Tips for Maximizing You’re Dining Experiences in an Italian Restaurant

When Kevin and Stacey Jennings founded The Urban Food Group in 1998, their aim was to create specialty urban restaurants offering excellent quality food and superior value. With Frazier’s, Porter’s City Tavern, Vivace, and Coquette, the Urban Food Group already stellar list of stylish dining options in Raleigh, which they have now expanded to Charlotte with the recently opened Vivace. Apart from the breathtaking modern venue, the newly opened Vivace offers the best of traditional Italian cuisine. Using the freshest ingredients and seasonal produce, Executive Chef Jeremy Sabo and Chef de Cuisine Andrew Schaumann, who has been Sous Chef at Vivace in Raleigh since 2007, have developed the creative Italian menu. On offer is a seasonal trattoria menu with dishes that are sophisticated yet simple. The restaurant offers prefix menus specially created for every occasion. Choose from a wide selection of antipasti, house-cured meats and cheeses, homemade pastas, wood-fired entrees and divine desserts to make your event unforgettable. Vivace understands that Italians take their food very seriously and makes every effort to bring the best of Italian cuisine to savvy diners in Charlotte.

But for many, a traditional Italian meal can be slightly confusing. After all, there are usually numerous courses each with a specific order of appearance and a wide selection of wines and aperitifs to enjoy. Understanding how Italians eat will definitely help you make the most of the feast that lies ahead of you.

A traditional Italian menu normally has five courses lasting a minimum of two hours. At the outset, you can choose from a selection of aperitifs or drinks that will tease your palate for the meal to come. At Vivace, you are spoilt for choice with a 500-bottle selection of Italian wines and other cocktails. Up next is the antipasti or appetizer course. These are bite-sized portions of sliced cured meats, local cheeses and even olives or pickled vegetables. Primi, or the first course, follows with a range of options from pasta, soup or risotto. The second, or main course, normally consists of fish, meat or poultry. You could enjoy these along with a seasonal salad as well. Vivace prides itself on its extensive vegetarian menu with meat-free main courses and a selection of artisanal cheeses and wood- oven pizzas. To end the meal, you will round things off with a selection of dolce. These desserts range from fruit, cheese, and the more indulgent cream-based or chocolate desserts. No meal in Italy is complete without a digestif or after-dinner drink, so make sure you save room. During the meal, most Italians drink wine or mineral water, beer is rarely served, and coffee does not arrive until after the meal. These simple guidelines on what to expect from a traditional Italian restaurant should help you make the most of your dining experience. At the end of the day in Italy, food is a labor of love, and in Vivace, as in Italy, each meal is a celebration… so dig right in.

Planning Your Next Event in Charlotte? Come to Vivace!

Looking for a new venue in Charlotte for an upcoming event? Look no further than the newly opened Vivace. The Urban Food Group brings their 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. Vivace is located in the heart of the Metropolitan development, and has chic Italian décor courtesy of The Johnson Studio – the James Beard award-winning design firm. Guests can look forward to a choice of upscale and casual dining options – a formal dining room or a more laid back mezzanine lounge area. There are two bars and a breathtaking view of Uptown Charlotte to add to the appeal.

When it comes to event planning, Vivace is committed to giving you the best. From the initial consultation, to the final celebration, the staff at Vivace is always ready to assist. From the lavish and large, to the small and intimate, every gathering at Vivace is orchestrated to perfection. The restaurant offers one private dining room that accommodates up to forty guests for a seated meal, or sixty-five guests for standing receptions. For unique wedding receptions or corporate events, Vivace even offers you the possibility of an exclusive rental of the entire restaurant., The main dining room is ideal for up to 100 guests, the outdoor patio area seats another 75, and then the upstairs lounge area seats 35. So whether it’s a birthday, a baptism, a wedding, a corporate event or a product launch, Vivace has it covered. You select the event and leave it to our staff to take care of the rest.

Apart from the breathtaking modern venue, Vivace offers the best of traditional Italian cuisine. Using the freshest ingredients and seasonal produce, Executive Chef Jeremy Sabo and Chef de Cuisine Andrew Schaumann, who has been Sous Chef at Vivace in Raleigh since 2007, have developed the creative Italian menu. Vivace offers a seasonal Trattoria menu with dishes that are sophisticated yet simple. The restaurant offers prefixed menus specially created for every occasion. Choose from a wide selection of antipasti, house-cured meats and cheeses, homemade pastas, wood-fired entrees, and divine desserts to make your event unforgettable. Urban Food Group has also been awarded the Wine Spectator’s ‘Award of Excellence,’ and in keeping with their dedication to their highly rated wine program, Vivace offers a 500-bottle, exclusively Italian wine collection. As a result, Vivace is happy to arrange Italian wine tastings from a number of different themes as a unique addition to your next event.

To check on availability and to start planning your event, please contact their Private Events Director, Nikki DeMaras. At Vivace you are assured of exquisite style, professional service, and meticulous planning for any event of any size.

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.