Villagio, meaning "village" in Italian, is a restaurant located on Main Street in
historic Clifton, Virginia.
It opened in 2013 and I have been wanting to try it but the time has just never been right.
Last month, the time was right and the Evil Red Genius and I went for lunch one Saturday afternoon.
When I try a new Italian restaurant, I expect a few things:
Good wine
Excellent pizza
Welcoming atmosphere
I loved the tiny area where we were sitting, especially the one brick wall! So much character!
The atmosphere was welcoming and our waiter was pleasant. However, when we had narrowed the wine selection down to two options and he talked me out of the first one, I wasn't too excited (especially hours later at a wine tasting when I found out his description of it was completely inaccurate).
We decided on our second choice and he stated he was going to chill it for just a moment!
Here we go again!
This time, I knew better and requested that he not do so. Once bitten, twice shy.
He looked at me like I had just put a gun to his head but to each his own!
I am paying for it. I'm the customer. Just do what I want.. and he begrudgingly did.
San Lorenzo Montepulciano d'Abruzzo
I am not well versed in Italian wines and I think most of the time the long names scare me away. However, I have learned that I tend to like Montepulcianos (remember the stick wine I blogged about last September at the Outer Banks?)
I find they are easy drinking wines and are on the lighter side of a red wine yet smooth and fruity.
They tend to be a good food wine and this one was no different.
I am always sold when a restaurant has an impressive cheese plate. Of course, we never know if it will be good until we try it but hey, it's usually worth trying!
Villagio has a cheese platter where the customer can choose three, five or seven cheeses off of their decent but not extensive list.
The Evil Red Genius and I decided on the five cheese platter which came with baguette slices and honey, cranberry and apricot jellies. While Villagio was very generous with the cheeses, they were not the best cheeses we've shared, but they sure didn't go to waste!
Garroxta - a firm, earthy goat cheese from Spain that was fine on its own but not with the wine.
Mahon - buttery sharp, slightly salty and nutty; tasted like white American cheese and was not good with the wine at all. However, I wanted to put this one on a BLT sandwich.
Bra Duro - a cheddar-like flavored, semi-firm cow's milk with a coarse outer rind; a hint of farm funk
Aged Crotonese - a sheep's milk cheese that was way too hard and tasteless - Boo!
Sottocenere - a semi-soft cheese made with raw cow's milk and slices of truffles then rubbed with various herbs and spices; aged in an ash rind to convey the subtle flavors.
This was an extremely bizarre cheese but absolutely delicious!
Overall, the cheeses were pretty bland but the Stottocenere was by far the best of the five. I don't regret trying the cheese platter but there's no need to try it again during a future visit.
While there were 10-12 pizzas to choose from, we selected the Romana - tomato sauce, pepperoni, Italian sausage and mozzarella cheese. Sometimes simpler is better and this was a good pizza. Did it make me moan and long for more? Was it the best I've ever had? Am I going to brag about how it teased my taste buds and how I wish there was more when it was gone?
No, but it was enjoyable.
Villagio did not "wow" me by any means but I am quite the critic these days.
With that being said, it was an enjoyable experience and I'd definitely go back to sit at the bar or even try dinner.
Besides, who doesn't love Clifton and the Clifton Wine Shop is right upstairs from Villagio!
"Drinking wine is just a part of life, like eating food."
- Francis Ford Coppola
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