Good Taste is the Worst Vice

Dolce Vita, Anguilla

During every trip to Anguilla, no matter how wonderful the crayfish and lobster are, there comes a time at which I. Must. Eat. Pasta.


Trattoria Tramonto is a good destination when this happens, though I do tend to get distracted by their pumpkin soufflé if it’s on the menu.  During our stay on the island in December, we also discovered Dolce Vita as another excellent place for a pasta fix… and a great dinner overall.

The homemade lasagne gets a lot of attention if you read about the restaurant online, so I ordered it during our first dinner.  It’s definitely lush and indulgent, with sheets of pasta layered with plenty of bechamel, soufflé-light cheese, and meat.  But personally, I love tomato sauce in my lasagne, and it was the one thing missing here.

The winner among the pastas, D and I agreed, was a simple lobster pasta – your choice of noodle and sauce.  He had it the first night, and we had to make a return trip so we could both enjoy it.  We agreed that linguine with white wine and garlic, with chili flakes for some extra heat, was the perfect combination.  The generous portion of lobster is served in dainty pieces, easy to eat with the noodles.
I got my fill of tomato with the eggplant rollatini, which I had to start – tender eggplant slices rolled around a light cheese filling, and liberally covered with tomato sauce.  D loved the traditional Caesar salad, which inspired him to start ordering them much more often when we got back to Chicago (including Balena’s excellent kale version!).
I like the location, right on the beach at Sandy Ground, where you can watch the lights on the sailboats bob up and down in an otherwise pitch black expanse.   (The only downside was the occasional very loud dance music coming from one of the bars down the beach.)

If you’re not too full for dessert, I recommend the limoncello cheesecake, which is light and creamy and – dare I say – almost refreshing.  We were offered glasses of limoncello to accompany it, a very nice gesture that definitely adds to the welcoming feeling of the restaurant.  

Since Sandy Ground is more of a “nightlife” destination than most of our dinner spots, it was also a fun change of pace to do a little jewelry shopping at Bijoux boutique and check out Lynne Bernbaum’s new art gallery.  We explored the art scene a bit more this trip, and also really enjoyed seeing Lydia Semeria’s work at the Red Horse Gallery.


This is one of the last remaining dispatches from our December visit – hard to believe it’s been almost six months!  But I’m sure we’ll be back soon…


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Comments

  2. Ellen says

    PS – next time you are there try the Caesars at the Pumphouse – best on the island!
    Lovin' your blog.
    Ellen

  3. As the Crowe Flies and Reads says

    COuldn't agree more–we tried Dolce Vita on our last visit to the island and it beat the pants off our other italian dining experiences in the region. i'm putting together my blog post about it now.