Cafe Vicino in Boise
March 25th 2011 Posted by derek in From The Road
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Cafe Vicino is one of the top rated restaurants in Boise. Hit the link to find out how our dinner was.
We’ve been reading and hearing about Cafe Vicino since we’ve been coming to Boise, but never took the plunge until tonight. Cafe Vicino is a “Mediterranean Style Bistro” located next to the Boise Co-op just north of the capitol building.
We were greeted warmly and promptly and shown to our table. Our waitress came right over to tell us about the specials (several of which sounded good) then left us to mull over the choices.
We started with artisan flat bread that came out similar to extremely thin crust pizza covered in perfectly spiced chicken, pancetta and melted provolone cheese. After chatting with the waitress it sounds like the toppings change regularly so make sure to inquire… but based on what we tasted I don’t think you will be disappointed, regardless of what’s on top.
After a good start came our main courses. I had a pork shoulder braised in mustard, lager and onions while Amanda had chicken on a mushroom risotto. I also had a glass of wine with mine, which the waitress recommended after consulting with the chef… the wine was a perefct match to the pork shoulder.
My pork shoulder was cooked perfectly and the braising liquids left on the plate were delicious. Definitely a great plate of food.
Amanda enjoyed her chicken and rissotto. The chicken was juicy and well prepared and the risotto was similarly well done. It was all tasty, although the risotto could have used a bit more seasoning.
At this point things were going really well. Our waitress was pleasant, the rest of the staff was similarly doing a great job and the food was spot on. Then the dessert menu came out and we were instantly underwhelmed. Amanda ended up ordering a mixed berry crisp with whipped cream. The whipped cream melted instantly turning the overwhelming amount of berries into a soup…. a soup that needed more “crisp”.
After not seeing much to order I went with my old standby of creme brûlée and coffee. The coffee was good but the creme brûlée had been “brûléed” a bit too much and was basically burnt. The creme had a good flavor but had a bit of a grainy texture in places (while in others it was watery).
Overall it was a disappointing ending to an otherwise great meal. I definitely recommend that you try Cafee Vicino… but I have a tip for you: Skip the dessert menu and walk across the parking lot to the awesome Boise Co-op and get some of their handcrafted desserts to go!
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