{PGH Dining} La Vite Ristorante at La Casa Narcisi Winery

Husband and I desperately needed a date night a few weeks ago.
A coworker of mine {Hi, Cathy!} mentioned La Casa Narcisi Winery a few months ago as a potential date or girls night location, and I pulled that thought out of the depths to give it a try. A quick look at their Web site events page told me that we were in luck - it was jazz night at the winery. We made the scenic 25-minute drive from Upper Lawrenceville along Saxonburg Boulevard and turned onto Gibsonia Road to find a decent-sized winery to our left.

We entered into a full parking lot, around happy hour time {6ish}, and found one of the only open spots.

When walking in, you're greeted by the wine tasting area, where I definitely recommend you stop if you are planning to order wine with dinner. A glance to the right will show you the patio, where they serve both lunch and dinner.

The entertainment was inside on the mezzanine, so the patio was empty...and it was cold!

Just off the patio is a stage for concerts {refer to aforementioned events page}.
Back inside, you're treated to three complimentary tastings of their available wines, ranging from their super popular Stella {a red blend of their wines} to their PA Riesling. Some of my favorites were the Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 and the Rosabella 2011.

Ready for tasting!

Afterwards, we were seated in the dining room of La Vite {the restaurant's actual name}, which is surrounded by huge windows to showcase their grounds.  We right away ordered a bottle of the Cab Sav {the winner between Husband and I}, and the banana stuffed peppers. 

God help me, I love stuffed peppers. Husband raved over these, which were served with toasted, buttery herbed foccacia and a spicy red sauce. The peppers themselves were stuffed with Italian sausage and covered in mozzarella. One of the best I've had in Pittsburgh, but I'm always open to suggestions on places to get this PGH specialty. LOVE THEM.

We also ordered the antipasto platter, which might have been a mistake, purely for the size factor. This platter is huge! It's got more than enough cheeses, marinated mushrooms, cured meats, grilled vegetables, and seeded crackers to serve 4+ people.

The cheese selection was inventive, and featured both fruity and spicy cheeses, along with the regulars: brie, cheddar, Gouda, etc. The star was the Sage Derby cheese, tucked into the center of the pile.

We saved more than half of the platter for quick omlete-making in the morning, and enjoyed the Etta Cox Trio's jazz offerings while we waited on our entrees.
I got the Caesar salad, complete with delicate cheese crisps.
The dressing really made this salad for me. It was peppery and creamy, and just enough to really coat the romaine.

Husband allowed me to have too many bites of his shrimp and lobster arrabbiatta dish. The combination of the seafood in the spicy sauce over angel hair pasta was dynamite. 

Knocked it out of the park.

Finally, even though we shouldn't have, we ordered the "Fugeddaboudit," or their answer to the chocolate lava cake.  Typical for us.

The cake was decent, but I was confused by the chocolate dust in the corners of the plate. Odd.

This is certainly on our list to revisit, possibly on a Sunday for lunch. The winery offers the 'bring your own picnic lunch' on their patio, with full wine service. Consider this your recommendation from a friend. See there, I'm paying it forward.

Wine note: All wines can be purchased on site, and their prices are the best you'll find in the area. {Also, you won't find Narcisi wines at the state stores, so make the trip!}

Neighborhood: Gibsonia/North Hills.
Good For: Date night, Girls Night Out, WINE.
Gems: Restaurant + Winery Combination.
Drawbacks: Far out for those travelling from the South Hills, etc.

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