Overlooked Restaurants - Enoteca Sogno

Wednesday Evening Part #2.

When most of us in RVA get the craving for pasta or seafood cooked in the simple Italian style we think of Mama 'Zu or her sister restaurant, Edo Squid. I've heard the complaints about the style off service, the resistance to reservations, the basic need to move lingering tables out the door. People need to get over that. Those two eateries are quite possibly the closest we get to a top rate restaurant that would be able to compete in NYC or DC. Food that people are willing to line up for day after day, year after year. Transplant those places to a big city and people would understand the need to keep people moving and the goal to please 'all' rather than the 'squeaky wheel'.

We went to Enoteca Sogno with only a vague idea what to expect. The only thing I was sure of was that most of the entrees were under $20. If this went bad then I wasn't out too much. The restaurant is sandwiched in between Cabo's, RVA Foodie's favourite restaurant, and Fieldin's, RVA's premier location for gay male strippers. OK, so it's someplace we all drive by but either don't pay attention or are picking up Lee's Fried Chicken across the street. The dining room is unremarkable, standard Fan brick walls and tables. Even if you've never been here you've been...

My first impression was not good. Sometimes you can judge a place by it's clientele. Here we had a mix of people who might be in search of an 'early bird' special and young'uns who may be making their first dining experience outside of Applebee's. Looking closer I realized I might be jumping to conclusions when I noticed a gentleman named Bob at the bar. Normally, 'Bob', is found coordinating wine service at Can-Can. When you find a place where someone with 'good taste' goes you tend to pay attention.

The menu at Enoteca is simple. A couple of veal dishes, pastas with a choice of seafood or sauces and gnocchi. Specials include meats and such. We were pushing Finn's limits, after being out at Havana earlier, so we ordered gnocchi with marinara for him right off to get him occupied. A salad for M and seared scallops for me got us all started.

The seared scallops, 6 of them, were not the huge ones that are popular right now and they didn't have the crispy crust that is the trend. Didn't matter. They were tasty, not fishy, with an excellent texture. Where many places drown the scallops with a balsamic reduction their version excentuated the flavour of the scallops without overpowering them. Add the $22 bottle of Italian Langhe Arneis (crisp without the acidity of a Pinot Gris) and I was very happy.

While we were enjoying our starters Finn got his gnocchi. Heavy dense pieces of pasta tossed in a fresh tomato marinara. I was a little thrown by the gnocchi. The pieces were almost too uniform to be house made. A little questioning found that they were not made in house but rather by a pasta maker in town. They could have lied, they didn't. I want to find this pasta maker to supply my own household.

M had the Veal Piccata. Light on the breading, tender veal, perfectly balanced. Too often Veal Piccata means way too much lemon. Not here. Happy, happy. Joy, joy.

I opted for one of the specials. Soft Shell Crab. I did this with a bit of trepidation but, after several hours of alcohol consumption, was willing to take a couple of risks. Over the years I have worked in too many restaurants and seen 'soft shell crabs'. Frozen and flat, the chefs actually need to inject liquid to avoid serving a piece of dessicated seafood. These arrived at the table and were twice the thickness of most soft-shells that I have seen. The crabs were crispy on the outside, the insides juicy and tasty, even had a bit of the green stuff squirt out on one slice. I couldn't have been happier.

Dessert came next. We selected the cannoli. For some odd reason they sent out the tiramisu. The waiter, who had been attentive all evening, corrected this. Can't say enough about the service. Two waiters, the bartender, and the hostess all worked together to take care of each other and all the customers. Nice change from 'that's not my station' or 'not my job'. Key to this was my espresso. Ever wonder why your espresso is cold in a restaurant? It's because they didn't pre-heat the cup. Here they did and I was able to enjoy a HOT cup of espresso. If only every restaurant paid this much attention.

If you've not been, are scared of the service at Mama 'Zu, the wait at Edo Squid - then this is the place you need to go - NOW.