An unexpected delight after a less-than-promising start, I was quite impressed with Vinny T’s. Things got off on the wrong foot with an over-crowded parking lot and an hour-long wait for a table. The only saving grace at that point was the friendly and outgoing waitstaff, and the semi-comfortable seating provided in the upstairs bar area.

But when we finally got a table, things started looking up. The menu offered a number of interesting options, and our waitress was the cheeriest person you could possibly meet on a cold, snowy New England night. She warned us in advance that Vinny T’s portion sizes were large, and thus to avoid the “due” orders unless we were planning to share.

We settled on the Mussels Pomodoro for an appetizer, and our jaws dropped when the plate arrived. It was massive… absolutely piled with hardshell goodness, at least thirty of ‘em. Great value for the money, definitely. And I’m a bit of a red-sauce snob, so when I say the Pomodoro was excellent, it comes as high praise.

After that, the actual entrees were a bit of a let-down, but not by much. First, the guidance of our waitress was borne out by the plates that arrived at our table… my wife’s Linguine in Clam Sauce and my Calamari Fra Diavolo came in heaped portions on large, oval plates. So the first lesson of Vinny T’s is this: unless you have a bottomless gut or a desire for leftovers, buy one plate for every two people and just share.

I consider calamari a litmus test for a restaurant, because so many get it wrong. Too often, I see over- or undercooked meat that is rubbery and tasteless. So it was immediately pleasing to note that the rings yielded easily to the tooth, and had benefitted from a long soak in the spicy Fra Diavolo. The sauce didn’t approach the Pomodoro’s excellence, but it was above-average, and very good.

Highly recommended.