Vivo - 565 Lincoln Ave., Bellevue, PA 15202
We received a gift certificate to Vivo recently, and I need to send an extra thank you to the gift-giver, who just so happens to have moved up the ladder of love since our dinner. We had not been there or even hear of the restaurant prior to this visit, and we can't wait to go back. I know it's the thought that counts, but this gift beat out any old candle or random bottle of wine.
The restaurant is cozy and comfortable, and the staff was helpful and friendly without being overwhelming. The food was amazing. We started dinner with two appetizers: a beef carpaccio and sauteed exotic mushrooms with chorizo and goat cheese. The beef is sliced to order and was drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with coarse salt and truffle. The beef was so tender it literally melted in our mouths. It was perfectly seasoned - complimented but not overwhelmed. The mushroom dish was delicious as well, with the star of that dish being the goat cheese. It was fresh and creamy and mild.
The pasta course (which comes with every meal) was served with a house-made sauce which was perfect. The fun of the pasta dish was that it was served with chili oil, which served as a nice addition to the sauce. The pasta itself was not housemade - our only disappointment in the entire meal.
For dinner, we ordered the lamb chops and the scallops. The lamb chops were grilled and served with an amazing honey truffle mustard. It was tender and flavorful. The scallops were the largest I have seen. They were pan seared absolutely perfectly and served over a sweet chili sauce.
The vegetables for that day were cabbage with pears and butternut squash. Vivo serves their vegetables at room temperature, a prospect which was off-putting to hear but surprisingly good to eat. I am not usually a fan of cabbage, but this was some of the most tender and non-bitter cabbage I have had.
Salad was served after dinner and was good but not noteworthy. However, the dessert was certainly something to write home about. We had the homemade "Heath" gelato, and mascarpone cheese with nutella, crushed amaretti cookies, and fresh berries. Both were excellent, but the mascarpone was exceptional. We made it out of there, full and happy, for $110. I think that is a very reasonable price for a five course meal of that caliber!
