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Hailing from Manhattan where casual, affordable (yes, you heard me!) Italian food haunts are as plentiful as subway rats, you can imagine how shocked I was to find no such establishments (Italian, not rat-filled) in the Up Valley. When I would ask friends, foes and anybody that would listen, where such places were hidden I typically got back blank-faced stares in return. Or, I would be given a rundown of places that serve good homemade pasta (Cook!), and while I certainly love such places, I wanted a truly all-Italian experience – red checkered table cloths, Chiantis, and all! When left to my own devices I finally stumbled into Vercelli Ristorante Cafe on St. Helena’s main strip. I had lowered my expectations considerably since I hadn’t heard much about this joint, though I had walked by it countless times, rubbernecking on the outside looking in, and sometimes lingering around the outdoor cafe. The few tiny tables squished on the sidewalk had Manhattan written all over it. It was then that I decided to give it a taste-test drive. Outdoor, streetside dining is arguably the best way to eat and imbibe in the warm weather months. The ambience at Vercelli was everything I’d come to expect from my east coast dining counterparts. Inside, very cozy, Sinatra and his Rat Pack buzzing in the background, an Italian maitre d buzzing about, and the sweet scent of garlic overtaking the airwaves in the best possible way. The outside section of the restaurant is the closest I’ve come to experiencing true alfresco dining in these parts. If you don’t know what that means, now is your chance to live and learn. Because everything from the service (very friendly, attentive, lacking of all pretense) to the ambience was winning rave reviews, my cyni
cal side expected the food to fall short. Note to self: the times they are changing baby! After a ravishingly good meal I decided to kick my cynicism to the curb, for good maybe. I fell in love, mad, fleeting, food love with the pillow pasta (gnocchi) in gorgonzola cream sauce. As a fellow Italian with a granny that made pitch perfect gnocchi, she also schooled me in all the ways that this type of pasta is done horribly wrong. I did my part over the years by tasting one too many of these “soggy” carb blobs posing as pasta, the type that give pillow pasta a bad name. I can honestly say that my dearly departed granny would give her stamp of approval on Vercelli’s version. They’ve perfected the perfect pillow in consistency, taste, and well, what else is there? The Cesar salad was also a winner. I was weeping by this point so it’s hard to pinpoint what made it so special other than the obvious, superb dressing, gaggles of fresh grated cheese and homemade gigantic croutons. Unfortunately I've started salivating and am at risk for destroying my already aging keyboard, so enough said. If you’ve been craving the perfect pasta in a low-key, casual, and arms wide open setting, do yourself a favor and drop in for some alfresco dining. If you’re lucky Juana will be your server, and serve she will, with a broad smile, all night long until she rolls you out the door in a food coma. Wacky WineSense Rating: 4.7 Grapes!
Hailing from Manhattan where casual, affordable (yes, you heard me!) Italian food haunts are as plentiful as subway rats, you can imagine how shocked I was to find no such establishments (Italian, not rat-filled) in the Up Valley. When I would ask friends, foes and anybody that would listen, where such places were hidden I typically got back blank-faced stares in return. Or, I would be given a rundown of places that serve good homemade pasta (Cook!), and while I certainly love such places, I wanted a truly all-Italian experience – red checkered table cloths, Chiantis, and all! When left to my own devices I finally stumbled into Vercelli Ristorante Cafe on St. Helena’s main strip. I had lowered my expectations considerably since I hadn’t heard much about this joint, though I had walked by it countless times, rubbernecking on the outside looking in, and sometimes lingering around the outdoor cafe. The few tiny tables squished on the sidewalk had Manhattan written all over it. It was then that I decided to give it a taste-test drive. Outdoor, streetside dining is arguably the best way to eat and imbibe in the warm weather months. The ambience at Vercelli was everything I’d come to expect from my east coast dining counterparts. Inside, very cozy, Sinatra and his Rat Pack buzzing in the background, an Italian maitre d buzzing about, and the sweet scent of garlic overtaking the airwaves in the best possible way. The outside section of the restaurant is the closest I’ve come to experiencing true alfresco dining in these parts. If you don’t know what that means, now is your chance to live and learn. Because everything from the service (very friendly, attentive, lacking of all pretense) to the ambience was winning rave reviews, my cyni
cal side expected the food to fall short. Note to self: the times they are changing baby! After a ravishingly good meal I decided to kick my cynicism to the curb, for good maybe. I fell in love, mad, fleeting, food love with the pillow pasta (gnocchi) in gorgonzola cream sauce. As a fellow Italian with a granny that made pitch perfect gnocchi, she also schooled me in all the ways that this type of pasta is done horribly wrong. I did my part over the years by tasting one too many of these “soggy” carb blobs posing as pasta, the type that give pillow pasta a bad name. I can honestly say that my dearly departed granny would give her stamp of approval on Vercelli’s version. They’ve perfected the perfect pillow in consistency, taste, and well, what else is there? The Cesar salad was also a winner. I was weeping by this point so it’s hard to pinpoint what made it so special other than the obvious, superb dressing, gaggles of fresh grated cheese and homemade gigantic croutons. Unfortunately I've started salivating and am at risk for destroying my already aging keyboard, so enough said. If you’ve been craving the perfect pasta in a low-key, casual, and arms wide open setting, do yourself a favor and drop in for some alfresco dining. If you’re lucky Juana will be your server, and serve she will, with a broad smile, all night long until she rolls you out the door in a food coma. Wacky WineSense Rating: 4.7 Grapes!
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