Tucked on a small lot along Route 18, Vin & Eddie’s Ristorante and Wine Bar sports an unpretentious exterior. The modest, salmon-colored awning at the entry gives no hint of an interior spacious enough to accommodate three booth-lined dining rooms, a bar, and a function area.
On a recent late Sunday afternoon - the restaurant opens at 3 p.m. on that day - we were ushered to a comfortable corner booth in a quaint room with dark wood trim framing sepia-toned murals.
Drinks and a basket of fragrant focaccia and crispy bread sticks arrived quickly, followed by a tasty and artfully arranged appetizer of Bibb lettuce with sweet Anjou pears, tangy blue cheese, pignoli nuts, and a light drizzle of 20-year-old balsamico ($9). The combination of tastes was wonderful and three of us made short work of it. The fourth member of our dining party devoured a hefty serving of hot and spicy fried calamari, quite tender, accompanied by garlic anchovy dipping sauce and salsa ($9).
The pace our server set was leisurely, allowing us just enough time to savor our choices before she whisked empty dishes away for the next course. We were entertained by a varied mix of music, from the expected Italian serenades to jazz and some contemporary tunes, at a volume set to enhance rather than overwhelm.
My entrée selection, baby rack of lamb in a rich merlot sauce ($25), circled creamy mashed potatoes and was framed by fresh, flavorful green beans. It did not disappoint. More than a half-dozen tiny pink chops were, in the end, more than I could finish.
A side of linguine in meat sauce - ordered to test what proved to be the restaurant’s well-deserved reputation for northern Italian cuisine - was perfectly cooked and seasoned ($4).
The chicken piccata with roasted red pepper and melted mozzarella over angel hair ($17) was equally good. Just enough cheese served to enhance the light lemon flavor, with its garlic undertone, rather than dominate it.
The fish selection, a broiled filet of salmon, was sizeable and flaky, served over a tasty vegetable risotto. The meal was topped with a light lemon caper sauce ($20). The colorful combination of vegetables and spices made it a feast for the eyes as well as the palate.
Our fourth diner - the one who handily knocked off the calamari - decided to sample one of the evening’s specials: a sirloin steak served with a hefty helping of cheese ravioli ($28). The steak was slightly pinker than the “medium’’ requested, but tender and flavorful. The best part of the meal, however, was the ravioli, which “made the dinner memorable.’’
Vin & Eddie’s offers a full range of desserts, from light custards to more robust cheesecakes and chewy brownies topped with homemade ice cream, all priced from $6 to $8.
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