Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

The Lady From Rome

Changes keep on comin’ in Little Italy.

Was at Caffe Italia the other night.

Right next door is Vincenzo’s Ristorante Italiano (1702 India Street, at Date, 619-702-6181), kinda classy black and white place I’ve always wanted to eat at.

Wanted to try their ossu bucco. I’ve seen sidewalk eaters attacking that on Friday nights. Smells beefy, winey. Problem? Little expensive for me.

But what catches my eye right now is the yellow sign in the side window.

“Public Notice of Application for Ownership Change.”

And next to it a letter.

“After almost 13 years, Vincenzo Ristorante Italiano will close its doors in January, 2012. Although an end of an era, it is also the beginning of a new one for Anthony, Gina and the Zizzo family…”

Oh no. Not another sellout to a chain franchise, please.

I go up to the two ladies at the welcome podium, Angelina and Natalie.

Natalie, Angelina

“It’s going to become a pizzeria,” says Angelina. “But a good one. A lady from Rome has bought it, and she’s bringing her own pizza oven over with her.”

Victoria, the third waitress, whizzes by with two steaming plates. One’s ravioli, the other’s spaghetti. Each about $15.

She places them in front of Carla (no, not my Carla) and Bill.

Carla, Bill, Victoria

“Oh no,” says Bill, when I tell them the news. “We have just moved into Little Italy. This is our favorite place. We’ve been coming here since long before we moved.”

Carla's ravioli

“They have the best Riesling wine in Little Italy,” says Carla, “because it’s the coldest, and I like mine cold.”

“We often come by for their happy hour,” says Bill. “They have $5 wines and $5 appetizers. They do an excellent Caprese.”

Huh. That’s the salad from the island of Capri, basically mozzarella cheese and tomatoes with basil, right? I could handle that. Happy hour’s from three to six each afternoon.

Bill's spaghetti

But not for long. Maybe Vincenzo’s closing has to do Vincenzo himself, Anthony and Gina’s father, Vincenzo Zizzo. He created this place along with his wife Josephine, but he died three years ago.

Whatever, it’s sad. There goes another genuine family eatery. Even though I’ve never eaten there, Little Italy’s gonna feel a little emptier.

“We’ll close about mid-January, then the lady from Rome will take a few months setting up, probably,” says Angelina.

Sigh.

Still, you never know.

The lady from Rome may bring a family of her own.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Wild Wild Wets, Todo Mundo, Creepy Creeps, Laura Cantrell, Graham Nancarrow

Rock, Latin reggae, and country music in Little Italy, Oceanside, Carlsbad, Harbor Island
Next Article

The danger of San Diego's hoarders

The $1 million Flash Comics #1

Changes keep on comin’ in Little Italy.

Was at Caffe Italia the other night.

Right next door is Vincenzo’s Ristorante Italiano (1702 India Street, at Date, 619-702-6181), kinda classy black and white place I’ve always wanted to eat at.

Wanted to try their ossu bucco. I’ve seen sidewalk eaters attacking that on Friday nights. Smells beefy, winey. Problem? Little expensive for me.

But what catches my eye right now is the yellow sign in the side window.

“Public Notice of Application for Ownership Change.”

And next to it a letter.

“After almost 13 years, Vincenzo Ristorante Italiano will close its doors in January, 2012. Although an end of an era, it is also the beginning of a new one for Anthony, Gina and the Zizzo family…”

Oh no. Not another sellout to a chain franchise, please.

I go up to the two ladies at the welcome podium, Angelina and Natalie.

Natalie, Angelina

“It’s going to become a pizzeria,” says Angelina. “But a good one. A lady from Rome has bought it, and she’s bringing her own pizza oven over with her.”

Victoria, the third waitress, whizzes by with two steaming plates. One’s ravioli, the other’s spaghetti. Each about $15.

She places them in front of Carla (no, not my Carla) and Bill.

Carla, Bill, Victoria

“Oh no,” says Bill, when I tell them the news. “We have just moved into Little Italy. This is our favorite place. We’ve been coming here since long before we moved.”

Carla's ravioli

“They have the best Riesling wine in Little Italy,” says Carla, “because it’s the coldest, and I like mine cold.”

“We often come by for their happy hour,” says Bill. “They have $5 wines and $5 appetizers. They do an excellent Caprese.”

Huh. That’s the salad from the island of Capri, basically mozzarella cheese and tomatoes with basil, right? I could handle that. Happy hour’s from three to six each afternoon.

Bill's spaghetti

But not for long. Maybe Vincenzo’s closing has to do Vincenzo himself, Anthony and Gina’s father, Vincenzo Zizzo. He created this place along with his wife Josephine, but he died three years ago.

Whatever, it’s sad. There goes another genuine family eatery. Even though I’ve never eaten there, Little Italy’s gonna feel a little emptier.

“We’ll close about mid-January, then the lady from Rome will take a few months setting up, probably,” says Angelina.

Sigh.

Still, you never know.

The lady from Rome may bring a family of her own.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Sidewalk Sicilian

Ed roots out the hidden meat at Nicolosi’s
Next Article

When Not in Rome

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader