Vigiluccis in Encinitas

I have not been up to writing reviews lately because I have been waiting for that special dining experience at a "Top Chefs" restaurant. But at this rate it could be several months. I have been to quite a few restaurants lately and in retrospect I have ordered the wrong thing so I am not in a position to write anything meaningful. Last night we went to Vigiluccis Italiana Trattoria in Encinitas north of San Diego we have been going there for 13 years and it is always a good place to bring an out of town friend. So even though it is not a restaurant or a chef you read about and just have to go to, I want to share the dining experience anyway.

Vigiluccis is a great definition of an Italian Trattoria, it is small, authentic, the waiters are all from Italy and you get great personal attention. One of the things I had noticed since we had las been there 2 years ago was that the menu had been refreshed. There were new starters that looked very refreshing and were beyond the standard Caesar Salad. One of the areas I have always paid attention to is the service specifically if they keep my water glass full. It is amazing at the amount of restaurants you have to ask the waiter for water. At Vigilucci's there are no complaints the service is excellent. Let's get to the food. We all started with something different My wife had the Caprese with fresh Mozzarella and Heirloom Tomatoes, I had the Rucola e Portobello Mushrooms the Arugula had a sprinkling of Honey Truffle dressing topped with shave Parmigiana Reggiano and our friend Robert had Calamari Luciana which is sauteed Calamari in marinara sauce. On to the main course I had Lasagna which was crammed full of course ground meats. what I like about this dish was that the Lasagna was not the typical lump of food that would sit at the base of my stomach it was just perfect not too much Marinara, not too much cheese it was good. My wife had the Rigatoni Siciliana, eggplant and mild sweet sausage in a light marinara sauce. I tried her meal it was simple and very tasty, what I really liked was that the pasta was freshand had substance. Robert had Mellazane alla Parmigiana simply put Baked Eggplant Parmigiana, the key here is that it was baked, light and very tasty.

All in all this was a great meal, the Service was fantastic Paolo the Manager sat down with us for a few minutes and engaged us in some great conversation he had commented on Robert's Monaco Grand Prix shirt and the conversation went from there.