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Ate: June 18, 2006 Published: June 18, 2006 $$ According to the calendar, it may not be summer for a few more days. But as far as the tourists are concerned, the summer season is already going full swing. The two of us decided to relax at home and not worry about going out anywhere until Sunday night, to just let the weekend wind down with a good dinner. With a hankering for Italian food and no particular destination in mind, we headed south on King's Highway looking to see what caught our eye. We got all the way to Murrells Inlet before running across the Venitian Italian Grill. Inside, the Venitian was decorated with a tasteful simplicity. There were a few other patrons in the dining room and it sounded like everyone was enjoying themselves. A friendly wait staff, good sweet tea, and some wonderful bread all helped to create an inviting atmosphere that put us at ease. I wish more evenings started out this good. Among other things, their appetizer menu listed a spicy bacon-wrapped shrimp. With a name like that, neither one of us could resist it. The spiciness of the dish came from the sweet and spicy barbecue sauce that was served over the skewer of shrimp. The dish looked so good and the two of us wanted to really enjoy it, so it pains me a bit to write that it could have been better. I never thought I would complain about too much bacon, but yes, the shrimp was wrapped with a few too many layers of bacon, which kept parts of the dish from cooking thoroughly. The bacon and shrimp were crisp and tasty on the outside, but a bit chewy and gummy on the inside. Add to that an unimpressive cup of minestrone and an equally unspectacular salad, and the two of us were getting a little worried. Then, our meals arrived. My lovely wife had ordered their Venitian chicken, three pieces of chicken pounded flat, sautéed and served with fettuccine and a lemon, white wine and garlic sauce. They didn't skimp on the garlic one bit. In her own words, there must have been fifty cloves of garlic in her dinner. She is exaggerating a bit, of course, but there was quite a bit of it. She let me try a couple of bites, and it tasted as good as it looked. The flavors in the sauce combined for a very distinctive taste, with the dry wine offsetting the zest of the lemon nicely. Just like the appetizer, my main course was one whose name had jumped right out at me instantly. It was sausage, peppers and onions served over penne pasta. How could I pass up something like that? I got a big bowl of pasta with a red sauce, big slices of sweet Italian sausage, sweet red peppers and red onions. It all made for delicious, classic Italian "comfort food" that filled me up right. If we had to sum up our dinner that the Venitian Italian Grill in one word, it would have to be "inconsistent." But if a meal is going to have high and low points, they did it right. It's better to have mediocre appetizers and a great meal than the other way around. We enjoyed out dinners more than enough to make up for anything else. A pleasant evening in this establishment was worth the drive. But next time, we may skip the appetizer and try their tiramisu instead. |
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