My brother-in-law sent me his impressions of Vito Provolone's in the strip mall on Meridian Street just north of Meridian School Road (it's a Strip Mall World here in the Midwest, folks). Being as lazy as the next guy, I've included his musings here so I don't have to write a review myself, although I will say that I concur with his conclusions. I love Vito's, and though it's a nice traditional sort of Italian restaurant with many fine dishes, the pizza there is the best I've found in Indy on any side of town. Anyway, here is my bro-in-law's review, with some editing for content and so it will run in the time allotted. He writes:
As a father of four I know about feeding teenagers. My youngest son is turning 16 years old and as good parents we wanted to take him out for dinner. The obvious thought was Taco Bell (ask any teenager and, for his/her money, Taco Bell rules!), but we wanted something more mature and less generic. Qdoba came to mind since we are not part of the 1%, but much to our surprise my son said he would like an Italian spot. The Little Woman and I were pleased since we both enjoy grub from the"boot"country, too. The Son said, however, that he didn't want to go to any "mall" type Italian places (He made air quotes with his fingers, like Doctor Evil talking about a "LASER"). I asked people from work and all the votes were for Vito Provolone's (except for one for The Old Spaghetti Factory, which would have been okay but we really didn't want to go downtown during Super Bowl week).
Off we went to a place of which I have heard for years but never visited. It was a Godfather's Pizza back when I used to pass it on the way to school on horseback or in the buckboard. .I don't think Mr.Caine still owns the place (or is even still breathing) but you never know! We didn't need reservations and were greeted and seated quickly. A polite serving staff made sure our every need was met. There was even a complimentary treat for my Birthday Boy (I use the Boy term loosely, as he is a foot taller than me).
My wife can be a discerning (see "picky" in the dictionary) eater, but Sonny has Dad's sense of adventure. Son was torn between ordering lasagna or something he was worried he might not be able to pronounce (I love that boy, but as a teenager, not being embarrassed is everything to him!). I knew Mom would opt for the pizza, because who could go wrong with that, right?(Note from SSBF: I did go wrong with pizza, once: With my blessing you may order any of the delicious dishes at Napoli Villa in Beech Grove except the pizza, trust me. -ed.) She was very pleased, although she thought they might've skimped on the cheese a little, but maybe that's the way it's done in Italy. Sonny opted for the ravioli and soup (What, no salad?? I can't believe he hates lettuce.... Maybe he ain't my kid!), and given a choice between minestrone and cream of mushroom, he turned up his nose at the mention of mushrooms (WHAT??? Honey, what does our mailman look like?)
The boy had never had minestrone, but Captain's Wafer crackers made everything taste better. (He'd never had them, either-- maybe we should eat out more often, ya think?) A small loaf of Italian bread was nice and buttery but lacked that good gnarly garlic breath-causing flavor. The Little Man (as I USED to call him. Our baby is all grown up, sniff sniff) really enjoyed the ravioli, saying the sauce was slightly sweet but very tasty and the lack of "chunky" tomato feel but with all the tomato taste was a real plus. He was treated to a free serving of spumoni ice cream (also new to him) and he loved it. He really liked that it came without all the birthday song and fanfare (again, TEENAGER + EMBARRASSMENT = DEATH, Dad! Duh!) My work buds had recommended the Pasta Diablo, but after much deliberation I chose.... wait for it.... drum roll.... building drum roll.... TA-DA! Spaghetti and Meatballs. The sauce was a little sweet and there were only two meatballs, but it was the tastiest spaghetti dish I've ever had. All in all, Vito's food was deeelicious, the price was very reasonable for the portions we received, and the servers made sure our colas and our spirits were never low!!!
Off we went to a place of which I have heard for years but never visited. It was a Godfather's Pizza back when I used to pass it on the way to school on horseback or in the buckboard. .I don't think Mr.Caine still owns the place (or is even still breathing) but you never know! We didn't need reservations and were greeted and seated quickly. A polite serving staff made sure our every need was met. There was even a complimentary treat for my Birthday Boy (I use the Boy term loosely, as he is a foot taller than me).
My wife can be a discerning (see "picky" in the dictionary) eater, but Sonny has Dad's sense of adventure. Son was torn between ordering lasagna or something he was worried he might not be able to pronounce (I love that boy, but as a teenager, not being embarrassed is everything to him!). I knew Mom would opt for the pizza, because who could go wrong with that, right?(Note from SSBF: I did go wrong with pizza, once: With my blessing you may order any of the delicious dishes at Napoli Villa in Beech Grove except the pizza, trust me. -ed.) She was very pleased, although she thought they might've skimped on the cheese a little, but maybe that's the way it's done in Italy. Sonny opted for the ravioli and soup (What, no salad?? I can't believe he hates lettuce.... Maybe he ain't my kid!), and given a choice between minestrone and cream of mushroom, he turned up his nose at the mention of mushrooms (WHAT??? Honey, what does our mailman look like?)
The boy had never had minestrone, but Captain's Wafer crackers made everything taste better. (He'd never had them, either-- maybe we should eat out more often, ya think?) A small loaf of Italian bread was nice and buttery but lacked that good gnarly garlic breath-causing flavor. The Little Man (as I USED to call him. Our baby is all grown up, sniff sniff) really enjoyed the ravioli, saying the sauce was slightly sweet but very tasty and the lack of "chunky" tomato feel but with all the tomato taste was a real plus. He was treated to a free serving of spumoni ice cream (also new to him) and he loved it. He really liked that it came without all the birthday song and fanfare (again, TEENAGER + EMBARRASSMENT = DEATH, Dad! Duh!) My work buds had recommended the Pasta Diablo, but after much deliberation I chose.... wait for it.... drum roll.... building drum roll.... TA-DA! Spaghetti and Meatballs. The sauce was a little sweet and there were only two meatballs, but it was the tastiest spaghetti dish I've ever had. All in all, Vito's food was deeelicious, the price was very reasonable for the portions we received, and the servers made sure our colas and our spirits were never low!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment