After lunch at Farinas we went to Arlington to check out a couple of things for the Florida State game, and then it was time to head back for a nap. The combination of 5AM wake up, 4-hour drive, and 2 glasses of wine did me in and I was out for about 3 hours. Then I was refreshed and revived, and ready for the evening. We decided to go to Inzo Italian Kitchen. I had never been there, or Roanoke, before. It's a very cute, tiny town about 15 minutes from their house. In reality, the restaurants and shops is what makes Roanoke more than just neighborhood housing.
Inzo has large floor to ceiling windows that open to the sidewalk patio, and the patio has 3 tall tables and 3 short tables. There are about 20 tables inside. Because it was such a beautiful night, we sat on the patio. Our waitress was very friendly, and turns out she's from Baltimore. She's in school at TCU.
I couldn't decide what wine to get. I wanted to stick with malbec, or at least something red, since that's what I had at lunch. The server suggested a Querceto chianti that wasn't on the menu. It was $12 per glass, but she said it was worth it. She brought me a taste, and it definitely was. So smooth and delicious. I've got to find this stuff.
The server brought us rolls to start
Huge, flaky, warm, and delicious. We then split the spinach salad between the 3 of us
The salad was delicious. The onions were warm, and lent a great flavor and sweetness to the salad. If we were just going for drinks and apps, I could have done the chianti and salad and been happy.
Joni and Tony split the special, which was a pasta with a vodka cream sauce. I can't remember exactly what it was called, but that's close enough. I completely forgot to take a picture, but I tasted it and it was excellent. At the server's suggestion I got the penne chicken pesto. I was hesitant because it has creamy pesto, and after my negative experience at the place in Tulsa I didn't want to be disappointed. She assured me it was very good and really green.
So glad I took her advice, as this was excellent. The penne was cooked a perfect al dente. Honestly, I usually cook mine longer until its soft, but this is the "official" way to do it. The pesto was creamy, but not heavy at all. Very good and fresh, and you could taste the basil. The sundried tomatoes added a great flavor. The chicken was cut into small pieces which kind of took me by surprise, but I guess that helps cook it faster. Like the place in Tulsa, my pasta wasn't very hot on top. But a couple bites in, and you could see the steam coming up.
When we were ordering we had seen nutella cheesecake on the specials board. I mean how can you pass up nutella cheesecake? On Joni's birthday weekend? On a beautiful night on the patio?
Oh my, this was heaven. It was so rich and creamy and delicious, but at the same time not overly heavy. Thank goodness we shared, because as good as it was I don't think I could have finished it.
Will I go back? Definitely. The food and wine were delicious, and it there's lots of other items on the menu that I would like to try.
Inzo has large floor to ceiling windows that open to the sidewalk patio, and the patio has 3 tall tables and 3 short tables. There are about 20 tables inside. Because it was such a beautiful night, we sat on the patio. Our waitress was very friendly, and turns out she's from Baltimore. She's in school at TCU.
I couldn't decide what wine to get. I wanted to stick with malbec, or at least something red, since that's what I had at lunch. The server suggested a Querceto chianti that wasn't on the menu. It was $12 per glass, but she said it was worth it. She brought me a taste, and it definitely was. So smooth and delicious. I've got to find this stuff.
The server brought us rolls to start
Huge, flaky, warm, and delicious. We then split the spinach salad between the 3 of us
 |
| Baby spinach, mushrooms, caramelized onion, crisp pancetta & goat cheese in Inzo house dressing |
Joni and Tony split the special, which was a pasta with a vodka cream sauce. I can't remember exactly what it was called, but that's close enough. I completely forgot to take a picture, but I tasted it and it was excellent. At the server's suggestion I got the penne chicken pesto. I was hesitant because it has creamy pesto, and after my negative experience at the place in Tulsa I didn't want to be disappointed. She assured me it was very good and really green.
 |
| Roasted chicken, mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, and creamy pesto sauce |
When we were ordering we had seen nutella cheesecake on the specials board. I mean how can you pass up nutella cheesecake? On Joni's birthday weekend? On a beautiful night on the patio?
Oh my, this was heaven. It was so rich and creamy and delicious, but at the same time not overly heavy. Thank goodness we shared, because as good as it was I don't think I could have finished it.
Will I go back? Definitely. The food and wine were delicious, and it there's lots of other items on the menu that I would like to try.
