We tried Pane e Vino again recently. The last meal there was not so flash - the night was great, but the service was reminiscent of Soviet Russian indifference at its worst. This time, the owner was there, and taking a personal interest in what went on. The improvement in service was out of this world.
I can only remember three main courses that we had, but they included a great rib eye steak (which I just inhaled - it was that good), a lovely rack of lamb and a chicken pasta. All were excellent. The pasta was particularly surprising because many places give you a bowl heaped with pasta and then artfully sprinkle 3 slivers of chicken on top. This dish was about 50% chicken, 50% pasta. And the chicken actually tasted really good - it wasn't your usual watery 10 week old chicken that's been stuffed full of food and water and tastes like cardboard paste.
Dessert was good, as we actually got some this time around. We all had chocolate puddings, which were the last ones in the kitchen. They were top notch.
I was really happy with it. The bill came to a bit under $40 each (we did BYO) and I think that was great value, considering we also shared two entrees. One of those was some sort of fried squid with a dipping sauce, and that was very good too.
Best of all, they had the stupid TV above the door turned off. There is nothing so distracting as having a 42 inch plasma screen above your head playing some stupid fashion channel or whatever. I don't mind going to a pub and watching sport on a big TV, but eating in a good restaurant is different.
This is why you should always go to a place twice. The first visit might be an off night.
We'll be back.
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