In Vino Restaurant Review: A spin-off of the Max restaurant mini-empire, In Vino escapes those red sauce roots to become one of the subtler Italian restaurants in the neighborhood. The food is hit or miss at times, but the scope of the wine cellar and the kitchen’s use of fresh ingredients make up for the shortcomings. Befitting a restaurant so focused on wine, In Vino’s interior is made up like an old cellar or cave, with walls of stone and roughly hewn wooden tables. The wine list focuses on lesser-known varietals from southern Italy, and the easygoing staff is quite knowledgeable, happily steering patrons towards the particular flavors they desire. Among the appetizers, the clear standouts are the creamy polenta topped with porcini mushroom sauce and the straightforward prosciutto di Parma with mozzarella di bufala. The food is nothing but rustic fare, but it’s all well executed, like the lamb and pork lasagna and the homemade gnocchi in a walnut Gorgonzola sauce. The skirt steak sautéed in balsamic vinegar with roasted potatoes and spinach seems far less of an afterthought than many of the main courses at some Italian restaurants.
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