Little Vincent’s

OK, so I was just trying to leave a note to say this place is out of business, but Unilocal made it a «tip.» As a result, let me say that this restaurant no longer serves anyone any food.

Welcome to our family! That is what greets you. Great food. There was live music and Karaōke that night– the people there were great. Food excellent, prices excellent. They even had Osso Bucco! I didn’t have it but went for some other dishes. The calamari app was my only disappointment– I think it tasted straight from a freezer box and wasn’t crisp. Otherwise– very enjoyable– LOTS of real Italians in the place. Great new owner.

Closer to 4.25. Downgraded a bit cause it’s located in a crappy strip center in Stafford.
We were invited by some friends to attend a wine dinner. Actually a feast. An Italian family feast. Coming from someone who really doesn’t like Italian food that much, but everything was pretty amazing for a pretty stunning price. I think the wine tasting was complementary but I’m not sure cause our friends picked up the tab. But the website says $ 25/​person, which is an amazing deal.
Tables were set up in long rows, everyone seated together (except us, we were at the front cause our friend was the «Don»). They brought out the appetizers first. Caprese salad, with housemade fresh mozzarella. Then small side salads, then antipasti. Small basket of yummy biscuits. The ubiquitous olive oil. Oh and some grilled chicken wings.
Then they started to bring out the food. OMG and bringing it and bringing it. Served family style in large dishes that got passed around. Everything was housemade, the pasta, the sausage but I’m getting ahead of myself. If I can remember everything they brought:
angel hair pasta with tomato sauce
sauteed spinach
Italian sausage that was to die for
shrimp in a lovely cream sauce
then came
meatballs
rosemary chicken (a little dry, IMO)
If that wasn’t enough, then they brought
some excellent Italian pot roast
potatoes
carrots
fettuccine alfredo
I might have missed something, it was a lot of food.
For dessert they brought us white chocolate mousse they prepared right before they served it. Tasted like it was laced with Chambord.
Live piano music entertainment provided the entire dinner. The staff was just fabulous. Treating us like part of the extended family.
If they have more events like this and you can catch one, by all means do it.

This little place in a crummy strip center along the Southwest Freeway used to be Amore Mangola’s. It’s one of those places you drive by all the time and never give a second look or think of going into if you do.
But you should pop in and try it.
On a recommendation of a friend we stopped by mid afternoon one Saturday while running some errands. There was no one else in the place at 3:30 in the afternoon. We were greeted warmly, sat at a nice table away from the bar area where the staff was gathering for the dinner service shift and served by the chef. Who is very proud to be back from the Navy and cooking at his own place.
The décor is fabulous — if you love kitsch. Seriously, there are Dean Martin cut outs and framed photos all over the walls, crushed velvet chairs, serving dishes your Mom sold at a garage sale in 1980 and all the little touches you’d expect from your Uncle Guido’s family Italian place. Personally, I loved it. Who needs fancy schmantzy all the time. Just give me some chintzy sterotypical Italian décor, a good house wine and some flavorful sauce. I’m good.
I had the house cab and it was delightful.
The Escargo Amore was terrific. Escargo Marinated in some cognac (the menu says Brandy but I didn’t taste brandy) and baked in the brick oven with garlic butter wine sauce. Honestly they were small but I got two snails in most of the serving spots in the dish. They were tasty and with the fresh baked Italian bread to soak up the garlic goodness, a real treat for $ 8.
Speaking of the bread. Wow! They bake it lightly in the brick oven there and it was great! Not too crispy that it just crunched your teeth but soft and full of flavor. Get an order to go. We did. The bread may have been the best thing we had. And since they have pizza on the menu and it’s gonna be baked in the same oven we may try that next!
I always get the lasagna when I go to an Italian place the first time. if you can make a decent lasagna you are okay in my book. The home made Lasagna with three cheese and Ragu Bolognese sauce was tasty — and enough to take some home for later. There are many variations on bolognese sauce so you never really know what kind you might be getting. This was creamy and meatless. But there was plenty of meat between the lasagna noodles. So it was all good. I really like meat in my sauce but most restaurants don’t do that unless it’s specificed on the menu or you request meat sauce.
The Classic Chicken Marsala — Chicken breast sauted with sundried tomatoes and Mushrooms with Marsala wine sauce — was a bit different than most marsalas we had ever tried at other Italian places. There was quite a tomoato flavor to the dish that seemed odd. The tomaotes were in the sauce and not the chicken. So the menu was a bit off. The chef came out and assured us that was the classic Italian style. Perhaps it was HIS classic Italian style and that was fine. The veggies on the side were fresh and flavorful. Not mushy or frozen at some point. Always a plus. You got a house salad with it… it was a house salad.
We didn’t have dessert. They do have several seafood dishes on the menu. Being this close to the coast I hope they are made with fresh fish. After talking with the chef and hearing how involved he is with the ingredients I’m pretty positive they will be. The chef came to check on us several times. They must have been having some AC issues as he asked us a couple times if the temp in the place was good for us.
FYI — He was insistant that we sign up for their frequent diner club and we did just because he was so excited to have his own place. I’ve already recieved way too many emails from them with specials and events and the like. I’ve since unsubscribed. But at least he’s trying to market the place. In that location he may need some good marketing.
We’ll be back and I’ll write another review. Hopefully I can bump it to 4 stars.