FOOD REVIEW: Vito's Café

Picture this: you walk into a little Italian restaurant and find the walls covered in murals of grapes, the dining room backed by tracks of some nondescript yet vaguely Italian sounding music and a front of the house staff dressed in brightly colored red, white, and green matching vests. 

Now, imagine a different scenario: as you walk into the building you discover a simple yet elegantly arranged dining room, an open kitchen full of well dressed and well trained cooks, and on top of it all you are greeted by an Italian man sipping a cup of espresso. 

Which establishment would you rather frequent? 

If you’re like me you’ll take the latter every time. Welcome to located at 10249 York Rd. in Cockeysville.

Italian hospitality is all about making guests feel at home and as soon as I arrived at Vito’s I couldn’t help but have that warm fuzzy feeling that always comes over me when I sit down to a home cooked meal. 

Vito’s keeps things simple from top to bottom, starting with the décor.  The dining room is small with low light to keep the experience feeling intimate and personal.  As I mentioned, the kitchen is open so the customers almost can’t help but become part of the entire experience of their meals.

With one look at the menu at Vito’s I could tell that this was a place that was serious about distancing itself from the dregs of carbon copy “Italian” eateries as the menu featured selections straight from the old country. 

Anyone can throw a Marsala or an Alfredo on the menu and turn them out with relative confidence, but finding a joint that’s willing to serve Lumache di Mare (Italian snails in a light sauce) or a Veal Pizziaola (roasted veal and vegetable in a tomato-herb broth) is no easy task. 

At Vito’s, the choices are many and while on paper they may often sound similar, each individual dish has it’s own subtle identity.

With a host of appetizers ranging from simple fresh antipasti, to a mind blowing rendition of fried calamari, and around five to 10 selections of each chicken, veal, seafood and pasta, it’s a tall task to not find a perfect dish for you at Vito’s.  On top of it all Vito’s turns out beautiful brick oven pizzas as well as featuring several daily specials each night.

With all the praise I’ve showered upon this gem of a restaurant, it will come as no surprise when I tell you the food is downright excellent.  We actually watched as the tomatoes and onions were diced and assembled on our Bruschetta rather than simply ladled out of some bucket and the flavors were perfectly balanced and fresh. 

The Eggplant Parmesan we ordered arrived with the eggplant still crispy and topped with a sweet yet tangy tomato sauce.  My homemade Veal Stuffed Cannelloni was perfectly seasoned and the pasta was silky smooth with the slightest hint of crisp on the edges that took me right back to my childhood being served by my nonna.  And unlike so many other Italian joints, while both dishes were topped with tomato sauce, I could actually tell that the two sauces were completely unique.  Dish after dish was presented and each one was spot on in both flavor and execution.

Vito’s Café is a must visit for the food alone, but this place has so much more to offer.  Three times during my meal I saw not only the owner, but the head chef himself coming over to tables to welcome return customers and to personally explain the night’s specials. 

Vito’s doesn’t have a liquor license but they are happy to let customers visit the spirit shop a few doors down and bring their own wine for just a $3 cork fee. They’ll even help suggest what wine to buy.

It’s this kind of community atmosphere that is simply missing from so much of the restaurant world these days, and every once in a while when I run into a place where it still exists I am really glad that I have the opportunity to spread the word.  Grab your friends and family and head over to Vito’s, and if you’re like me you’ll feel like you never left home.