Celebrate Valentine's Day at Vivace Charlotte

There is no better way to say ‘I Love You,’ than over a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner with your spouse/significant other. As the holiday draws nearer, the search is on for the perfect spot to celebrate the occasion. Apart from a romantic ambiance, one is looking for a restaurant that serves up an exquisite meal along with attentive service.

In Charlotte, savvy diners now have a new address to go to this Valentine’s Day – Vivace. After years of perfecting the art of fine dining with a host of other popular restaurants, The Urban Food Group has opened the second Vivace in Charlotte (the first still remains one of Raleigh’s most popular Italian restaurants). Kevin and Stacy Jennings have created a contemporary dining space in the heart of the midtown area in Charlotte. Designed by The James Beard award-winning restaurant design firm, The Johnson Studio, Vivace has a wide variety of dining options. For Valentine’s Day this year, you could go formal and opt to take your meal in the dining room, or keep it more casual and intimate and choose the mezzanine lounge area instead. One can start their feast with a sampling of traditional Italian wines and liqueurs at one of the two creatively designed bars. Urban Food Group’s Sommelier, Scott Luetgenau, has worked closely with the restaurant to create a prized 500bottle, all Italian wine collection that is proudly displayed in a specially built temperature-controlled wine cellar. As the views of Uptown Charlotte vie for your attention, you can enjoy some of the delicious Tuscan specialties on the menu.

Meaning “lively” in Italian, Vivace lives up to its promise of a stylish Italian trattoria offering authentic Italian cuisine. The menu designed by Executive Chef Jeremy Sabo, and Chef de Cuisine Andrew Schaumann boasts a variety of traditional Tuscan dishes. Choose from seasonal specialties, classic thin crust pizzas, homemade pastas and an extensive house-cured meat and cheese selection. Like all good Italian cooking, the menu at Vivace is a study in balance. Each ingredient is used to complement another and none will overpower the rest. The magic of Italian food is superbly mastered at Vivace. What stand out most is the simplicity of the food and the stellar pairings of tastes and textures. Inspiration and skill work in tandem to create a meal to remember.

The dining experience at Vivace is the celebration of both chefs who are truly passionate about what they do. Just like in a traditional Italian household, every dish is infused with love and diners leave with the feeling something special has transpired over the course of a meal. What better place then to spend Valentine’s Day with your loved one than at Vivace? Just remember this is a popular night for dining out, so reservations are strongly advised; Call ahead and make this Valentine’s Day one to remember.

Italian Cuisine – Vegetarian’s First Choice

Becoming a vegetarian is not an easy choice to make, but one that is gaining popularity. For the sake of one’s health, or as a result of religious beliefs and personal convictions, more and more people are becoming vegetarians. As a result, restaurants are now revamping their menus and offering creative and delicious meat-free options, in conjunction with all the old favorites. If ethical or environmental concerns have led you to become a vegetarian, you need to be positive that you are not consuming any meat or meat byproducts when you are dining out. Many dishes may contain gelatin, which is a meat by-product and refined sugar is often made using bone char. Some dishes may have been cooked in chicken stock, so clearing up any doubts prior to ordering is necessary to ensure your dish is truly a vegetarian entree.

That being said, vegetarians are given quite a few options when eating out nowadays. Exotic cuisines such as Indian or Middle Eastern cater easily to the vegetarian palate. But all things considered there can be no better choice for vegetarians than Italian cuisine. Traditional Italian cooking boasts a number of classic, vegetarian dishes, and those that aren’t can easily be modified.

Thanks to the fertile soil and moderate climate, Italy as a country is largely agricultural. Fresh ingredients abound, and the cuisine of each region makes the most of the seasonal fresh produce in simple yet tasty recipes. Italian cooking varies due to geography, and the South as a rule produces a more varied menu than the North.

