Vino 313 and other thoughts

Last night was card #2 from my Diner's Deck--Vino 313 on the East Side.  It was a cute little spot, a bit off the beaten track, so it seems that it may not attract much foot traffic.  There weren't many people there when we arrived, just a small group inside and a couple sitting outside.  The gentleman outside was smoking a cigar, so the smoke wafted into the restaurant and bothered me quite a bit.  Perhaps ventilation is an issue when there's no a/c running yet.  Thankfully, the table next to us ordered some yummy smelling food to mask the smell of smoke.  :)

Even though I've been taking cold pills, I just had to have a glass of wine.  I figured I didn't have to actually finish it!  Vino 313 has a very nice wine list, and they had a white wine I like a lot, Falanghina, from Campania.  It was delicious.



We got some hummus as an appetizer.  It was very good--nice and garlicky.  Our very personable server was kind enough to bring us some cucumbers to go with the baguette slices, since one of my gal pals doesn't eat wheat.  Our server was a lovely girl, but she could probably communicate with the chef more.  When she described the dinner specials to us, she either got components wrong or left things out of her description.  It wasn't a horrible mistake, but did give us expectations for our meals that weren't met.

I ordered the fluke, that came with leeks and roasted potatoes.  It was nicely prepared, but one of the components our server forgot to mention was that it came in a cucumber yogurt sauce.  That's not a problem, since I clearly wasn't being a vegan by ordering fish, but the sauce looked like it had broken and wasn't very flavorful.  It gave a nice moisture to the fish and potatoes, but I don't think it was a balanced sauce.  Sorry this isn't a very good photo:

The leeks were nicely sauteed and the fish had a very nice crust on it.  So I did like the dish, all in all, I guess the sauce made me a little nervous.  :)

My friends ordered the chicken dish, which looked great (and I was told it was delicious), the mussels, which also looked great (and apparently tasted great), and the lamb special.  Here again was another problem with the lack of communication between the servers and the kitchen.  We were told the lamb came with potatoes and zucchini, with a strawberry mustard sauce.  It sounded delicious.  When the plate arrived, there was very little sauce (what little there was WAS tasty--very sweet and tart), the zucchini was bland and limp, and there was a big pile of...something.  After tasting it, we decided it must be chard.  It was quite garlicky and sort of threw the balance of the dish off.  Here's a photo of it, since I miss eating lamb so much:

The lamb was beautifully cooked and my friend said it was delicious.  She was disappointed in the lack of potatoes, and in the flavor of the zucchini and the chard.  I tried the sauce and found it very tasty, but I think there could've been a little more, though, to be honest, there were a lot of competing flavors on that plate.

So, all in all, we actually enjoyed our experience there, since the servers were so nice, the wine list so good and the atmosphere warm and inviting.  I just think if the wait staff learns to chat with the kitchen more, it will be a better dining experience.  The rest of the menu looks really good, so I would definitely like to go back and try other things.  And drink an entire glass of wine once this stupid cold or whatever goes away.

As to other thoughts, I just wanted to mention how happy I am that "The Scottsboro Boys" got so many Tony nominations.  That show was one of the best theatrical experiences I've ever had, though I thoroughly understand why it was a hard show to sell.  I hoped it would get a Best Score and maybe a Best Musical nomination, but I never dreamed it would get 12!  So exciting.  At the other end of the spectrum, I was pretty disappointed by the lack of a nomination for Daniel Radcliffe.  I thought he did a fine job in the show and hoped he would be recognized.  I just hope he continues to grow and study and comes back to Broadway soon.  He's a charmer and I find charm to be in short supply these days.

Hopefully, there will be another new restaurant visit in the near future!