Tra Vigne

Ahhh, Tra Vigne!!! It used to be so good! What happened? My friend, Lisa, wanted to have lunch at Tra Vigne the other day since she was in town visiting and hadn't been in about 15 years. Since I live in Marin, I've been to Travigne several times over the years, but I didn't have the heart to tell her that it just isn't the same as it used to be! I love Michael Chiarello, Tra Vigne's original executive chef/partner. I've even met him once in person. Unfortunately, when Michael left Tra Vigne in 2000 to open NapaStyle, things just have not been the same. I'm truly happy for his success, especially his newly opened Bottega last year, in Yountville.

The problem isn't necessarily the food. The main problem is the service!! We arrived on a Wednesday at around 2:45; late for a lunch, I know. But we were greeted by 2 hostesses, passed a manager on duty, plus the bartender and 3 servers. So, they were fully staffed for the 3 tables already seated outside, plus us as the one table inside. We must have waited 10 minutes before we were greeted. At that point, we weren't annoyed yet because we had not decided what we wanted yet, but seeing as we had both done our fair share of waitressing, etc, we knew this was going to be a bad sign. We ordered a glass of wine (we were on a mini vacation and staying overnight in Yountville, so we splurged), and she brought them back in a timely fashion. But, then we waited a good 20 minutes before she ever came back. We had our menus down, were looking around for help, the hostess, 2 servers, & the bartender were around, but no one seemed to notice that we were obviously in need of attention. Our server finally appeared and I thought she was coming toward us, but no, she walked out to the patio. She finally made her way over to us and we ordered 2 appetizers to start, held onto our menus for our entree. The Caprese salad arrived along with the Crispy Fried Squash Blossoms. Both arrived in a timely fashion and were beautifully presented. I loved the Burrata cheese and the heirloom tomatoes, but I wasn't a fan of the overly crispy squash blossoms. They were a little greasy and of nondescript taste.

Once we finished our entrees, we still had not seen our server again, and we were quite ready to order our appetizer. So, we waited. At this point, we finally were approached by a busboy who brought water. We finally asked for bread because we hadn't yet been offered it. I must say that our busboy, once he appeared, was very attentive and we appreciated that. He even brought over a small side table for us to put our menus and wine menu on because they were clearly taking up too much of our two-top table space.

Our entrees arrived about 10 minutes after we ordered, so again, the problem was not in the kitchen, although I will say that my entree was very salty. I had the Halibut Alla Picatta with spring peas, pea tendrils, and snow peas. Very difficult to spear with my fork; I gave up on it. It tasted like dirt, anyway. The halibut itself was cooked perfectly and very good, but the lemon-caper sauce was over powering and salty. My friend, Lisa, had the Maltagliati Verde, which is an herb infused pasta with slow cooked Sonoma lamb and Sangiovese wine sugo. She loved it and it was a large serving so she wasn't able to finish it. She saved room for the Tiramisu. I had a bite and it was delicious!

Although the food wasn't "bad", it just wasn't as good as I remember it being the first few times I dined there when Michael was around. The last few times were just ok. It seems like the menu is much smaller, too. But my main issue with Tra Vigne these days is the slow service! By the way, after our entree was served, we were introduced to a new server who would be taking over for Jaye, our original server (I had to look at the receipt to get her name! :). The service definitely picked up with our new server! But I just noticed that overall, the service was less than attentive. Staff just standing around not even aware of our needs is just bad service. Tra Vigne is so beautiful and its such a legend, so I wish they would pay attention to the service. There is just an "I don't care" attitude.

Ca Bianca

This past weekend was our girls spa getaway for Melissa's birthday. I pretty much planned the whole thing and it was kind of stressful! I mean, how hard is it to decide between a facial, a massage, or both? I personally went for a facial and a pedicure and it was pure bliss. My complexion is glowing and my feet are sooo soft and my toenails are Tangerine Scene. I don't really know these girls too well, but I've been invited to hang out with them on occasion. I met a few new ladies and we all had a blast.

