Friday night at Vic's

Where Carolina grew up, there was an abundance of fresh seafood and the tastes of those early years left her with a life-long love of fish and shellfish of most every kind. A favorite these days are mussels and when she found out that Stephen Greenblatt, down at Vic's Family Restaurant, serves them up steamed on his menu each night she just had to try them.

We have been in a Vic's sort of mood, recently, and if you have tasted his food it is easy to see why. Last Tuesday, we decided on take-out rather than a trip to the grocery store and went to Vic's for steak and cheese subs, two of their “Usuals”. Last night was seafood night for us, so with justifiably high expectations, and appetites to match, we set out for a little more than our usual fish on Friday and were not disappointed.
I just love these coat hooks and this shot turned out better than I expected, if I do say so myself, especially considering the low-light conditions and a glass of their eminently drinkable house chardonnay. Much of the original Art Deco interior seems to be intact at Vic's, too, and I find these little details enchanting. It is a style that survived in many places, when I was a child, but seems to have been largely renovated into oblivion in the decades since.

As you can see, we were lucky and were seated in a booth soon after our arrival, something I thought miraculous in a popular restaurant on Friday at six o'clock. When we walked in the door, there was such a crowd that I honestly expected to wait much longer than we did.

Everything was wonderful, from our very generous salads to our entrees. C ordered her mussels, with saffron and wine, and I had the shrimp-and-scallop “Broiled Combo”. My choice was everything I expected, perfectly cooked and perfectly seasoned, with thick slices of lemon swimming in the rich broth of all that shellfish. I filched one of Carolina's mussels – soon followed by one or two more, just to be sure – and am quite certain that, if I have had better, I have clean forgotten it. As much as I love shrimp and scallops, I almost regretted my choice.

What really and pleasantly shocked me, though, was Stephen's spaghetti. A side of spaghetti is not supposed to be exciting, but Vic's marinara is a culinary treat. The flavor is straight from the garden to the fire to your table, with no stops in between, and would be a very pleasant surprise in any restaurant, and not just a family pizza place in downtown Clifton Forge.

Carolina took the first and last photos. I have no idea to whom that pink beauty belongs, but finding it parked there, just in front of Vic's, yesterday, was a delightful end to a delightful dining experience.