In keeping with their vision to offer the best Italian food, The Urban Food Group brings its hugely popular Italian restaurant, Vivace, to Charlotte. Already one of the finest Italian restaurants in Raleigh, Vivace is a modern day Trattoria offering the best of home cooked Italian dishes. Urban Food Group is confident that the savvy diners in Charlotte will welcome this latest entrant onto the contemporary dining scene of the Queen city. Guests can look forward to a choice of formal and casual dining options – a formal dining room and a more laid back mezzanine lounge area. There are also two bars and a breathtaking view of Uptown Charlotte to add to the appeal.

Vivace will offer the best of modern and traditional Italian cooking and service. Executive Chef Jeremy Sabo, and Chef de Cuisine Andrew Schaumann, who has been Sous Chef at Vivace in Raleigh since 2007, has developed the creative Italian menu for the new Charlotte restaurant. But what is even more exciting is the extensive vegetarian items they offer. Start your gourmet feast with a variety of meatless antipasti options or artisanal cheeses. Move on to the salads using the freshest seasonal produce, bursting with flavors, and no meal at Vivace is complete without a taste of their creamy, indulgent pasta and the rustic, wood fired pizzas. Finish off the experience with one of their signature desserts, or a post dinner aperitif, and you will soon understand why Italian cooking is a vegetarian’s first choice!

What to Look for in a Good Italian Restaurant

Italian restaurants at one time used to conjure up images of red and white checked tablecloths, a chalkboard menu advertising the daily specials, fat white candles stuffed into wine bottles and the soothing sounds of Italian opera in the background. However, all this has changed drastically over the years. Italian restaurants now vary from the classic family style decor to the ultra chic with dining rooms designed to impress. The one thing any good Italian restaurant must have is exemplary food. Italian food demands elaborate menus made from simple ingredients, meals that can stretch over a few hours and the enjoyment of each morsel and moment that makes Italian cuisine a culinary delight.

In Italy a meal is never rushed. The food served is simple but with flavors that linger on long after the experience is over. Along with your meal, there will be a selection of the best wines Italy has to offer and you can expect to get through several glasses of red and white before the meal is through. Indulgence is part and parcel of Italian cuisine. A good Italian restaurant will always have an array of dishes to offer. There will be freshly made lasagna and cannelloni, crusty just-baked breads ready to be dipped into saucers of fragrant olive oil, melt in the mouth meats and seafood and decadent desserts to round off the feast. The chef in charge will create them all in keeping with age-old recipes and culinary secrets passed down from generations.

Another mark of a great Italian restaurant is the quality of its pizza. While the lines still stand drawn between lovers of the thin crust verse those who prefer the more doughy thick crust preparations, both parties are unanimous when it comes to the freshness of the tomato sauce and the simplicity and freshness of the ingredients used. There simply cannot be anything better than a freshly baked pizza with a juicy tomato sauce, topped with basil and delicious mozzarella. If the restaurant has mastered this one thing, you pretty much know you are in for a wonderful meal ahead.

Apart from the food, the service should always be courteous and friendly, and the ambiance warm and welcoming. And when all three of these come together in the right combination, you will know for sure that you have found a great Italian restaurant! This is exactly what proprietors Stacey and Kevin Jennings planned for their newest restaurant Vivace in Charlotte. Designed by the James Beard, award-winning restaurant design firm, The Johnson Studio, Vivace in Charlotte boasts two floors, including a mezzanine lounge area for more casual dining and a formal dining room, a glass enclosed cheese and meat aging room, and two bars including an indoor/outdoor mezzanine bar with dramatic views of Uptown Charlotte. Diners enjoy a specially created seasonal menu by Executive Chef Jeremy Sabo and Chef de Cuisine Andrew Schaumann. The menu consists of classic Neapolitan pizzas, homemade pastas, and a selection of delicious entrees along with their highly rated Italian wine selection and well-stocked bar. Queen city diners can look forward to a true Italian experience at Vivace which opened on November 2, 2009.