GARLIC IS A VEGETABLE if you ask the chefs at MIO VICINO in Santa Clara. Tonight I gorged on the best pasta this side of Bagaria, Sicily...sorry Mama.
From the, "how are you tonight," bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar-Italian style, to the, "how was everything," gelatos and complex desserts, the food was top - notch, prepared in a you-watch-it kitchen providing more entertainent than distraction.
There was plenty on my plate (ohhhh yeah, and plenty for lunch tomorrow), and a casual, fun, SMART wait-staff. Simple pizza and pasta menu blends traditional with California cuisine. Special combinations? Much obliged it seems, I had the penne pasta, hold the sausage and substitiute the mushroom cream sauce, and bake with mozzarella. I seemed more important than the menu. But, always check the special, my companions had the sauteed prawns with choice of risotto or polenta and fresh vegetable.
I cannot recommend the food more.
Wine questions to Cam, keeper of the progressive list. His most recent bargain? Mio Vino, a house red and white, private bottling by Bonny Doon, worth checking out at its modest price.
Sure, I sound like a food critic, I'm not, I grew up on this fare and this is the best dining experience I've had in the Bay Area, ever. Respond if you don't agree.
-DanielSan Francisco Bay Area, CA