[Houston] Dolce Vita

[FoodMan]

i'm surprised no one has mentioned the truffled egg toast appetizer.  it's a thick piece of crusty country bread topped with an egg (not sure if it was fried over easy or dropped into the bread and broiled), parmegiano-reggiano, truffle oil, and shaved black truffles.  for $12, one of the best deals in houston, hands down.

←

I've seen it at other tables and from what I could tell it is broiled in the bread and looks fantastic. I have not ordered it yet, because I always seem to get the damn anchovies. They are great.

[Kent Wang]

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Marinated baby octopus, rapini, grapes. The octopus was a little mushy, but overall pretty good.

Anchovies. Pretty tasty, good value.

Pizza bread. I think it's unusual that this costs $2 since I doubt it costs them any more money to make it than the complimentary bread other restaurants serve. But it's not a big deal.

Try putting the anchovies on the pizza bread.

Taleggio pizza: taleggio cheese, rapini, pear slices, truffle oil. I don't like fruits on my food (I prefer it seperately) but I loved the way the sweet pear paired with the cheese. The rapini was a little awkward to eat -- it would've been better if it was sauteed a bit so that it would lay flat on the pizza.

Dolce latte cake.

Service was superb, attentive and knowledgeable.

The food is well executed, but I didn't find anything remarkable except the pizza. In comparison with Vespaio in Austin, I think it is inferior. Dolce Vita may have a slightly better pizza selection but the rest of the menu at Vespaio is far more interesting and tasty. Houstonians, I invite you to come to up to Austin and see for yourself.

[Kevin72]

Great pics, Kent!

But are Vespaio and Dolce Vita similar enough in concept for a comparison? Yeah, they're both kind of casual, mid-range Italian but I got the impression that Vespaio was more of a full service type place (i.e., breakfast, lunch, dinner and a whole range of options). Dolce Vita is a pizzeria/snack bar kinda place. It's too bad there were stumbles and you certainly ordered interesting stuff. But when it's good, it sings.

I've only had brunch at Vespaio. It was awesome, though.

[Kent Wang]

There's Vespaio and next door is Vespaio Enoteca. Vespaio proper is probably not a fair comparison but the Enoteca is. Vespaio Enoteca does have a bigger menu than Dolce Vita, but it has about the same amount of seats so I think it's a pretty fair comparison.

I do think that Dolce Vita's pizza selection is more adventurous, varied and their cheeses are bolder. That taleggio pizza was a real watershed experience for me, it changed the way I think about fruits on foods.

[FoodMan]

Glad someone finally posted pictures! Thanks Kent.

I think the main reason for DV existense is Pizza (and the anchovies that are spectacular IMHO). So, you are probably right in your assessment.

The desserts here have been my biggest dissapointment. I tried them on 2 different occasions and was never pleased.

One correction: That is not Rapini on the pizza, but Arugula. Uncooked rapini is barely edible. Even the one on the Octopus looks like Arugula, even though I've had octopus with rapini there before.

[tetsujustin]

Yeah, I believe the green stuff in both pictures are arugula. Unless it's hidden underneathe a pile of foliage. Rapini is broccoli rabe.

Having been to all three restaurants, Vespaio, Vespaio Enoteca, and Dolce Vita, for the price, food, and wine, it would probably be a toss up between Enoteca or Dolce Vita depending on what I'm craving. Dolce Vita has by far a better wine variance and selection, and the food is solid though sometimes hit or miss (the pasta specials are especially so) Everything I've had at Enoteca in the two times I've been there have been very, very good. The small antipastis are better, though I will say dolce vita has the edge on salumi. Though dolce vita's pizza selection is better, I say the quality is better at enoteca. Especially if they dual Prociutto pizzas.

The one time I went to Vespaio, the service was so so, the food was so so, and the wine program was pretty sparse and close to what enoteca offered. So I'd rather go to enoteca.

Either way, if I'm craving Italian in Houston, I go to DV, if it's Austin I got to Enoteca. Both are good. it's hard to say who's better than who.

[Morgan_Weber]

My wife and I went to Dolce Vita Saturday night. It was our first time there and we ordered pizza and split it. Their pizza is awesome. The next day, we took her parents. They got pizza, while she and I opted for something different since we had eaten their the previous night. I ordered the maccheroni with prosciutto and she had the eggplant parmagian. Everything was wonderful.

I can see this becoming a regular place for us. Dolce Vita is simple, specialized, and well executed. The service was impeccable...not exactly what one would expect for as inexpensive of a place as it is.

Cheers.

