Vinto

Where: Vinto, 418 E 200 S, Salt Lake City

Who Went: Chelsey & Owen

Number of Visits: 1

What We Ordered: Blackberry Italian Soda, Roasted Vegetable Piadine, Tuttabella Pizza, Butterscotch Budino, and Nutella Gelato

What It Cost: $40 (including tip)

What We Thought: 

Located in both Salt Lake City and Park City, Vinto offers casual Italian food with a modern atmosphere. Though they were pretty busy the night we went there, the service was pretty quick if not overly-friendly. I really liked the interior decor of the restaurant, and thought it was a fun place to eat (though I wished we had been seated in the comfy-looking circular booths!)

I was feeling a little daring, so I ordered something that I didn't know what it was - the roasted vegetable piadine. It was basically like a really messy, open burrito. The "warm, tender unleavened flatbread" was more like a crispy dry tortilla that cracked and fell apart as you tried to eat it, but at least the inside of the sandwich (??) was interesting. The arugula was some of the most mild greens I've ever had, and there was a great variety of roasted vegetables that were all super tasty! I just wished that it was served in something that was more malleable, but that's probably less "authentic." In any case, if you vegetarian, then Vinto has a lot of delicious choices.

The pizza was very delicious, but only after we realized that the little dish of seasonings on the side was intended for the pizza! The pizza comes with a little plate of parmesan, red chili flakes, and dried oregano, which are really necessary to bring out the flavor and savoriness of this tasty pizza. The sausage was plentiful and delicious, and the roasted red peppers were colorful and wonderful as well. Owen isn't a huge fan of caramelized onions, but the ones on this pizza were not too overpowering and added greatly to the pizza. This is definitely a pizza I would want to repeat in the future.

They surprisingly had a lot of dessert options I actually wanted to try, so we had to go for some! The butterscotch budino was a chilled pudding with a salted caramel topping and whipped cream. It was so indulgent and SO goooooood. Owen and I kept fighting for the spoon to have a go at it, and I wished that we had ordered two! The salted caramel had rather large crystals of salt, which were a fun surprise while eating the smooth pudding, and the biscotti was wonderful when dipped in a little pudding!

Unfortunately, the meal ended on a sad note with this exceptionally overpriced and pathetic gelato. The gelato was served far too cold, so it had more of an icy quality than the smooth texture you normally think of with gelato. The Nutella flavor was barely noticeable, and I thought it was pretty teeny for "two scoops" of really expensive ice cream. The cookie on top was cute and tasty, but it didn't make up for my disappointment with the subpar gelato.

What You Should Do: Go for the pizza and budino - everything else was only just alright. I thought the atmosphere was fun, and the Italian soda was actually one of the better ones I've had (not pictured). The pizza was definitely delicious, and they have many other flavors that sounded equally interesting and appealing. Budinos are really time-consuming to make, so I would also recommend getting this scrumptious dessert if you're in the mood!

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