Vidalia - Lawrencville, NJ

Another restaurant we have been looking forward to reviewing, and another great meal at Vidalia tonight! We have been meaning to get over here for years, and we finally got the chance to check it out for a light dinner before the Dessert Theatre in Hopewell. Vidalia is nice and cozy, and a very comfortable restaurant to come to. It is small and quaint, with nice decor, and you just feel at home there in front of the large picture window. Even sitting right next to the door, I felt as though I was in a nice atmosphere, and this would be yet again another great place to hang out on a cold winter day, watching the snow fall on the quiet streets of Lawrenceville. We had a reservation for 6:15PM, but they had no problem accommodating us 15 minutes early. The service was very friendly, and we started off with soup and salad. Zelda opted for the caprese salad, that had nice tomatoes, and very good fresh mozzarella cheese, over a nice salad. Was it worth $10? Probably not, but it was still good. I opted for the Vidalia onion soup, that was absolutely perfect. It came to the table still bubbling in a nice crock, smothered in cheese, with a nice crouton. At first, I thought that this needed just a hint of salt and pepper, but once it cooled enough taste it well, I realized that I was 100% wrong. This is a nice, understated soup, seasoned perfectly, and not overpowering. I think that he makes an onion base to start this soup, as it does not taste like a beef stock. Regardless, it was grand, and I look forward to trying it again, along with the stuffed Vidalia loaf. For dinner, we both opted to eat easy and light, but there were some great things on the menu that I would love to go back fo in the future. Zelda opted for the vodka rigatoni, which had a nice sauce and fresh pasta. I found this very tasty, and the sauce had a different bit of flair than the conventional vodka rig you have at most places. It was a pleasant surprise. I opted for the linguini in clam sauce, and was vey pleasantly surprised. Sure, there is nothing hard about either dish that we ordered, and both of these dishes are not truly representative of what this restaurant really is. The linguini was very nice with a good broth that let you taste nice fresh clams. The only think I would change on this dish would be to add some fresh diced clams as a bit of a filler. There were however 12-15 clams, and they were wonderful. More to come when I get a chance! 21 Phillips Ave Lawrenceville, NJ 08648 Tel: 609-896-4444 http://www.restaurantpassion.com/listing.aspx?a=188&sid=8&sn=NJ