Dinner Out at a Stone's Throw

It was date night, and Alexandra and I decided to eat outside at the Vineria (wine bar) San Fortunato across the street (www.vineriasanfortunato.it).  You can see its patio umbrellas just behind and under the big pine in this picture taken from the girls' bedroom yesterday afternoon.  The door to the vineria proper is the arched doorway at the top of the road to the left.  Tough drive, huh?

We stopped by after coffee in the morning to make a reservation for dinner, so our table was waiting for us.  Yes, that says 20:30, which is 8:30 PM.  We only specified "dinner", but of course that is a perfectly reasonable time.  It is a good thing we had reserved, because all of the tables were full by 9:00.

The outside dining is on a small deck built in a little garden right up against the steps of San Fortunato.  The downside for the restaurant is that there is a wall and 6-foot drop off between the restaurant and its outdoor seating area.  For those of us with a view of the curved wall there is no downside at all.

The restaurant does put out a cute temporary addition to the wall to ease their serving challenges.  These wooden platforms provide a level surface that can be reached from both sides of the sloped wall.

The decor is simple and doesn't take away from the view or the joy of eating outside as the heat of the day gives way to a comfortable evening.

I found something on the menu that I had never seen before: tuna prosciutto.  It was delicious saltiness on a bed of endive.

Michael