Critic's Review
I heard about Vignetos when my insurance company was having an event there; they're pretty easy to miss. Just on the "wrong side" of 595, the shopping center they're in has been under construction for quite a while. A McDonald's and Fed Ex Office block them from University. The IHOP is gone; they knocked it down and they're rebuilding something; it's not clear what it will be. But Vignetos has been here for awhile.
"Italian Grill" in their name reminds me of the chains; The Carrabba's and Romano's Macaroni Grill. They have 2 locations, but this is not a chain.
There's a NY Subway map in the bathroom, so I'm guessing their roots are in NY. There are a lot of servers flying around the dining room. It wasn't clear if I had a specific server. The "host" took my order, but I never saw him again.
They have lemon wedges here; shouldn't need to mention it but the slices are becoming an annoyance.
The menu isn't too descriptive; I had to ask if the eggplant came with anything. Sometimes it's just in a baking dish with no pasta, but it came with pasta. I probably wouldn't eat must of the pasta, so I ordered a side caesar, which is listed at $5. on the menu.
Unexpectedly, a loaf of warm bread was dropped on the table
Warm, crusty. This is good bread; much better than the stuff they have at Carrabba's. And there's a whole rack of butter too. I had to have some.
The salad was the kind that's pre-made and stored in the refrigerator; cold and chain-like. Not terrible, but typical.
The music is kind of random; Sara Bareilles and Cindi Lauper. One thing that I didn't like about the place was that the owners were standing around and watching the dining room. There's no privacy in this place.
The eggplant came out just as I was done with the salad.
A veritable stack. I recognized the sauce from the puddle in the plate. I cut open the stack to see how it was constructed.
This is how you do eggplant. Thinly layered; they know what they're doing.
The sauce is B- stuff; not sweet or garlicky enough for my taste, but not bad at all. I ate about 1/2 the eggplant; I'll make the other half with my own sauce and some freshly grated Romano it will be fantastic. They just have the sawdust here.
Kind of on the main strip and kind of not; Vigneto's is just a couple of blocks from Carrabba's. Carrabba's is a nicer place and they don't have traditional recipes. It isn't Little Italy, but if you're more old world, this may be more to your liking.