Vitello's Italian Restaurant - the Opera Room 3/10/06

As Dinettes, we wanted a calling card of some kind. Maybe we'll have buttons made. Laurie wanted satin jackets emblazoned with, "The Dinettes." I said, "No, that's less money for food."

Our first restaurant is Vitello's. Bonnie Lee Bakley was killed in the parking lot. Hopefully, this is not an omen. However, if either of us are killed after a fabulous meal, it wouldn't be a bad way to go.

We sat in the Opera room. For some reason, I thought I'd be serenaded with opera during dinner. No. It wasn't opera so much as it was open mic night for senior citizens to sing show tunes. Laurie said, "This must be the place where the singing waiters from Miceli's go when they're all washed up."

Laurie: "Any place that has the nerve to serve Sanka is alright in my book." We also saw the bartender serve wine from a jug. A JUG. As in Ernest and Gallo.

Our rating system:
Ambience
Service
Food - based on quality as well as quantity. Gotta get our money's worth.
5 forks - excellent
4 forks - good
3 forks - fair
2 forks - poor
1 fork - can't even give the leftovers to a dog

Ambience: red pleather booths, red velvet curtain with a cartoony audience painted on the opposite wall. Can ya beat that? The pianist was at least 95 years old, and could hardly walk. It was awesome.

Free stuff - warm bread n butter.

Service - 5 forks! Very attentive. But, somehow, we had 4 forks and only 1 knife.

Food - Laurie had the caprese salad, which was "Yummy!" Entree: spinach calzone. We didn't know who we were messing with here, because when that thing came, it was at least 1 foot long! Laurie: "4 forks just for quantity!" You could feed a small village in China with that thing. It was good, but too much cheese. Is that possible? No, really, too much cheese.

I, Naomi had the rolled eggplant stuffed with ricotta and served with a cream sauce. Too rich for my taste. I like eggplant, but there wasn't enough of it. This lactose-intolerant girl should have known better. oh well. I still ate the whole thing. 3 forks.

Overall rating: 3.5 forks. We'll be back for more senior citizen singing. Maybe I'll bring my dad.

When the pianist started playing the theme from Ice Castles, Laurie said, "That's our cue."