Vincenzo’s: West Omaha
1814 N. 144th St., Omaha, NE 402-498-3889
Just in case you thought all my reviews were to be a love fest of every restaurant I go to, set your mind at ease. This entry is no love letter.
I was at Vincenzo’s recently for an office dinner. The menu looked promising so I was excited. I had also heard raves about the restaurant, especially the steaks. Our table began with the house Chianti served in a pitcher and an order of Escargot/Shrimpcargot (3 servings of each.) The appetizer arrived with a basket of warm wheat rolls that were fragrant with light Italian herbs. We dug into the individual servings. The snails and shrimp were tender, but overwhelmed by the butter and cheese. However, the preparation of a tricky ingredient such as snails was a promising note for the rest of the meal.
The pacing of the meal was good, with each course following the previous just as it was being completed. The salads were next and other than having a bit much cheese were pretty good.
When it comes to the main course, I would like to mention my observations on the meals of my table mates. Those who ordered steak seemed to get the better end of the deal. The steaks were prepared properly and appeared moist and tender, with the accompanying sauce on the plate rather than poured over the top. For all meals, portions were generous. I ordered the Shrimp Imbottito- jumbo shrimp stuffed with crab and asiago cheese, baked in a white wine and tarragon butter sauce served over angel hair pasta. This was some of the worst shrimp I have ever had. The crab stuffing was full of crab and had a good flavor. The shrimp were hard as a rock. I had to use a fork and knife to saw through the shrimp. White wine and tarragon butter sounds like a lovely sauce, but only if the elements are actually combined. The wine tasted like a bad “cooking wine” and the tarragon butter was mostly butter. On the plus side, the pasta was cooked to a nice al dente.
Other dinner mates commented on pasta water at the bottom of their plates/ bowls and not loving the flavor of the sauce on the chicken parmagiana or the mosticcoli.
We all shared a couple tiramisu which had a light coffee flavor but was comprised of more whipped cream than anything else.
I was disappointed as I have only heard raves about this place, however, those were for the Lincoln and Old Market locations. I would suggest if dining at the West Omaha location to enjoy the rolls and salad, and be sure to order the steak.
A year later I visit and the West Omaha location has about the same "that's Italian" feeling. Disappointing.
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