Vincent in Blacksburg VA

[Phaedrus]

A small place on South Main, not in the heat of campus but close enough. I went in expecting spagheeti and meatballs smothered in tomato paste based sauce and got something very nice. The restaurant was small but quaint. Not too many in there on a Wednesday night. The waitress talked me into the crab stuffed portabella appetizer. It was good, not great, I should have gone for the arancini or the antipasto. I got three huge portabella's stuffed with real crab meat, it was the special that night and it was good, but way too much for one person.

The salad was terrific, balsamic vineggrette with some fresh greens, onion, cucumber, carrots, red cabbage. The dressing was extremely tasty and the balance was excellent. The bread was fresh baked.

My entree took a long time and it was worth it. I got the seafood pescadore, a melange of seafood cooked in a sauce of chopped tomatoes, onions, parsley, red pepper flakes, garlic, etc. Not a tomato paste based sauce. The seafood was frozen, as expected but the dish was oh so tasty. The linguini was al dente and the whole combination was incredible. Since I am reading an Inspector Montalbano mystery now, I felt like I was there in Sicily, by the seaside, enjoying the salt breeze and the sunshine. The service was excellent, mainly because it was a slow night, the waitress was friendly but not overly so, and the owner greeted everyone warmly. I loved it. It certainly made my stay in Blacksburg much much more pleasant.