A diner from Fresno, CA
Jan 31, 2009
After a few trips to dine at Vineto, I can state that Fresno finally has a Southern Italian "gem" complete with fresh ingredients, flair and finesse in my neck of the woods(for northern Italian we are blessed with the absolutely marvelous Parma Ristorante).
At Vineto, the spartan atmosphere & conservative pricing belie the varied tastes and textures on the menu. The tomato-basil marinara and bolognese sauces are both exceptional in balance, freshness and simplicity and go very nicely with the trully al dente pastas (it's a pleasure to eat lasagna and actually taste the pasta as well as the individual and collective melding of the ingredients; read this is not a bowl of Italian oatmeal) I have also tried the salmon with pesto which was done to perfection with a caramelized, crispy crust and juicy medium-medium rare center. Oh yeah, and the best pizza I've had since I've been back in Fresno (and yes I love Me-N-Ed's).
The one disappointing meal I have had at Vineto was the "Papardelle De La Casa" which consisted of pasta with porcini mushrooms, pancetta & peas in a porcini cream sauce. While the balance of flavors and quality of ingredients were apparent, the dish was dried out from apparently sitting too long waiting for the salmon to finish on the grill (see above paragraph). While the pasta served was perfectly al dente indicating that it had not been "over-finished" in the porcini cream sauce and therefore not an error in the execution of the dish, but rather an error in the "table firing" timing that should be very easy to resolve; do not fire the cream sauce dishes until the last second and then wisk them briskly to the table.
At Vineto, the spartan atmosphere & conservative pricing belie the varied tastes and textures on the menu. The tomato-basil marinara and bolognese sauces are both exceptional in balance, freshness and simplicity and go very nicely with the trully al dente pastas (it's a pleasure to eat lasagna and actually taste the pasta as well as the individual and collective melding of the ingredients; read this is not a bowl of Italian oatmeal) I have also tried the salmon with pesto which was done to perfection with a caramelized, crispy crust and juicy medium-medium rare center. Oh yeah, and the best pizza I've had since I've been back in Fresno (and yes I love Me-N-Ed's).
The one disappointing meal I have had at Vineto was the "Papardelle De La Casa" which consisted of pasta with porcini mushrooms, pancetta & peas in a porcini cream sauce. While the balance of flavors and quality of ingredients were apparent, the dish was dried out from apparently sitting too long waiting for the salmon to finish on the grill (see above paragraph). While the pasta served was perfectly al dente indicating that it had not been "over-finished" in the porcini cream sauce and therefore not an error in the execution of the dish, but rather an error in the "table firing" timing that should be very easy to resolve; do not fire the cream sauce dishes until the last second and then wisk them briskly to the table.
