Definitely Not BFF

Right before Thanksgiving we decided to dine at Amici's. The last time we were there was before the renovation. We sat on the patio with the outdoor heaters keeping us warm. It was an intimate, magical setting and we had some good food.

This time, not so much. The patio is now enclosed and is bright, crowded, and loud. We chose to stay anyway because we remembered the delicious fare. One waiter seated us and reviewed the specials. The waiters then switched up on us and our new one spouted the specials again (leaving one of them off of his list). No matter. We ordered an inexpensive Valpolicella and was served a bread basket with a garlic spread. The bread was fine. The garlic spread was more doughy than garlicky, really quite bland.

For entrees hubby ordered penne pasta with a piedmontese style meat sauce. Similar to bolognese. As soon as he had a bite he leaned over to me and said mine was better. While a decent dish, a bit pricey if I can make something better at home. I decided to have baked homemade cannelloni pasta filled with veal in a tomato cream sauce. Very creamy, very cheesy and absolutely no flavor at all. I ate half of it and did not ask for a to go box. Is cannelloni not supposed to have any taste??

Our waiter asked us if we wanted dessert twice and took a long time bringing us our bill.

After some really good recent experiences with the Richmond restaurant scene, Amici's only served up bitter disappointment. It was definitely not the old friend we remembered.