The wife and I have decided to go to Vista Lago in Kirkland. It’s a little tucked away, but very worth it to find.
We were greeted by Luca and immediately seated. We asked him to surprise us for our entire meal. So far so good, he brought out our appetizer, a plate of bread with oil and a bowl of calamari. This wasn’t just a bowl of rubbery rings in a greasy breading though, this was a bowl of perfectly cooked calamari in a marinara sauce with white, garlic and chili flakes. They even put little baby octopi in the sauce. As far as marinara goes, it wasn’t over sweet or acidic, it was apparent, to me anyway, that this sauce is made with great care and time. There was only slight bite from
the chili and the kalamata olives added the perfect tang and added texture to the dish. The afore mentioned bread that Luca brought out with this dish was the perfect sopping vessel for this ridiculously good sauce. This appetizer could have easily been a meal for one all on it’s own, making it perfect for sharing.
The main course was Linguini ai Frutti di Mare. This dish had a load of mussels and clams, shrimp, light tomato sauce with chili flakes. The linguini was excellently cooked and the shellfish wasn’t rubbery. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to enjoy shellfish quite like this. It wasn’t something that they had just sitting in the back of a fridge somewhere in the depths of the kitchen, it was as fresh as could be and tasted as such. Perfectly prepared little morsels of flavor. There were more little octopi too, just hidden away in the linguini waiting to be snatched up when you get more pasta on your fork. The only downside to this dish is that you have to shell your shrimp before you get to the good stuff. Aside from that though, this was a great meal and great night out. I can’t wait to go back and try something else on the menu.
Sixtydgree 