Villa Tuscan Grille

If you think life in Albany is boring, you’re doing it wrong. - The Profussor, Fussy Little Blog

One thing that's nice about driving around with a Goddess of Fire who is a superhero is that she needs to replenish her energy after dueling with all those super villains, so we go to cool places for dinner.

As we tooled into the parking lot of Villa Tuscan Grill, the outside mystified us.  What kind of a place were we getting ourselves into? We had driven practically to Duanesburg. A large party was gathering around the door and we wondered what effect this would have on our experience. We were tired and hungry and didn't like to think about waiting while the staff took care of a huge party, when we were only two people.  Well, one person and a Goddess of Fire.

But when we were ushered into the very large dining room, there was no sign that a large party would put a dent in our good time.  They had been led into the deep recesses of what was obviously a space set up for parties of all sizes. Our friendly welcome continued into the service for all of our stay. We love to ask questions and all our questions were answered, glasses filled, and dishes served with a professional touch.

The extensive menu gave us plenty to ponder as my goddess companion sipped her "forgettable" sauvignon blanc and  we took in the crowd.  It's obviously a very popular place, with young couples sharing a special dinner as well as big families out to celebrate nonna's birthday. I chose their shrimp scampi and Zena chose veal saltimbocco from the standard Capital Region Italian menu.  Most of the standards are there, organized in the typical European categories. VTG makes salad  dressings on site, so we were pleased to choose ours from among several of those.  They also make fresh pasta, so I ordered the cavatelli as my side.

The sauce was lemony and I was very glad that there was a lovely toasted bread  beneath the shrimp for mopping as much as I could. The shrimp were perfectly tender and beautifully complemented by the chopped tomato and herbs. I wish I could say that the side of fresh pasta fulfilled all my dreams.  While I was dunking it in my superb scampi sauce it was good - but everything was good in that sauce.  Once left to its own devices, it didn't stand up very well. Maybe the flour was not well considered that night.

The veal was served in a bit of a scattered heap rather than in medallions, with prosciutto akimbo, but it was nicely sauteed with mushrooms.  Zena could have done without the bed of frozen spinach, but was more than satisfied.  Even though she'd been out saving the world and using unbelievable amounts of energy, this dish provided enough for a second meal.

Due to ample salad, bread and main course we weren't interested in dessert, but the list contains many favorites, and deserves a look.

In the Capital Region we have dozens and dozens of Italian restaurants. Villa Tuscan Grill has friendly and professional service, ample space for parties of all sizes and all the Italian classics you could desire.