PickyDi "I hate to eat bad food"

There were mixed reviews online & Rachel Ray had gone here on $40 a day. We were in town visiting a Dr & he even recommeded it. We made reservations since it was a Saturday night…4:30 or 8:30 were our choices. So we took 8:30 & showed up at 8 pm…got right in since the place was half empty…and the table next to us sat empty the entire time we were there. Lame service. $12 margarita was bad…chips & salsa tasted like they came from Costco…even fast food joint Chipotle makes their own yummy lime & salt chips. You get a chalkboard menu to choose from, 11 choices; 4 chicken, 4 beef, ONE veg, & 2 fish- except one fish was sold out. So we got the one fish & one veg option. No appetizers- how dumb from their own revenue standpoint. Plates came & we felt like we were at the Cheesecake Factory. Huge plates overdone gimmicky, difficult to even eat whats on the plate- like the uncut salad. The veg option tasted good, a tamale in coconut curry sauce- tasted no curry though. The fish was cheap cod drowned in sauce. You get a side of veg pinto beans & rice, those were b-o-r-i-n-g too. There was no way we were having dessert there, once our waitress finally came back (after never checking to see if our food was ok) we drove fast in search of a good dessert to end our night on. Skip it.

Friday night, place was pretty packed & loud. We did takeout. Got salads & apps. Service so-so, they all seemed stressed & not working together well. My boyfriend got a shrimp salad & really liked it. I got the house made ricotta salad on mizuno…good, except mizuno already is a lemon-y lettuce & the dressing was citrus, so it was overkill. Ricotta was bland. We had shrimp toast- that was really good. We had goat cheese wontons, pretty good also, hard to mess that up. They have a forbidden rice pudding, but I didn’t think it would travel well as takeout- anxious to try that. We paid about $40 including a 10% tip since it as takeout, and had 2 slads & 2 small sides, not enough if you are super hungry. I’d give the place another dine-in shot.

We found mixed reviews online, but liked it. We could see how either the service of food had potential to be overrated though.
Its a kool little place inside the Rum Runner which is a wine shop slash gourmet food grab & go shop. We loved having a semi private high two top table amongst wine stacks.
We had 2 apps; a veg roll (so-so) & a pistachio scallop (super yum). Decent portions without being too big. Then we shared a roasted veggie salad & red snapper. Both we really amazing. Sauces made the dishes. Both very well made. Nice plate presentation as well.
We shared the chocolate torte for dessert. Presentation was excellent- finally someone realized detail & taste are more important than size. Again, the sauces you couls tell were made from fresh fruit.
If you enjoy wine it’s an even better place. Definately give it a shot.

Chef Kate is amazing. I only discovered this place a year & a half ago & we now won’t go to Steamboat w/o eating there. We have eaten off of every seasons menu. It is one of the few places I trust trying somethhing I don’t normally eat or like. I have never had anything even mediocre here…its all consistently great. Salads, signature tomato crab bisque, entrees & dessert. Great wine selection if thats your thing. Carry nicer scotches as well. Best strawberry shortcake I have ever ever had- sorry mom! Whether you are a meat eater, seafood, or veg, you will be happy here. Service always outstanding as well. Chef seems to like using fennel, since it was onion like I always avoided it until I ate 2 dishes she had in different seasons using it- both supberb. Can’t say enough.

You are in Venice…dropped your bags at your hotel and its exiciting to wander all the little walkways, and you pass a place & think “That looks busy (or good,) we’ll remember it & come back if we don’t find anything else” …only it doesn’t work that way in Venice. You better grab a card & hope it has decent directions on it so you find your way back.
We made it a point to find our way back to Taverna San Lio because of the quaint atmosphere inside & on the sidewalk. Since we were on our honeymoon we had already decided price did not matter- which should just be your MO in Venice, period.
We ordered some fried king prawns for primi, a shared scallop risoto for secondi, and salted sea bass and potatoes for our main. How pleasantly suprised were were with our Italian speaking only team of servers bringing an complimentary Gazpacho to start. Timed perfectly come the fried king prawns….4 beautiful big butterflied prawns (sans shells) splayed on a plate and just crispy on the edges amongst delicate sauces of different colors. Enter some homemade crunchy breadsticks. After sipping some red wine, on to the just made for 2 scallop risotto…how will we ever eat the fish coming? Out comes the whole sea bass complete with head crusted in chunky sea salt on a wooden plank. The server artfully takes 2 large spoons and shifts the slat to the side, discretely removes the head & tail, and begins to open the fish & cut the moist fish from its bones. The server places all the fish on a clean plate and mindfully adds the roasted small potatoes around it in a circle. I was dying for greens, so the stadard, but generous, Insalata Mista comes at the end. Eveything has been far too succulent to forgo dessert. Creme Brulee with a little shot glass on the side of warmed winter berries and a warm chocolate torte with just a subtle hint of chili pepper with homemade vanilla bean gelato melting off the side. Damn, this is our last night here.