Thanksgiving
is a hard holiday. A holiday on a weekday just feels wrong especially for those
of us who have to return to work the next day. As much as I like to cook
holiday meals from scratch I am happy to say that I didn’t have to this
Thanksgiving. After all there are only so many years you can bake and cook on
barely any sleep with a migraine ruling your life. No wonder I didn’t feel like
death this year.
As an
Italian no Thanksgiving is complete without a proper amount of carbs and
cheese. Thus when selecting a restaurant for my extended family and I to have
dinner at, my cousin made the right decision and selected Vetro.
Vetro is
owned and operated by the same folks behind Howard Beach’s wildly successful
wedding venue, Russo’s On The Bay. This was the first clue we were on the right
track. The second occurred as soon as I stepped inside this gorgeously decked
out restaurant.
The
restaurant managed to accomplish the feeling of comfort and elegance at the
same time. The staff is amazingly friendly and prepared. The service during the
meal seemed like a choreographed act. It clearly was not their first time
serving up a multi-course meal to a large room of hungry guests.
After
waiting a few moments sitting on the assorted couches in the blue-lit lounge
area our table was ready. We were a large group, twelve, and to my utter
amazement there was PLENTY of room. We were not sitting on top of each other
nor were the tables in the dining room exceedingly close to one another. The
only place where room was an issue was the restroom. It was way too small for
the amount of people who needed to use it.
As for
the food, I had high hopes because of its association with Russo’s On The Bay.
Russo’s is a catering hall known for their overly generous portions and courses
of food. After a cocktail hour you can barely breathe. Entrees are finally
served around eleven p.m. because there is so many other things coming your way
first. I knew that we were having a price-fixe menu with four courses, included
shared desserts, so I managed my expectations.
The
appetizer was a plate of meat, cheeses, and perhaps the greatest tasting rice
ball I have ever had. Seriously it was pure heaven. I would go back for dinner
one night to eat off the regular menu just to have more than one of those. The
second course was pasta with marina sauce. Both of these dishes were tasty and
worked to subside the overwhelming hunger I was feeling.
When I
placed my order for Riesling wine the waitress informed me that there wasn’t
any available at that moment but they were happy to retrieve a bottle from the
basement and open it for me. Considering I was only having a glass it pleased
me greatly. It was only one glass but it was full to the top.
The
entrees were the only meal we had to choose for ourselves. There had to be
close to ten choices. I was torn between the steak, the eggplant tower simply
because the word tower intrigued me, and the shrimp oreganata. I went with the
latter.
Everyone
enjoyed everything they chose. I was happy with mine even though the portions
were small but it was okay because by that time I was full from all of the
eating I had been doing. My shrimp could have been a bit better but I had no
complaints. I tried a piece of the steak and actually liked that better. If I
had ordered it I would have just needed it cooked a bit more. But for what we
were paying it was well worth it. Venues like these are tricky and I know from
all of the weddings and events I have been to food is always the most expensive
part of an evening and usually what is not worth it at all.
Dessert
was an array of cookies and pastries served on tiered trays. I absolutely loved
the macarons filled with raspberry jam. My cappuccino hit the spot. I would have probably hit those cookies
harder but I was all done. I was worried I needed to be rolled out. All I could
think about was getting in the car, going home, and sprawling out on my couch.
Needless to say that’s exactly what I did and believe me I was thankful for
that.
The night
was full of food, family, laughter, and love.
Best of
all there were mini-pies!!!
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