Looking for a Saturday afternoon breakfast? Voila, Vivoli!

I found it. Breakfast at 2:30 in the afternoon, and it was damn near perfect. It scratched that ‘itch’ I’d been searching for: an unhurried, sit down dining experience and eggs that weren’t the hash brown with bacon or sausage cliche.

Damn. It was good.

We were late getting lunch and the hunger pangs were happening. As I told you in my last post, I’ve gotta get out of the rut and start really trying other places. Mr. Maven and I had been to Vivoli Trattoria a couple times before and I left it ambivalent. The first visit was a nice surprise, the second left us cold- it was just ‘off’ somehow.

Our schedules being what they are, we are often late lunch types. This being the case, we tend to frequent places where that never seems to be a problem. They still have the soup, the servers haven’t evaporated to the nether regions, and even more important - you, the customer, are still treated with every bit of the same regard as had you dropped in during the more exciting peak times. I’ve gotten up and walked out of places where that wasn’t the case.

“Hello? Anybody home?”

Yikes. We were the only customers at Vivoli this afternoon. I don’t like that. It makes me feel on display in a creepy sense. This has been the case another time we came to Vivoli. They just don’t seem to do much of a mid-afternoon business, unlike Truckee Bar and Grill on Moana and Lakeside, where a steady supply of ‘regulars’ keep things interesting through off-peak hours. This is the location, in a small strip type mall. TRBG has a lot of apartments nearby to supply patrons for the bar and slots.

The waiter was right on top of things, and seated us toward the back so we didn’t feel like we were in a fishbowl. He remarked to my query about slow business, saying that they were doing some catering up at the Reno-Tahoe Open golf tourney, and perhaps that had drawn off some business. Hmmm. Maybe. But he smoothly seated us, and had water, bruschetta with an olive tapenade, and our drinks right out while we perused the menu.

Although I was thinking about a salad or antipasti, I was surprised - and very impressed - that they offered Brunch on Saturday and Sunday until 4 p.m. How very civilized. They must have known I was coming in.

I went for the Uova all’Occhio di Bue or two sautéed eggs served with home-made rustic tuscany bread and a side of chopped tomatoes & onions ($11.95). Always looking for that additional creative addition, I asked if I could get a few anchovies on the side. Yes, that was do-able. Mr. Maven opted for the Omelette con Salsiccia e Cipolla, aka Omelet with homemade Italian sausage,onions and peppers ($11.95).

These days, you never quite know what ‘omelette’ means at restaurants. Most often its a ‘scramble’ with everything but the kitchen sink. This is otherwise known as line cooks that do it all, and are not egg specialists. I can’t remember the last time I got a true omelette in the classic French manner. Mr. Maven’s omelette was more like a frittata or Spanish tortilla. The eggs were perfectly done, light, fluffy and not dried out. There was just enough onion and sausage to be the hearty foil to the delicate eggs.

Omelette con Salsiccia e Cipolla

The only thing that I might have done otherwise? Make it smaller - Mr. Maven struggled to eat it all, since it was so yummy - and perhaps accompany it with fruit, similar to my order.

I was really pleased to have the option of fresh fruit, especially on such a hot day. Few restaurants really seem to understand ‘cooling’ foods, but Vivoli does. And, here at Vivoli, like Truckee Bar and Grill, the fruit was fresh, perfectly ripe and tasty, and the portion was generous enough to share.

Accompanied by a double espresso, the fruit was a nice melange of cantaloupe, strawberries, oranges and blueberries. Again, mint - a cooling note - for garnish.

 

Now, here are my eggs on toasted bread with tomatoes and anchovy. It was totally what I’d been hungering for. The eggs sat on crisp artisan style sourdough bread. The tomatoes, with sliced red onion, were lightly dressed with a vinaigrette. For most folks, this would have been enough. But let me tell you, with the anchovies, it became inspired.

What would I have done otherwise? Eggs a little softer for sopping up with the toast? Perhaps. The bread was a little thick, and I had to decide whether to try it like a sandwich by picking it up ( no, the tender eggs were no match for the tougher bread) or use a knife and fork ( again the bread fought back ). So I ate the eggs with knife and fork, pulling the bread apart to sop up the delicious vinaigrette. The anchovies provided that neat salty element, as I cut them up and combined with egg for one bite, with tomatoes for another. Oh, yum!

What would I have added? Cornichon pickles. But I’m not sure how authentically Italian that would be. And, ‘authentic’ is what I take away from Vivoli. I’ve traveled extensively in Italy by bike, car and my thumb- or rather my younger, better looking legs back in the day. And, Vivoli’s food really does come very close to the real Italian - not Italian-American as in Chicago or New York, or the  Macaroni ‘corporate cuisine’ Grill - experience.

One thing I don’t sense - and maybe because I haven’t eaten there enough - is that they offer really seasonal specials, or off menu type items that the waiters can sell you up to. I’d love to see an Italian style gazpacho - yes, it is that damn hot here lately - or some ‘cold plates’ (cold poached fish or shellfish, cold cuts, cold asparagus, bread, pickles, olives and such - a small butter lettuce salad, and finish with some fruit) like you would find in Europe during the summer.

Hell, I wish Truckee Bar and Grill would offer chilled soup. Let’s tickle Reno’s staid sensibilities a bit.

Vivoli knows who and what they are, as they should with all their experience in Westwood and Hollywood, California- and it shows with their menu and overall approach.  I’m really pleased they decided to give Reno a try. Would that more experienced non-chain restaurants do the same.

As we were about halfway through our meal, several other patrons came in. That made me remark to Mr. Maven that perhaps there’s a role for ‘shills’ in the restaurant business. When it’s that slow, maybe the help should park a car or two near the front door. Actually, that would help, since we remarked that there were no cars as we walked in.

I’ll be going back to Vivoli for Brunch to be sure, and maybe for dinner one of these first days. I give it a ‘thumbs up’ and suggest you give them a try.

P.S. - if they do occasionally need a shill to draw customers, uh, I’m generally available. And hungry. LOL.

-maven