Il Vecchio in Monterey Bay’s Pacific Grove is simply divine!
I’ve eaten at Il Vecchio a few times and have yet to be disappointed. In fact, I’ve eaten at many Italian restaurants, and this stop is one of the best. From the authentic wait staff to authentic housemade pasta, Il Vecchio delivers the pizzazz. You don’t leave without feeling satisfied, full, and feeling like you made a quick stop to the Tuscan region of Italy.
The meal started with a celebratory prosecco since we visited on my 30th birthday. Cheers! A new decade to pursue, and a decade of accomplishment congratulated.
To start, we had roasted Brussels sprouts and burrata as a second dish. Roasted Brussels sprouts are pretty self-explanatory, but the fresh burrata dish from Il Vecchio is simply poignant. Creamy, fresh mozzarella straight from Italy pillows over tomatoes, fresh basil, and crostini. With burrata, you take a moment, enjoy, relish, and repeat.
Continuing the Il Vecchio Adventure
I tried the osso buco pasta for my main dish, and oh, what a great choice it was! Beef shank, red wine, tomato, mushrooms, with “reginette” pasta. Despite the large portion, I ate every last bit. At this point, I basked in the glory that was the over-head heater due to dining curbside for COVID.
Barrett had Spaghetti deCecco from Italy as his main — complete with meatballs made with beef and pork in classic tomato sauce.
As a colossal, beautiful finish, we ended the evening with vino santo — colosi, passito, sweet wine, and late-harvest grapes and then The Prince. The Prince is a Florentine recipe from Lorenzo de Medici, strawberry puree simmered with 12-year-old balsamic over vanilla gelato.
Eating Italian food to celebrate my 30th was the perfect choice. Maybe I should revisit it for my 40th?
