Have you ever driven past a restaurant for years and told yourself "I should go eat there"? And yet you never seemed to get around to it. I did. And that particular joint was La Dolce Vita in Little Italy on Mayfield Road. It looked so adorable with it's crappy tilted patio tables and dark, slightly dusty interior but the smells that emanated from it's door were so alluring.
Alan and I consider ourselves to be of the foodie persuasion and we lurve trying new places. As such, last Wednesday evening(after ditching the rugrats at gramma's) we decided to give La Dolce Vita a whirl. Like I said, first impressions aren't much there. It looks really small, it's dark, and the windows could always use and extra wipe down or twenty. The tables that the charming owner places outside are kinda pathetic. They slant and could use a nice cleaning. However, once you are down thumbing your nose at the patio furniture, you enter the restaurant and get greeted by the cutest hostess this side of the Mississippi. My impression was once again shattered by the level of pretension in the dining room. I was wearing jeans, a t-shirt, and sandals. Everyone, but the gracious and highly attractive staff, was glaring at me like I was some homeless person that wandered in looking for a free meal. Well, excuse me for not dressing in my Sunday best for a casual Wednesday night dinner. I'll mention now that we were also the only table in the place that didn't have wine on it. I don't really drink wine and I prefer water or a diet soda to wash down my food, thank you very much. While the regular clientele leaves something to be desired, I'll bet my left foot that this place is great for people watching on any given night.
Alan and I were taken to a cozy table by a large mirror where we waited....and waited....and waited. Ok, the service isn't the promptest but it's so worth the wait. Our server was this gorgeous young man with a trace of an accent not of the US variety. He shyly gushed over the specials and swiftly delivered our drinks. Alan and I ordered buffalo mozzarella on tomato slices slathered with a balsamic vinaigrette, prosciutto, roasted red peppers, and Sicilian olives. Buffalo mozzarella?? Back this crazy train up! I had always thought mozzarella was made from cows. Like farmer-in-the-dell cows. It turns out that true mozzarella is actually from water buffalo. Weird. However, the appetizer was AMAZING. Seriously! It was "damn, I wish I had more buffalo cheese to eat!" good.
Next up, Alan ordered some sort of pasta that looked like it was poured from a Chef Boyardee can but assured me that it was made from veal. I don't eat veal therefore I can only take his word that the food was good. Because he ordered food I wouldn't touch with someone else's ten foot pole, I childishly withheld my food from Alan. I'm glad I did. My pasta dish, cleverly named, Fettuccine Fellini was incredible. I'm not sure what the exact ingredients were but the menu mentioned tomatoes, feta cheese, Parmesan cheese, and prosciutto. My pasta was cooked to perfection and the combination of flavors were out of this world. I cleaned my plate(short of licking it clean, I do have some manners) and joked with the waiter about it.
I'm not sure whom Alan and I know in Little Italy or if that employees there can smell their own industry kind but it seems like every time we dine down there, we end up with freebees. The waiter delivers our check along with a gorgeous platter of fresh fruit laced with Triple Sec. Yay! Big tip for the kindly server. That was a great gesture on his part.
We walked away filled to the brim and satisfied. Not-to-mention, eager to go back sometime soon. Rumor has it that La Dolce Vita still does their live operas and seven course Italian dinner. That sounds like a great way to spend an evening. Hopefully they allow us jeans-clad plebeians in on those nights.
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