Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Vinnie's (Mooresville)

Yea, I'm aware I promised this review last week. But hey, I've been busy: my parents are in town, DSL has been spotty at best, and - lets face it - the only payment I've gotten from this blog is a larger waist line! So, ya get what you pay for! :)

Vinnie's Sardine Grill and Raw Bar (a.k.a Vinnie's) in on Lake Norman, and is has the feel of a local rustic watering hole. IF that watering hole was in the mountains, and was mass produced. But the interior aside, Vinnie's has a great location, and since it's on the lake shore, the interior doesn't matter much since it really is all about the lake.

Unfortunately, the day I went there it was raining (as it was the ENTIRE first half of April), so my buddy and I were stuck inside next to the busy Golden Tee video game.

Vinnie's apparently prides itself on its seafood selection. With offerings of Crab Legs, Yellow-Fin Tuna, and Oysters, they are trying to have a menu that doesn't just offer the standard bar fare.

After looking over the menu, I selected the Shrimp Po' Boy sandwich. After all, 10 months without a full-time job -- a Po' Boy seems about right for me! (At this moment I'd like to thank my wife for all the support -- mental and financial -- she's given for the past 10 months! SMOOCHES!)

So, where was I? Oh yeah, sandwich. After a short wait, our waitress brought our meals. I had the Po' Boy with fries, and my friend got the Fish and Chips that was highly recommended by the waitress.

My sandwich was a basic shrimp po' boy. The bay shrimp were breaded and fried, and put on a bun with lettuce and tomato. No mayo, no sauce or anything else. I took a bite -- it NEEDED something else. Perhaps a spicy flavorful dressing like the one that I had on my shrimp po' boy at the Cheesecake Factory? So, I asked the waitress for some tartar sauce. Once I added that AND the Tabasco, the sandwich was passable, but not great.

The lettuce and tomato seemed to be under the heating lamp for WAAY too long, the bun was OK, but nothing special, and the fries weren't remarkable either.

But I'll be frank, the reason to go here is for the patio and drinks during good weather. Food seems to be a distant second reason to visit.

Score:
Atmosphere: 3/5
Food: 3/5
Service: 3/5
Total: 9/15
Price: $$ (Food, tax, and tip had me around $14)

Conclusion: OK food and service. But the reason to go is to hang out by the water. I'll probably be back once the weather is better. However, I can't recommend their drink specials -- there is nothing special about the uber-cheap beer (that I last had in under-grad) Natural Light.

Restaurant Info:
Vinnies Sardine Grill and Raw Bar
643 Williamson Rd
Mooresville, NC 28117
704-799-2090
http://www.vinniesrawbar.com

2 comments:

  1. How was the smoke? I heard the place got rid of the smoking section and now you can smoke anywhere. I have heard it is like eating in an ashtray.

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  2. Ya know, the smell of smoke really didn't effect me. In fact, I can only recall a faint cigarette smell. However, that's probably because nobody near us was smoking. If one or two tables next to us were smoking, I'm sure it would've bothered me.

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