[jscarbor]

I ate here tonight with my little 16 month angel, while we had a good time I have to say that my meal was a little dissapointing. Started off with the salmon marinato which was pretty good,. Its marinated in red wine vinegar and finished with some lime, basil and some cabbage. Although it seems like there might be a lot of acid going on there I really think it could have used a little more? That being said it was nice fresh buttery salmon. My little girl did not care for this dish. Next was some spinach gnochi in a subtle butter sauce. I don't think these were potatoe gnochi but they were tasty. Also they were pipped from a bag I presume rather than the more customary rolled then cut in small pieces the rolled on a fork? My baby loved these and I liked them as well. I was really trying to figure out what pizza to get, would it be the tellagio, the sausage and rapini or the Pancettta and rubiola? I went with my favorite the rubiola! It was not good tonight! The leaks were cut pretty big and were not cooked as much as I was used to which is funny because the pancetta was extremely overcooked? Anyway, its tough for me to get out to Dolce Vita and this will really make me think long and hard about going back? Is it fair? No, but I just don't have the oppurtunity to get out ther that much and would probably opt for Rebelais or indika b4 DV again

[jscarbor]

Well I went back and the meal brought back faith in Dolce. The prosciutto pizza and the sausage and rapini were spot on. So was this awesome braised pork with rigatoni with tomatoes.

[tatiana]

Went to DV again last weekend and it was very good again. I still thik I like the Rubiola/pancetta pizza more than the Truffle/pear pizza? different strokes for different folks. Also tried a bite of a friends braised lamb dish that was spectacular!

←

i went last week again too. the truffle/pear pizza was fantastic. i tried the arancini (pretty good), and the pumpkin goat cheese suppli' had cinnamon in them which, although very lightly fried and thus good, reminded me of dessert. the baby octopus was tender although half of them were charred, not such a pleasant eating experience.

the mojito push cocktail was excellent: Fresh mint leaves, Passion fruit puree, Bacardi big apple, Pyrat XO rum, Prosecco.

[Kevin72]

Ate here on a whim with the family over the Holidays. I was just dumbstruck at how good it was. They really seem to "get it" here. We had a bunch of the apps: prosciutto, capicolla, green bean salad, roasted beets and horseradish, mushrooms with ricotta and mint. My wife had spaghetti with clams and chickpeas, I had bucatini with octopus and chilies, the rest of the table split the prosciutto pizza and a special, a porchetta pizza with fonduta and mushrooms. That last one would probably send most Italians running out the door but dammit it was so good. Almost didn't need the porchetta.

I thought my bucatini with octopus was good, but a little heavy on the tomato sauce. This is another clear Mario/Babbo inspiration and I think it really would've benefited from the mint used in Batali's recipes. But otherwise just a solid, relaxing, and thoroughly enjoyable meal.

[jscarbor]

Is it just me or does it seem the non pizza entrees have gotten better and better since opening?

[Kevin72]

We were always a fan of the appetizers. I've never been able to break out from the pizzas here until this time though. Still haven't tried their lamb shanks. There definitely seems to be more variety and novelty to them, though.

[tetsujustin]

went to dinner there last night, and was pretty impressed as to how much they've improved.

Not that I didn't like it before, in fact I loved Dolce Vita before, but from my experience there last night, they stepped it up.

We started off with a few of the appetizers. The rapini from the fritto section is quickly turning into one of my favorite appetizers in Houston, as long as I have someone to share it with. We also got the eggplant agro dolce, Roasted cauliflower, and the fennel "bagna cauda," which I'd never gotten before but was both homey and refreshing at the same time. That being said, I could see it being an intimidating dish because it's weird being served a plate of raw fennel pieces with just a side of vinaigrette. The eggplant was way too sour/vinegary this time around, probably because we were the last table to walk in.

What really impressed me, however, was the improvement on Dolce Vita's pizzas. When I first started eating there shortly after it opened, I thought the pizzas were the weakest part of the menu because the crusts were so flimsy and subpar, but last night's pizzas were all delicious, with extra crispy, thin crusts. We got margherita, the pizza special with asparagus, proscuitto, mushrooms, mozzarella (plus egg), and the finocchio as well, which I think was with tuna bottarga grated over it. I wonder if they'll ever have the chance to try cod bottarga over it bc I think it might be even better, but that rendition of the finocchio with the slight fishiness with the sweet fennel and slight spice was great. We got a pasta dish but I didn't get to try it.

This being said, my experience at DV last night made it a "visit once a month" sort of place rather than a "visit every few months" sort of place. Service was again very well paced and friendly, the food is delicious and light, and the wine list is nicely selected and food friendly. Plus now, I won't think twice about ordering off of any part of the menu.

edit:spelling

Edited January 3, 2008 by tetsujustin (log)