Foodsday Tuesday: Way Out Ouest

I love La Viola. It was the site of my first foodgasm, and a couple of foodgasms since. It's one of the first places I recommend to people who want a romantic meal before a night at the Kimmel or the Merriam. It's one of the first places I tell people to go for a first date. And when Ross and I decided to celebrate being Libras together, it was one of the first places that we thought of to go with our friends.

Only problem is, La Viola is tiny. Like really, really tiny. They can hardly accommodate a party of six, let alone a party of fifteen.

Enter La Viola Ouest.

La Viola Ouest is the relatively recently opened western branch of my favorite BYO. Western, in that it's on the west side of 16th Street – the original La Viola is on the east, almost directly across the street. Its menu is slightly bigger, but then again, so is its dining room. Many La Viola favorites are still present on the menu, but several others don't appear or are somewhat different from their La Viola iterations. It was hard to tell whether the atmosphere was as romantic as the flagship restaurant in a large group, but the food, while different (my favorite, the vitello carcioffi, is apparently limited to the original La Viola), was no less delicious.

Although we were there on a Saturday night, we didn't feel especially as if the staff was rushing us. (They wouldn't seat us until we all arrived, but we didn't think they were trying to get rid of us once we sat down.) We didn't park at our table all night, and in fact, left as soon as we were finished with dessert – but there was still ample time between courses to digest and to converse.

All in all, I've gotta say that given my druthers, I'd still choose the original La Viola over Ouest – but I'm happy to eat relatively cheap (around $15 per entree!), politically incorrect (veal!), authentic Italian food at either location, anytime.

Image via Flickr user Il conte di Luna.