisfying and totally irresistible.
Italian Kitchen

Perhaps it's the Italian ability to combine simple food elements in equally simple way to come up with something far better than the sum of its parts.

Small wonder then that we faced a dilemma last week when we wanted to eat at the new L'Autre Saison on Crescent St. and were drawn like iron fillings to a magnet to the menus of La Vigna upstairs above it. Duty prevailed (very happily so, if you read last week's review), but we returned to the same location a few nights later and this time ascended the tempting stairs.

Luck was with us, as it happened, and we were given the last table in the house. A medium sized restaurant on split levels, it is very cozy, in a traditional way with brick walls, rust carpeting, burgundy table cloths over white, comfortable leather-like upholstered chairs and a token vine wending its way around the ceiling to justify its name.

Asian kitchen cabinetry
There's nothing more elegant than fine wood cabinetry. That is the signature that Greentea Design has in all its kitchen furniture!


One of the most impressive things about La Vigna is the service, one of the best examples of teamwork I've seen in a long time. No waiting here for your particular waiter to check on your needs, they all keep an eye on you and one fills in for another if the need arises. This could lead to chaos but here it works as smooth as ball bearings. Indeed, the waiters seem to move on them.

La Vigna has come a long way since it first opened more than five years ago. Two of the three original partners have been replaced by new ones, one of who is the chef, Natale Defazio, whose main claim to fame is a signed photograph of himself with famed tenor Luciano Pavarotti who raved over Defazio's pasta when he was chef at Angelo Il Cacciatore a few years back.

The bountiful fall season is in great evidence at La Vigna. We were served a welcoming plate of bruschetta (bread crusts) topped with fresh crushed tomatoes and herbs, divinely crisp fried zucchini and little suppli al telephono (rice and cheese coquettes), an offering that varies from night to night.

A main dish of veal was accompanied by fresh asparagus, baby corn, carrots, broccoli and pan browned potato balls. A salad consisting of slices of bocconcini (fresh cheese) alternating with slices of lush ripe tomato under a light vinaigrette. Desert was a wonderful fruit plate with mango, kiwi, tiny sweet grapes and nectarines,

The restaurant has a fairly comprehensive carte with all veal specialties a straight $15.75 and pastas between $10.50 and $13.50. Fish are up in the $20 to $25 range, as are the beef dishes. There is also a good little table d'hote ranging between $19.50 and $23.75.

It was from this I chose my dinner, starting with bocconcini Fiorella mentioned above and followed by linguine pescatore ($23.75). My friend went a la carte, starting with a half-portion of manicotti ($7.50) and continuing with scaloppine della Vigna ($15.75). A bottle of white Corvo went beautifully with both.

The manicotti, large, tender and well stuffed with riccota and spinach, had the extra bite given by a touch of Romano cheese mixed with Parmesan. Covered with melted mozzarella and a slash of fresh tomato sauce, it was food for gods, although we mere mortals would have liked thinner pasta.

The linguine pescatore was satisfying with a plenitude of baby clams in their shells, plump mussels, large shrimp, a few scallops and half a lobster, all colorfully arranged over excellent linguine with a spicy tomato sauce.

The scallopine was equally enjoyable, perhaps even more so according to my friend. A generous portion of first-rate veal was greatly enhanced by a creamy luscious sauce of brandy, mushrooms, shallots and green pepper corns, and accompanied by an array of excellent vegetables.

The House Improvement Inspiration, Page 1:

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The House Improvement Inspiration, Page 2:

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They're significantly less expensive, but they unquestionably are long-lasting. become even more appealing when using quality table linen. You'll be able to combine it with complementary earthenware dishes and silverware at the same time. Now we come to the last big area of your property. The bedroom is really a person's sanctuary, a place where you can be yourself, in which you can de-stress, read a novel, do personal projects, prepare an intimate night, and even more. Therefore, for the bedroom, besides ensuring that the rest of the furniture is constructed of wood, something else you are able to do is use a floor mirror. It is a common item for improving upon any household. If placed in the bedroom, it allows for much more light to be reflected, thus making the space seem bigger without needing to add extra space or light. You can also apply this in your basement (if you have one) if you want to change it into a room in which people can spend time, instead of just holding older things there until it gets moldy and dirty. In case you are going all the way, seek advice from a specialist regarding your basement flooring options together with your overall house designs and floor plans. You don't need to take a path you know practically nothing about. For your basement, you'll be able to cover your floor with paint, plywood, bamboo, vinyl, tiles, or any substance you see fit as long as you make perfectly sure that there won't be any rain water seepage.


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