Get President Johnson ready!

It's restaurant week! Depending if you have a flair for the extravagant you may want to snag a Hamilton as well. For 20 (or 30 dollars) you can have a three course meal at all of these hot spots. So when we were scheduling our girl's night we decided this would be the perfect thing for us to do. (Totally not my idea but props to my savvy friends who were in the know, oh and make a reservation before you go!)

It was decided we would go to La Volta, which is in the Progress Energy Center right on Fayetteville Street. It is an Italian Restaurant owned and operated by Mario Longo, who also owns Vics which is in the city market. After a quick google search, apparently Mr. Longo is quite the soccer star who played around the world with a lot of people I have never heard of. But let's be honest... I know Pele (cool name), David Beckham, Landon Donovan, and Renaldo Christiano, and the last three are only because they appear in the trashy gossip magazines.  And I like what I see. The website also states that La Volta means "the vault" which is fitting because we ate right beside one which un-fittingly stores wine.

My friends had some issues making the reservation, which should have tipped us off from the get go that perhaps this was going to be an entertaining night. My friend Kelly called to confirm the reservation, and the lovely young lady said she did not have that down as a reservation. When Kelly asked to make another reservation, the phone was handed off to another person, who once hearing what Kelly wanted to do, loudly exclaimed that the original young lady could handle such a remedial task.  When we arrived, our small party of 4 had 2 reservations, which were chuckles for everyone.

The actual restaurant is lovely with a large menu and ample space to dine. The dining room was quite empty, which was to our benefit since we double booked ourselves at the same place.

Before I describe our dining experience I must forewarn you all, I have done my best to hide it, but I am indeed cursed. No need to zoom in, you read this correctly, I am cursed. It does not matter what I do, at every restaurant, fast food and sit down, my order will be wrong. Some facet will be wrong. Without fail. I know what you're thinking, "Sara, you're from the south, it's probably that accent!" You would be wrong. About as southern as I get is saying "y'all" and other local idioms like "well bless your heart!" Besides that you would not know that I was born and raised below the Mason-Dixon line.  "Well... Sara it must be because you're one of them picky eaters, you're order is probably complicated." You would be wrong again. Oh, you don't believe me?

Example #1 pre-pescatarian
Location: Taco Bell
Order: Chicken soft taco
What came in the bag: Cheesy beef burrito

When I asked the lady if chicken sounded like beef, she kindly asked me to "contain my attitudes".
Pro: I was given a diagnosis of schizophrenic (Name one person who didn't love Sally Fields' rendition of Sybil? I was glad that I too could do that role justice in the dignified locale of Taco Bell)
Con: Who actually eats the beef at taco bell?

The examples go on and on, I say for my side order "I would like the black beans, and I get rice. I say egg and cheese biscuit, but those clairvoyant workers decided that was not for me and a sausage biscuit would be the better hang over cure. It goes on and on and on.....

At La Volta apparently "I'd like the Cabernet" translates to:  "I really want was a cool glass of Pinot Grigio." I'm more of a red girl, but I never turn down a fermented grape product.

Ok more fun to come, but back to the food.

Starters:
Green salad: mixed greens, tomatoes, red onion, kalamata olives, cucumbers with their homemade balsamic dressing.
Caesar salad: romaine lettuce, Romano cheese, croutons in their creamy Caesar dressing

Entrées:
Penne Rustiche: penne pasta with spinach, sundried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, garlic, feta, and EVOO
Pappardelle alla Bolognese: egg noodles, meat sauce with Romano cheese
Chicken Marsala: chicken breast in a Marsala wine sauce with mushrooms with sauteed vegetables and potato croquette
There was one more dish, but honestly I can't remember what it was

Dessert:
You have your pick of all their desserts:
A standard cannoli with a cream filling
A chocolate cannoli with a chocolate cream filling
A chocolate mousse cake
Tiramisu
Lemoncello pound cake
Strawberry cream pound cake

I had the green salad with the Penne Rustiche and the Tiramisu for dessert. The salad and pasta were very good. They also bring out garlic knots as well, which were unimpressive. Not much flavor, if we are being honest, it smelled better than it tasted, which I hate because it is such a tease. The pasta was my favorite part, my friend Katie got the same dish as I did, but my two other friends got the Chicken Marsala. My tiramisu was frozen in the middle, but other than that was pretty good.

The manager came by and suggested the Lemoncello cake, but my other friends went for the cannoli's and chocolate mousse cakes, which I tried and were very good. My two friends who both got the chicken marsala had an awkward moment with the waiter because they were supposed to pick a side. Unknowingly the waiter chose for them because "the menu recently changed and he forgot to ask." Not to fret, he alerted them of this after he had delivered the food. No turning back now! Apparently Kelly looked like she would like the potatoes and Amanda looked like she wanted the squash. Amusing, none the less.

I also feel like I should let you all know.... I was a waitress for the better part of my late high school and early college years, so I understand the plight of those in food service. For that reason even when things happen like food mix ups or what have you, I always tip well. I feel compelled. These are my comrades fighting the good fight. Hurts my wallet, but oddly makes me satisfied. It's good Karma.

Final thought: I would not go to La Volta again, but perhaps you all would want to try it out. Those of you who aren't cursed that is. The prices are reasonable and the location and atmosphere nice. Something tells me, this restaurant won't be open for long though, so get in while it is still open!  And by all means take advantage of restaurant week- it's happening until Sunday!