Vin Santo
In a word: Middleton's nice Italian.
The specs: #0715
Address, hours & details via Isthmus; reviews at Musings from America's Dairyland, Living Gluten Free in Madison, Chilimuffin's Restaurants Etc., Yelp, Yahoo! Travel, MadFoodie, Trip Advisor, Open Table, City Search, Culinary Adventures in Madison; listing at EatDrinkMadison; official web site,
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Becky, JM, Nichole and Shawn ate the entire dessert menu (though, not the menu itself).
JM and Nichole gave Vin Santo an A- (see our grading rubric).
If we had a revisit list for places we had to give short shrift for whatever reason, Vin Santo would be on it (along with Dandelion, Madison's, Talula, Tiki Shack...). We went for dessert after burgers at Village Green because trip optimization won out - the two are mere steps apart in downtown Middleton. But we were assured by Becky and Shawn that full meals at Vin Santo are amazing.
A delicious garlic fragrance enveloped us the moment we stepped through the door. The dining room is small, with intimate, warm seating, and really feels like a restaurant. There were four desserts on the menu and we decided to get the whole shebang.
The tiramisu was a novel take on the classic: very bold espresso flavor, but the traditional ladyfingers had been replaced by one layer of cake topped with one layer of cream and lots of cinnamon and cocoa. It was a beast, being larger than even two could probably split.
There was a light and fluffy cheesecake with graham gracker crust, and a plate of fresh, cool summer berries in lightly sweetened whipped cream. As cheesecakes go, this was fine, though not as good as the other items on the dessert menu.
The winner of the night was the bread pudding. It arrived steaming hot with scads of caramel and cinnamon. Nothing was very photogenic in the dim, romantic light but we'd go back for that dish in a heartbeat.
We would like to return to Vin Santo not just because we had attentive service that swapped ghost stories, not just because the dinners smelled good and desserts tasted good and not just because we had two boxes of desserts to take home, but because they're just kind of awesome. It may not be TEH BEST ITALIAN EVAR, but as far as we saw, it rocks at what it does.
I was waiting for this review -- frankly I don't understand when you go places and then not eat there and then review it anyway but never return; it's a minor but indignant rude streak that stains an otherwise excellent blog.
Posted by: Timmy | September 13, 2011 at 11:13 PM
I've been here a couple of times, but not in a long time. Unless things have changed since then, it's "A-" food in my book - very good, but perhaps not L'Etoile level (but then, what is??). The atmosphere is very nice and the portions are huge. Prices are reasonable for what you get, too - decent food and enough for at least two meals!!
Posted by: catwoman5 | September 14, 2011 at 10:27 AM
I'm an Italian from NY and while Vin Santo may not be up to Lombardino's standards, it is very good and along with Osteria Papavero as close to a NY Italian restaurant as you'll find here in Madison/Middleton. Good Italian food and a nice atmosphere. What more could you ask for?
Posted by: theginn | September 14, 2011 at 04:18 PM
It's good.
Posted by: Nichole | October 05, 2011 at 10:04 PM
Vin Santo is much better than Lombardino's IMHO.
Posted by: steve | August 06, 2012 at 10:20 AM
I agree with another commenter--Vin Santo is much better than Lombardinos.
Posted by: steve clark | January 22, 2013 at 07:04 AM