With most entrees under $15 and pizzas starting at $9, decor sleeker than a pizza parlor but casual enough for folks who arrive on their bikes, Vincent Heavenly Pies and Pasta in Fort Collins is the kind of place you go back to.
Executive chef Chris Myrick has built a menu on a foundation of homemade pizza dough, simple sauces and perfectly cooked pasta. Vincent’s modern take on the neighborhood Italian joint adds halibut, parmesan-crusted sole and filet mignon to the lasagna-piccata-arrabiata standards.
In response to the economic downturn, Myrick says he’s doing more with less, and the result proves that good ingredients cooked with care and cheerfully served are all you need for a satisfying meal.
The salty-spicy crust on the filet would hold up to any high- end steakhouse. What kind of spice rub was that?
“Salt and pepper,” says Myrick. “When you use the salt and pepper, it’s amazing what you can get out of just that seasoning.”
With just the right amount of salt and pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil, the bruschetta is actually a caprese salad — roasted tomatoes, discs of fresh mozzarella speckled with basil confetti on tender toasts. And the only problem with the steamed mussels in white-wine butter sauce was we needed more bread to soak up the tangy broth.
An amber-lit bar anchors the long, narrow space, decorated with black-and-white photographs and blue glass pendant lights. Booths offer a little privacy, and tall tables near the front windows provide a view of the single flat-screen TV and the patio.
Kristen Browning-Blas: 303-954-1440 or kbrowning@denverpost.com
VINCENT HEAVENLY PIES AND PASTA
More than Italian. 902 W. Drake Road, Fort Collins, 970-472-0201. Lunch and dinner daily, Sunday brunch 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. vincent-restaurant.com
