As I mentioned, last Friday my coworker M. turned 23. A little while after work many of us, six to be exact, met up at La Viola for a celebratory birthday dinner. My coworker, and Sewanee connect, C. had been raving about this place since almost the first week of work, yet I never quite managed to get to it. Their menu is medium priced, their space very small. One of my coworkers said that she felt like she was in someone's living room, in a good way. And I know what she meant. There are paintings on the walls, and the lighting is not overly dramatic (see crappy quality of photograph) and one really could imagine that the regular furniture--couches, coffee tables, a bookcase or two, have all been shoved into the hallway to make room for an impromptu dinner party for 50. Quarters are tight. The bathroom is right off the kitchen and dining room and there is nowhere to stand to wait for it without being in the way of at least five people. I amm giving all these details without suggesting that any of them really bothered me. It was part of the place's charm...though the one review I read that said this place would be good for a romantic dinner seemed off (there is no room for a little nook where you and your sweetie can whisper sweet nothings to your salads, entrees and desserts).I had the lobster ravioli in pink cognac sauce. It was good. The sauce was rich, the ravioli large and the portion just right. I think the main problem I had was that I couldn't actually pick out the flavor of lobster in all of it. I don't doubt that it was there, some where, but what's the point if you can't figure it out?
Was I quite as amazed as I thought I would be? Maybe not. But I did learn that I really don't understand the appeal of gnocchi, that I really want to start eating more veal (yes, yes, terrible person and all that) and the silly little tripod I bought at Rite-Aid really does improve the quality of low-light photographs of food (I did not use it for the photograph above).
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