The birthday dinner was held at Ca Bianca in Santa Rosa. It's in a gorgeous white Victorian House with the most beautiful garden in the front yard, which is surrounded by a white picket fence. We had a reservation for 9 since 3 ladies missed spa day and were just meeting us there. We were greeted and seated right away in a small room located near the back of the house. Our waitress was great, the service was excellent, and the food was delicious. Now, I had not eaten all day and I was famished, so it may be that reason that I felt that the portions were small, but in retrospect, I still do think they could have been larger. Especially since we had 9 people sharing appetizers. We started with Beef Carpaccio, Caprese Salad, Eggplant, and Polenta. They were all amazing and delicious! For my entree, I had the Chicken Picatta. The chicken itself was delicious, but the sauce could have been more lemony and the side was a tiny portion of salty, diced potatoes & bell peppers--it reminded me of a breakfast hash. Again, the portion of the entree was very small for this ravenous girl. The waitress brought out a trio of desserts with a candle for Melissa: Chocolate Mousse w/ mini Biscotti, Apple Tartlette w/ Vanilla Ice Cream, and Tiramisu. Delicioso!

Aurora Ristorante

Wow! An authentic Italian restaurant complete with authentic Italian wait staff & chefs! We have been wanting to try Aurora's in Novato for quite some time now, so last night we finally decided to check it out. After reading a few reviews, we were a bit apprehensive and I kept saying, "I hope its really good because I'm starving!". Well, it was fabulous!!! We cannot wait to go back.

We were greeted immediately & seated at a large booth right by the front door. Next time I wouldn't mind getting a bit more into the dining room, but we were content. The decor was nice and warm, the walls were adorned with artwork by local artists, and the place was packed! And a bit loud. I think it would also be nice to sit outside on the lovely patio on a nice day. Our waiter, Luca, was so sweet and attentive! We loved Luca. His Italian accent was adorable.

For starters, we ordered my favorites: Beef Carpaccio & Caprese salad. They were delicious! The beef was thinly sliced and had capers and a slight drizzle of dijon mustard, and the Caprese had thick slices of tomato topped with thick slices of fresh mozzarella cheese, strips of basil, and a drizzle of olive oil. My daughter had a Caesar salad and it was light and devoid of anchovies, which we appreciated!

On to the entrees. My daughter had the Mushroom & Sausage Pizza, without the mushrooms. She liked it alot. My husband and I decided to share two dishes: the Tortellini with Proscuitto & Peas in a creamy white sauce and the Chicken Saltimbocca, which was served with some steamed veggies & what appeared to be scalloped potato slices. Both dishes were excellent!!!

We even decided to order dessert, which is rare. I had the tiramisu (lady fingers, rum, espresso, & marscarpone) my daughter had the affogato al caffe (vanilla ice cream with whipped cream and espresso), and my husband had proffiterol (tiny cream puffs, chocolate sauce, & ice cream). Again, they were all absolutely delicious and made in house by their passionate pastry chef!

Aurora & Carlo Scatena also own Arrivederci and are co-owners of Caccicucco Cucina Toscana here in Marin. We've been to both places a few years back, but those visits were not as memorable as this visit was. Aurora rocked our socks!

Amici's Pizza

With this heat wave we've been having, I decided ordering pizza to be delivered sounded like a good idea. Amici's has this really great new york style reduced carb extra thin crust that the kids love, so Amici's it is. Kind of weird doing a review on pizza, but I guess I haven't gone out since we went to Sams! Unless you count the fair (I had a deluxe burrito from Noel's. Delicious! Ground beef, beans, cheese, tons of lettuce, tomato, & sour cream. Huge!) or the Giants game (I had a Hebrew National all Beef hot dog with sauerkraut, relish, & mustard. It was big, messy, and kind of soggy, so I couldn't eat it all).

