I turned 41 today and Bella is taking me to dinner at the restaurant of my choice.  It used to be my tradition to eat at an Italian restaurant on my birthday and I’m attempting to resurrect that tradition today.

We are seated at a booth looking out through the picture windows at the Newport Harbor.  There are tourist boats, small party boats, yachts, gondolas, paddle boats, kayaks and a dude standing on a surfboard (I assume) paddling away with a small dog aboard.  The tables have that “easy-slide” top where a gentle hand on an edge spins it out and allows parties to enter comfortably.

View of Newport Harbor

From the darkly lit ambiance, dark wood walls and ceilings, white tablecloths and red booths (with hand-stitched landscapes of Italy embroidered into them) to the sunken piano in the bar this is a nostalgic “old world” Italian restaurant.

Dining Room

“Italy” Embroidered Booth

We open the meal with the mushrooms stuffed with sausage.  They were stuffed with bread crumbs and Italian sausage and were very savory and delicious.

Mushrooms with Sausage

Next we share a tureen of stracciatella con spinaci soup which was moderately salty and tasty.  Melted slices of parmesan cheese and spinach are plentiful.  If only it contained chicken meatballs (it would qualify as “Italian Wedding Soup”) it would be spectacular.  I order a glass of Gainey Vineyard’s Riesling wine which is crisp, moderate in body with a slight sweetness and the color of brut champagne.

Stracciatella Soup

I order the gnocchi al verde which consists of a large portion of medium-sized potato dumplings in a gorgonzola cream sauce.  There is more sauce than I require but the “less is more” expression is lost on me (in regards to sauce).  The dumplings are dark green and I added two mildly spicy Italian sausage links which rest on the plate.

Spinach Gnocchi

I slice the sausage up and mix it in with the dumplings.  The sauce is very zesty, creamy, somewhat thick and tastes good but is a bit rich for my tastes.  I think it reminds me too closely of the alfredo sauce which I abhor.  The dumplings are very firm, dense and ironically resemble miniature boat propellers like the ones I would observe outside.

Bar with Sunken Piano

Bella orders the Penne Primavera with tomatoes, broccoli, zucchini, squash, garlic butter and cheese.  Bella isn’t a huge fan of tomatoes in her veggie pasta as there consistency is never great once cooked in pasta but she finds this dish to be an above average quality rendition.  Although, it not as delicious as Auntie Linda’s variation.  I find it to be very visually striking due to the mix of bright colored fresh looking veggies.

Penne Primavera

I think to myself that the dining room has that 60s’ and 70s’ style where Columbo (R.I.P. Peter Falk) would surely be at home (excluding the “old money” filling the dining room).  For dessert I order the cannolo pastry filled with sweet ricotta cheese and miniature chocolate chips.  The cream is extremely smooth with a seemingly unrelenting amount of cinnamon in the cream and possibly in the crunchy shell.

Cannolo with Strawberries

I am not a huge cinnamon fan and reserve my use of it almost exclusively for rice pudding.  For my taste buds it is overpowering this dessert and thus I am “not a fan”.  There is a very good level of sweetness but not overboard like “Americanized” cannoli.  There are freshly sliced strawberries on the plate.  The taste of the cream is rather ordinary with no almond, liqueur or citrus taste in the cream.

Cannolo with Strawberries

Bella opts for the Villa Nova Soufflé which has Grand Marnier inside and a side of deliciously fluffy freshly whipped cream.  I am not a soufflé expert but it’s been our experience that many have a “soggy factor” where ice cream merged with cake.  This version combines whipped cream with the cake and therefore is much more cake-like and less soggy or gooey.  We’ve consumed a half dozen or more soufflés and this is our clear favorite.

Villa Nova Souffle

Date of Visit: 7/31/2011; Restaurant:  Villa Nova; Address: 3131 West Coast Highway, Newport Beach, CA  92663; Phone: 949-642-7880; Website: villanovarestaurant.com; Key: (5 star maximum per category); Ambiance: **** ½; Service: **** ½; Food/Drink: ****; Grade: A.