Task 30 – Via Italian Table (Worcester, MA)

(30) Eat in 10 New Restaurants (37/20)

Restaurant: Via Italian Table

Website: www.viaitaliantable.com

Rating:       2-stars

Last night my friend Chris and I went to Via for dinner to celebrate my birthday. There is just something about this place that I bother’s me. Maybe it’s the corner of the restaurant that I always get put in, the poor service or the mediocre food. Either way this was just another so-so visit that will prevent me from returning anytime soon.

We arrived a little before 8:30 for dinner and nearly got taken out by one of the valet’s. Once we safely made it inside we were seated quickly in that small corner of the dining room on the opposite side of the bar. The sound just echo’s here and it doesn’t help that the staff seem to use the corner as a gossip spot to complain to each other.

Our waitress came over to take our order. I am particular about the way I like my drink and always order it the same way and made sure that they got it. Without fail Via regularly fails on the details and screws it up every time. During this table visit she dropped off some bread and oil as is customary but didn’t return with the parmesan cheese for 10 minutes and by then the bread was gone.

We both ordered the Scaloppine of Veal described as a sirloin of veal sliced thin sautéed with Marsala wine, wild mushrooms and prosciutto served with grilled zucchini and parmesan risotto. The veal I thought was a tad too thick and a very chewy but the grilled zucchini and the parmesan risotto was fantastic. At 21.99 though I would have preferred that the protein part of the entrée should have been better.

My other complaints are related to service. It just seemed that to me whenever I needed something the server was nowhere in sight and gone for what seemed like forever. For example when the entrée arrived she walked away before I realized I didn’t have a knife. Needing one for the meal meant I had to wait until she re-appeared to get one and it was a solid 10 minutes my meal sat while I waited. Similarly my drink sat empty for an extended period of time again with here nowhere to be found to request another.

Finally it was a different waitress that I flagged down that took care of my drink. When we finished the meals our plates sat piled on the table while we chatted and it was again a different waitress that took them away for us. When our waitress finally reappeared she seemed shocked our table had been cleared. We asked for the check deciding to pass on desert. Like everything else paying the bill took entirely too long. Its nights like this I wish I had correct change instead of waiting for a larger bill to be broken. It was 10 by the time we left.

For some reason I always forget what a disappointment my last visit was and return Hopefully I will eventually learn my lesson and forgo Via Italian Table.