One of the hardest parts of being a new vegan (or even an old seasoned vegan) is trying to keep up with all the new products out there. I must have spent over $50 looking for the "right" vegan cheese my first year being a vegan and I have over 50 vegan/vegetarian cookbooks in my arsenal but not all the recipes are the greatest. I’m the first born so I’m used to being a Guinea Pig and now I’m your Vegan Guinea Pig. So here are my recommendations and critiques. Let me know what you think!

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Restaurant Review: Amalfi Ristorante Norfolk, VA

Located just a little less than 1.5 miles away from PETA'S headquarters in Norfolk Virginia is Amalfi Ristorante (2010 Colley Ave, Norfolk, VA), an Italian restaurant that can cater to the needs of vegans, vegetarians and omnivores alike.

From the moment I bought my ticket to travel down to the Hampton Roads area I’d been researching the restaurant options in Norfolk. After all, it is the home of PETA so I expected nothing short of spectacular vegan dishes that I’d be hard pressed to find anywhere else. I ran across the menu for Amalfi and I immediately knew this restaurant was "the one". I think that Amalfi and I just might be soul mates! (If restaurants had souls of course).

Amalfi offers an array of options that I have seen nowhere else. Vegan versions of Chicken Marsala, Fettuccine Alfredo, Chicken & Vegetable Panini, and Roasted Vegetable Risotto just to name a few. Since I'm usually only in the area for homecomings I knew it would be awhile before I was back again so I chose a dish that I loved from my first bite as a child and hadn't had in over 2 years: fettuccine alfredo.

Let me start by saying that once I ordered, my dish was out in record time. I barely had time to read more than 2 pages in my book (The Way We Eat: Why our food choice matter by Peter Singer and Jim Mason just in case you were wondering). I immediately dived into the fettuccine and it was superb! A perfect marriage of cream, butter and cheeses. But, of course, the best part was that there wasn’t any real cream, butter or cheese in sight (and somewhere in the Midwest a dairy cow is breathing a sigh of relief. lol.)

The portion sizes were extremely generous and I’m embarrassed to say as I’m writing this blog from the Newport news airport I’m digging into this amazing alfredo cold and it’s still delicious. And although I’m not a huge fan of chocolate ( I know, I know I’m the only woman on Earth who isn’t fanatical about chocolate) their chocolate cheesecake is also a MUST HAVE.

If you’re in the Hampton roads area or if you’re ever even kind of close to Virginia I highly recommend Amalfi Ristorante. It is worth the gas, plane or train ticket - I promise.

To check out Amalfi Ristorante and their menu go to their website at http://amalfiristorante.net/index.html

2 comments:

  1. I agree this was by far my favorite restaurant. The vegan Alfredo may be the best thing iv ever tasted, and the strawberry "cheese"cake was to die for. I'm sorry to inform you but they closed for business

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh no, so sad to hear it has closed. I'll be sure to update the post. Thanks for the update!

    ReplyDelete

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