Several months ago, I received a somewhat terse e-mail from the owner of Villa Verone, asking to have my review of his restaurant removed from the On the Fox website, based on the fact that it was “outdated.”
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Going Back to Villa Verone
I suspect that the request for the article’s removal was for other reasons as well, but in his letter, Mr. Verone also asked for – rather, demanded – a re-review of the restaurant. And although the request was valid (my original review was posted in September of 2001), I generally don’t blurt out “how high?” when someone says to jump.
Last Friday night, Lauren and I decided that we would leave our own kitchen behind and use one of the gift certificates that we had attained from Restaurant.com for a dinner from someone else’s kitchen. Since we had been thinking about going back to Villa Verona and we had a gift certificate, we both thought that it sounded like a plan.
We had not made a reservation, so I had expected there to be a wait. It was a beautiful and warm, late summer evening and the patio at Villa Verone was open. Too bad there isn’t a small area outside for cocktails… The tables and ambience looked to be just the ticket, so we entered and waited for the hostess. We asked if we could be seated outside. The reply was that “I don’t have any tables right now, but if you would like to have a seat in the bar, it should only be a few minutes.”
Climbing the stairs to the bar, I commented that I had seen several empty tables outside. Perhaps they were reserved… No big deal. The bar was nearly empty, save for a couple seated on the far end. I was surprised that the bar was so empty. We ordered two Grey Goose on the rocks and I watched as the bartender served our drinks and then flirted passionately with one of the waitresses. This did not seem the place for such activity…
Evening Appetizer Specials
The drinks were $7 a pop; the glasses at least seemed a little larger than I remembered from our last visit. After a short wait – perhaps 15-20 minutes – we were escorted to the patio and seated at a table for two. The waitress soon approached and asked if we would like our drinks freshened. I caved. When she returned, we were apprised of the evening’s appetizer specials. Although the waitress did not inform us of the prices, neither did I ask for them. I guess I got what I had coming.
We selected the scallop special: bacon wrapped and in a Dijon Mustard Sauce of some kind. The four scallops that arrived looked so lonely sitting in the middle of the plate, surrounded by a slurry of sauce – only slightly larger than bay scallops and definitely overdone. And although the sauce was decent, there was too much of it and there was a decided lack of presentation. No lettuce, no garnish, no nothing… just the small and lonely scallops. My biggest surprise came with the check: the appetizer was $12.95! It would have been over-priced at $8.95…
Our Dinner Selections
For dinner we had decided to split the Veal Saltimbocca ($21.95): Tender slices of veal topped with fresh spinach, prosciutto & buffalo mozzarella served with pasta in a parmigiana sauce. We also ordered two salads. Lauren tried the mixed greens ($4.50) and I selected the Caesar ($5.95). The salads were good but the lettuce on mine was swimming in salad dressing that overpowered the lettuce. The Saltimbocca was served to us on two separate plates – which was very nice of them to do – and the portion was significant, although the presentation was, again, lacking.
Lauren and I both agreed that the flavors were good and the veal was fairly tender. I do have to say that the standard for all dishes Italian was set a long time ago by my mentor, Joseph Insalago, a chef whose name I have mentioned on numerous occasions. One of Joseph’s best dishes was his Saltimbocca. The accompanying sauce was always very light and piquant. At Villa Verone, the sauce was heavy and a little too salty.
Of the Old School?
Overall, the evening was marvelous. After all, I was out for dinner with my sweetheart on a warm and relaxing evening. There were only a couple of things that bothered me. After serving our dinners, the waitress never returned until it was time to ask if we cared for dessert. She never asked whether or not we had enjoyed the appetizer, let alone the entrées. This was very bad manners at best. Secondly, a tall, well dressed man that I could only assume to have been Pietro Verone (the owner of Villa Verone) moved graciously among the tables, stopping to say hello and chat with the diners. He stopped at every table but ours. Normally I would have been offended.
On this evening, I chose to ignore the fact that we had been ignored. Interestingly, from Villa Verone’s own website comes the following quote: “Pietro is a restaurateur of the old school, who will personally greet you and make sure everything is perfect for you as you enjoy your food and wine.” It would have been nice to be greeted…
The Devil is in The Details
I do think that it is a great venue in a great location. And although I really believe that Villa Verone is capable of much better (on their website, there is a very positive spin put on the place), I have yet to see it in my two visits. After finishing this review, I re-read my comments from my September 2001 review and it seems that few things have changed.
Though the food was better last Friday evening, the prices were still much higher than the quality that the food, plate presentation and service-that-still-needs-improvement would seem to indicate. The devil, as they say, is in the details and this reviewer knows that Villa Verone needs to pay much greater attention to the details. I would rate the overall experience at 3 ½ Zins, just a half Zin above our last visit. I do however recommend that you try it … then tell me what you think.
Your Table is Waiting…
Ralph Pancetta
Villa Verone is located at 416 Hamilton St in Geneva, IL.
