"The Sweet Life" of decadence
By D.K. Crawford 02/12/2009
La Dolce Vita
740 S. B St.
Oxnard
486-6878
$4-$27
Our footsteps made the only sound as we strolled arm in arm through Oxnard’s Heritage Square. We’d chosen La Dolce Vita for the Valentine’s Day review because of its romantic atmosphere.
We stepped into a Kinkade painting as we approached the three-story Victorian in the cool air, surrounded by trees lit with twinkling lights. But something about the solitary quiet felt illicit — almost like we’d snuck onto a Warner soundstage after hours and flipped on the lights.
La Dolce Vita’s door stood wide open. Classical music bounced off the cranberry coffered ceilings and landed on the black, Florentine rugs. The dining rooms were elegantly dressed.
After being seated, we spent some time with our waiter Anthony perusing the intriguing wine list and with his help discovered two incredible (and organic!) Argentinean wines by Santa Julia Organica. One was a medium-bodied Cabernet ($7 per glass), the other a malbec ($7.50) with a flavorful finish.
We started our dinner with the pumpkin ravioli with Gorgonzola cream sauce, sage and walnuts ($10.50) and the insalata di casa (house salad) of greens, roasted beets, goat cheese and hazelnuts in balsamic vinaigrette ($6.50).
Our appetizers arrived accompanied by a small heart-shaped basket of focaccia and a dish of salsa — what a fabulous beginning to a Valentine’s review!
The five round ravioli pillows tasted exactly like pumpkin pie. My date moaned, “Ohh, that’s nice,” as he savored the first bite.
I tried the salad. “Wow!” was all I could muster. “Is that good or bad?” asked my date. “I don’t know!” I answered.
The balsamic dressing on the salad was swimming in sugar. There were hazelnut shavings and tangy goat cheese to set off some of the sweetness, but it was tooth-achingly sweet and sort of became cloying after a few bites.
And my date? Loved it. Many would. “It’s a salad confection,” I quipped. My slightly tart malbec helped counter some of the sweetness, and his cabernet mellowed it out.
While waiting for our entrees, the music skipped like a scratchy old record. The waiter came out and fiddled with it, shifted from classical to Latin, and as he left, it skipped again. It seemed just as we’d get into an auditory groove (pun intended), another skip. I decided it was a metaphor for our experiences that night — smooth moments alternating with jarring ones occurring at some random pace.
Our entrees were the Italian pot roast ($15.50) and the chicken and squash gnocchi in a garlic cream sauce ($16.50). The football-shaped gnocchi coated with the cream sauce were resilient, and the yellow and zucchini squash crunchy. My date’s pot roast was tender and lean, the fettuccini it rested on al dente. He didn’t like that the broth became watery under the noodles and the dish didn’t seem cohesive. I tried a few bites and found it lacking. It wasn’t the deep, flavorful comfort food I had hoped for.
We had a hard time choosing between the chocolate chip bread pudding ($6) and the flourless chocolate cake ($6) for dessert but went with the latter. The cake was dense and rich and came with a few dried figs, whipped cream drizzled with maple syrup and hard candied walnuts. We enjoyed it.
For me, La Dolce Vita, one of the most charming restaurants in the Oxnard, was missing the wow factor, and I wanted to be wowed, especially in that setting. Granted, it was a Tuesday night, and we were the only people in the restaurant, but in an ideal world that could make our experience even sweeter.
Like a record that skips, there were melodic moments and frustrating ones. I know they have a special Valentine’s menu to offer and it is truly a beautiful place, but I wish my night had been more memorable for only perfect notes.
DK Crawford is a freelance writer specializing in food. For more information, go to www.thefoodsavant.blogspot.com
Note: “Make it a Date Valentine’s Program:” Every Thursday during the month of February when you dine at La Dolce Vita or any downtown Oxnard restaurant or café, you get a free movie ticket. For more information, call 385-2705.
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always love reading DK's reviews!