Rustic Italian Caramelle alla Vodka

The other night my girlfriend and I visited a self described “Rustic Italian” restaurant between the congested strip of Ciccio Restaurant Group owned college student hangouts called Ava, pronounced with a long A, I was corrected at the door. I’d been to the restaurant a few times prior. Once when my former roommate's mother was in town and we went and got pasta and told our waitress she looked like a young Michelle Pfeiffer. Another countless number of times for brunch, or rather, for bottomless mimosas from 9-4 on Sundays. But until my recent trip with my significant other, Olivia, I’d yet to experience it, without pressure from either parent’s or alcohol that is. Anybody can make an impressive eggs benedict when you’re twelve mimosas deep. 

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We sat outside as the Tampa climate had finally admitted it and were greeted fairly quickly. We started with wine, I got the house red (a merlot if I remember correctly) and Olivia got a Rose for a dollar more. Next, and without having yet received any silverware or napkins, we ordered the Warm Ricotta which came with grilled bread and fennel pollen. It was good, definitely warm, but drastically resemblant of the bread that each table receives anyway, we learned this after placing our appetizer order and without interjection from our server. For dinner I took the waitresses suggestion and ordered the Tagliatelle con Funghi which comes served with mushroom ragu, garlic, thyme, burro fuso and a 63 degree egg. Olivia got the Caramelle alla Vodka off of the antipasti menu, upon the waitresses recommendation for a well portioned vodka sauce dish. It came served with cheese filled candy wrapped ravioli, pancetta, peas and yes, vodka sauce. To my surprise the best food that hit our table that evening, once we finally got silverware, was Olivia’s dish. Well portioned was definitely a stretch, or perhaps I eat too much, but it was light and creamy with well cooked homemade pasta and topped with one of the better vodka sauces I’ve had. The mushroom dish I ordered was good but the egg seemed closer to over hard than 63 degrees, and the mushrooms could have used more time in the heat but overall it was far from bad.

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In the end, the dinner was very satisfying. The staff was attentive (minus a brief napkin and silverware mishap) and knowledgeable of the menu. The food was as I expected, well made but nothing to write home to Ma about. The bread along with the Caramelle alla Vodka undoubtedly stole the show. I typically go into restaurants that advertise themselves as italian with very low expectations. I mean technically even Dominoes is “Italian” food. So I’ve learned to no longer disappointment myself by going in expecting to be underwhelmed. But I can say with confidence that my bar left higher than it was when we entered. Considering the atmosphere and overall quality of service and presentation I would say that Ava is well worth a dinner visit. 

Ava Rating: 7.2