The whole vibe of the restaurant and clientele definitely skews old. We were probably the youngest people there by 10-15 years. It's very quiet and reserved and there were even people who were dressed up in formal evening attire when we were there. The menu is fairly basic American food: lots of pastas, staple seafood dishes like scallop and tuna, and roasted chicken. Lav ordered the Cara Cara Oranges with Fennel, pine nuts and smoke ricotta ($12) and Vivi got the Bib Lettuce Salad ($12) to start. I tried the orange dish because it was so different from anything I've had appetizer-wise. It was very refreshing and the oranges were cut out perfectly. The fennel and ricotta provided a nice salty balance to the tang of the orange. While I didn't have Vivi's salad, it looked very well dressed. For main courses, Lav got the potato gnocchi ($17) and a side of mashed potatoes ($7), Vivi got the Butternut Squash Tortelli with cranberry sage brown butter ($16) and a side of polenta with gorgonzola and walnuts ($7), and I got the oven roasted chicken with potatos, spinach and smoked oyster mushrooms ($27). Similar to how I feel about judging a good brunch place by how they poach their eggs, I judge American-type restaurants by how good they can make a roast chicken. And this one was damn good! It was a huge piece of chicken with very little bones to it and just so perfectly juicy. I was actually pretty full on bread by the time my food came and I was convinced that I would have to take most of it home, but alas, I finished the whole plate! I did think the spinach and mushrooms were a bit overcooked and seemed more like an after thought on the plate, but the chicken more than made up for it. I also tasted Vivi's butternut squash dish and it was tasty with strong flavors. I wasn't a huge fan of it's appearance as they looked thin and there didn't seem to be enough on the dish, but it was pretty filling that it was probably the right amount of food. Lav's gnocchi was indeed very potato-tasting and I couldn't imagine having more than 4-5 without feeling like a potato. I do think the gnocchi she had at Osteria Morini was better. Lav raved about the mashed potato dish and they were definitely fabulous...very smooth and whipped and most likely heavy on the butter and cream. I mean how the hell do you not love a good mashed potato dish?! The polenta was actually a disappointment. It didn't really look like polenta and the gorgonzola was way too overpowering of a flavor for it.
I was worried that the bill would be outrageous, but since we got the smaller size pasta dishes, it kept the bill down a bit. Our total bill with a bottle of red wine was $153 (without tip). This is a great place to eat if your parents are in town or if you're in the mood for perfectly done staple items, but don't come here expecting out of the box/cutting edge food.
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