Vino & Olio Restaurant

• Cuisine(s): Italian, Tuscan
  Hours: Mon-Sat 12pm-2am
  Price: $$$$ $$$$
  Payment Types: All Major Credit Cards
• Attire: Casual
  Features: Patio/Sidewalk Dining, Private Party, Wheelchair Accessible, Business Dining
  Serving: Dinner
  Alcohol: Beer/Wine
• Reservations: Accepted, Required
  Parking: Meters, Valet

Description

Andrea Menichetti has a solid culinary background, but at his new 220-seat Tuscan restaurant in the Design District, he is sabotaged by inconsistent preparation. Take the butternut squash soup with wild mushrooms and house-made ricotta cheese. It would have been a lot better had the texture not been that of a thick purée - and if it was served piping hot rather than lukewarm. Or take an intriguing combo of eggplant parmesan and sweetbreads, slices of each layered with tomato sauce and parmesan cheese and topped with melted burrata cheese. It turned out to be a poorly prepared pileup of old, dry flavors. Succulent wedges of roast pork, however, rolled with fennel and slowly cooked for 12 hours, were so moist and packed with authentic, delectable country Italian flavor that one wonders why more of the food isn't this good. Kudos to Menichetti for presenting distinctive regional Tuscan fare - even desserts are uniquely Italian - but at a cost of $16 to $19 for appetizers; $18 to $22 for pastas; $28 to $34 for entrées; and $8 to $12 for desserts, Vino & Olio is not even close to where it should be.