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Ate: February 24, 2006 Published: February 26, 2006 $$$ Villa Tuscanna is an elegant, classy restaurant in the heart of North Myrtle beach. Decorated in the very style that you would expect, with lots of deep rich colors, the atmosphere is by itself, very nice and upscale. But it is even more impressive if you know the history of the building. The first time we visited Villa Tuscanna, it took me a moment to remember from when I used to live up in North Myrtle Beach. Then it hit me - this restaurant used to be a KFC! If you pay attention, you can see where the counter used to be, but the transformation has been absolutely amazing. I call it the best use of a former fast food location ever. This is a restaurant that takes care of you almost from the moment you arrive. We didn't need any appetizer because they supplied us with endless mini-loaves of oven fresh bread and an amazing olive oil dipping sauce. In addition, each of our meals came with either a soup or salad. My wife decided to play it safe and go with a caesar salad. I was feeling a bit bold and chose the Italian chickpea soup. The artistic looking bowl made for an eye-pleasing presentation, but the taste was the kicker. The chickpeas had been pureed and it tasted like some heavy cream had been added to the soup. The soup had a very distinctive flavor but it was also very evocative of split-pea soup gone highbrow. The whole evening was going pretty much like clockwork, and our main courses were no exception. The waiter brought them out at just the right time and they looked wonderful. Continuing to play it safe with known quantities, my bride had ordered the vitello (veal) parmigiana with spaghetti. The veal cutlet was huge, lightly breaded and enjoyable. But like we've seen with other restaurants, the real standout was the sauce. My wife often doesn't much care for the marinara sauce served at most Italian restaurants. In her words, they put generally put in too much thyme and oregano. Villa Tuscanna's marinara sauce had a surprisingly light and refreshing taste. Just like my wife had played it safe, I had decided to go out on a limb yet again. My meal was called scalloppine alla romagnola, also a veal dish. The veal was sliced thin, sautéed and served with artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes and a white wine and lemon sauce. The taste was amazing. My piece of veal really stood out, the penne pasta was still a bit al dente, and the vegetables had nice texture and flavor. The sauce really had a sparkle and a "pop" that was the perfect accent to the dish. Despite gorging ourselves on bread, soup, salad and veal; the two of us are gluttons for punishment (not to mention just being plain ol' gluttons). For dessert, we ordered the "Vesuvius." It was made up of chocolate, cheesecake, chocolate, chocolate and whipped cream. All of the ingredients where top notch and just begging to be devoured. But be warned, the Vesuvius is not a light little dessert. If you weren't stuffed before it, you will be afterwards. The best part of reviewing restaurants is the amazing range and depth of great places that we find. One week we can be a diner and the next, dining in elegance. Sometimes, we find places that aren't good or aren't worth the money, but not this week. Villa Tuscanna is both. |
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