A Voce - We're Getting Warmer


We last went to A Voce in October 2006 which was a few months after it opened, and while we had a good meal it wasn't particularly memorable (in a good way) for us. Maybe it was the service or perhaps we had some other preconceived notions of what the food should have been. Whatever the case, flash forward to August 2007. The wife and I caught an episode of Colameco's (http://www.colameco.com/) where he highlighted the restaurant and that combined with her having a craving for pasta (I perpetually have that craving) last night - Friday, August 10, 2007 - led us back there.

We had a reservation for 6pm, took a local bus down 5th and probably got there around 5:45pm. It had been a crazy week for weather and tonight was no different. After a week of horrendous rain, extreme humidity and heat, this evening was windy and cool like fall. They had a hostess outside who playfully asked if we would prefer outdoor or indoor seating. We walked inside to the maitre d who took our things and seated us against the far wall. My wife sat on the banquette with a view of the restaurant and I sat on the restaurant's signature swivel chair, as I did last time. I had a view of a unique, blue painting which reminded me of a flower and if I turned my head I could see outside. My wife said she was envious of my chair and wished she had sat there. I don't go to restaurants to see or be seen so I was happy with my choice.

This time there was no pushy server, instead there was a friendly gentleman from Italy. We were presented with menus and given ample time to make decisions. Lately my wife has been taking the lead on the wine selection and once she mentioned that since we weren't driving and we could enjoy ourselves, I figured she should make the selection. I would have been fine with a glass or two, but she opted for a half bottle of red - a Valpolicella (I'm happy they wrote it on the receipt because I think it's a shame that I dont keep better track of the wines we drink).

Neither of us was overly hungry so we though we'd each do an appetizer, a pasta and then share and entree. She knew she wanted the duck meatballs and I wasn't positive what I wanted but I thought I might try the fried squash blossoms. I was hoping they had this dish I'd seen on the show - a large ravioli with soft egg inside and covered with shaved truffle - but they didn't. In a twist, my wife made a suggestion for my appetizer - she said to get the asparagus with fried egg, pancetta and truffle dressing. It turned out to be amazing. The asparagus was seasoned very well and cooked to a tender perfection. The fried egg oozed all over when I cut it with the fork. I took some forkfuls with one piece asparagus, egg and pancetta. The pancetta was a nice cube of sweet,meaty goodness. I used some bread to mop up the sauce after I finished eating. A truly wonderful dish. Her duck meatballs with dried cherry mostarda were good, but sort of reminded me of swedish meatballs. Small, kind of on the firmer side, the meat had good flavor but I think it was a little too sweet for my taste.

Next came the pastas. I decided to go with the sweet corn ravioli. My wife inquired about the homemade potato gnocchi but decided to go with grandma's meat agnolotti - a variation on ravioli. In a few minutes out came my sweet corn ravioli with a small mound of sweet tomato in the center and out came her....gnocchi. She called over the server and said there had been a mix up and he apologized that he misheard what she actually ordered. He told her to keep the agnolotti and he'd bring the gnocchi and we'd only pay for one. What hospitality! She began to nibble on the agnolotti and quickjly realized that it was excellent. The salty mix of veal, pork and beef inside was amazing. She told the server she'd keep this dish but he insisted it was ok and the gnocchi order was already in. The gnocchi was quickly brought out - much faster than the 8 minutes the server said it would take - and after a quick bite of that she confirmed that the agnolotti was the superior dish. The gnocchi was no slouch though - covered in a lamb ragu and a sheep's milk ricotta. However, she polished off the agnolotti and asked for the gnocchi to be wrapped up. She said it would make a nice dinner for her mom but already in my head I was crushing that idea as I figured it would make even a better lunch for me the next day. My pasta was covered in a sweet foam and had a perfect balance of sweet and savory. I truly enjoyed cutting a piece of my ravioli and getting some of the sweet tomato on the fork so that when I took my bite I was combining all of these wonderful summer flavors. Needless to say, these plates went back to kitchen spotless - as did the appetizer plates by the way.

We spoke with t server for a bit. He was from the southern part of Italy. He enthusiastically spoke about the restaurant and how they imported a lot of Italian ingredients and got the produce and meats locally. He emphasized that without good, real ingredients it doesnt matter how good the cook is. He spoke of Italy and I told him my family was from Bari and he spoke on this for a bit. An extremely nice guy - his name was Mario A.

Fortunately, it was a few minutes until our Steamed Local Striped Bass came out. When it did I was very impressed. I was expecting a Bass with some sauce. Instead they brought out the serving dish with these beautiful white pieces of Bass , surrounded by shrimp, mussels, calamari, fennel pieces and covered in a delicious red broth. The seafood was incredibly fresh and perfectly cooked. I thought we were full but my wife managed to finish off the rest of the Bass. It was too good and too fresh right now to waste or take home for tomorrow.

We were both very tired and wanted to get home, but we never pass up dessert. I know a lot of people do but dessert is just as much a part of the overall experience as anything else so I never do, even if it means one bite. I went with the Olive Oil cake at the server recommendation and she went with the Peach Torta. Once again, the gracious server accommodated her request to switch the sour cream gelato that it was designated to come with her dessert with the salted caramel gelato she saw elsewhere on the menu. I order a macchiato and he nodded approvingly and she ordered a glasss of Baccadoro dessert wine. My cake came and was exactly what I wanted. A firm pound cake, with pepper and olive oil infused. Topped with a ricotta gelato and sitting in a pool of cherry sauce with four cherry halves around. Delicious and perfect. My wife's peach torta was also excellent. The salted caramel gelato was as good as it sounds. I like sprinkling salt on my ice cream and this came with all of those flavors built in. The peach torta was filld with fresh, juicy peach surrounded by a buttery crust. I was full so I saved a piece to take home because I knew it was be just as good tomorrow and bring back wonderful memories. My wife did the same with her dessert. Unfortunately, the world's greatest mother-in-law ended up eating my leftover dessert as she scavenged our leftovers that night - oh well. I got revenge by eating all of my wife's dessert with lunch the next day. I also ate most of the gnocchi but only because I asked my voracious bear of a mother-in-law not to consume everything in her path. Why am I being so mean about my mother-in-law? Because my wife in her tired, drunken state decided proclaim that I had a mighty, beak-like nose in the restaurant within 1 foot of two couples on either side of us. She is obnoxious. But she insisted that I not insult her posthumorously. So I haven't - see what a good husband I am. Vengeful in my own loving way.

So I really enjoyed the food at A Voce and would probably go back in a few months or maybe a year . The service from our particular server was very good and he was very accommodating. There is something about the place though - the totality of the entire experience - that keeps me from insisting that it is the kind of place I'd go back to in heartbeat. I know that this sounds contradictory to everything I wrote, but it's true. I guess it's just something personally that I feel as opposed to something that A Voce doesn't do right. Because they do everything really well and I would hate for people to think that they didn't. I would recommend that other people go because the food is wonderful and I think most people would enjoy the vibe. Total bill for everything was $194 with tax.