I ordered a mini cheese pizza on the NY thin crust for Rory and a mini cheese pizza w/black olives and mild Italian sausage (regular crust) for Bella. They raved about it. I also got them some Minestrone soup, which is always good, even if it is 100 degrees out. The soup was more on the warm side, but full of huge chunks of veggies (cabbage, carrots, green beans, etc), pasta, & kidney beans.

I ordered the Amici's Combo for us. It has pepperoni, bacon, sauteed mushrooms, & black olives. Since theres so much stuff, it isn't wise to go with the thin crust, so I went with the regular. I also ordered an antipasto salad with salami, mozzarella, pepperoncini's, red onion, kalamata onions, & mustard Italian vinaigrette. Yum. At first the guy said he left it at the restaurant, but thankfully, he left it in the car and I got my salad!

I give Amici's a big thumbs up. Its not as good as Mulberry Street Pizza (they won the Food Network Mushroom Lovers award!!), bu they don't deliver. One of these days, when its not 100 degrees out, I'll drive down and pick it up. Its worth it.

Mary's Pizza Shack

Sorry I haven't been doing too many reviews ( all you zero readers out there! LOL), but I haven't really eaten out much. Well, I ate at a great place in Las Vegas last weekend, called Studio Cafe (Excellent!!!!) inside the MGM Grand, and at Wolfgang Puck (Good service, HORRIBLE FOOD), also at the MGM, but I try to keep my stuff somewhat local.

I will be doing a fabulous review of the highly anticipated and newly opened, Nick's Cafe soon, but first I wanted to write about Mary's Pizza Shack in Sonoma, CA.

We had to take a quick trip there on Saturday to pick up The Husbands registration packet for the Napa to Sonoma Half Marathon on Sunday. It was about 2:30 and I was starving! The only reason I tagged along is because I had hoped it would involve food! Well, it did. Mary's has been around forever and it's family owned and operated since 1959. This is the first time I ate in the new location; they just moved around the corner recently.

We were seating immediately even though all of Sonoma was packed with pre-racers. We had time to check out the menu and see a few new items before our server greeted us. I can't remember his name! Justin? Austin? Anyway, this was a bad sign because unfortunately, the service never really improved. I mean, it was just slooowwwww. But, like I said, they were very busy and he had tables out on the patio, too. When I was a server, I hated when I had the whole patio and then asked me to pick up another table...you tend to forget about that table! Anyway.

Now to the food! It was delicious, as always. We tried the hot and spicy chicken wings, but it came solo-no bleu cheese or celery, which I thought was odd. So, we asked for the dressing and he actually brought it out somewhat quickly. The wings were hot, spicy, & sticky! Very good. Then I just had to have my favorite Mary's house salad: crisp lettuce, 3 bean salad, salami, eggs, red onion, & mozzarella w/ housemade bleu cheese dressing. Delicious as usual. I always, always get the fresh brewed iced tea and the house salad when I go.

We ordered 2 entree's and shared. The new Vinnie's Meatball Pizza was really good. It had small bits of meatball, pepperoni, onions, a ton of mozzarella cheese, and fresh garlic. Nice thin crust, too. Whole wheat, I think. Then we shared something I wouldn't normally order: a Southwestern Chicken Wrap. It was a tomato basil tortilla filled with BBQ glazed chicken, cheese, corn, & a huge amount of field greens w/a sweet vinaigrette sauce. Interesting, but in a really good way. Would I order again? No. The pizza is what you come to Mary's for! I can't wait to go back. I highly recommend Mary's Pizza Shack. And Mary? If you are reading this (LOL)...why don't you deliver to Marinwood??? Its only a few more exits down from your Novato location!! Just a suggestion.

BTW, The Husband finished 117 out of 1,016 at the marathon yesterday! He placed 9th in his age range out of 75 people. 1:40:06!!!!! Not too shabby! I just really need to get in on the action! This is was his second race and my first one isn't until October 14: San Jose Rock & Roll!! Which reminds me: wasn't I supposed to run 2 miles today???