Where:   Vincitorio’s, Tempe, AZ
When:    Saturday, July 4th 2009
Who:      Mo, Jilly and Leannada
Cost:      Entrees from $11.95 – $19.95
What:     Restaurant
Rating:   4 Stars

Ahhh… nothing like a wonderful family owned Italian restaurant, especially in Arizona.  Living in the land of chain restaurants, it’s sometimes tough to find a good old “Mom and Pop” place to dine.  Coming from Rhode Island, a state that has one of the best culinary colleges, Johnson & Whales, I was spoiled with wonderful restaurants my whole life.  Moving to Phoenix was a shock to the system, being bombarded with Chili’s, Applebee’s and Olive Gardens on every corner.  But, just like with anything, a little searching and you can find fantastic holes in the wall!

Vincitorio’s is one of those great holes in the wall.  It’s in a strip mall on Elliot and McClintock in Tempe.  All of us have been here and we love it, although it’s not very often we are in the mood for Italian, but when we are, Vincitorio’s is where we head.  We got to the restaurant at 7pm on Saturday, a little early for our 7:30pm reservation, but they sat us within a couple of minutes.  What is so wonderful about Vincitiori’s, other than their fabulous food, is the service.  You feel like part of the family, which is how it should be at an Italian restaurant.  We were greeted by the hostess and she went to find us a table.  While we were waiting, three other employees asked if we had been helped and greeted us to their restaurant. 

We got seated within 5 minutes and were immediately welcomed by our waiter.  He took our drink order, Jilly and I indulged in a glass of their house Chianti, which is Ruffino.  While we perused the menu, which isn’t vast by any stretch of the imagination, we were brought our drinks and a basket of warm garlic bread, yum!!  We had decided on our meals and ordered.  The meals come with soup or salad, and we all opted for the salads, which were brought out right away. 

I ordered the Chicken & Sausage Cacciatora, which is $15.95.  It is “Breast of chicken and homemade sausage braised with white wine, onions, mushrooms, green and red peppers, and marinara sauce.  Leannada ordered the Gnocchi al Pomodoro Fresca, “Potato dumplings with fresh basil sauce” and it was $13.95.  Jilly had the Tortellini Aurora, which is $13.95 “Filled with veal in a light tomato cream sauce with peas and mushrooms”.

All our meals were perfect, tasty, not too salty and the perfect portions (not too big).  Our waiter was superb; timely, attentive and sweet.  The owner of the restaurant came by and asked how our meals were, to which we all responded, “Great!”. 

The ambiance of Vincintorio’s is homey and warm and something you wouldn’t think would be in this shopping plaza.  We highly recommend you check out this gem!