Tre

As we drove up to Tre, Mom told me that Chevy's, TGI Friday, and El Torito used to be known as the venereal triangle. I'd been to that El Torito, and I wasn't expecting the ambiance we encountered in the new Haines brothers restaurant, Tre. It was beautiful inside! There was a scotch bar, a cigar lounge, a dance floor, a wine bar... I also really liked the decor in the main eating area, with long curtains providing some privacy between tables and lovely glass orbs hanging from the ceiling.

I was anxious to try it, because I love 33rd Street Bistro. Then there was a good review in the Bee. I decided it would be my brithday dinner with my mom... and my dad! On both visits, they had to get the high chair from the back -- it was clearly not intended to be a family restaurant. Still, they were very solicitous of us and the baby on both visits.

The food was fantastic. On my first visit, we tried the portabello mushroom with grilled halloumi cheese as an appetizer. I love halloumi cheese, a thick Greek cheese with a lot of texture. It was topped with a bright chimichurri sauce. My meal that evening was a vegetarian lasagna, which tasted fresh and authentic. On my second visit we had the mushroom appetizer again, as well as deep-fried lotus root chips with "Asian guacamole." I didn't love the chips -- they were cut so thin that it could have been deep-fried anything, and instead of all being crisp and separate, some were clumped together and rubbery. The flavor of the Asian guacamole was pretty good, but I couldn't tell exactly what it was. Not avocado, I don't think. That evening I had the risotto with root vegetables. It was very good. It was topped with cheese, and I believe there was cheese in the dish as well. The menu said something about "red rice" and the dish was red in color.

On that visit, I also had dessert, a flourless chocolate cake. I really enjoyed the cake, but the raspberry sauce that accompanied with it was a little on the sweet side.

The third vegetarian entree on the menu was another Italian dish, a pasta, which strikes me as a little unadventurous. But with the quality of the food, I'd say it's definitely worth a trip.

There were lots of choices for your non-veggie companions. My mom was very pleased with her hangar steak, which she said was cooked perfectly and didn't need the two sauces that accompanied it.

We also had really friendly, prompt, attentive service on both visits.

So great ambience, good service, and good food -- I have a new restaurant to add to my favorites list. In the venereal triangle.

Lucca

I've been hearing good things about Lucca for years, but it just never made it onto my list. I went last summer with co-workers, but just for appetizers and drinks, so I still hadn't eaten a meal there until tonight.

But man, tonight was good! I was intrigued by a pasta on the menu, the only vegetarian entree, I think -- there was an ingredient I didn't recognize and I would have asked about it except that the small plates sounded so appealing. Mom was my dinner companion and we decided just to make a whole meal of small plates. We began with a baby spinach salad with apples, bleu cheese and candied walnuts. It was dressed with a light, tangy vinaigrette, and we both enjoyed it. This was also the beginning of our excellent service: knowing that we were splitting everything, the waiter brought us the salad split onto two plates. There was also good bread on the table.

Next came our sweet potato soup with apples and pomegranate. The soup itself was good, although I considered adding salt or pepper until I tried a bite with the tart diced apples in it. They were piled in the middle, and really highlighted the flavors of the soup. I didn't detect the pomegranate, but it didn't matter. The soup was quite good.

Then the waiter delivered our polenta pizetta, broccolini, and myzithra flatbread. The flatbreat was served with a lentil-based hummus-type dip that was a little bland, and a green olive tapenade that more than made up for it. It was also served with a small dish of marinated mixed olives, which were delightfully lemony. The broccolini was good, although it was served with bread crumbs that felt extraneous. It was described as having chili flakes, and while I didn't see them, I did taste a bit of heat. The polenta was my favorite. It was a round cake of polenta with fontina cheese and baby greens on top, and it was so light and fluffy I wondered whether it had eggs in it and was made like a quiche. I would order that again in a heartbeat.

We were stuffed by the time he brought the dessert menu, but we made a deal: if they had a chocolate ice cream or gelato, we'd try it. Well, they did have one -- dark chocolate, our favorite. It was delicous, easily as good as any ice cream I've made at home (and I love homemade ice cream). It was also a very generous portion. Between the two of us we didn't finish it!

The service was great all night. Our waiter brought things at a good pace for us, smiled and cooed at the baby, promptly brought a high chair, checked in with us frequently, but not too frequently, and even made an effort to place our food down on the table out of the baby's reach.

There were many non-vegetarian options as well, but there were enough vegetarian options, particularly in the small plates, salads and soups, that we had trouble deciding. I think you'd have a harder time as a vegan.

It was a fine meal with good service, and I'd definitely go back. I also enjoyed getting the small plates and would recommend it.