Mmmmm Vivace

Monday night my mom was still in Charlotte, because she had a conference to attend closer to my house than hers on Tuesday.  Having her all to myself an extra day was fun!  I had to work, but we met for lunch at Panera, and then decided to make reservations at a restaurant I've been wanting to try: Vivace. 

It's restaurant week in Charlotte, and we decided to do the special menu that includes an appetizer, entree, and dessert for $30. 

We were sat in the loft-like upper room, which has a nice view of uptown Charlotte and has modern, swanky decor.

My mom is a great person to go to restaurant week with because we like all the same things and were able to choose 6 things and split them :)

I had some really good wine.  I'm not even sure what it was, but the waiter said it was like a really good Pinot Noir, and I was sold. 

Hi, my name is Brittney, and I like dining out...

We started with a bread basket with white bean dip.

For our dinners, we went with...

The risotto balls, which were in both a pesto and tomato sauce and were pretty much perfection in a fried ball (sidenote- anyone watch the last Food Network Star with "Balls on a Roll"?).

We also had ricotta gnocchi with shrimp.  The creamy white wine/herb sauce with this one was awesome.  I may have dunked my risotto balls in it!

For entrees, we chose the grilled swordfish, which came with this great smashed potato/tomato side. 

I want to try making that smashed potato/tomato combo.  It was so good! 

And a steak that was kind of a cross between a sirloin and a filet mignon.  It came with a tomato and bread salad.

It tasted as good as it looked :)

We were kind of stuffed after our apps and entrees, but somehow mustered the strength to continue on and eat our dessert...

We chose the lemon panna cotta with mixed berries. 

It was so gorgeous, and a nice light and delicious choice.

And had to get the tiramisu with hazelnut ice cream.

It was SUCH a great meal!  I kind of want to eat the whole thing again...

Vivace just cruised to the top of my list of favorite restaurants in Charlotte.  It was really an incredible meal!